WINNER OF THE BRAM STOKER AWARD FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
John Dixonâs critically acclaimed Phoenix Island reads like âLord of the Flies meets Wolverine and Cool Hand Lukeâ (F. Paul Wilson, creator of Repairman Jack). For fans of The Bourne Identity, Alex Rider, and Melissa Marr.
The judge told Carl that one day heâd have to decide exactly what kind of person he would become. But on Phoenix Island, the choice will be made for him.
A champion boxer with a sharp hook and a short temper, sixteen-year-old Carl Freeman has been shuffled from foster home to foster home. He canât seem to stay out of troubleâusing his fists to defend weaker classmates from bullies. His latest incident sends his opponent to the emergency room, and now the court is sending Carl to the worst place on earth: Phoenix Island.
Classified as a âterminal facility,â itâs the end of the line for delinquents who have no home, no family, and no future. Located somewhere far off the coast of the United Statesâand immune to its lawsâthe island is a grueling Spartan-style boot camp run by sadistic drill sergeants who show no mercy to their young, orphan trainees. Sentenced to stay until his eighteenth birthday, Carl plans to play by the rules, so he makes friends with his wisecracking bunkmate, Ross, and a mysterious gray-eyed girl named Octavia. But he makes enemies, too, and after a few rough scrapes, he earns himself the nickname âHollywoodâ as well as a string of punishments, including a brutal night in the âsweatbox.â But thatâs nothing compared to what awaits him in the âChop Shopââa secret government lab where Carl is given something he never dreamed of.
A new lifeâŠA new body. A new brain. Gifts from the fatherly Old Man, who wants to transform Carl into something heâs not sure he wants to become. For this is no ordinary government project. Phoenix Island is ground zero for the future of combat intelligence.
And for Carl, itâs just the beginningâŠ