Peadar O'Guilin

The Call

For the last twenty-five years every teenager in Ireland has been subject to "the call" which takes them away to the land of the Sídhe, where they are hunted for twenty four hours (though only three minutes pass in this world)--handicapped by her twisted legs, Nessa Doherty knows that very few return alive, but she is determined to be one of them.

Kellie Davis

I found an article saying this was one of the best audio books out there. Picked it up with out even seeing what it was about. I 100% loved it! It's like Hunger Games meets Stranger Things. I loved the dark/creepy feel of the gray land. I loved that we got different points of view. Every aspect had me wanting more. I will for sure be picking up the next one.

nina 

Beatrix Haase

I really enjoyed it... would I say it was the best book ever... no. But I really enjoyed the characters. Not much the writing but the story was super creepy and cool.

xoxo,
Bebe

Alexa M

This was so creepy and thrilling and GOOD wow. The best book to finish on Halloween

Courtney Gendreau

Original review at: www.literarychaos.com 

Brutal, Gory, and Amazing! I absolutely loved this story! It is a perfect read for those looking for a deliciously twisted and chilling book. I would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone looking for a unique take on Fae or who are fans of Irish Folklore or Folklore in general. 

I knew very little going into this story. I had been on the search for a good Halloween read, and decided to rent the audiobook with little more than a recommendation. I honestly wasn't really sure what to expect, but MAN was this story one in a million. Everything about this story was so unique and so well crafted, I was completely blown away. All of the Fae stories have read and been romanticized, that is not the case for this story. The Sidhe (Fae of Irish Folklore) are vicious, brutal, and beyond twisted. They kill and maim for fun, and create the most grotesque of creatures. They were such a unique form of villain; I loved every minute of it. 

This story was mostly told from the point of view of the protagonist Nessa, but has random chapters told from those who have been called. For me, it was these chapters, that really set the book apart from anything else I have read. I became attached to many of the characters and loathed others, having the Calls dispersed through the book, and reading from the called individual's perspective being able to read their thoughts, emotions, and experiences, made this story go from a good one to an amazing one. There is just something about knowing that each of the characters could be called at any point in the book and that they may not survive kept me on the edge of my seat and completely enticed in the story.

Then there was the Call itself. The Grayland is so gruesome and terrifying, I was amazed by the author's ability to describe the twisted world and actions of the Sidhe. O'Guilin was so vivid in his description of the landscape, creatures, and Sidhe living in the Grayland that, for me as a reader, it often felt more like a movie than a book. I found it so easy to visualize the gloom and horror of the Grayland.

As, for characters, I have never wanted a particular character to die more than I did in this book. I absolutely hated Connor. I didn't just want him to die; I NEEDED him to die, preferably in a method that was slow and painful. It was clear from the first time he is introduced that he is arrogant, cruel, and worst of all, Self-Righteous. I hated when I had to listen to a chapter from his point of view because he made me so angry. In his mind, he is valid in his actions, which only served to anger me more.

While, I, passionately hated some of the characters I did really enjoy others. Namely Nessa and Megan. These two were such a pair. Megan was the perfect amount of sass and comic relief. She was so crass and a little rude, but she was also such a loyal and true friend. Her gruff demeanor and sharp tongue made for some of the most interesting dialogs. The book would have been incomplete without her. Then there was Nessa, I couldn't get enough of her character. Everyone dismissed her and just assumed that she would die, and yet she didn't let it get her down. She wanted to live and didn't stop fighting to survive. She was so fierce and so strong, and she was so resourceful. She never let her disability slow her down. She, as most people with disabilities do, always found ways to adapt. She was probably one of my favorite protagonist's perspectives to read from.

My Thoughts on the Audiobook:

If you have the ability to pick a format to read this book, my recommendation goes to the audiobook. The Call is narrated by Amy Shiels, and she did such an amazing job narrating the story. Her accent gives the characters so much life. She was honestly one of the best narrators I have listened to so far, she was so consistent in the voice and accent of the character, and she had such great inflection, it almost felt more like a movie than an audiobook.

The other nice thing about reading this book via audiobook is that you as a reader do not have to worry about pronunciations. This book is chock full of hard to pronounce words like Sidhe and the character named Aiofe. By listening to the audiobook, I didn't have to worry about trying to figure out the correct way to pronounce these items.

Elisa Bieg

THIS BOOK. 

