Who is the real enemy? This is the question that confronts Sam, the champion of the Sereia in their cosmos-spanning war with the Gibbus, and the main character in this story. Sam is an unimposing boy who has no past and no memory of who he is, yet he possesses extraordinary abilities. He is also Earth’s last hope for salvation from the Gibbus who, in seven days, will destroy the planet and everyone on it. This is not his choice however: that is the decision of the alien Sereia, his mentors and guides, as he is forced to confront this hazardous task. They have their own reasons for wanting Earth to be saved, but are too weak to challenge the Gibbus themselves. In their search for a human champion they find the unlikely and ill-prepared young boy, Sam – but this child is not quite as he appears…This story is much more than simply a science-fiction fantasy tale, it is also one of trust, relationships and responsibility. Sam is befriended by seventeen-year-old Emma, a girl with troubles of her own. At least being dumped by text by her feckless boyfriend is not one of them! We learn of her struggles to shore up her parents crumbling relationship and the depths of the pain and loss her whole family feel at the untimely death of her older brother. Together, Sam and Emma travel from Primrose Hill and Finsbury Park in London to New York, via Kuala Lumpur and a small Indonesian village, in a desperate race to halt this deadly threat to the Earth. All the while the power within Sam grows to a point where it threatens to overwhelm him. This is a tense thriller, containing some violent scenes, but is also laced with Wes Stuart’s witty humour and shrewd observations of the things we take for granted. The many unexpected twists and turns will keep readers hooked until the final page. | My Name is Sam by Wes Stuart, Paperback | Indigo Chapters