A review by docperschon
Falling Sky by Rajan Khanna
3.0
Disclaimer: I was sent a review copy of this book.
TLDR: This is a fun, page-turning, action-packed adventure in a post-apocalyptic world of airships and zombies.
I don't understand what Tad Williams means in his blurb that this book is like Ernest Hemingway meets Walking Dead. Does he mean it's full of deep literary significance hidden beneath spare prose? Because that's not what this book is, unless that literary significance is buried really deep. Spare prose? You bet - Rajan Khanna isn't interested in hashed metaphors and purple prose. The language in Falling Sky is punchy and direct, just like the protagonist. That said, it's not the two-fisted fiction of Larry Correia, whose pulpy word choices get tired after a while. Khanna's writing is enjoyable to read, and his story of an airship pilot who has his ship stolen in a world where it's not safe to be on the ground (that's where all the zombies are!) is great summer fun.
I was sent the book because I study steampunk. While there are airships and air-fortresses, readers looking for goggles and gadgets or corsets and cogs are going to be sorely disappointed, because this book has no Victoriana and is hardly retrofuturistic. I think Tad Williams would have been more accurate if he'd said "this is the Walking Dead with airships," because that's more what it feels like. High-flying adventure mixed with shoot first and ask questions later survivalism. Except that Falling Sky isn't as relentlessly brutal as Walking Dead--while the world of Falling Sky is filled with danger at every turn, it's also one with hope on the horizon.
TLDR: This is a fun, page-turning, action-packed adventure in a post-apocalyptic world of airships and zombies.
I don't understand what Tad Williams means in his blurb that this book is like Ernest Hemingway meets Walking Dead. Does he mean it's full of deep literary significance hidden beneath spare prose? Because that's not what this book is, unless that literary significance is buried really deep. Spare prose? You bet - Rajan Khanna isn't interested in hashed metaphors and purple prose. The language in Falling Sky is punchy and direct, just like the protagonist. That said, it's not the two-fisted fiction of Larry Correia, whose pulpy word choices get tired after a while. Khanna's writing is enjoyable to read, and his story of an airship pilot who has his ship stolen in a world where it's not safe to be on the ground (that's where all the zombies are!) is great summer fun.
I was sent the book because I study steampunk. While there are airships and air-fortresses, readers looking for goggles and gadgets or corsets and cogs are going to be sorely disappointed, because this book has no Victoriana and is hardly retrofuturistic. I think Tad Williams would have been more accurate if he'd said "this is the Walking Dead with airships," because that's more what it feels like. High-flying adventure mixed with shoot first and ask questions later survivalism. Except that Falling Sky isn't as relentlessly brutal as Walking Dead--while the world of Falling Sky is filled with danger at every turn, it's also one with hope on the horizon.