Shadow Class by Liam Young

Seventy percent of the planet is in ruin, scorched beyond repair, decimated by successive global conflicts that resulted in a century of hell for its inhabitants.  Those who survived live their lives secure within colossal cities constructed from concrete, glass and steel – humanity’s final bastions against the apocalypse.  Yet behind the utopian veil of salvation, humanity – having learned nothing from its past mistakes – continues to erode itself, now targeting those eking out a meagre existence on the bottom rung of the social ladder: the Shadow Class.

Orphaned at a young age, Callum – a member of the Shadow Class – attempts to play the poor hand that life in the metropolis has dealt him, trying his best to navigate the hardships that relentlessly prey upon him whilst fighting a system that seeks to oppress his kind.  Whether he is bouncing between children’s homes, dealing with life on the streets or entanglements with gangs and Peacekeeper patrols, Callum is only ever one step away from the edge of the precipice.  Despite his bleak outlook, Callum still clings to hope, in the form of a young woman named Kaitlin.  Can she be the light that guides him from the shadows, or will she join Callum and become consumed by the darkness?

Shadow Class brings together Callum’s previously documented escapades from The Chronicles of Freylar in chronological order, along with additional, previously untold, tales of his exploits, ushering in the beginning of the series’ dystopian arc: Class Wars.