The Fourth Horseman

Very topically, Thompson has written a story about the use of animals in genetic experiments. In this case, Laurie’s Dad has to create a virus that will target grey squirrels but not harm reds. Laurie and her brother become suspicious, however, of the true motive of the mysterious Mr Davenport, who is in charge of the project, and of the large financial reward that will be paid when it is completed. Their suspicions are fuelled by strange sightings of three mysterious horses, their riders carrying a bow and a balance, and by the civil unrest in a Muslim country with growing fundamentalism.

As the three horsemen are joined by the fourth, they realise the apocalyptic portent of what they have seen, and a sinister political reason for Mr Davenport’s urgency.

Thompson always writes well and her complex ideas are well expressed here. There are echoes of her earlier work, The Missing Link trilogy, without the overtly dystopic world created there. All the more chilling in some ways then, although her young audience could do with something to balance the cynicism of her political agenda. The characters are convincingly drawn and the growing menace of the gathering horsemen is particularly effective.