REVIEW: (Audiobook) The Passage by Justin Cronin

The Passage by Justin Cronin (audiobook)
Publishing information: 12 CDs
Publisher: Orion Publishing; 24 June 2010
ISBN 10: 1409112357
ISBN 13: 9781409112358
Standalone
Copy: out of pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Back of the case "Amy Harper Bellafonte is six years old and her mother thinks she's the most important person in the whole world. She is. Anthony Carter doesn't think he could ever be in a worse place than Death Row. He's wrong. FBI agent Brad Wolgast thinks something beyond imagination is coming. It is. THE PASSAGE."

The Passage is one of the most talked about novels of 2010. It all started with a bidding war that ended up giving Cronin $5 million in his pocket (minus agent fees I am sure). Needless to say that made everyone stand up and take notice. After the news of this auction was released the book forum world took notice and debate heated up as to what the hype was all about. In a word it is about vampires, or virals as they are known in the book.

Vampires seem to be a hit with everyone whether they are on TV or glittering on the big screen. Everyone wants a big hunky male vampire or sexy little nymph female vampire to take an interest in them. The bookstores are full of these types of escapades. The good news is that Cronin's The Passage goes back to the original idea of vampires as scary, unstoppable killing machines.

To me the idea of a vampire invasion is new; however, the way in which the book presents it is not new. In The Passage the infestation occurs almost exactly as Stephen King envisioned a mutated "controlled" virus wiping out humanity in the his novel The Stand. Which is where Cronin started to lose me. I was hoping for something ground breaking which would explain why he was warranted such a high price in his bidding war for his book. Instead it was stolen from one of the biggest names in horror. While you could argue that the situations were different and the way events unfolded were different, I personally did not see it that way.

Cronin also seemed to borrow heavily from Max Brooks' World War Z in how the US military attempts to contain the viral threat. A blockade of the infected regions of the United States seemed lifted directly from World War Z. Which also turned me off of the book. I expected originality and seemed to have received anything but.

The Passage does have great and interesting characters. They are developed well and you get a very good sense of who these individuals are and what motivates them. From the first page of The Passage, Cronin gives the reader a clear image of the characters of his book. As you read (or in my case hear) the book you are transported into the mind of each protagonist. It felt as if you could reach out and touch them or phone them up for a day out. Of course, you would have to avoid the virals on that particular outing.

Cronin's style is quite entertaining. He gives the reader a clear picture and still somehow manages to keep you in suspense. There are a few times were motivations and agendas are hidden from you but they are quickly revealed when the time calls for it. While the book does deal with vampires or virals, the real story is about relationships and how they interconnect. Cronin does an impressive job of bringing the various and distinct personalities together and making them work as a unit. There are a few names to juggle around but The Passage does a great job of keeping them straight in your head.

A big bonus for reading/listening to the audiobook version of The Passage was the narrator, Edward Herrmann lends his voice talent to the tale and while I have always enjoyed him in TV and movies, as well as many documentaries, his voice is perfect for this novel. He does do some different voices for the many parts depicted in the novel and not once did it seem over the top or campy. There were times where I felt the story lagged a bit and his voice was the main reason for me to continue with The Passage.

In the end, The Passage was a good novel but due to the hype it received before it's release and what I felt was a rip off of Stephen King's The Stand and Max Brooks' World War Z, I can not give it full marks. Had this been more original I could see it rated higher but as it stands, I was slightly disappointed with the book. When Cronin releases his second book I will more than likely order it as I enjoyed his pacing and characters.

Plot 6
Characters 9
Style 7
Voice Talent 10

Overall 7/10 (only because of voice talent, otherwise 6/10)

REVIEW: The Unit by Terry DeHart

The Unit by Terry DeHart
Publishing Information: Paperback; 310 pages
Publisher: Orbit; 14 July 2010
ISBN 10: 0316077402
ISBN 13: 978-0316077408
Standalone
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Back of the Book: "Jerry Sharpe is an ex-marine and, for him, survival means protecting his family by any means necessary.

Susan is learning just how far a mother will go for her children. But how far will she go for a man she doubted before the bombs fell? As Jerry's training and instincts take over, she is certain of one thing -- her children need her.

Melanie was going to go to college. Now, she is struggling to find a way to live in a world gone mad without losing sight of what she believes in.

Scotty has a new mission - more than survival. He was saved, and he'll be damned if he won't fight for what's right.

