Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (3285)

Content

ClareR (6054 KP) rated The End of Men in Books

Jun 8, 2021

The End of Men

Christina Sweeney-Baird | 2021 | Dystopia, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Oh. My. Goodness. This book is totally my cup of tea (unlike in this book, it has both tea and milk in it). I’ve always been drawn to science fiction, dystopian and apocalyptic styles of novels ever since I read Stephen Kings The Stand as a teenager. The End of Men drew me in and had me checking the news outlets, just to check that Covid-19 hadn’t taken a turn for the even worse - and I’m not joking here. I did question whether reading a book about a global pandemic during a global pandemic was a good idea, and then I told myself to shut up, sit back and just enjoy it (much the same as when I read Last One at The Party by Bethany Clift!). And I really did!

This is told from multiple perspectives. There are mostly recurring characters, such as Dr Maclean, some scientists, the anthropologist, intelligence and government types, interspersed with ‘ordinary’ people who were also affected and lost friends and family. We see perspectives from all over the world. The voices of these people all seem so real: their pain, confusion and determination coming through in their own voices, as their stories are all told in journal form.

The End of Men had pretty much the same effect on me as World War Z: I was checking the news and the windows (just in case), completely preoccupied with the book whilst I was reading it, and I predictably experienced a stonking book-hangover when it ended.
This is science fiction for people who wouldn’t normally pick up science fiction (a bit like a gateway drug!). It reads like contemporary fiction - the here and now.

This novel had me on the edge of my seat and in tears - and a bit angry at times, truth be told. This doesn’t feel like you’re reading science-fiction, it has a tinge of the non-fiction about it. Perhaps that’s because of the times we’re living in...
Would I recommend it? You’d better believe I would!

Kudos

Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Almost Just Friends (Wildstone #4) in Books

Jan 20, 2021

3.75 stars.

It's taken me a long time to finish this, mainly because other books on my Kindle were taking up all my attention and being a bit more angsty and action-packed than this one, but once I sat down and concentrated on this fully I got it finished in a handful of hours.

I grabbed this paperback from my favourite bargain bookshop: The Works for £2. I've had a taste of Jill's books and I do enjoy them so when I saw this, I decided to buy it.

It tells the story of Piper who's just celebrating - or rather not celebrating - her 30th birthday with friends at the local bar when she meets Camden, her next door neighbours oldest son. They flirt a little but shy away from anything happening between them initially but as they spend more time together, they start to care about each other.

This doesn't just focus on Piper, we also have her siblings' viewpoints, too.
Gavin, an ex trouble maker, has come back for various reasons and one of them is his love for CJ - the man he hurt several years ago. We see their re-connection and it is quite lovely actually.
Winnie, the youngest, has come back from college and wants to help Piper fix up the place so they can all live together happily - only she's got a secret of her own, that her brother and a handful of others know about but not Piper. Yet.

This is a story of family and love, grief and forgiveness. It's heartwarming at time and others I felt a little prick of tears as they tried to deal with their issues. I thought it was really well written.

There was one scene I really loved that was near the end with Camden and Piper when she tells him to throw her journal in the lake and then has a panic when he actually does it before jumping in the lake despite her fear of water to try and rescue the bloody thing.

Kudos

Zoe Nock (13 KP) rated The Last in Books

Jun 26, 2019

The Last

Hanna Jameson | 2019 | Dystopia, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller

6.6

(5 Ratings)

Book Rating

Different take on a dystopian theme (0 more)

Lost it's way a little towards the end (0 more)

What scares you the most? Ghouls, vampires, slime-fanged aliens ...or something terrible that truly could happen? For me it's definitely the latter.

Our narrator, Jon, is a historian witnessing the most monumental event of humanity but at a great distance. He feels compelled to keep a record of the people isolated with him in a vast hotel. He collects their stories and feelings in the faint hope that some sort of civilisation will survive long enough to rediscover them. Through his journal we experience what it would be like to be aware that the world was ending, billions dying, but be totally disconnected from the horrific events.

Most books set during an apocalypse are fraught with traumatic dashes, violent brushes with death, horror and misery. There are elements of that here but this book mostly poses the question of what you would do if there was little drama but lots of time to dwell on things. The people in the hotel are comparatively safe in an old hotel surrounded by forest. They wait for something to happen, for someone to rescue them, or perhaps just for their food to run out. Jon embarks on a quest to solve one cruel murder, taking him down a path of mistrust and near hysteria.

I enjoyed the blend of dystopia and murder mystery; the first half of the book reads like a modern day progeny of George Orwell and Agatha Christie. Asking your audience to imagine bombs wiping out entire countries but then drastically limiting their focus to one death amongst multitudes is startling. I also liked the references to real people and places, there were definite shades of the Cecil Hotel here for a true-crime/horror podcast junkie like me to appreciate. However, I do feel that the novel lost it's way towards the end - trying to be all things to all people perhaps. It's definitely worth reading and I'm keen to see more from this author.