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Review
""Refreshingly literate take on the post-apocalyptic struggle . . . Williams has proven he is up there with the heavyweights in horror literature." --"Horrorscope
Book Description
Surviving is only the beginning
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A post apocalyptic novel might have been the wrong thing to read on the verge of a swine flu pandemic, but anyway.
Richard Jane is an oil rig diver and he surfaces to find that during his dive, an apocalyptic event has occurred which has killed nearly everyone and destroyed the infrastructure. No cars, no electronics and not much sign of life. Jane has a young son in London and decides to travel to London from Scotland to see if he survived, this is obviously unlikely but it does give him a goal and a reason to survive.
This could so easily have fallen into the usual trap of marauding bad guy survivors but is more about a man's journey through the ruins of the UK. Yes there is the occasional bad guy and dark side to the journey, but this is, in essence, a pilgrimage through a world torn apart. As we read we assume that the likelihood of the son being alive is very low but we do understand that in the fire torn new world, Jane needs to cling to the hope of finding his lad.
The first half of the book deals with the walk to London and then on arrival we switch forward a few years to find out what London now looks like, how the survivors are coping and the dangers that now lurk on the London streets. A slight switch here as we see more horror and SF influencing the story, but still interesting and gripping as we see humanity not doing too well.
So far so good and it was looking like an enjoyable three star book, but then the last fifth let me down as the author ramps things up and lost me completely. I re-read the last bit a few times and either I am dense (quite possible) or the time invested in the book was let down by a poor ending that lacked clarity. A bit like when you watch a film and it is not resolved well in the final fifteen minutes and you are left unsatisfied. - Lots of potential but in the end I felt a little let down.
Richard Jane is an oil rig diver and he surfaces to find that during his dive, an apocalyptic event has occurred which has killed nearly everyone and destroyed the infrastructure. No cars, no electronics and not much sign of life. Jane has a young son in London and decides to travel to London from Scotland to see if he survived, this is obviously unlikely but it does give him a goal and a reason to survive.
This could so easily have fallen into the usual trap of marauding bad guy survivors but is more about a man's journey through the ruins of the UK. Yes there is the occasional bad guy and dark side to the journey, but this is, in essence, a pilgrimage through a world torn apart. As we read we assume that the likelihood of the son being alive is very low but we do understand that in the fire torn new world, Jane needs to cling to the hope of finding his lad.
The first half of the book deals with the walk to London and then on arrival we switch forward a few years to find out what London now looks like, how the survivors are coping and the dangers that now lurk on the London streets. A slight switch here as we see more horror and SF influencing the story, but still interesting and gripping as we see humanity not doing too well.
So far so good and it was looking like an enjoyable three star book, but then the last fifth let me down as the author ramps things up and lost me completely. I re-read the last bit a few times and either I am dense (quite possible) or the time invested in the book was let down by a poor ending that lacked clarity. A bit like when you watch a film and it is not resolved well in the final fifteen minutes and you are left unsatisfied. - Lots of potential but in the end I felt a little let down.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Richard Jane is a diver working on an off-shore oil platform in the North Sea when something happens and he loses contact with the surface. He finds that a terrible accident has occurred and that the whole crew is dead or dying, with everything burned. It becomes apparent that 'The Event' isn't restricted to the rig when he reaches the mainland.
The first half of the book concerns Jane's journey from near Aberdeen to London, where he hopes to find his young son alive. The author does a great job at portraying the desolation left behind (event if the effects of the 'fire' are somewhat inconsistent) and we really start to feel Jane's desperation that his son is OK. This part of the story is great, and a good example of a post-apocalyptic novel.
However... without spoiling things, the second half of the book gets a bit silly in my opinion. There is a fairly drastic change of pace and the story becomes more of a horror story. This would be fine in itself, but the two halves of the story don't really hang together.
On top of that, like others reviewers have said, I really didn't understand the ending. The last few pages felt like the author was late for something and just scribbled down the ending quickly, with little care, which I'm sure wasn't the case. I'm sure he understood what was going on, but I felt a bit let down.
In summary, not a bad book. There is a conclusion of a sort, but don't expect an amazing ending.
The first half of the book concerns Jane's journey from near Aberdeen to London, where he hopes to find his young son alive. The author does a great job at portraying the desolation left behind (event if the effects of the 'fire' are somewhat inconsistent) and we really start to feel Jane's desperation that his son is OK. This part of the story is great, and a good example of a post-apocalyptic novel.
However... without spoiling things, the second half of the book gets a bit silly in my opinion. There is a fairly drastic change of pace and the story becomes more of a horror story. This would be fine in itself, but the two halves of the story don't really hang together.
On top of that, like others reviewers have said, I really didn't understand the ending. The last few pages felt like the author was late for something and just scribbled down the ending quickly, with little care, which I'm sure wasn't the case. I'm sure he understood what was going on, but I felt a bit let down.
In summary, not a bad book. There is a conclusion of a sort, but don't expect an amazing ending.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Too dark and obscure
I liked the idea at the start which really made me want to read on and I kept reading in the hope of finding out what was going on but in the end I felt like I wished someone had... Read more
Published 28 days ago by M. Woodier
Very well written with good emotion
I love a good post apocolyptic story and was struggling to find one without the usual zombie fest spoiling what could be a thought provoking end of the world scenario. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Toughbook
dark and deliciously sinister
I really enjoyed this book, I have to admit that it is like two stories joined together, and I wasn't anticipating the second half of the book which is set 10 years later. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Ellen B. Smith
Bleak future!
I'm a big fan of the post apocalyptic genre. This is one of the bleakest ones I've read yet, there is a genuine hopelessness with the main character's quest to find his son. Read more
Published 11 months ago by John McAulay
Reasonable for the first 75%
This started off reasonably enough. It was enough to keep me out of trouble around the pool on holiday. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mudcow
Grim but ultimately rewarding
This is you. This is now. And your number is up.
For reasons that are too complicated to touch upon here I have long been a fan of apocalyptic and post apocalyptic... Read more
For reasons that are too complicated to touch upon here I have long been a fan of apocalyptic and post apocalyptic... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Pablo Cheesecake (The Eloquent Page)
Starts well, tails off badly
I agree with previous reviewers who have said that this book starts off brilliantly but is followed by a poor second half. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Telboy
Not as straightforward as it seems?
One of the most compelling books I have read for a while. I've been through a lot of science fiction and a lot of post-apocalyptic science fiction in the past few years, and this... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Dr. C. Lang
An unforgiving post-apocalyptic tale
Williams' One tells the story of an oil rig worker, Richard Jane, who is in the middle of some underwater welding when an event occurs which ravishes the world, leaving behind a... Read more
Published 23 months ago by J. Stewart
One
Whilst diver Richard Jane is below sea working on a Scottish oil rig, a devestating apocalyptic event sweeps across the land destroying all in its wake. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Jane Aland
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