Sunday 3 January 2016

URAN FANTASY DYSTOPIAN NOVEL: The Dead Lands - Benjamin Percy

Release Date: 20/10/15
Publisher:  Hodder

SYNOPSIS:

Like Stephen King's The Stand before it, THE DEAD LANDS is an incredible novel set across the sprawling landscape of a nightmarish post-apocalyptic American West.

The world we know is gone, destroyed by a virus that wiped out nearly every human on the planet. Some few survivors built walled cities, fortresses to keep themselves safe from those the virus didn't kill... but did change.

Sanctuary. A citadel in the heart of the former United States of America. Hundreds of miles in every direction beyond its walls lies nothing but death and devastation. Everyone who lives in the safety Sanctuary provides knows that.

Until the day a stranger appears. She speaks of a green and fertile land far to the west, a land of promise and plenty, safe from the ruin the virus has wreaked. She has come to lead the survivors away from Sanctuary, to the promise of a new life without walls.

But those who follow her will discover that not everything she says is true.


REVIEW:

As most people know, books are a guilty pleasure for me. I love to break from the real world, to visit the imaginations of others and thoroughly enjoy being immersed in something different to the norm. What this title from Benjamin does is take the reader into a beautifully descriptive world that paints the picture vividly into their minds. The words are almost poetic and when you add that he’s prepared to introduce and murder people into the mix, works deliciously well to help keep this bleak future at the forefront of the reader’s attention.

The prose is sharp, the pace delightful and when added to solid storytelling made this a book that I had a hard time putting down. That’s not to say it’s not without its faults, the ending felt a bit too fast with a number of issues unresolved and whilst I can accept this in a title I do find it more than a little frustrating as I like clear points to pick up from for future outings.

All round a good read and one that I’m pleased I stayed with especially as it took a little time to get into the authors writing style. Cracking.


No comments: