midlifehedgewitch's review
4.0
I am a sucker for anything post-apocalyptic, and have a reading binge in the genre every November. However, several times recently, I've been bitterly disappointed by US writers shoving their religious and feral political garbage down my throat, or by writers who produce a good first novel then drop the ball with the second (after which, I won't read the third).
The Dark Roads, I'm glad to say, was not disappointing.
It's the story of three friends struggling to survive in a world that's been fried to a crisp; a world where the mere touch of the sun's rays can blind or kill. Hiding underground during the day and travelling or foraging by night is the only way to survive. Alaska and the polar regions seem to be the only places where the temperatures *may* offer some kind of relief to the handful of human survivors - and that's where our trio is headed. The story documents their journey.
When I read post-apocalyptic stories, unlike many people, I suspend my judgement about the science behind the global collapse. Whilst I like to know what caused the apocalypse and why, I'm not going to nit-pick over plausibility. I hop on board with the characters and go for an emotional rollercoaster ride with them. I want a fantasy story where humanity has been almost wiped out and the survivors have to overcome tremendous hurt-me-bad odds just to make sure they wake up the next morning.
This is EXACTLY what I got in Dark Roads.
Don't expect the characters to be untarnished or intact by the end of the novel.
Don't expect a bed of roses or a total Game Of Thrones-type annihilation, at the book's end, either.
It's somewhere in between.
The Dark Roads isn't as emotionally bleak as Cormack McCarthy's 'The Road', but the situation with the sun is far more dire than the nuclear winter in the latter novel. McCarthy does give some hope of environmental regeneration at the end of The Road. I will be interested to see what the author does in his Dark Roads sequels, as it's very hard to imagine the Earth coming back from this scenario. I will admit I'm worried about what happens during a polar summer, i.e. polar summers where the sun just doesn't quite go down... Alaska might not be a safe haven after all.
Lemmon's sensitive treatment of one of the main characters who is Down Syndrome especially warrants a mention, as I have a family member who is Down's. I really enjoyed this part of the book and I'm not giving anything away in relation to this storyline. I also liked the maturity in the storyline where a rouse involving a potential rape was used and resolved very well. Again, I'm not going to give away plot - I want YOU to read it yourself.
Character development is slow, but as this is a series, I would expect it to be. The writing is solid, there is just enough prose to fill in details and no beginner's bloviating or self-indulgence.
The book has some swearing which is a big THUMBS UP for me, there is a lot of action and some violence, there is no sex (DAMN!).
I have bought the sequel and will be reading it soon. I'm looking forward to seeing how the author resolves some of the situations he's put his characters in.
The Dark Roads, I'm glad to say, was not disappointing.
It's the story of three friends struggling to survive in a world that's been fried to a crisp; a world where the mere touch of the sun's rays can blind or kill. Hiding underground during the day and travelling or foraging by night is the only way to survive. Alaska and the polar regions seem to be the only places where the temperatures *may* offer some kind of relief to the handful of human survivors - and that's where our trio is headed. The story documents their journey.
When I read post-apocalyptic stories, unlike many people, I suspend my judgement about the science behind the global collapse. Whilst I like to know what caused the apocalypse and why, I'm not going to nit-pick over plausibility. I hop on board with the characters and go for an emotional rollercoaster ride with them. I want a fantasy story where humanity has been almost wiped out and the survivors have to overcome tremendous hurt-me-bad odds just to make sure they wake up the next morning.
This is EXACTLY what I got in Dark Roads.
Don't expect the characters to be untarnished or intact by the end of the novel.
Don't expect a bed of roses or a total Game Of Thrones-type annihilation, at the book's end, either.
It's somewhere in between.
The Dark Roads isn't as emotionally bleak as Cormack McCarthy's 'The Road', but the situation with the sun is far more dire than the nuclear winter in the latter novel. McCarthy does give some hope of environmental regeneration at the end of The Road. I will be interested to see what the author does in his Dark Roads sequels, as it's very hard to imagine the Earth coming back from this scenario. I will admit I'm worried about what happens during a polar summer, i.e. polar summers where the sun just doesn't quite go down... Alaska might not be a safe haven after all.
Lemmon's sensitive treatment of one of the main characters who is Down Syndrome especially warrants a mention, as I have a family member who is Down's. I really enjoyed this part of the book and I'm not giving anything away in relation to this storyline. I also liked the maturity in the storyline where a rouse involving a potential rape was used and resolved very well. Again, I'm not going to give away plot - I want YOU to read it yourself.
Character development is slow, but as this is a series, I would expect it to be. The writing is solid, there is just enough prose to fill in details and no beginner's bloviating or self-indulgence.
The book has some swearing which is a big THUMBS UP for me, there is a lot of action and some violence, there is no sex (DAMN!).
I have bought the sequel and will be reading it soon. I'm looking forward to seeing how the author resolves some of the situations he's put his characters in.
More...