'The Change #1-London: Orbital' by Guy Adams is the first in a 6 part series of novellas written for young adults.

The story dumps you right in the middle of the action with Howard, who finds himself waking up on the streets of London to a very changed world. We see things through his eyes as he is attacked by strange creatures, and we feel his confusion. He is rescued by a guy named Hubcap and joins a group of survivors, where he (and we) learn a little about what happened. It seems that Howard has a sort of amnesia about months of time.
The story is very action packed with lots of surprising twists. The short chapters keep the reader turning pages. I liked the nature of this book, and even though I'm still not sure what's going on, I look forward to finding out what happened. Future books take place in other world series, so I suspect the next books will introduce more characters.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Solaris Books, Rebellion, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Concept a little strange for my taste. Readable story but my interest def8nitely flagged - probably because of the strange format with separate short books.

This story starts in the moment after the Change, It took me a few chapters to get used to this style of writing and I really saw the appeal it could have to YA readers, I liked the fast paced read but wished their was more to draw me to the characters.

(3.5 out of 5)
I received this and the following two books in a six part series through NetGalley. I hope to buy the final three at some point to possibly get some answers to what’s going on! From the very outset of this book you’re plunged headfirst into this crazy new world.

The first in The Change series being based in London was a great start for me, a familiar setting enables me to get much more immersed into a book than I might do otherwise, so despite the fact that so much had happened that London would be virtually unrecognizable, it still helped me with the world building.

Guy Adams was very descriptive and very creative, there were several harrowing scenes in this book that were very much brought to life through his wonderful use of language and world building. So many things are changed and there’s monsters around every corner, and since our protagonist has lost all his memory of this new world, the reader discovers these new horrors and marvels with him. This book kept you guessing at each page, making it a definite page-turner. That combined with the length meant that I was able to make quick work of this book and finished it in just a few hours.

My biggest gripe with this was just how short it was. It was more like a novella. This could have definitely been combined with one or two of the other books, maybe even all six together, to create one much larger (and more satisfying) book. This book doesn’t really tell you much about the why and how of the change, but since it’s the first of six books then I guess that’s understandable.

I also felt like there wasn’t a whole lot of development of the relationships between characters. Maybe that was due to the short length of the story meaning that there just wasn’t the time to really develop the relationship. Hubcap and Howard were a funny duo and I would have liked to have seen more development between them in particular. Instead it seemed to go from, “Hi stranger.” To, “I’d die for you.” In about five pages.

Overall a fast paced dystopian sci-fi that’s great for a quick read.

*Received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you NetGalley, for what has to go down as one of my oddest reads this year.
It’s brief, and a quick read, but there’s so many questions raised.
What I think I’ve got from this...sometime in the near past, the ‘change’ has occurred as ‘they’ arrive. It causes chaos, and life is not the same for anyone. I have no idea who they are or what has happened, and there were moments when I wasn’t even sure what was actually going on.
Though I think there’s so much I didn’t get from this, and so many questions I’d have liked at least a hint of the answer to, I found this quite entertaining. I’m curious to see how this goes down with my less keen readers-at just over 100 pages it’s short enough not to be too off-putting.

The first book in the Change series, London – Orbital, is very post-apocalyptic. I suppose you could say that of them all, but this one I felt was very dreary and oppressive. I liked the overall story, but I felt this one was quite horrific in places and I don’t think I would have enjoyed it if I were a teen. It reminded me a little of The Thing, and if I were a teen reading this it would give me nightmares. Maybe teenagers have stronger stomachs these days. Overall I enjoyed it but I’d definitely say it’s for older rather than younger teens.

I found this surprisingly gory and really didn't enjoy it at all. The characterisation was poor and frankly the plot made no sense to me. Why was he going to London? What did that have to do with anything? Where was the fuel coming from that they could waste it zooming around. Etc. But then I tried looking at it through the eyes of some of my teenage readers and I think it will really appeal to them. The bits I disliked will be irrelevant and the gory bits will delight at least some of them.

