The Darkness After: A Review

Scott B.Williams' The Darkness After is an apocalyptic novel set mostly in rural Mississippi near Hattiesburg, MS.  Two strangers, a teenage boy and a young lady are trying to get back to their loved ones after a solar storm has knocked out all power and electronics in (at least) the western hemisphere. The novel takes place within roughly the same setting as his earlier novel, The Pulse, but the two storylines are completely separate.

Since we have already covered the author's bio earlier, we will just do a quick recap. Scott B. Williams is an outdoorsman writer who has turned to the survivalist/prepping niche.  His recent works include "how-to's" on Bugging Out, and Survivalism.

 

The novel starts a few days after a relatively brief, but large solar flare has wiped out everyone's electronics and automobiles.  The amount of energy involved in a Solar Flare is much larger than the much ballyhooed EMP strike, so this level of damage is a little more likely, even if the event itself can't be said to be a particularly common one.  The author towards the end of the story, brings up the idea that there may be parts of the world that were not effected by the storm, as they would be on the opposite side of the globe, an odd idea since the big recorded storm of 1859 took place over 5 days and thus would have plenty of time to get both sides of our spinning globe. 

 

In any case we start of with a very young looking 18 year old trying to get back to Hattiesburg, MS where her one year old daughter and fiancée are at.  A 16 years old boy, who lives somewhat in that direction is trying to get home to protect his younger sister.  The boy is dressed in hunting cameo and has a bow, the girl has a knife.  Both know how to use their weapons, and come pretty close to Navy SEAL like proficiency in combat.   After the boy helps the young lady to survive an attack by three rapists, they join forces and continue along their way. 

 

Since the world is already a few days into the power outage, the bad guys are out in full force.  If you had to make up a random encounter chart (in a Dungeons & Dragons sort of fashion), all encounters would be hostile in some fashion and half the encounters would be rapists.  It is a little overblown, but makes for a lot of excitement.  Given the kids propensity for traveling along pipeline right of ways, and creek beds, the story likely should just be that they trudge on to where they are going and meet up with their loved ones.  But lets face it, that would be a rather boring book, so we get a number of pitched battles where the bad guys are plausibly amateurish, but the kids are not.

 

Did I like the book.  Sure, it was fun.  It is not bogged down by excessive survivalist advice, although it does a reasonable job of highlighting some potential situations.  It continues the inland waterway boating theme of the first novel.  Although religion is not a discussed topic, and not much emphasized, the author rather plausibly has at least some folks rallying around their church for mutual support and protection, and there isn't the usual end of the world cultist types floating around.  It is very quick entertaining read.

 

We now come to our two descriptive (not qualitative) ratings: 1 to 7 with 4 the mid-point and 7 high. Realism does not include the cause of the collapse or apocalypse, but is otherwise an assessment of how close to today's world is the setting. Could you imagine your friends, or families living through the situation. Readability is not literary merits, but literally how quick and painless of a read.

 

The novel is set in a modern setting with a realistic concern for supplies, and appropriate skill sets.  If the kids are outliers in their skill sets, and the adventures a little too exciting, you could plausibly just say that they were cursed (in the Chinese sense) to lead interesting lives.  Realism is a seven.

 

I already noted that its 284 pages is a fast two sitting read.  Designed as a page turner, the book keeps moving, and doesn't really bog down at any point.  Readability is also a seven.

The Moving Snow: A Review

Ian Weekley's The Moving Snow is an icy apocalypse. Written in 1974, it is  set 15 years in the future: 1989.  The setting is a small hamlet outside of the small market town of Spilsby in Lincolnshire, and eventually moves to the Welsh Coast. Over the course of a few years, the climate gets progressively colder, and winters longer.

Ian Weekley (1933-) was born in Heathencote in rural Northamptonshire.  A school teacher, he  had a special interest in rural and environmental problems. As a side note, he is not the same person (different birthplace) as the military modeler/author of the same name. This may be his only published novel.

