|
I *really* liked this book. I guess I just like survivor tales. But most are fanciful, with heroes that know no fear, situations that don't seem real.
I loved the realism, or what I perceive as realistic scenarios, real reactions, realistic inclusions of equipment and how real knife fighting goes, dog packs, and physical symptoms of fear. Suter seemed a real person, not the typical male hero character in a book.
This book got my heart beating a few times, a page-turner, uh, page-button-pusher.
4.5 stars out of 5, only because my mind pictures of the scenes just came out dark, I don't know why. Does an ebook reader do that? Or the rainy climate of England? Or maybe just a realistic lack of post apocalypse color? Also a small thing, but I'd like the ending to have occurred a little bit later, maybe a page or two showing a later time, a month or more later. I guess I liked Suter and his flaws, and wanted to see him succeed in this community. (But that kind of ending might have been difficult to pull off without dragging down the story.) I'd round up to 5 if no half-points were allowed.
Good point about the fuel, though maybe diesel lasts longer than gasoline. Ammunition goes bad, though none seemed to in the story.
Good point about the sheepishness of the community in light of the killings and rapes. Maybe a slightly different development of Philip Davies' leadership, or adherence to some passive stricture of their religion could have made it more believable.
I noticed more than usual the differences between the King's English and American English:
My American dictionary failed on
- "louche" (as in louche subversiveness),
- "eidetic" (as in eidetic detail)
Some phrases such as "put paid to" (as in "A few more sturdy kicks put paid to enough of the panel to let him through") are new to me.
And "puissant" was not only abundant in the narrative, but was also spoken at least once by a character. Odd, as I don't think I've ever heard that word before.
|