The world has changed, after an appearance in the sky, what it was no one knows. Howard wakes up on the road to London, with no memory of who he is or what has happened. Hubcap comes to his aid after rescuing him from a pigeon attack, where the pigeons had black tentacles. This was the start of a special friendship.
As the story progresses you get introduced to the group that Hubcap lived with and they were a very diverse group. Tank and Tiger leaders of the group were not what you expect and they ideas for Banquet night were ingenious. Whilst they lived in a dystopian world the group have camaraderie and fun. Whilst there are hints to what is attacking the people, it is near the end when the monster is introduced. With its mixture of steampunk and sci-fi, it attacks brutally and without guilt. An added touch was the back story on how the monster developed.
This story is fast paced and from the moment Howard wakes you are captivated, as you want to know what happened to the world. A good start to what is going to be an interesting series

A useful addition to the adventure genre. Another one for the library’ stock

4.5 stars.

I'll just start off by saying that this book made my hate of pigeons heighten.

This is a novella so a pretty quick read and equally part fun as well as disgusting. So something happens to the world which everyone who survived called The Change. It's something no one can really truly explain, it was suddenly just there, and people died. A boy wakes up with no memories of how he got where he is but he finds a notebook on him with the name Howard and assumes that must be him.
Things are different, things are fucked up.

Pigeons are lethal.
Shit gets real.
Howard and Hubcap = Instant friends

So Howard meets Hubcap, a boy of similar age to him who welcomes him into his gang of people. Tank, Little Chef, Tiger, Snakebite etc (all legit names - kidding, fun nicknames). Is Hubcap this boys real name? Sure, according to him it is. He'd absolutely hate to be called Howard, would rather kill himself.

There's a lot of fun banter in this book, and really messed up things, so if you don't like reading about gory stuff like stuff that makes you want to throw up then I'd advise you not to read, otherwise knock yourself out. Also you're constantly going to wonder wtf is going on. Because seriously, I still don't know.

People die.
Howard just knows things.
Hubcap sings a tune.
Another adventure awaits.
Run from those pigeons.

I want to know what happens next but seems I'm heading to New York until I get back to a Howard and Hubcap.

Howard awakens with no memory of what has happened. He soon find's out about The Change. After being taken in by a group of bikers who are learning to survive, their camp gets attacked. A large monster which can take on others forms begins to terrorise the group.  



Throughout the entire book, I was questioning what was going on. Along with Howard we have no information about what happened during the Change. I was intrigued about what could have appeared and killed people on sight, but it was only touched on briefly for this book.

I felt that the characters were focused on more than an actual plot throughout the book. Howard seemed to be set up to be a chosen one style hero, but nothing ever came about from this. The Change: London was an extremely short book (and the rest of the series were as well). I managed to read it in a couple of hours on the train. After realising this I felt that Adams could have wrote further and expanded the plotline. If done correctly this could have improved The Change for me. 

Although it was action packed, nothing seemed to be resolved. It felt very much like an introduction to an even bigger story which intrigued me to read the next book. Unfortunately I was disappointed as The Change: New York was not connected except The Change had happened there as well. 

I received The Change: London Orbital* by Guy Adams as an e-book from the publisher via Netgalley. This is an unbiased and honest review.

Not the usual thing I would read, I did not enjoy the book.

One minute everything was fine and the next...they arrived. Those that saw them died instantly. The unlucky ones survived. Now unimaginable things straight out of nightmares roam the streets of our towns and cities. Nothing is impossible. Nowhere is safe. And no one can escape The Change

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This is a short young adult book that is a 6 part series. The synopsis of the book interested me, so I finished the first book in short time.

You meet Howard, he wakes up on the motorway, doesn't remember his name but knows things like where he is. He has a notebook which has details about things that have happened and he believes this notebook to be his.

Howard bumps into a guy who shares his food and gives him advice to stay sheltered in the night because bad things happen at night. Taking his advice, Howard stays in the back of a van overnight and witnesses the result of what bad things happen overnight the following morning, where he also meets Hubcap, a guy the same age as him and takes him to the safety of others.

