Year Zero - Jeff Long

An archaeological manhunt is raging in the holy land -- a hunt for the historical Jesus. For Nathan Lee Swift, a young American field researcher and expectant father, the line between noble discovery and the plunder of ruins is sacred -- until the night he crosses it. At a Roman landfill beneath the crucifixion grounds known as Golgotha, Nathan Lee yields to his professor's greed and turns common grave robber. His world -- his unborn daughter -- seems lost to him.

Hundreds of miles away, on the remote Greek island of Corfu, a wealthy collector pries open his latest black-market purchase -- a fourteen-inch holy relic containing a vial of blood dating back to the first century -- and unleashes a two-thousand-year-old plague. As the pandemic explodes from the Mediterranean basin and threatens to devour humankind, Nathan Lee gets a chance at redemption. He embarks on an Odyssean journey back to the United States to find his family.

Skirting the edges of the world, Nathan Lee's path finally leads him to New Mexico, where the greatest minds of science have converged at Los Alamos to find a vaccine. There Nathan Lee meets Miranda Abbot, a nineteen-year-old prodigy. As the cure continues to elude them, Miranda launches a desperate final strategy: the use of human lab rats cloned from the year zero. Nathan Lee, the thief of bones, comes face-to-face with men made from the very relics he looted, one of whom claims to be Jesus Christ, but may also be Patient Zero.

Combining the scientific precision of The Andromeda Strain with the intensity of classic adventure epics, Jeff Long takes readers on a riveting voyage through the rubble of earthquake-torn Jerusalem, the serenity of the high Himalayas, and the eerie sanctuary of Los Alamos. With Long's characteristic originality, Year Zero races against the apocalyptic clock, creating a maze of twists, astonishing atmosphere, and the clash of science and faith.

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I think I read a different book to the one that was advertised on the back cover blurb. The book sounded really interesting and a bit different to most other 'end of the world' scenarios I've read but mostly it's just not that gripping once you get into it. It's a steady story which kept me turning pages - but only to try and get to the tale that was promised.

The first few chapters are really promising but very quickly I lost interest in the main character, which isn't really what you're looking for in a book. My indifference to Nathan Lee (for some reason even his name grates on me) meant that I never really got involved with his struggles and/or experiences.
There are also a few characters we meet and I'm still not sure why or how they figure in the story. They're given fairly large chunks of storyline but if they were removed I can't say that it would take much away from the tale.

It's not the worst book I've ever read, but I'm a bit disappointed that the fabulous story I was looking forward to wasn't forthcoming. I think that if I wasn't misled into looking for a story that wasn't there, then I might have got involved more. Before I knew it I was at the end and left wondering if I'd missed a chapter or 3. The conclusion when it comes seems so rushed that I had to go back and re-read the last few chapters because I was sure I'd missed a crucial pivotal moment. I hadn't....and there wasn't...

It's a bit of a mish-mash of ideas going on actually and not all of it gel's when thrown together into a single story. The worst part is the the virus itself, which the book revolves around....it's just madness.

For fans of apocalyptic plague fiction though, give it a whirl....just don't expect what's written on the back cover.

It's not a book I'd go back to, but since it belongs to a genre that I'm very fond of, I'm glad I read it.

A Brief History Of The Dead - Kevin Brockmeier

'Remember me when I'm gone' just took on a whole new meaning ...Laura Byrd is in trouble. Three weeks ago she and her friends found themselves alone in one of the coldest, most remote places on earth. Her friends set out in search of help, and now Laura realises that they are not coming back. So she gathers her remaining supplies and sets out on an extraordinary journey. Meanwhile in another city, more and more people arrive every day. Each has a different story to tell, but their accounts have one thing in common -- it was their final journey. For this is the city of the dead. And the link between this city and Laura's journey lies at the heart of this remarkable novel. The Brief History of the Dead tells a magical story about our lives -- about our place in the world, our c

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The premise is wonderful and exactly the kind of story I usually love. I thought the beginning few chapters were great and I loved hearing all about the world of the departed (although not the part of 'how' they got there....that was a bit psychadelic).

I was probably more interested in the dead than I was in Laura Byrd, although even the chapters given over to Laura were interesting at the start, just not 'as' interesting. As chapters went by though, I was tempted to skim her sections because there's only so much I need to know about an abandoned woman in the Antarctic with only herself for company and little in the way of resources.