And Bill -- Bill was locked up, but the power went out and the guards left. Now he and his fellow inmates have realized that everything is free for the taking...if you're strong enough to hold on to it."

After Al Queda strikes at the heart of America with nuclear weapons purchased through North Korea, America strikes back through a devastating nuclear strike which wipes out the aggressors but not before causing a catastrophic environmental change of radiation and nuclear fallout. It is here that we meet the Sharpe family in Dehart's The Unit.

The Unit is told through the eyes of several people; Jerry Sharpe the father, Susan Sharpe the mother, Scotty and Melanie Sharpe the children, Donny, Bill senior and junior a bunch of outlaws pillaging the california countryside. The book switches prospectives many times and allows the reader to experience everyone's thoughts and concerns. I really enjoyed Jerry and Scotty's points of view as they mirrored what I hope are my own if placed in a similar situation. Susan's prospective was that of a mother and while I am not a father I can imagine the stress that would be put upon a parent in the events that unfold during The Unit. These three individuals seemed very real and possible to me. Melanie's point of view was alien to me. There were many times that I wanted to jump into the book and shake her to wake up and face reality. Her character was very frustrating to me. Which added a lot of realism to things, as I think that there would be individuals that still hold on to the past and do not take stock of what needs to occur in order to survive in the new climate and hold on to their old values and beliefs in order to make sense of the new world around them.

Bill Junior and the rest of the escaped juvenile detention brats would be a concern for anyone in the post-apocalyptical world. Bill jr. is a criminal but his intentions are simple: survive. He was not just a bad guy but a fully fleshed out character with motivations and hopes. It was hard not to like him even if he was the antagonist.

The plot is simple a family on vacation is caught away from home when a national/international disaster occurs and they are working their way back home while avoiding all forms of predators. Many of the issues brought up in The Unit are real concerns: food, shelter, faith, and love. A real shock is that early on in the book, as we are being introduced to the various family members, several state that they plan to leave the rest of their family behind and strike out on their own. This was odd to me as I do not think I would even think of something like that. In a disaster like nuclear fallout the last thing I would want to do is leave the safety of my family. I would think that they would be the only people you could trust. But it does set up their motivations for the remainder of the novel.

The Unit also does a nice job of filling in the gaps about the times between where we start in the novel and the time when the bombs start falling. Just like the days after the attack on the world trade center and hurricane Katrina, the United States goes back to an earlier time where everyone is friendly to one another and those without shelter are brought into other's homes to get back on their feet. I would hope that this would be the case and it was a nice addition to the book.

The Unit switches prospectives often and it helps keep the pace moving. The book does its best to try and stay within reality. People are injured. People get striped down to their core and then built back up. Faith and hope plays a lot in the well-being of our characters. It also motivates them.

The one issue that I had with The Unit is kind of a spoiler so I will not talk specifically about it, but I will say that Bill Senior's attitude seemed genuine at one point and then at the snap of your fingers he gets really nasty which seemed unprovoked and really lost me. It was so odd and unexpected that it took me out of the story for a bit as I kept looking back on it and wondering why.

The Unit is a fairly decent post-nuclear novel with some great themes. The book seemed possible which is what I was hoping for considering Dehart's personal background. I look forward to reading more books from Dehart in the future.

I also found it interesting that this book is ironically being written on the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, so to all of the veterans out there, from every country. We thank you for your courage and your sacrifices. God Bless.

Plot 7
Characters 6
Style 7

Overall 7/10

REVIEW: The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper

The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group; (1 Jan 1988)
ISBN-10: 0553280643
ISBN-13: 978-0553280647
Reviewer: Cara
Copy: Bought secondhand

From the back cover:
Since the flames died three hundred years ago, human civilisation has evolved into a dual society: Women's Country, where walled towns enclose what's left of past civilisation, nurtured by women and a few non-violent men; and the adjacent garrisons where warrior men live - the lost brothers, sons and lovers of those in Women's Country.

Two societies. Two competing dreams. Two ways of life, kept apart by walls stronger then stone. And yet there is a gate between them...

Of all the books by Sheri S. Tepper I have read, this is perhaps the most overtly feminist in that the post-apocalyptic society she describes is clearly matriarchal. Yet it is not an angry, man-bashing diatribe. Instead The Gate To Women's Country presents a fledgling eco-utopian society where the ultimate aim is balance and equality between the sexes within a pacifist, non-violent culture. The means by which the Women's Council set out to achieve this balance, however, are both morally and ethically questionable. As well as being a very well written story, with excellent characterisation and a strong plot, this book raises issues that stay with you long after the final page has been turned.