More bad things happen in this short novel, its strange but keeps you reading as you want to find out what caused this change to happen in the world and what happened to everyone. Howard doesn't remember much about what happened to him before the change, but knows he has to get into central London for some reason.

Overall, I found this short novel very intriguing, and I am looking forward to reading the other novels in the series to see if they carry on the story, but as they're set in other countries, they could be different stories.

The change orbital by Gary Adams.
One minute everything was fine and the next...they arrived. Those that saw them died instantly. The unlucky ones survived. Now unimaginable things straight out of nightmares roam the streets of our towns and cities. Nothing is impossible. Nowhere is safe. And no one can escape The Change...
Howard doesn’t know where he is or how he got there. He’s not even sure his name is Howard. But he knows his in trouble. 
A fantastic read. Loved Howard's character. Looking forward to the next read. New york. 5*. Would give more if I could. A must read. Highly recommended. Netgalley and rebellion.

This book is intriguing but very short. very intriguing, short and sweet, leaving me wanting more.
I don't want to give too much away but this follows different characters during a time known as The Change and all that follows.
Characters are likeable and I found myself rooting for them.

This is a young adult fiction in three parts and sold separately. I have read the first book but not the two that follow so my review is based on this book as a stand alone.

This is a real fun fantastic novella that can be read and devoured in one sitting. Placing itself in the near future, Adams has establish a novel that works on many levels but never caters down the intended audience. The settings are rich and due to its London setting becomes even more harrowing.

Reading like a fast roller coaster ride with little explanation to the why and therefore, this is a definite page turner that I was so fully engulfed with that the outside world disappeared. The main character I was really involved in his life in peril scenario that I couldn’t stop reading. This became so intense at one point that I basically shut my phone off to keep me from being distracted.

The novel reads like a novelization of a comic book and with its fast pace delivery it does not disappoint. If you are looking for a fun read and I have been made aware that with the next installments which are out now which include The Change: New York and The Change: Paris – the story becomes more fleshed out which I am definitely looking forward to reading. A highly recommended fast action roller coaster thrill ride.

This is one of the fastest reads ever. It was less then 2 hours of reading. That being said, it was so confusing. You are thrown into a post apocalyptic type world. All you know is Howard, the main character we follow, is somewhere near London. He wakes up not knowing who he is or how he got where he was. He knows nothing about what has happened to the world but certain things he does know. It is all a confusing mess. It was a good short story though it left much to be desired. I liked the friendship between Howard and Hubcap. There is a lot of death in this short book so be prepared for that going into it. I was torn between giving this book a 2 or 3 stars. I wanted to give it 2 stars as I left it more confused then ever before in my life but I also wanted to give it 3 as I think that might be the purpose. The author might want you to be just as lost and confused as the main character Howard. So I settled on 3 stars. I will continue on with the rest of the books and hope it all starts to make sense.

This is quite the intriguing and imaginative book!
I love the writing style, and although rather dark you can see hints of the author's humor throughout especially in the nicknames!
Howard wakes up in a strange place, with no recollection of the change, how he got there or his name. During the story he meets another character named Hubcap - and let me tell you...you will adore their friendship.

Fast paced, and exciting, sci-fi dystopian come to mind when describing this book. This book is only the first in several and I am looking forward to reading those as well!

As a fan of YA dystopia, I found the blurb for this book intriguing. It's a well-paced novel which entices the reader with a believable yet unrecognisable world, and never explicitly explains what the 'change' was. It is described in broad terms, but the detail is left a mystery. It's a great way to encourage young readers to use their imaginations rather than be spoon-fed the plot, and is one of my favourite things about the book. The characters are mostly believable - some voices sound the same, and I don't quite believe the adolescent voices of Howard and Hubcap, but in general the shortcomings are camouflaged by the plot. I'd recommend this book for readers aged 11+.