THE BURIED ARK, James Bradley, Pan Macmillan, $14.99

"I've always been interested in the intersection of the natural world and the poetics of science and literature, the idea that there's another existence around us," says James Bradley to the claim that all his books are a weave of science and imagination. Sydney-based critic, editor and author of four highly acclaimed novels (as well as a novella and a collection of poetry), Bradley's latest book is the second in a trilogy and continues his fascination with humans and the evolving landscape. "Every time we fly or buy cheap clothes from overseas we contribute to much larger problems, just as climate change affects personally when fires or storms devastate our towns, or places we love are diminished by pollution or the disappearance of animals and birds," he points out.

The Buried Ark is the follow-up to his dystopian vision, The Silent Invasion. Ostensibly written for a YA audience, the series works equally well as crossover books that will appeal to any adult who appreciates tautly written, breakneck speed narratives and a strong, kick-ass female protagonist. But first a recap: the year is 2027 and for the past decade, all the world's living organisms are in danger of being infected by alien spores, in a process called The Change. Not a bacteria or a parasite, these spores insert themselves into the genes and reprogram them at cellular level. Changed specimens are remade, transformed into something new and in this post-apocalyptic world the afflicted are taken away and most likely terminated by quarantine. In Adelaide, 16-year-old Callie is forced to take control when her five-year-old half-sister Gracie shows the first signs of contamination (blank opaline expression and a translucent skin lit by phosphor).

The Buried Ark continues after Callie has taken Gracie to a safe area far north called The Zone but her sibling, absorbed into The Change, is lost to her, and once again Callie is on the run, in Queensland, after finding out a secret about her past that may well help eradicate these alien infections.