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 fiction. Novels about the end of the world have always sparked my imagination and over the years I have read a fair number. Some, like Swan Song by Robert McCammon, and Blood Crazy Simon Clark, I keep going back to again and again. I always look forward to reading a new example of the genre and so was happy when I finally managed to pick up a copy of One by Conrad Williams. The novel follows deep sea diver Richard Jane, in the immediate aftermath of an extinction level event as he tries to travel from the north of Scotland to London in order to find his son, Stanley.  The country’s infrastructure has been swept away in an instant, and rather than hours, it takes him weeks to get back home. Every step of the way Jane is presented with some fresh horror. Throughout the journey, Jane comes to realise the true scope of the tragedy that has occurred. Towns and cities are ruined, survivors are few and far between, and…

“Life sucks, then you die. Period. Unless you’re James Stark, a hitman in Hell for eleven years before escaping back up to Hell-on-earth L.A. – looking for revenge, absolution….love, maybe. But Hell’s not through with Stark. Heaven’s not either.” Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey is an urban fantasy featuring an unstoppable anti-hero wreaking his vengeance on the people who wronged him. Condemned to Hell by his peers, James Stark fights his way back out of the Pit and he wants payback. During the time he has been away, he has been forced to fight in the gladiatorial arenas of Hell to prove his worth. Stark has become the monster that kills other monsters. He is Hell’s only human hit man and earned the nickname Sandman Slim. The novel is written from the first person perspective so the reader immediately gets to know exactly what is going on in Stark/Sandman Slim’s head. He suffered endless torment during his eleven years ‘Downtown’ but the result is on his return to Earth, he is much harder to kill than before. I really enjoyed Stark’s attitude when dealing with all and sundry. Doesn’t matter if they are human, angel or devil, Stark deals with everyone…

Welcome to Zombie Appreciation Month. Throughout October The Eloquent Page will take a look at different interpretations of zombies in modern literature. To begin with I’ve decided to start with a classic theme. I give you The End of the World. Will humanity triumph over the worldwide zombie plague, or will the walking dead inherit the earth? It seems only fair that the first book that I’m looking at is the one that gave me the idea in the first place. There were a number of book launches at this year’s FantasyCon in Nottingham, and this book immediately caught my eye. With a few notable exceptions, I’m not a huge fan of anthologies. As a rule, I prefer to read novels written by one author, but in an effort to broaden my horizons I decided to take a chance. Zombie Apocalypse! chronicles the worldwide spread of ‘The Death’. Starting in London, and then rapidly spreading across the globe the reader is given the opportunity to delve into the lives of those affected. In this case I think having multiple authors was entirely the right decision. There is one world, and one event, but each author has the opportunity to have…

Throughout October The Eloquent Page will be concentrating on all things undead. I’ll be reviewing a number of different literary interpretations of zombies.  From the latest anthology, via detective novels through to young adult fiction – I’ll be taking a look at how everyone’s favourite brain munchers have re-invented themselves over the last couple of years. You have been warned. Join me if you dare! [fb-share]

“Secret Experiment. Tiny Island. Big Mistake” At its most basic level, the story in Ancestor by Scott Sigler could be described as a number of chases. Firstly, we have the US government trying to track down renegade bio-engineering company Genada, as they try to operate above the law. Then we have the story of evil predators chasing people around an inhospitable island in the dead of winter. It would be really easy to right off this novel as just that, but I strongly urge you not to. Ancestor is so much more and is worthy of your time. What the author has done is to take a simple enough premise and add some welcome additional depth. The core of the novel is the topical subject of genetic manipulation. Should humans tinker with nature? Is the quest for profit enough of a reason to fool around with things we don’t fully understand? On the island of Black Manitou, the characters are split into three groups. Firstly, there is a group of scientists who are attempting to create a creature that can be a used as a universal organ donor. Using genetic engineering they are in a race against time to create…

“When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week, then there’s either something wrong with your skills or something wrong with your world. And there’s nothing wrong with my skills.” I have a confession to make. I’m thoroughly unsettled by zombies. It doesn’t matter if they are the old style slowly shuffling undead or fast moving rage fuelled beasts made popular over the last couple of years. The whole concept leaves an unpleasant sensation in the pit of my stomach. I think that it’s something to do with the thought that they were once alive. They were just like you or I. Now they are nothing –  just an empty husk with the singular purpose of destruction. In an effort to face my fears I have started reading quite a lot of zombie fiction. Ironically, this constant observation of all things zombie has made me become slightly obsessive about them. Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry has an interesting take on the zombie mythos. There are no supernatural elements at work here. These zombies are the product of scientific research. The main crux of the novel is that terrorists have developed a virus that kills swiftly and then…