Mark Walden – författare

It’s been several months since the events of Earthfall, yet Sam’s attempts to rouse the enslaved people of London from their trance-like state have frustratingly failed. Worse still, the enormous Voidborn drilling device which Sam and his friends disabled in London was one of hundreds scattered across the planet, all nearing the final stages of construction.Joining up with another resistance group, they plot to disable a drilling machine in Tokyo and in the process implant viral commands that will cause a catastrophic failure of the entire network. Just as that mission appears to have been successful, Sam and the others are double-crossed by the resistance leader.Earthfall: Retribution will take the series on to a global stage, as the true scale of the conflict being played out on Earth is revealed.

H.I.V.E. (Higher Institute of Villainous Education) is a top-secret school of applied villainy where children with a precocious gift for wrongdoing are sent to develop their talents into criminal mastermind. After all, ‘villains have the best lines and wear the best costumes'. One small catch is that the children cannot leave until training is complete, six years later. With villainy comes a certain freedom of thought, and every year one student in particular will show exceptional talent - after all, it takes the best to produce the worst. This year there are two students: Otto Malpense and his new friend Wing Fanchu are both exceptionally bad, and they are definitely not keen on being held against their will for six long years . . .

The leaders of the world's villainous forces are being picked off one by one in a series of mysterious attacks and Dr Nero is forced to take temporary control of G.L.O.V.E. when Diabolus Darkdoom is seriously injured. He then discovers that Otto, who has now been missing for several months since Dreadnought, is leading the attacks. Under pressure from the remaining members of the ruling council, Nero is left with no choice but to issue a capture or kill order for Otto. Wing learns of the order and persuades Raven to allow him to join her on her mission to retrieve Otto. Other members of the ruling council, suspicious of Nero's relationship with the boy, have initiated their own missions to eliminate Otto. Wing and Raven find themselves in a deadly race against time to track Otto down before the other G.L.O.V.E. assassins get to him. Their pursuit takes them to a secret facility hidden deep within the Amazon rainforest, where they face a mysterious operative even deadlier than Raven.Meanwhile back at H.I.V.E., the school's own automated defence systems turn against the pupils and staff. And there is no one there to stop it.

Sam wakes to see strange vessels gathered in the skies around London. As he stares up, people stream past, walking silently towards the enormous ships which emit a persistent noise. Only Sam seems immune to the signal.Six months later, Sam is absolutely alone. Injured by one of the flying drones which now populate London, Sam realises that without medical supplies he will die. Venturing above ground he is attacked again, but this time the drone is shot down in a hail of machine gun fire. In five minutes Sam learns two things: he is not alone; the drone injury should have killed him instantly – yet he is still alive. The battle for Earth is about to begin.

The thrilling conclusion to the outstanding Earthfall trilogy for sci-fi fans everywhere. Can Earth be reclaimed?The battle for Earth continues. In order to defeat the Voidborn, the alien race that invaded Earth, Sam must come to terms with the Illuminate powers he has inherited and return to London. The only hope he has for defeating the aliens is to enlist the help of not only his friends, but also what he fears most.Sam and his friends must find a way to awaken the sleeping Illuminate far beneath the surface of the Earth, but what they don't realise is a dark and terrible secret is also about to be uncovered. A secret that may spell doom for all of humanity. One thing is certain, whatever happens, life will never be the same for Sam ever again. And he will be forced to confront the reality that he may have to pay the ultimate price or finally watch the Earth fall.