by Frank Tayell

 

This is the second of the Surviving the Evacuation series of zombie books by Frank Tayell. I'm not generally a fan of zombie stories, but the first one, London, was so good I decided to try this one and see how far I end up going. The writing is well above average and keeps my interest so that the subject matter becomes background to a well-told story.

 

The characterisation of the main character, Bill, holds up well and a lot of new personalities enter the story. They are distinct and believable, as are the details of the plot, as long as you can believe in zombies. The writing is, overall, excellent.

 

The only thing I would complain about in this one is the ending. Like too many series, it was more like the end of a chapter than the end of the book. I prefer series where each one comes to a definite conclusion. As it happens I do have the next book so I will continue, perhaps next year. After that we'll see. As I said, zombies are not my favourite subject. I would certainly read something else by this author.

 

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle This is the first book I have read by Patton Oswalt.  Overall a pretty good book. The book reads like part-memoir, part-stand up comedy. Sometimes it works better than at others, but for the most part it's a funny book. It's a bit disjointed and sporadic, but it works. There are weird sections like the comedic wine list or the analysis of hobo songs. It's a very unique and creative collection of things.  I did feel a bit gypped listening to the audiobook since one full chapter was written in the form of a graphic novel. Yes, there's a PDF somewhere in the world, but I checked this book out of the library so I guess I'm out of luck there. Still, it's a cool idea to include a graphic chapter.  Good book, fun read.

Alright, there is a lot going on in this little piece of poison dripping, mind-fuck of a story, and I don't know that I'm up to the task.

 

First of all, because it's the immediate, I call bullshit on that end (I'm talking of the 21th chapter that was cut-out of the USA version; if you've not read it, this paragraph will make little sense). I read the author's introduction and explanation, and I more or less agree that our empathy and sympathy tends to grow as we mature (and we are more or less savages as kids and teens), but having read the book, I don't believe this level of inner cruelty and utter disregard for other people, or the length it was self-indulged and brought out onto the world can be called "a folly of youth" and hand-waived like that. I do not believe that level of monstrosity is something that can be redeemed, worked out, grow bored out of, and the person just go on to be some well adjusted adult.

 

I also do not know what is to be done with such a person to be honest, even if my knee-jerk reaction if I was the victim would be to kill them. Brain-washing into effectively loosing their free will does not seem to be the answer though.

 

Next: There is a very strong undercurrent of the battle of the generations going on here. The way money is treated, those articles in the diary, and the mention of day hour and night ours, and whom the street belongs to, and even, who has the power in the first part vs. the second, and what it consist on.

 

Actually, the three parts are distillate poison on abuse of power: young hooligans for first, then the police and other punishing/correctional institutions for second, politicians in the third. Everyone screws everyone over, and in the end I hated the lot, little Alex, and his little followers, and the police, and the jailers, and the priests, and the doctors, and the politicians, and the social fighters, and even his victims.

 

Shit, I wouldn't recommend this one, even if I found it oddly compelling *shudder*. It is interesting, and effective, but a vicious way to provoke thought, maybe unnecessarily.

 

Done. Onto "I am Pusheen the Cat", ice-cream and a helping of crack fics for the soul.

Welcome to the Wasteland: Poems - P.J. Y... Wow...
This collection of poetry is just stunning; the eloquence and imagery attained by the author is amazing and intense. The poems in this collection sometimes made me think, others made me FEEL and a few made me want to cry. Having written some poetry in my younger years (not that well mind you) I know a tiny bit of what it takes to create it. The author really impressed me with his ability to say so much with so few words!

My favorites (the poems that felt like me or were particularly evocative):

solitude
honeybee
The Transmutation of Pragma
geiger counter
sequoia sempervirens
Quantum Chemistry
the resurrection of stars

This is free on Kindle Unlimited and onbly $1.55 to buy!