The Other Side of Dawn is one of the most eagerly anticipated books of the year, as John Marsden finally brings his “Tomorrow, when the war began” series to its conclusion. The drama and conflict of an invaded and occupied Australia reaches its climax and the guerilla teenagers start counting the cost to their lives.

This is the seventh book of the series. This, arguably, could have been a few episodes too long, but there is no doubt about the whole series’ popularity, especially among teenage boys - one of the hardest groups to get reading.

Its immediate appeal is certainly in their terms. The central characters are teenagers living off their wits, with few adults around. They get to blow up bridges and trains and airfields in scenes just made for action videos.

But John Marsden has included much more, particularly to this final episode, as Ellie, Lee, Homer, Fi and the others must face the end of the war and try to pick up the pieces of a normal life. Prior to that there is still plenty of violent action but, unlike some of the earlier episodes, there are direct and unpleasant consequences for the group.

Elements of war such as wounds and death, capture, concentration camps and ethnic cleansing make Ellie (the narrator), in particular, consider their role in causing such pain and destruction to others. Smaller children and families re-emerge as factors in their personal decisions as the end of the war is reached, and reconstruction begins.

The ending is certainly not “happy ever after” with everything returning to its pre-war simplicity. It is realistic and uncertain, with plenty of questions raised by Ellie and left to the reader to answer. Marsden, very neatly, moves the mental picture from the action video to the nightly news.

This change of focus, however, does highlight several “real” aspects of the story that jar a little. We still are no wiser to the identity of the invaders though Marsden’s dedication to “the people of Tibet, East Timor and West Papua (Irian Jaya)” suggests some possibilities. The United Nations is mentioned as working to resolve the conflict but, throughout the series, New Zealand is the only ally seen to be involved and they eventually invade Australia too. Given the modern military hardware we have seen in the Gulf War, Kosovo, Afghanistan and so on, this war is rather low tech, on a person to person basis. No cruise missiles or laser bombs, infrared tracking or satellite surveillance - just guns and plastic explosive.

But it is a story, after all, not a documentary. The “Pow! Zap!” personal action enables the questions of “Why?” and “What’s the point?” to be asked and the reader to make the comparisons between excitement and destruction.

This is the book’s strength - its questioning, and demanding that the reader consider those questions. While John Marsden might be criticised for spreading the gung-ho action out too much over the previous six episodes, The Other Side of Dawn brings it all back to a personal, individual level.

Ellie, whose voice has told the story all the way, survives but she is not the same character who we met right back at the start. She has suffered and changed and grown, just as the teenagers who first bought Tomorrow, When the War Began have grown and are heading into their twenties.

This whole series is a landmark in Australian publishing. It has achieved unprecedented sales and publicity and has kept many teenagers reading when they would have been expected to drift away. John Marsden has achieved a great deal through the series and The Other Side of Dawn typifies that achievement and his declared aims as a writer. It has kept his audience reading, it has raised important questions about our society and lives, and it has made us think. 

Titles in the Tomorrow series:
Tomorrow, when thew war began
The dead of the night
The third day, the frost
Darkness, be my friend
Burning for revenge
The night is for hunting
The other side of dawn
and continuing with ...
The Ellie Chronicles (Pan Macmillan, 2003)

Review by David Beagley

© 1999 David Beagley