By three quarters of the way in I was finding the afterlife sections disappointing too. The religious zealot's chapters were too 'out there' for me to relate to and some of the other characters were neither hateful nor loveable...they were just filler.

But it's the ending that is the most dissatisfing. It was a letdown of an ending but by the time I'd reached it I was almost past caring what happened anyway.

It was a quick, short read that seemed to be far more 'wordy' than was necessary. It's also quite a deep book, considering it's size, but that's not really what I look for when
I read....I want to be entertained by a story and am not necessarily looking for a deeper meaning.

I Spied A Pale Horse - Mark Timlin

As the new millennium approaches, it is the end of the world for John in more senses than one, for his wife and child are dead, and society lies in ruins as a plague devastates the world. When a pregnant young girl enters his life, he finds he has more to fight for than he imagined. By the author of DEAD FLOWERS.

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I read a lot of Apocalyptic/Post Apocalypse books but for some reason this one has been flying below my radar and it was only by accident I found it. How have I missed this one for so long?! I'm so glad I chanced upon it because it's brilliant! I don't know why this doesn't have a bigger following and isn't better known and fans of this genre are missing out if they haven't read this because it's one of the better ones I've read lately.

One of the reasons I really got into it is because it's set in the UK, which is a nice change from the usual American setting. It makes for a more realistic read if I have half an idea of the places and practices that are written about. I think that the 'realism' is what really makes this book though, there's no supernatural reasoning for the end of the world, there's nobody with special powers or abilities, there are no mutations or freaks of nature...it's just a group of people trying to survive an event of apocalyptic proportions. It's great.

I loved the main character and his companions too. I hated the people they hated, I really liked the people they liked, I was scared for them when they were in danger and I was sad alongside them too. I'm amazed that such a small book could have packed so much into it. I was really sad when I reached the end. Although, the end makes me want to believe that somewhere in the future there will be another book to follow. I think it ends here though and I'll have to imagine what the future holds for the lead character, but I can hope....

I wish there were more books like this one. Good, old fashioned, last man standing type stories with no monsters or otherworldly beings or souped up mental powers. Just a person/people with just the clothes they stand up in, trying to rebuild a semblance of a life with what is left over from their old world. I love all that.

I definitely would recommend this! It's worth noting that while it's not littered with four letter words, there are a few choice one's used but if you're an adult it won't be any you've not heard before......Personally, I think that given the circumstances in the book, I'm surprised there's not more swearing, if I'm honest :D

One - Conrad Williams

This is the United Kingdom, but it's no country you know. No place you ever want to see, even in the howling, shuttered madness of your worst dreams. You survived. One man. You walk because you have to. You have no choice. At the end of this molten road, running along the spine of a burned, battered country, your little boy is either alive or dead. You have to know. You have to find an end to it all. One hope. The sky crawls with venomous cloud and burning red rain. The land is a scorched sprawl of rubble and corpses. Rats have risen from the depths to gorge on the carrion. A glittering dust coats everything and it hides a terrible secret. New horrors are taking root. You walk on. One chance.

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I'm not sure what to make of this.

I'm no stranger to apocalyptic fiction, and this one was a new path to venture down. It's gritty, unforgiving and brutal. What a nightmare.

But it isn't complete, I don't think. I understand that our 'hero' doesn't know what happened to cause the apocalypse, therefore we the reader don't know either, but there's more to it than that. We find out who the biggest threats are, and we're told how they came into being and what they're about. We're told what a struggle it is for humans to function and what makes things difficult to survive. We're even told how the rats have somehow thrived and taken on a new mantle of bold and fearless hive mentality. But there is a bit of cloak and dagger going on with the mysterious people with white scarfs and tattoo's and six fingers that seem to be lurking in the background. Who are they? Where did they come from? Are they good or bad? Why? What is their story? Should I pay them more attention. It's just doesn't add up.

At the conclusion I'm left wondering what actually happened. I sometimes like a bit of ambiguity at the end of a story, where you wonder if it will all come right in the end, beyond the final page - but with this tale I'm actually wondering what happened DURING the final pages. Was it the human survivors that ran to the rescue? Or the mysterious white scarfs? Or a combination? Seriously, if you know, please let me in on it because it's annoying the hell out of me.

So, in summary......I liked it enough to keep turning pages but I'd have liked it more if I wasn't asked to guess certain element's significance and role in the story.

Read it, it's quite good. But then come back and fill me in on all the missing bits. Please.

