Page 45 Review by Stephen
Oh. My. God.
We're on the final stretch of one of the most personal, ruthless, socio-politically astute and arresting thrillers I've ever read, and the revelations are flowing as fast as the blood is now flooding from many severed limbs.
Michael Lark's choreography of the individual grudge matches and military manoeuvres is both intense and balletic, his figure work faultless - as lithe as you like. With Santi Arcas he's created a brand-new colouring effect here to up the combative ante because someone -
Here's how I've successfully sold LAZARUS for a decade:
In the future - so imminent it is immediate - we have reverted to a feudal society (just look out of your metaphorical window, right now): the world has been carved up between the richest families, for money buys control by military might, information dissemination and technological supremacy.
Serving them are a thin layer of the few with key skills, be they educational, medical, otherwise scientific or again military, and all of their needs are taken care of. Everyone else is Waste.
Each family has a Lazarus, an individual augmented according the bio-tech available to that domain. They cannot rise from the dead, but they can survive extreme physical torture then rise to dish out worse. Each is, therefore, that family's personal bodyguard, military commander and chief assassin.
In the case of the Carlysle family it is their youngest daughter, Forever, and she has been taught from a very early age, 'Family Above All'.
By "taught" I mean indoctrinated. And by "indoctrinated" I mean lied to.
There is a lie running throughout the first four books which no reader amongst the hundreds I have sold this to has ever spotted. Nor has Forever. But when revealed on the final page of book four, you'll realise that's been staring you right in the face.
And the only thing I will add - other than that you will care; you will care so deeply - is that the creative crew has done it again: there is a revelation of the final page of this volume which once more harks back to the very first issues and which we should ALL have seen it coming!
