Mortal Chaos: Deep Oblivion (Paperback)

This is a truly exceptional novel with a compelling concept

An Australian Painted Lady butterfly flaps its wings. This may seem insignificant, but, in Deep Oblivion, the second book in the Mortal Chaos series, it sets in motion a whole chain of events. These encompass everything from a falling pane of glass, an attack on an orphanage and, finally, a major catastrophe. The book is made up of ultra-short chapters, each following the story of one of many, seemingly unconnected, characters - like Gwen, a kidnapped missionary and Hannah, a homeless girl on the run.

At first, the book seems very 'chaotic', but gradually the stories begin to create a complex pattern. The final chapter reflects the first, just as you find symmetry in a butterfly's wings. This is an truly exceptional novel with a compelling concept and very well written - an unusual and brilliant combination. It really captured my imagination and I can't wait to read the earlier book in the series! A well-deserved 5/5!

"A really exciting second book in a series"

There's something called the butterfly theory which you may have heard of. It says that when a butterfly flaps its wings, it can change things around the world by affecting things, which in turn affect other things. This book starts in Sydney with a butterfly trapped in a building, flapping its wings and annoying a man who hates butterflies. He tries to swat it but the window pane falls out, smashing to the ground below and killing a girl's dog. This sets off an incredible chain of events that ends up with loads of people dying, loads getting saved... and lots more happening too, including a scary motorbike chase with some angry cops. A really exciting second book in a series (but you don't have to have read book one).

"it was actually a really interesting and gripping book"

This book is written in lots of very short chapters; each through the eyes of different people, living across the globe. All of them are in some kind of mortal peril - in one way or another they are all connected by the fatal consequences of small every day mistakes. This isn't the kind of book that I would normally pick up because of the front cover design, however it was actually a really interesting and gripping book. The only reason I haven't rated this book 5 stars is that the beginning was very confusing and I had to keep on referring to the blurb to understand it. But once I got into it, it was amazing: I would definitely recommend this book to people who like exhilarating stories which make you really think.