Books › The call
The call
307 pages
A dread-soaked, high-stakes survival thriller steeped in the darkest, most predatory corners of Celtic mythology.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like holding your breath while a stopwatch ticks down. It is a propulsive, dread-soaked experience that plunges the reader into a nightmarish, predatory interpretation of Celtic mythology. The atmosphere is thick with tension and the grim reality of survival against impossible, supernatural odds. Rather than a whimsical fairy tale, it delivers a visceral, high-stakes battle between good and evil, anchored by a fiercely determined protagonist who refuses to let physical limitations dictate her fate. The narrative moves with relentless urgency, mirroring the frantic, terrifying twenty-four-hour hunt at its core. It will thoroughly delight fans of dark, intense juvenile fiction who crave gritty survival stories where every second counts and victory is measured simply by staying alive.
- Mood
- dread-soaked
- tense
- nightmarish
- perilous
- Tone
- urgent
- grim
- determined
- intense
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- fighting for survival · defying physical limitations · confronting dark folklore · the battle between good and evil
- The writing
- Urgent and atmospheric, leaning heavily into the dark, predatory nature of its mythological roots to maintain relentless tension.
- The arc
- Moves from the suffocating dread of an inevitable trial to a fierce, desperate determination to survive against impossible odds.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave high-stakes, dark mythological survival stories featuring fiercely determined protagonists overcoming physical disadvantages.
Content notes
- violence
- death
- peril
- ableism and physical disability struggles
About the book
For the last twenty-five years every teenager in Ireland has been subject to "the call" which takes them away to the land of the Sídhe, where they are hunted for twenty four hours (though only three minutes pass in this world)--handicapped by her twisted legs, Nessa Doherty knows that very few return alive, but she is determined to be one of them.
Description from Open Library.
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