The book opens with Stavia, the central character, meeting with her fifteen-year old son who has made the decision to reject her and Women's Country for the life of a warrior in the garrison outside the town. From this poignant opening the story shifts between Stavia as an adult and member of the Women's Council and her earlier life from the age of eleven onwards. She grows up with her mother Morgot and older sister Myra in Marthatown; a place where sons are given to their fathers at the age of five to be trained as warriors for ten years after which they have the choice to remain in the Spartan-like garrison or return through the Women's Gate for a peaceful life of learning and servitude.

Women's Country is a low-tech culture, still recovering from the destruction that occurred in the time of the 'convulsions' when North America was devastated by nuclear war. Farming, manufacturing, metallurgy, trade, education, medicine; these are all undertaken by women within walled towns, protected by their warrior brothers, sons and lovers in the garrisons outside the gates. Stavia is the daughter of a doctor and Council member and looks set to follow in her mother's path until she breaks the rules or 'ordinances' by giving books to an older boy with whom she forms a close friendship. However, we know that his motives are not as benign as Stavia thinks. There are secrets in Women's Country and while the men in the garrisons do not know what these secrets are, they are very keen to find out, wanting more power and influence in a society that pretty much excludes them.

Without wishing to spoil the plot, the men are right to believe that the women are holding back significant information from them. By segregating the sexes and restricting mens' access to education and pre-destruction knowledge, the women are able to manipulate the technology they have to make advances towards a non-violent society. How this is achieved is the secret that could destroy everything should the men uncover the truth. It also raises a very real moral dilemma... do the means justify the hoped for end result? Certainly it gave me plenty to think about after I had finished reading the book.

Sheri S. Tepper's writing is gentle and allows the plot to develop gradually over time. I found Stavia to be a compelling narrator, particularly when she used her 'actor' persona to hide her conflicting emotions. I also really liked Joshua, the family servitor, who, although very much in the background, was wise and insightful and provided balance to an otherwise divided culture. To some degree he was presented as an idealised male archetype, something the society strived for, yet because he had rejected the warrior life, he was also somehow lacking in honour and not always given the respect he deserved. The men in the garrison, on the other hand, were largely stereotyped as aggressive, resentful and hungry for power and control. Another group, the 'Holylanders', misogynistic polygamous descendents of fundamentalist-type Christians were interesting in that they provided a stark contrast to the culture of the Women's Country.

Throughout The Gate to Women's Country are scenes from Iphigenia of Ilium, the traditional play that the Council put on every year before the summer carnival. This is a reworking of the Greek tragedy The Trojan Women and used as a guiding theme or leitmotif, as the adult Stavia prepares to play her part in the performance. I found this particularly interesting as it was treated almost as a religious text, and indeed, highlighted certain aspects of this post-apocalyptic society.

It is fair to say that I really enjoyed reading The Gate to Women's Country and found it gave me plenty to think about. Would I enjoy living in such a matriarchal society, where, apart from the servitors, contact with men was limited to two carnivals every year? While I appreciated the desire for a completely pacifist society, I am not sure I would be prepared to go along with the measures the Women’s Council practiced in their attempt to achieve this. To me this felt oppressive and lacking in basic respect for the men, and the secrecy surrounding this was deceitful to say the least. However, this is a society still trying to rebuild itself some three hundred years after a nuclear war; a war that was indiscriminate in selecting its millions of innocent victims and blighted large parts of the land; a war that was started and fought predominantly by men… our own current society.

Plot 8
Characters 9
Style 8

Overall 9/10

REVIEW: The Death of Grass by John Christopher

The Death of Grass by John Christopher
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics (originally published 1956)
ISBN-10: 0141190175
ISBN-13: 978-0141190174
Copy: Bought online
Reviewer: Cara

On the back of the book:
At first the virus wiping out grass and crops is of little concern to John Custance. It has decimated Asia, causing mass starvation and riots, but Europe is safe and a counter-virus is expected any day. Except, it turns out, the governments have been lying to their people. When the deadly disease hits Britain they are left alone, and society starts to descend into barbarism. As John and his family try to make it across country to the safety of his brother’s farm in a hidden valley, their humanity is tested to its very limits.

