Lightning Tracks by A.A. Kinsela

Scrolling through the Aurealis Awards finalists for Best Young Adult Novel 2025,  I saw that Dark Sun Rising by A.A. Kinsela was listed and when looking further, saw that it was book 2 in the Song Gate series. Lightning tracks is the first in the series, a finalist in the Aurealis Awards in 2018, and has been republished in 2026 in print and e-book form. Although I had a huge pile of books to be read, some of them urgently needed at the public library, once I started Lightning tracks I could not put it down. It tells the story of Nick Williams, a 16-year-old boy whose only thought is keeping out of trouble at school. He arrives home to find his aunt assassinated and barely escapes with his life, as David, once his guardian, drags him through a song gate to a foreign land. Meanwhile Cal, another young man, has been enslaved by the Arai, and brought up to be an assassin. He cannot face the massacre of prisoners by his unit and escapes, joining the Bandala group of rebels. Nick is being hunted by the King who wants him dead and Cal’s skills may be the only thing that keeps him alive.

The Australian setting made Lightning tracks stand out for me. Vivid descriptions of eucalypt trees, water holes and forested hills provide a background to the adventures that Nick and Cal are thrust into. There is danger everywhere, and with war looming, the main characters’ loyalty is tested. Nick longs to return to his home through a song gate, but as he finds out his real identity, he must decide whether he will stay and defend his friends. Cal is seeking redemption for past misdeeds and longs to be part of a group that will give him freedom.

Lightning tracks is an exciting fantasy. It is easy to read with its likeable characters and suspenseful action and readers are sure to want to pick up Dark Sun Rising to see what Nick and Cal’s future holds.

Themes: Fantasy, Identity, Adventure, Action.

Pat Pledger