This book is FANTASTIC. It’s creepy, imaginative, intriguing, unputdownable.

It features a strong, brave, imperfect, completely relatable MC with physical disabilities. 

It’s inspiring, scary, gripping, horrifying, and will make you feel such a wide range of emotions, you might want to stock up on a full range of Bach Flower remedies.

And if you are an audiobook person (which until recently I really really wasn’t), this is THE BEST audiobook I have listened to, to date. The narrator is incredible, and the tension is REAL.

I’m taking off half a star because I found the romance a little unconvincing; but even then, it’s 4 1/2 STARS for me!

Read it, listen to it, get it in whatever form!
(Pssst — the audiobook is on Scribd 😉)

"A must-read for anyone who's been sleeping too well at night." --Danielle Vega, author of The Merciless "Creepy and absorbing . . . PERFECT for Game of Thrones fans." --Buzzfeed THREE MINUTES You wake up alone in a horrible land. A horn sounds. The Call has begun. TWO MINUTES The Sidhe are close. They're the most beautiful and terrible people you've ever seen. And they've seen you. ONE MINUTE Nessa will be Called soon. No one thinks she has any chance to survive. But she's determined to prove them wrong. TIME'S UP Could you survive the Call? A genre-changing blend of fantasy, horror, and folkore, The Call won't ever leave your mind from the moment you choose to answer it.

mevi

Imagine being stuck in Ireland, and teenagers randomly get the Call. The Call is where your transported to the Grey Land, where you must run or hide from the Sidhe and their abominations... or die. Only one out of ten kids survive; are you one of the lucky ones?

This was a short and easy read, but very interesting. Guilin must've had a lot of inspiration from Silent Hill, because this something you could see in one of their games / movies. You'll like this if you like horror, gore, and suspense. I would rate this 5 stars, if it weren't for the quick and abrupt ending. I wish the author spent more time on that.

My favorite character would have to be (view spoiler)[ obviously, Nessa. She has polio, but she never let that bring her down. Even when people called her a cripple, or pity her because 'she was going to die soon anyways'. She worked harder than all of her classmates, and her hard work proved in the end. (hide spoiler)]

Jonah Stevenson

Uhhh... 2.5

This book had the oddest pace I’ve read in a while, the ending was incredibly abrupt. The main character does have a zeal that kept me reading throughout.

Lauren Tabor

courtney garrison

This novel was so strange and creepy, it was one hell of a ride though. The writing, the mystery behind the other race and what happens when you are called, made for one hell of a thriller book. I don’t quite know if I will be able to put this review together well enough to describe how good and creepy this book is, but what the hell I’ll give it a shot.

You have this incredibly weird Alien race that has had a treaty forced on them by human race, but the aliens don’t want the treaty anymore. They want their Ireland back, they no longer want the hell that the pay have been banished too. They call upon each human between the ages of 10 to 20. 24 hours on the alien planet is 3 minutes in Ireland, and each child is forced to try and do there best to survive and make it back in one piece. See the aliens have abilities that they can use on humans to cause pain and agony. The can also reshape humans into what ever they want too.

The writing started out a bit slow, but quickly picked up. The way the author can keep you so interested you keep reading, but are so grossed out by the things happening was impressive. There were moments I didn’t want to read any further because I had an idea of what was gonna happen, but I wanted to know so bad that I kept going on.

The MC is disabled, she has a problem with her legs that makes it extremely difficult to walk. I don’t think the book ever said what it was, but it did say it was caused by her getting polo has a baby. Now I can’t speak on the rep, I think there were issues in some spots, but overall well done.

There are a few trigger warnings for this book. One being gruesome death, there are several different ways the characters die throughout this book, some being way more horrific than other so if that is something you can not read please skip this book. My second trigger warning deals with consent. There is a scene that involves two characters, one forcing himself on the other by kissing her and trying to touch her. It is stopped by a instructor, but if it is something that triggers you, skip this book.

lauren carla

there were so many moments while reading this where my mouth actually dropped open in shock lmaoo. I ship nessa and anto, very cute thank you. hated conor obviously. the reason i’m not rating it higher is because my mind would easily wander off while reading and I found myself wishing the book would finish a little faster 😅

Viry

I've been thinking about this book for a while now and I can't decide 3 or 4 stars so 3.5 it is!

Kelsey Holtaway

#fortnightfrights “book with a disabled character”

I liked this book even more the second time around. The prose is lovely, the world building is satisfying, and it’s super weird and fucked up.

