Adventure and intrigue

Outlanders
by Margaret Beames

  It is good that books by this popular Author are being republished and are again available to be enjoyed by a further group of readers. This one was first published in 2000 by Scholastic, and was a finalist in the NZ Post Children's book awards in 2001.
   In Outlanders, a "long winter", the result of a cosmic event, has altered life on Earth. But there is a community of people who have isolated themselves in the DOME and have managed to live a very successful life for several generations, apart from the world they once knew.
 Outside in the wasteland is another community, also surviving, though with much less, and without the benefits of creature comforts or the technology that was once known on Earth.
   It is inevitable that these two communities will eventually come into contact and this comes about through the inquisitiveness of our young heroine, Rhiane A'Dare, who manages to spend three days on the outside. On returning, Rhiane faces the Dome people with what she has seen.
   The story has adventure, a touch of romance, intrigue, and the odd twist that makes it very readable. I recommend it to younger teenagers from intermediate level up to young adults, who enjoy a touch of science fiction that could contain a grain of truth.

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Review by Merilyn Mary

Outlanders
Author: Margaret Beames
Publisher: Rangitawa Publishing
ISBN: 978-0994108876 (paper only)
Available: from the author [email protected], from Rangitawa Publishing, and from Amazon.