The Quiet Place - Richard Maynard

Set in the future, this story concerns a group of astronauts who return to Earth after what they believe is 60 years. They do in fact arrive centuries after they set off, to a land of savage hunting tribes whose only link with the lost culture is a crude version of former language.
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I wasn't sure how I'd like this, based on the fact that usually I find older novels dated and stale. I was happy to find that this wasn't the case on this occasion. Granted, the cover looks like an old B-Movie poster with it's colouring and skyline and naked woman, but get beyond that and you'll find an engaging read.

The concept is one that fascinates me - astronaughts travel into space for what is thought to be a short jaunt......due to a malfunction they return home to find that time hasn't elapsed on earth as it has for them in space and centuries have come and gone.....for reasons unknown the population has been all but wiped out and civilisation is no more.

We never really get to a point where we know exactly what has happened to the planet, but that's only because we learn/know things as they are learned/known by the heroes. They never really reach a point of understanding therefore neither do we. The closest they (we) come to knowing is mention of the time known as 'Nowell time' to the few remaining humans, and that's as good as it gets.

That's what makes it gripping though. It's the not knowing. It could be waiting to happen, just around the corner from where we are now. It's a grim, brutal world they have returned to and the skills and knowledge they have don't count for very much in this new world. It was automatic to put myself in their position and wonder how I would cope, or if I COULD cope. There are no clues to what happened, there is no-one alive that remembers the period from which the heroes came, time has ravaged almost everything that could help with finding answers and it's like an itch that can't be scratched. So they resign themselves to starting again. With nothing. They quickly learn that it's not going to be an easy ride.

The writing style is such that the pace seems slow, but before you know it the ending has crept up on you and you're wishing there was more.

The story stayed with me long after the last page was read because in this climate of global change, the world could be closer to 'the quiet place' than we realise and if the end of the world is anything like this story, we'd better 'Man-up' and prepare for the worst.

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse

Famine, death, war, and pestilence: the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, the harbingers of Armageddon - these are our guides through the Wastelands...From the Book of "Revelations to The Road Warrior"; from "A Canticle for Leibowitz to The Road", storytellers have long imagined the end of the world, weaving tales of catastrophe, chaos, and calamity. Gathering together the best post-apocalyptic literature of the last two decades from many of today's most renowned authors of speculative fiction, including George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card, Carol Emshwiller, Jonathan Lethem, Octavia E. Butler, and Stephen King, "Wastelands" explores the scientific, psychological, and philosophical questions of what it means to remain human in the wake of Armageddon.

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I'm not really a short story fan...... usually. I am however, a fan of post apocalyptic/end of the world/last man standing type fiction, so chose this book hoping to find a few good stories to tide me over until I found my next 'currently reading'.

The stories have been well selected and although they all follow a similar subject matter, they're all so different and even the very, very short stories stay with you after you've read them. It was interesting to find a few new takes on the genre and for this reason I'm glad I read 'Wastelands'. These stories have helped me find a few new branches to head along and broaden the subject for me.

This is the perfect book to have by your bedside, for those times when you only want to dip into a book....but be warned, even with the best intentions of "I'll just read one story to wind down before I drift off" can turn into ".....maybe I'll just read one more little story THEN I'll call it a night......or perhaps just a couple more....."

This is a great book for anyone familiar with the genre, but equally if you're new to this type of subject it's a gentle lead in to some of the best SF writers around.

What I really liked was the index at the end which gives further suggested reading lists. All books should come as standard with one of these. I had already found and devoured most of the further reading list given, but there were a couple that have now been added to my 'to be read' list.

Get this book whether you're familiar with the subject and looking for new paths or you're new to the subject and looking to explore it. There's something for everyone here.

I Am Legend - Richard Matheson

Robert Neville is the last living man on earth ... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman and child on the planet has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood. By day he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn. How long can one man survive like this?

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For anyone that hasn't seen the film or read the book........the book is nothing like the film.......and the film is nothing like the book.. Normally, when a film is based on a book I love the book so much more. But not this time. I have to say that I'm liking the film more this time.

The book is good, don't get me wrong. I was scared in parts. However, it's nothing like the film. If you're looking for similar, but better, read 'Salems Lot' by Stephen King.

The only thing the book and the film have in common is that they both involve a man who is probably one of the last few survivors after a virus strikes the population.

With both though, I'm left with lots of questions that aren't addressed and it's frustrating to be 'almost' at the point of knowing it all, but not quite having enough information. I read the book thinking that the unanswered questions from the film would be answered, but all it's done is given me more questions.