 

Lincolnshire, for those not familiar with the specifics of  United Kingdom geography is about halfway up the eastern coast of England on the way up toward Scotland.  I think the oil rig in Alex Scarrow's Afterlight was located off the coast here, and Tom Ward's more recent A Departure started in the area.  Obviously heavily "apocalized" territory, although in this case we are in the countryside with the hobbits country folk.  The novel later takes a journey to the more survivable Welsh coast, where our trepid band teams up with some remnants of a small fishing village.

 

The action is mostly about a small community of folks, not particularly well trained for roughing it, in the cold wilds, developing skills and a survival strategy for making a go of it.  There are a number of times when the main character lucks into some money which gives them the ability to buy some of their supplies, but it isn't all that overdone.  The story could have had them just buy some of the itmes before prices went through the roof.  With the Northern part of the country slowly being abandoned there is a lot of stuff that can be picked up for free.

 

What is interesting is that the author does not ignore the problems of violence, or disease in the now overcrowded Southern England, it just doesn't happen to our group.  It is a somewhat straightforward tale, except that unlike say the kids in our recently reviewed The Darkness After, who are cursed with interesting lives, our group has a bit of luck, and avoid the bad guys and diseases.  They are just a little too far out, and too remote, to make easy picking.  They stand watch, and don't ignore potential problems, its just that they don't happen.  It makes for a sort of sedate read.

 

The novel does read like a bit of a cosy, where the author obviously thinks there are advantages to being able to live a smaller, simpler life.  That having money to invest, and smooth the way, doesn't hurt.  The hobbits country folk settle down and live happily ever after.

 

Did I enjoy it?  Yes, it was a slow paced, but fun read.  Not a classic, but different enough, and well though out enough to keep up the interest level.  While we don't worry much about ice ages anymore, some of the survival thoughts aren't completely dependent on the frosty backdrop, and the characters methodical preparations and the author's scenario building are interesting.  So I would call it a qualified recommendation.

 

We now come to our two descriptive (not qualitative) ratings: 1 to 7 with 4 the mid-point and 7 high. Realism does not include the cause of the collapse or apocalypse, but is otherwise an assessment of how close to today's world is the setting. Could you imagine your friends, or families living through the situation. Readability is not literary merits, but literally how quick and painless of a read.

 

Is it realistic?  Mostly, the author's undeserved wealth is a little unrealistic, and could easily have been substituted for a little more advanced preparation.  Much of what they do wouldn't require massive wealth, if they had used a little more forethought.  There are realistic concerns about supplies.  We will call it a six.

 

Readability is mixed.  With very little action, almost none really, it is not a page turner, but it isn't overly complicated by lots of metaphysical wisdom or symbolism. It is a relatively quick read: a 5.

Rhubarb Culture: A Review

Doug Shear's Rhubarb Culture is a satirical book of survivalism in a slow economic collapse set in Miami Florida.  A young couple tries to earn enough cash to make the most of their survivalist compound (off stage) while working for a boss who is an insane business tycoon, and also dealing with the local suicide cult.

Doug Shear, a native of Miami, is a writer, and stand up comic. As he puts it, "Since the Great Recession I've tried to eke out a living by creating websites, growing a cactus and succulent nursery, teaching marketing, spying on my neighbors for the US Census Bureau and much more".

 

The story involves a young survivalist couple, the mechanizations of an insane business mogul who he comes to work for and Rhubarb. Rhubarb being the name of the very large lady who is the guru of the local, gone national through the media, suicide cult.  With much of the population unemployed and desperate, their activities are tolerated, possibly even condoned.  Rhubarb is an honest broker, who is channeling a spirit who is giving her the information with which she started her cult.

