Autumn: The City [Hardcover]

Taking into account how much I enjoyed David Moody's Autumn, a post-apocalyptic tale of the walking dead in the UK, I was genuinely concerned about whether its sequel Autumn: The City, would measure up, especially in the knowledge that after this sequel, there are still a number of titles remaining in the Autumn series...

Although a sequel, Autumn: The City runs almost concurrently to the timeline of Autumn and introduces us to further characters within the universe that Moody has created as well as some familiar survivors from the first instalment in the series. This is not to say that this work is simply a recap or indeed treading old ground; in fact, I would suggest that Autumn: The City is quite different to its predecessor. This difference is not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination and to my mind, is akin to the difference between Ridley Scott's Alien and James Cameron's Aliens; the former being a claustrophobic, atmospheric horror and the latter being an action horror of superior calibre. That is not to say that Autumn: The City can simply be pigeon-holed as such.

Again, Moody is in no rush to tell his story; and this addition to his Autumn universe sees a larger group and how they are coping with the undead menace baying at their doors...

As in Autumn, Moody's undead continue to evolve much to the alarm of his protagonists. Along with their evolution comes the inevitable degradation of their physical state, which the author narrates incredibly effectively with his compelling prose which is quite graphic when describing decaying, diseased flesh. As opposed to Autumn, Moody does not spend as much time in The City dealing with the immediate aftermath of the unspecified pandemic and moves his story along from the time period occupied by Autumn.

I always try to be as objective as possible when considering books and an issue that I always try and deal with when tackling a sequel is whether or not the book can stand alone. This is a difficult matter with Autumn: The City, since it occupies the same timeline as its predecessor and so, yes, I would suggest that Autumn: The City, can be read without any knowledge of Autumn. However, I am of the opinion that the reader's experience will only be enhanced by reading the novels in the sequence in which the author intended. I have read books out of turn before and regretted it. Learn from my mistakes!

Like its predecessor, Autumn: The City is a short, punchy read at sub 300 pages; is very well-written and it will take you no time at all to consume; and with the knowledge that there are further books in the Autumn series to read, Autumn: The City admirably advances Moody's tale of post-apocalyptica and the walking dead and has an ending left wide-open for the next title in the series.

I read the first Autumn book while on holiday last year at Centreparcs, a deserted woodland that was just about the perfect place to read it. I enjoyed it, perhaps not as much as I was hoping, but the way that David Moody told a bleak and eerie tale struck a chord with me and I knew that I would have to get around to the sequel when it came out. Well, out it came in January and here I am a few months down the line finally getting around to it! I may not have been in the same surrounding to read Autumn: The City, but not only did I enjoy it more than the first book, I found that it gave me more chills too. Not good while reading it during the early hours of the morning at home, alone...

Autumn: The City starts in much the same way as the first book, Autumn, although a short prologue shows that at least some people knew that it was coming as an army unit is ordered to move to a secure bunker, just making it inside in time. From there we follow a handful of people as others around them die suddenly and the world changes in an instant, with very few surviving the event. We see these individuals dealing with life in the aftermath, trying to survive and seek out other survivors, and finally grouping together at the local university. But the cadavers have changed and are no longer simply stumbling around, the new aggression they show can mean nothing good for the survivors. And then there is the army, coming out from its bunker to see what state the world is in, and finding it worse than even they imagined.

Unlike the first novel Moody doesn't take his time in exploring the death event and the immediate aftermath, from mass death to the re-animation of the corpses, in too great detail, but instead does all of this in a smoother and quicker fashion. We still get a good look at how these people are trying to cope and survive, but it isn't a day-by-day thing, more of a general look at their lives over a longer period - it works much better as it doesn't bog the story down in mundane and boring events. This has a knock-on effect to the story as Moody has covered the time period of the first novel by the time we reach the half-way point, and then we get into new and more interesting territory, seeing how the behaviour of the dead changes as more time passes. It also allows him to follow up on the fates of Michael and Emma from the first book who make a welcome return to the story, keeping that story thread going.

Other than these two returning characters there are quite a few more to follow. With a few dozen holed up at the university Moody is able to select those that we follow, and each brings something different to the story. Moody uses the characters to great effect in Autumn: The City, telling the story through their eyes and their reactions as things start to changed. It works well, but I didn't find that any particular character stood out for me, rather they all had interesting stories and acted in a way I would expect. I was slightly annoyed by the two young men who wanted to find a pub/club and have one final night on the town, but when the end of the world comes I'm sure there will be people like that about.

Story-wise there really isn't too much I could tell you that you won't have seen from lots of zombie movies that are out there, but Moody has a talent for making you feel part of events. The descriptions he uses can be chilling and eerie, completely vivid and all too real. The novel does end rather abruptly, and it's one of the main issues I had with it. Autumn was fairly self-contained, but this sequel is clearly written as part of a larger story, one I'm very much looking forward to reading.

Autumn: The City is a step up from the first book and a novel I very much enjoyed. While many zombie stories tend to follow a similar path David Moody has shown that just because the idea is old it doesn't mean it can't be re-told, and in this case with great success!

After reading 'Autumn' i just couldn't wait for the 2nd installment..and i wasn't disappointed. I read this book within a day. It was fast paced, brilliant characters and made you feel you were actually there. I like the way the undead don't eat people, makes a change! Only flaw was that the book wasn't long enough for me.
Bring on book 3!!!!!