REVIEW: The American Book of the Dead by Henry Baum

The American Book of the Dead by Henry Baum
Publishing information: Paperback; 248 pages
Publisher: Backwards Books; 1 November 2009
ISBN 10: 9780578026930
ISBN 13: 978-0578026930
Standalone
Copy: Provided by author
Reviewer: Tyson

Back of the Book: "Eugene Myers is working on a novel about the end of the world. Meanwhile, he discovers his daughter doing porn online and his marriage is coming to an end. When he begins dreaming about people who turn out to be real, he wonders if his novel is real as well. Eugene Myers may just be the one to stop the apocalypse.

In the tradition of Philip K. Dick and Robert Anton Wilson, The American Book of the Dead explores the nature of reality and the human race's potential to either disintegrate or evolve."

The first thing I would like to say is that for some reason I really like the cover. Maybe it is because I just finished playing Portal 2. With that said, there is no shortage of books featuring the apocalypse; however, Baums The American Book of the Dead is a very different spin on the events that bring an end to humanity. We have a writer, Eugene Myers, has somehow channeled the future and knows the end of days is coming.

Eugene Myers is a typical male. He teaches at the local college and dreams of his female students, his wife barely has time for him and thinks he is inept. When his dreams become very specific he decides to track them down only to find that they too are having strange dreams. As things continue to spiral down to doomsday he and his new friends look for a way to survive. While Baum does his best to keep Myers grounded and humble he never really comes off as anyone I wanted to cheer for. The people that he surrounds himself with also have very few (if any) characteristics that make you want to get to know them.

Then there is the President of the United States of America, he has decided to bring about the biblical end of the world and proclaims himself the Anti-Christ. There was a lot of bible talk and a few verses. I have no problem with one here or there but they just made me annoyed. The babble that he spewed and how he twisted it to his own needs is nothing new and you can find it on many channels. But as a villain who we are told is highly intelligent, we are never shown that fact and the way in which he just does things off the cuff without much thought of his actions does not show me an intelligent person. His father was a much more interesting character and would have been a craftier antagonist.

While The American Book of the Dead started out strong it quickly started to show its weakness and once the cracks began to show they grew larger. There is a slight twist to the story but even with that looming on the horizon it did nothing to save the book. The ending was also a little too tidy for me to enjoy the novel. We are talking about an apocalypse and it seems far too happy and uplifting. We all like our books coming to a sunny conclusion but this was just too much to bear. While the book may be right up many people's alley it was not to my liking.

Plot 6
Characters 5
Style 7

Overall 5/10

REVIEW: Flood by Stephen Baxter

Flood by Stephen Baxter
Publishing Information: Hardback; 490 pages
Publisher: Roc; 05 May 2009
ISBN 10: 0451462718
ISBN 13: 9780451462718
Book 1 in a series
Copy: Out of pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Inside the book: "Four hostages are rescued from a group of religious extremists in Barcelona. After five years of being held captive together, they make a vow to always watch out for one another. But they never expected this...

The world they have returned to has been transformed by water-and the water is rising. As it continues to flow from the earth's mantle, entire countries disappear. High ground becomes a precious commodity. And finally, the dreadful truth is revealed: before fifty years have passed, there will be nowhere left to run..."

While the polar ice caps melting and raising to engulf many coastal towns and villages is nothing new to science and science fiction, Baxter's Flood goes in an new direction with the idea that water trapped in the mantle of the Earth is far greater than we imagined and that it surpasses the water we currently have in the oceans.

Flood starts us off with a lot water having already rising past scientific expectations as our protagonists are hostages that are released during the first chapter. Conveniently, most of the individuals being held are crucial to the catastrophic events that are happening around the world. 

Not long after their release things go from bad to worse as London is hit by a powerful storm that it never recovers from. The setting in Flood switches constantly as the players move to stay ahead of the water surges. There is lots of talk about the various land masses and when they are engulfed by the water. 

The characters in Flood are interesting as they have a lot of interaction with one another and their environment but some situations take an act of faith to believe. The character of Kristie really bothered me as she gets into an argument with her mother knowing full well that disaster is a constant and refuses to speak or visit with her. Going so far as to deep six her satellite phone. I know that in a global disaster I would want my family to communicate with at all times. Her actions were such a disappointment I lost all interest in her and when she was up against nature rooted for nature. So, there were times in the novel where people's actions did not add up. I would have also liked to have learned more about civilization in general. As the Earth's livable habitats quickly disappear there should have been more wars and riots. While a few were mentioned in passing, humanity seemed to go on without much panic which I would think would be the exact opposite of how we would react. Especially considering how Baxter told us that the majority of countries had their governments break down early in the catastrophe.

Another issue I had with the Flood was that splinter groups and nut jobs that retreated to the hills acted far to rational and friendly when they encountered refugees. The refugees were quickly brought in and cared for or allowed to leave without being hassled or eliminated. As resources become scarce more military and militia action would have been expected and was not really represented in the novel.


As land and therefore trees are swallowed by the oncoming tide of water, oxygen would have also become scarce, while plankton may create oxygen, I don't think that it would have been sufficient for the human population that was on Earth. Especially when you consider all of the manufacturing and other construction that was taking place in the final years that take place in the novel. While some may be able to survive the depleted oxygen in the world I doubt the many survivors that were depicted in the book would have been able to function as well as they did in Flood.

While reading Flood I could not help but think that at times the story was dragging on and that a few minor scenes could have been removed from the novel. Another issue that I had with the book is that the afterword in the back of the book claims that there were maps for the story but, I never found any maps. Had Flood contained maps for each section of the book it would have added to the impact of the book. I kept trying to find out what happened to my hometown of Seattle and it was never mentioned. There were a few times where the Northwest Territories, Oregon, and Idaho were mentioned, but as Washington state is a coastal state I never learned of its fate. In a global disaster book, every reader wants to know what happens to their residence and Flood never got around to tell me about my state or hometown. 

The plot of Flood is interesting, while I think that the water under the mantle is a threat, I highly doubt it would lead to anything such as this, but it does make for one heck of a story. Flood leaves us with several unanswered questions that will probably be answered in the sequel Ark. I will more than likely read the sequel once I find some space to put it on my shelf. Flood had a lot of flaws, but for all the issues that did not add up, the premise and where the story seems to be going is enough for me to continue to stay with the author and the series. 


Plot  8
Characters  8
Style  7


Overall  7.5/10