 

Without getting into too many details, the story is that of the young couple.  The "boyfriend" is a night watchman, posted near a bridge, who eventually starts saving people who try to take their life by jumping off the bridge.  One day he saves a beautiful young Cuban woman, and that is the start of a rather nice part the story.   He gets a job with the insane business mogul, and is sent out to spy on Rhubarb.  At some point the business man decides to kidnap Rhubarb so that he can interrogate her about her channeling abilities.  It just gets crazier from there.

 

As I noted above, it is all rather satirical.  The couples story is a nice one, and Rhubarb's rather sad. It is funny at points, if not an hysterical read.

 

Did I like it.  Yes, if not fanatically so.  It is just a nice, not all that serious, story.  It is not that clear what the purpose behind it is, other than maybe to say something like "love can conquer a lot."

 

We now come to our two descriptive (not qualitative) ratings: 1 to 7 with 4 the mid-point and 7 high. Realism does not include the cause of the collapse or apocalypse, but is otherwise an assessment of how close to today's world is the setting. Could you imagine your friends, or families living through the situation. Readability is not literary merits, but literally how quick and painless of a read.

 

It is set in the modern world.  But it is comic satire.  It is not attempting to build an actual world which people live in, but to poke fun at our current one.  No elves and fairies, but a lot of implausible activity.  The survivalism points mentioned seem more to be plot devices than serious attempts at planning.  We will call it a two.

 

Readability is straight forward.  Satire is not generally a straight read, as there is supposed to be implied meanings behind what is presented.  But much of the satire seems more to the point of having a laugh, rather than making too heavy of a point.  Not enough action for it to move too fast, so we will call it a five.

The Man Who Saved Two Notch: A Review

R.W. Ripley's The Man Who Saved Two Notch is a western style post-apocalyptic novel set in a desert badlands after 75 years of warfare have left society a collection of disheveled outposts.

R.W. (Richard W.) Ridley has won the Ippy (independent Publisher) Award for his YA zombie horror series The Oz Chronicles.  Per his various bios, he lives in Charleston, SC with a number of pets, and a beautiful Italian-American wife. He seems to have some sort of interest in Big Foot.

 

The story has more Western a feel than post-apocalyptic, but the p-a element is necessary to introduce some of the folks and themes that occur in the novel.

 

A small isolated village has found out that there are marauders coming to attack.  The decrepit, despotic, religious leadership decides to send off a twelve year old boy to find the semi-legendary gun for higher, Abel Decker.  The story is something of a questing tale, with the boy, and a young mute girl sent along to help him, running into all sorts of unusual folks along the way.  A number of the themes, and the language, is adult, although it is not pornographic in nature.  The story is told in a somewhat satirical fashion, much like the gritty cowboy movies of the 1970s.  Like the 1970s fare, it is not the cowboy good guys saving the good citizens, but that of a grim downtrodden anti-hero saving the corrupt and incompetent.  As is common for this type of story, a prostitute is one of the more sympathetic and helpful characters that they run into.

 

Did I like it?  It was o.k. but not stellar.  The author does a good job of imbuing the various actors on the stage with a certain amount of personality, often with only a few lines.  However, the satirical-comic, very over the top tone kept me from taking the fate of the two most sympathetic characters (the boy and the girl) very seriously.  There just wasn't enough suspension of disbelief to make it work.  So I will call it a very limited recommendation. 

 

We now come to our two descriptive (not qualitative) ratings: 1 to 7 with 4 the mid-point and 7 high. Realism does not include the cause of the collapse or apocalypse, but is otherwise an assessment of how close to today's world is the setting. Could you imagine your friends, or families living through the situation. Readability is not literary merits, but literally how quick and painless of a read.

 

The novel talks about realistic issues, but the portrayal is not particularly realistic.  It is set far enough into the future that anybody old enough to remember our world as it is today will be at least 80.  The goofiness just gets too much in the way: call it a three.

 

The novel is a fairly easy read.  There are a few twists and turns but the author does a good job of what is going on.  It is not a page turner, but does move along nicely: a five.