Milo, aka “Bane of Kings”, reviews the second novel in the fast paced sci-fi young adult thriller series BZRK, with BZRK: Reloaded by popular author of the Gone series, Michael Grant, published by Egmont Books. 

“An excellent, fast paced and fun second act that continues the strong form that this series has been in, proving that there is life after Gone for Michael Grant. Certainly worth checking out if you enjoyed the first instalment, because BZRK: Reloaded is an action packed rollercoaster of a ride that you won’t want to miss.” ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields

The second book in the mind-blowing new series from the author of GONE.

The first battle is over, but the war rages on.

Sanity or madness? Truth or happiness? Love or survival?

In the nano, you don’t get to decide.

Noah and Sadie are now trained twitchers. They know how to wire a person’s brain from the inside, and how to get out alive. But they’re still reeling from their first encounter with the Armstrong Twins, and there’s no time for grief. As long as Bug Man has control of the US President’s mind, the future is on a knife-edge.

Escapism doesn’t get more thrilling than this.

If you’ve been following The Founding Fields for a while now then you’ll know how much of a massive fan I am of Michael Grant’s thrilling Gone series. The storyline is just awesome throughout, and when it ended – well, I was always hoping that Grant could continue with a series that’s just as entertaining as Gone and he certainly does manage to deliver with Reloaded, the second novel in the BZRK series. I loved the first volume and the second volume manages to impress equally well, delivering something that fans of the young adult genre really should get on board if they haven’t already. Michael Grant is an author that easily deserves as much attention as the likes of Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games) and Stephanie Meyer (Twilight) – if not even more, because his work is among the best YA series out there on the market today and BZRK: Reloaded is no exception, continuing the high quality work that he puts out.

If you thought that BZRK couldn’t be topped, then think again. BZRK: Reloaded really impresses as it manages to be intense, action packed and even more unpredictable than the first volume, with a large element of tension and suspense thrown in there for good measure. It doesn’t slow down in pace as sometimes sequels tend do to – instead it will keep having readers on the edge of their seats right the way through with it’s interesting concept of nanotechnology really enhancing the overall awesomeness of the book, allowing for some very cool scenes indeed as the second act plays out before our eyes.

Character development plays a massive role here, with our central protagonists Noah (Keats) and Sadie (Plath) benefiting from not having as much side characters that the Gone series had – which by its final book had so many characters that it was impossible to give them all an even amount of pagetime. And don’t get me wrong, BZRK: Reloaded still has a large amount of characters, but with Noah and Sadie getting a lot more time in the spotlight than the likes of Sam Temple, this allows our characters to really develop and be fleshed out over the course of the book, so that by the end – they’ve changed considerably from not just the beginning of this book, but also the beginning of the first entry in the series. Their relationship is fun to read about and whilst yes, there is romance, it doesn’t overshadow the main plot of the novel and drag down its frantic pace that will keep readers on the edge of their seats from the get go. This does mean however that other characters aren’t as well rounded or fleshed out as much as Noah and Sadie though, and the secondary cast don’t really come across as all that memorable unfortunately, but that’s pretty much the only major problem that I had with the book.

The rest is well, pretty awesome. Grant’s always been considered one of my favourite YA authors in my eyes so there is of course some bias in this review, but what review doesn’t have at least some element of it? Fans of the first book should need no convincing in order to pick up the second but if you’re hesitant than I hope I have swayed you to pick this book up by my review. BZRK: Reloaded is a fun, explosive ride that will have you on the edge of your seats from start to finish and is really worth a look into, with an ending that will leave you eagerly anticipating more of what Michael Grant will have to offer. I certainly can’t wait to see what he puts out next, because I’ll certainly be reading it.

VERDICT: 4.5/5