The Phoenix Files is a young adult science fiction adventure series written by Australian author Chris Morphew.
The series consists of six books: Arrival, Contact, Mutation, Underground, Fallout and Doomsday, the latest being released in Australia on 1 June 2013.
[1] The books have been well received by critics and gained praise from authors including Michael Grant[2] and have sold thousands of copies in Australia.
[4] As of 2016 the books are published in three volumes: Man in the Shadows, Blood in the Ashes and Life in the Flames.
[5] Arrival is told from Luke Hunter's point of view, as he and his recently divorced mother, Emily, move into Phoenix, a town run by the hugely powerful Shackleton Cooperative.
Further information reveals the true capacity of what Tabitha is – a biological weapon which boils one's skin clean off, and they find out there is a tunnel network connecting all of Phoenix's major facilities.
Jordan is receiving visions of the past and future, Peter is spiraling out-of-control more than ever, her younger sister is reading minds, her mum's baby is growing rapidly inside and it will be due August 13 – the same day Tabitha will eradicate the world outside, and she notices the rest of Phoenix's citizens are becoming super-powered, except for Luke.
Soon after, when all of Phoenix has to take a blood test, Peter severely bashes Mr Hanger, one of the high school's most despised teachers.
Luke and Jordan set out to rescue him but it backfires when they find an abandoned complex and suppressors are activated.
They believe Luke, Peter and Jordan are working for the Cooperative and demand to know the location of Tobias, whom they have never heard of.
They are working to end Tabitha as Luke, Jordan and Peter are, but they still do not give each other their complete trust, despite that they deactivate their suppressors.
A new security camera network is set up in Phoenix making it harder for the group to enter the town.
The day after the rescue mission, it is revealed that the Shackleton Building has become a concentration camp for Phoenix's citizens and Peter's parents and Jordan's dad were caught.
Luke, Jordan, Reeve, and a couple others leave to find Tobias in the Shackleton building, but can't.
The book ends with an electrified grid stretching out to the wall, completing the final lock-down procedures.
Peter has escaped, Bill has disappeared, and Co-operative Security are moments away from storming the Vattel Complex.
And to be able to engage with a story that lets that loom large and gives them characters they can identify with, that are grappling these things and emerging as heroes in these contexts — I wonder whether there's something in that.
HorrorScope described Arrival as "a well-written thriller sure to intrigue readers and keep them turning pages then waiting impatiently for the next installment".