post apocalyptic

‘NO ROAD HOME Book One: Echoes’ by John Prescott – Review

Lee Hall 1 Comment

A quick-to-read and fun post-apocalyptic action adventure...

When ‘Raven’ wakes up with no memories his path is quickly revealed in the post-apocalyptic setting he must navigate to find answers. On that journey he befriends a robot, gets attacked by wild animals and finds difficulty in trusting anyone as slowly pieces together what happened to the world he now resides in.

With no recollection of the apocalyptic events that unfolded some years previous our hero travels this new but familiar world littered with reminders of those events. Abandoned places, vehicles and those left behind to fend for themselves. There were some fun moments throughout this short but action laced story where one man must try to find answers – from befriending a robot to joining a band of renegade soldiers who may or may not help the cause. John Prescott gives every character a fun level of charm that could easily be seen in a popular action film or video game but who is ‘Raven’? There are answers and even some interesting flashback moments or echoes, all enough to entice me to continue this journey for the next book soon.

Favourite Quote:

‘The most disturbing wrecks were the ones still containing human remains. Drivers leaned halfway out of their stalled vehicles. The unforgiving desert mummified them, forcing their dried mouths into unrelenting screams that echoed ten years on…’

4 Stars

‘Life of Maggot’ by Paul Jameson – Review

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A masterfully written vision and song about the end of time…

Paul Jameson delivers his unique writing style to tell a story laid out much like a song about the end of time. The language and style immediately pulls you in with its classic but modern feel over the many chapters and short verses that keep the pages turning.

Pace and rhythm take centre stage in the seemingly apocalyptic world this story takes place in. We see the events from the view of ‘Maggot’ who is just a boy while chaos unfolds. Just what does the end look like? The author does a fantastic job of capturing this demise through description and visionary language that stirs the imagination by walking readers to the door but we are then given room to fill in the rest – this is story telling in its finest form and alongside that unique style makes for a stand-out reading experience.

“The Monsters, their Respectable, the Commons, all drown in the storm that comes…”

While there are some darker tones there are also brighter moments because this journey is seen through the eyes of a boy who can perhaps see past that darkness. Even when there is Plague, War, Famine and Death there is still magic to be found and perhaps this is something adults forget. No matter what bad is happening there is always hope and ultimately there is some light to be found somewhere. Life of Maggot is a book I highly recommend and served as a wonderful reminder of how awesome reading can be.

5 Stars – Beautifully written and hands down one of the best books I have read in a long time.

‘Pestilence’ by Susie Kearley – Review

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A well-thought-out pacey tale of the times from a promising British author…

Pestilence is an extremely well thought out story with an accurate outlook on the events that lead to the collapse of society through a pandemic. For some and in recent times that might feel a little close to home but this book carves a new and different path while acting as a social commentary. The vessel in this scenario is the emergence of a fungus which is the resultant of a warmer climate – a reaction to how we treat this planet. Every major moment that unfolds is covered by Susie Kearley who tells this story with a unique overview style that keeps the events moving and homes in on the reactive details even if things move quickly – this pace works for the genre giving it a page turning flow.

The emergence of a wonder drug ultimately leads humanity on a downward path of addiction and excessive consumption with eventual side effects that become incurable. Its humanity not learning from the past on repeat over and over again as we see the medical system downplaying this emerging threat through lack of knowledge and then being overwhelmed. There’s a theme throughout of vicious cycles where the government or even society fails to take note of a very real threat all caused by our species.

“a toxic culture of unhealthy living, a reliance on pharmaceutical drugs rather than health living, destroying the planet and allowing the pathogenic fungus to thrive…”

The story is told via a wide array of characters and from the very beginning they live their way through a well imagined and ultimately important case study about our nature. We see the elite taking from the less fortunate and with force – more social themes that ring true and echo to our reality. This world we live in is fragile and our attitudes will be probably be our undoing. A threat emerges and those who survive it perhaps leave further generations doomed to live through something similar and that’s probably the most powerful message of all.

5 Stars – A rollercoaster of a read with a powerful message. Reviews left via Amazon, Goodreads and BookBub.