A review by savaging
Not Forgetting the Whale by John Ironmonger

1.0

Remember the movie Armageddon, where the only things that can save the planet are oil drillers, nukes, and the US military (in other words, the forces most likely to actually destroy the planet)? In this book, salvation for a CHARMING VILLAGE comes from a short seller, an investment banker, an AI program, and grocery panic-hoarding.

All of this is wrapped in strange "cozy" vibes, to make it seem less horrifying. This coziness is endlessly patronizing toward its small-town characters, with their wacky little ways. Now I'm wondering: is coziness always cruel to characters? Is that sort of built in?

Either way, it makes the big conclusion fall flat. The moral of this story is that humans often act in solidarity with each other in times of crisis. Which I believe! But this is already a village where everyone's tripping over each other to help our hero -- a short seller! -- with anything he might need, and they just carry on with their charming little ways when the apocalypse comes.

Also doesn't help that the author is bad at writing women, making them into one-dimensional prizes for our main character and duly punishing flirts and sluts. Truth is,

Spoiler

the whale was the only person I liked, and he died.