man as he prepares to rape Fi but cannot bring themselves to kill him when they discover that he is a teenager like themselves. Lee arrives and stabs the soldier in the heart, disturbing the others. When they return to Hell to find Chris absent and then head into Wirrawee. The group take refuge in Robyn's music teacher's house, where Ellie and Lee consummate their relationship for the first time. They move on to a church, where they keep watch over some of the early colonists. Here they discover that Major Harvey, presumed dead in the ambush, is now working directly with the enemy. Reeling from this discovery, they arrange to blow up several of the houses. The attack is successful, but on their way back to Hell they see an overturned vehicle near a dam; further investigation reveals that Chris had overturned the car and died weeks ago. The book ends where it begins, with the group depressed and with low morale. The story continues in The Third Day, the Frost. Reception The book was well received and was recognised as a notable book by The Children’s Book Council of Australia in 1995. It also made Canberra’s own outstanding list in 1998. Film adaptation In December 2010, The Age reported that The Dead of Night had been green-lit for production, which would commence once the script by Stuart Beattie was completed, with release scheduled for 2012. Filming was due to commence in September 2011. On 20 November 2011, Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported that the sequel had apparently been cancelled. Lincoln Lewis stated "At this stage it doesn't look like it's going to go ahead." References Australian young adult novels 1994 Australian novels Tomorrow series Invasion literature Pan Books books Novels set in Australia Novels by John Marsden COOL Award-winning works CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award Notable Books First-person narrative novels