Saturday 30 October 2010

Bone Song by John Meaney.

This is a detective story set in a world where zombies and wraiths walk the streets and are taken for granted. The bones of the dead contain necrotic energy which is harvested and used much as we use electricity. Despite the setting this is not a horror story. It is very definitely a detective story and sadly not as good as it should have been. The plot is too loose and there are too many things not properly explained. A follow up might be better if Meaney focusses more on the plot and less on developing his unusual setting.

Saturday 23 October 2010

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

A Pulitzer prize winning post apocalyptic story about a man's struggle to keep his son alive. They trek Southwards towards the ocean in a world devastated (presumably) by nuclear winter. Plant and animal life appears to have been virtually wiped out and most of the remaining humans survive through cannibalism. The man and his son see themselves as the good guys and they struggle to scavenge what they need from the decaying remains of human civilisation. Strong stuff and a great read. Might annoy hard line sci fi purists I guess because the scenario in which humans survive while all else is destroyed is not particularly credible but that is not the point of this book.

Saturday 16 October 2010

The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman

Fantasy tale with a religious twist. A boy brought up in a brutal raining regime for priest soldiers in a never-ending religious war but one of the training order has different plans for this recruit. I enjoyed this a lot even though it has been generally panned by critics. It was heavily publicised as the next teen fiction blockbuster and is perhaps a victim of its own hype.