Afterlight - Alex Scarrow

Afterlight - Alex Scarrow

Genre: fiction
Rating: Excellent *****

Synopsis:
Follow up to the excellent Last Light, the novel is set 10 years after the oil crisis that effectively shut down the world.
Society has broken down and only small groups of survivors remain, fighting against disease and starvation, and the hoards of roaming thugs who kill and rape anyone for fun.
Jenny Sutherland heads a small group of survivors, fashioning a new way of life on a a series of decaying offshore oil-rigs, recycling water, growing food and fishing.
Yet there is unrest in the community, those who want to try to exist on the mainland again, unaware that dangers still exist.
For there is trouble coming, and once again it will be a fight for survival....

My thoughts:
A realistic look at what the world might be like if the oil does stop pumping.
A terrifying glimpse at how society breaks down, and a dog eat dog world comes into being.
Well written, with engaging characters, this book is not one for the squeamish, but definitely one to read!
You can read this novel alone, or read it after reading Last Light
A great thriller. Recommended.

A warning of what our lives may be like if we don't rethink and stop our reliance on oil consumption.
All hail renewable energy ....

Novels 2010: 75
Challeneges: Support your local Library reading challenge 2010, Part III of The End of the World Challenge.,

Far North by Marcel Theroux

Far North by Marcel Theroux

Genre: fiction - post-apocalypse
Rating: Very Good

Synopsis

In the Far North of Russia, after an unstated disaster has devastated the planet, Makepeace patrols the ruins of a dying city.
Once an official peacekeeper, now long since left without orders in this cold, vast isolated world.
Struggling to survive and starved of company, Makepeace find evidence of 'civilisation' somewhere beyond the hills.
Undertaking a grueling journey, what Makepeace discovers is not as hoped.
instead is an even harsher wold, forced labour camps, terrible conditions, and a mysterious 'zone' where old technology is thought to be the answer to all problems.

My Thoughts
A disturbing, moving novel which leaves you hoping that civilisation never comes to this.

The central question of the novel is 'What is it to be human?' - what makes life worth living for.
Loving written with a feel for the remote sub-arctic landscape.
If you can read this sort of fiction without becoming depressed, you will enjoy this novel.

fiction 2010 #57
Challenges: 100+ Books Reading Challenge 2010, Part III of The End of the World Challenge., Support your local Library reading challenge 2010, A to Z Challenge 2010,