The Traitors Review

Title: The Traitors

Author: Tom Becker

Release Date: 5^th April 2012

Publisher: Scholastic

Dear Adam Wilson,

Agents from the Dial are on their way to collect you. Make your farewells now, as you will not be seeing anyone you care about for a long time. Such are the consequences of treachery.

If you feel you are being unjustly treated, show someone this letter – a family member, perhaps, or a figure of authority. Tell them that you are innocent, and that you deserve their assistance.

But you won’t tell anyone, will you? You’re too guilty and ashamed. We know it and we’re coming for you.

Regards,

Mr Cooper

(CHIEF WARDER, THE DIAL)

Adam hears voices through the radio and receives a strange letter calling him ‘traitor’. But who are they and what exactly are they accusing him of? When they come for him and take him to the mysterious Dial, Adam struggles to believe what is happening. His life on the Dial is challenging and surreal, can he ever escape?

I didn’t know what to expect from this novel as the books in Tom Becker’s Darkside series were brilliant (if you haven’t read them already I definitely suggest giving them a go – they are pure genius!).  While the colourful array of characters with occasional unusual names didn’t disappoint, I felt that the imagination of the Dial was let down by the plot.

The Dial itself is a prison and Becker provides blueprints on the introductory pages which assist in creating the bigger picture of the novel. However, unlike with many novels which offer an illustration of the world which has been created, I found that I didn’t need to keep referring to the map to visualise the Dial, such is the skill of Becker’s description.  

The characters were believable and I really felt for Jessica and Adam, despite the fact that they are traitors. My favourite character had to be the Commandant as I found him really intriguing and he offered something unusual at the end of the tale.  Although I don’t think that this book will ever stop people from betraying one another (I don’t think that Becker intended it to do this either), I did find that it made me think about the consequences of betrayal - not that I’m concerned about being sent to the Dial or anything  :/

Becker’s Dial was an imaginative idea and the characters were multi-dimensional and interesting. I just felt that the narrative didn’t support the world Becker had created for it. Whereas the Darkside series utilised a brilliant world with a fantastic plot and colourful characters, The Traitors didn’t quite bring all the elements together as successfully as I expected from Becker.

3.5/5 Maybe too much imagination for the limits of the novel.