Jawahir M

Short Summary: Gritty, sadistic, and not for the sensitive hearts, this dystopian fantasy reality is a page turner with a compelling story that would be even better with greater writing style.

Score: 4/5

The story presents itself in a near future dystopian setting with a fantastical element to it, it's a bit of the pessimistic and dreary features of 1984 mixed with gory warfare of The Hunger Games and plastered with the poisonous beauty classified with fae in The Cruel Prince. You follow the main protagonist Nessa as she and the other teens her age prep themselves for "The Call". "The Call" usually comes for younger adults (14-17 year olds) where they are magically transported to the fairy lands in which its called "The Grey Land". The Grey Land is a miserable lifeless place with unseen horrors lurking everywhere, though back on Earth the teen might be gone for just 3 minutes and 40 seconds but it equals to hours back in The Grey Land. Most don't come back, very few survive and those who do remain intact mentally after are even fewer. Those who come back provide valuable info on the fairies (Called "Sídhe") and their world,in order to better prep the kids for "The Call" and to ultimately save "The Nation". 

I would say everything was complete in regards to this book. The only let down for me was the writing style, it didn't suit me to be honest but the story was so intriguing that I ultimately did not let it irk me for long because I just wanted to know what the hell is happening and if my girl Nessa is going to survive this. I have never read a book where the main protagonist has polio and so that was really awesome of the writer to include such a character and more importantly to portray her as a heroic figure. I love how grimy and gory the author portrayed the Sídhe, to often now the fashion is that they are these "deadly gorgeous and beautiful flawless immortal beings" who woo and romance naive humans. So it was quite refreshing for them to be portrayed as horrific and disgusting monsters.

Even though there is a second installment to this I wouldn't read it, because the end to this was perfectly done.

Do I recommend? Yes, even though the writing style might put you off at the beginning but the story is too intriguing.

Melea Mullican

Adolescents fears The Call. Everyone left behind dreads those 3 minutes and 4 seconds. The survivors sometimes wish they never had. Ever since the fae were banished, the call each adolescent to keep them occupied while in The Gray land, and occupied is putting it VERY mildly...

This book was a good spooky October read. I could truly appreciate the imagination and creativity it took to write this book; no matter how morbid that might be. I liked Nessa and her story is inspiring. Other than a true appreciation, this book fell a little flat for me.

Part of that is due to the sheer amount going on. I don't mind a complicated story with a lot of details, but this story seemed to do it in a very confusing way. There were a lot of characters with roles that were not entirely beneficial to the story making it more confusing. I listened to this, and that could have contributed to the confusion. The narrator was great, but the accents can throw your understanding of dialogue from time to time.

Overall, I enjoyed this, and I recommend it to someone who wants a story with imaginative horror thrown in.

Kate

3.75* The whole time reading this I couldn't stop thinking that this book is perfect for fans of Stranger Things. I recently watched and loved the show and this gave me major Stranger Things vibes. It was eerie and not afraid to be a little disturbing and push boundaries. It was definitely a fun read! I did find the ending slightly anticlimactic and I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style (which I eventually got used to and it didn't take away from the enjoyment of the story.) The Call was a twisted, creepy read and a great book to read around Halloween!!

deacon

Christine Bruce

danakim

Paula Plaza Ponte 

menna shaaban

Peadar Ó Guilin

What if you only had three minutes to save your life and the clock is already counting down? Three minutes: you wake up alone in a horrible land. A horn sounds. You realize you've been Called. Two minutes: they're getting closer and despite all your training you're exhausted, you can't see anywhere to hide. One minute: you're glad you can run. Nessa can't, her polio-twisted legs mean she'll never survive her Call, will she? Suddenly, a hand grabs your wrist and it's more painful than anything you have ever experienced before in your life..... Time's up. Could you survive The Call?

Hannah Swithinbank

3 minutes and 4 seconds. The length of time every teenager is 'Called', from the moment they vanish to the moment they reappear. 9 out of 10 children return dead. Even the survivors are changed. The nation must survive. Nessa, Megan and Anto are at a training school - to give them some chance to fight back. Their enemy is brutal and unforgiving. But Nessa is determined to come back alive. Determined to prove that her polio-twisted legs won't get her killed. But her enemies don't just live in the Grey Land. There are people closer to home who will go to any length to see her, and the nation, fail...

The Call

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