Struck

The blurb on the back cover of Struck confidently announces that ‘The interest in dystopia is set to explode in 2012’ – a somewhat alarming prospect which is reinforced throughout the 376 pages of this novel. Los Angeles has been largely destroyed by an earthquake and what remains is threatened by the promise of a cataclysmic storm which will crack the mystical Sixth Seal and thus bring about the end of the world.

Mia discovers that she can avert this disaster by using her mysterious and powerful ability to absorb lightning and channel it away from destruction. She is sought by two warring factions, the Seekers and The Followers – the former led by Rance Ridley Prophet, the self-styled latter-day Christ, offering salvation to all who submit to his mind manipulation. As she tries to decide who she should support, the enigmatic and impossibly handsome Jeremy snares her heart.

Mia’s self-discovery and heightened awareness lead her down wildly contradictory paths but the repetitive nature of the narrative strips it of much of its power. Add to this a certain predictability of plot and you are left with an over-long rendition of a well-worn theme.