A chilling psychological thriller and one of the greatest post-apocalyptic novels ever written, The Death of Grass shows people struggling to hold on to their identities as the familiar world disintegrates – and the terrible price they must pay for surviving.

“Agricultural grasses grown for their edible seeds are called cereals. Three cereals– rice, wheat, and maize (corn)– provide more than half of all calories eaten by humans. Of all crops, 70% are grasses. Cereals constitute the major source of carbohydrate for humans and perhaps the major source of protein, and include rice in southern and eastern Asia, maize in Central and South America, and wheat and barley in Europe, northern Asia and the Americas.” [Source: Wikipedia]

Although originally published in 1956, The Death of Grass is a warning to the human race of meddling with nature. The Chung-Li virus that first appears in China is highly aggressive and uncontrollable. It quickly mutates and spreads worldwide, killing all species of grass, causing famine and social unrest in its path. John Christopher makes the point that years of over-production, the trend for mono-culture and excessive use of pesticides contributes to the success and resilience of the virus. Without grass, meat production is doomed, as there is nothing to feed the livestock. Attempts to eradicate the virus have failed, millions are facing starvation because little provision has been made to force farmers to produce alternative food crops such as potatoes, and the UK government are making plans to drop atomic bombs on the main centres of population…

This is the background to The Death of Grass which focuses on John Custance and his family, following them as they flee London, heading for the safe haven of John’s brother’s farm in Westmoreland (now known as Cumbria). Custance is a mild-mannered engineer, living a nice middle class life in London with his wife and two children. With their close friends, Roger and Olivia Buckley and son Steve, they plan to escape London once Roger hears that the plans to bomb the cities are imminent through his work as a civil servant. The group attempts to drive north, but road blocks have already been set up to prevent anyone leaving London. Realising they need to be resourceful, Roger takes John to a gun shop where they agree to take the owner, Mr Pirrie and his wife with them in exchange for guns and ammunition.

As the group travels north, it becomes clear that society is breaking down and survival at all costs is the order of the day. A strong theme is that of how people react to the destruction of the familiar world around them; The Death of Grass deals with this by showing how an average Englishman becomes an aggressive leader of a motley band of survivors. At one stage, John’s wife and daughter are abducted and brutally raped. This is a turning point in the development of John’s character, where he accepts that killing is a necessary evil in this struggle for survival. Bearing in mind that this book is set in the mid 1950’s, only a decade after the end of the Second World War, the adult mindset is more accepting of violence, having lived and fought in the conflict.

While very dated in terms of the technology and culture of 1950’s England, The Death of Grass is justifiably a classic post-apocalyptic novel. How society quickly breaks down under the stress of an environmental disaster is chillingly portrayed and felt very realistic to me reading in 2010. John Christopher uses his characters to great effect, showing how they each deal with their changed circumstances. Some, like John Custance rise to the challenge and grow into their new roles, whereas others, like Roger, began the novel as strong characters but soon acquiesce to John’s leadership and fade in significance as the book progresses. Pirrie, on the other hand, is ruthless and amoral. While he does not challenge John’s leadership, it is clear that he could do so if he chooses. Pirrie is interesting because of his brutal and decisive nature, yet this is also the cause of his downfall. Women do not feature prominently and remain secondary characters throughout. I felt this reflected the social mores of the time, when women were predominantly homemakers, deferring to the men and having little influence outside of the home and family. With that social structure gone, their place in the new world in not yet clear.

The Death of Grass was written at a time when World War II was still prominent in people’s memories and the threat of the Cold War emerging. Post-apocalyptic novels were relatively common in the science fiction world; John Wyndham (The Day of the Triffids), Neville Shute (On the Beach) and George Stewart (Earth Abides) were all writing during this period. With a nuclear holocaust being a very real prospect, it is no wonder that this sub-genre was popular with writers and readers alike. John Christopher shows the dark side of survival, where everyone is looking out for themselves and altruism is a luxury few can afford. The Death of Grass is not a comfortable read, being quite brutal in places. However it is an excellent period piece and shows us that, when our familiar world falls apart, the basic human instinct for survival brings out both the best and the worst in all of us. It is also a very relevant book for today, warning us of the power of nature and of humanity’s total dependence on the Earth’s resources.

Plot: 8
Characters: 7
Style: 7

Rating 7/10