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Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated By the Feet of Men in Books
Oct 5, 2020
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By the Feet of Men by Grant Price is a very good post-apocalyptic novel, full of adventures and danger. I am glad I got the chance to read and review this book. Thank you to the author, Grant Price, for sending me a copy of his book in exchange for my honest review.
<b><i>Synopsis:</i></b>
The book is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where the world’s population has been decimated by the Change, a chain reaction of events triggered by global warming. Governments have fallen and cities have crumbled. The productions have stopped. The Alps region, which contains the continent’s fresh water, has become a closed state with heavily fortified borders.
The ones that managed to survive cling on by trading through the Runners, truck drivers who deliver cargo and take a percentage. Two Runners, Cassady and Ghazi are called to deliver medical supplies to a research base deep in the Italian desert, where scientists claim to be building a machine that could reverse the effects of the Change.
On this journey they will be joined by a collection of other Runners, all of whom have something to prove and have a story of their own. Standing in their way are starving nomads, crumbling cities, hostile weather and a rogue state set to destroy the convoy. And there’s another problem: Cassady is close to losing his nerve.
<b><i>My Thoughts: </i></b>
The world building in By the Feet of Men is very interesting and very well described, especially the part about the Change and the Koalition. From the beginning, we get a very good idea of what kind of world we are living in now, from global warming, to the starving nomads, to how the Runners make a living. I think that was a very good introduction to the new normal that we are about to engage in.
I think perhaps due to the elaborate description, I found the beginning quite slow. The true adventure and road trip doesn’t start until halfway through the book. Once the adventure begins, though, many things happen in short spaces of time. The pacing is quite fast until the very end. The book contains brutal and graphic details, so it may contain a lot of trigger warnings and I wouldn’t recommend it for the faint hearted people.
I loved Cassady and Ghazi and really enjoyed their backstories.
The way how they made decisions based on their past experiences, which were sometimes very different. I love the constant battle they seem to have between what is right and wrong, when a decision has to be made quite fast to ensure their survival. Sometimes, their survival might mean leaving someone behind, and not both of them would agree that this is the right decision to be made. However, I think there is something much more difficult than making such a decision, and that’s living with the consequences.
Apart from the main characters, I had a very hard time remembering the other characters and their backstories. This made me annoyed a few times. I am very good at remembering side characters, and I usually prefer them to the main characters. However. this wasn’t the case for this book. And this is something that really bothers me.
I was quite intrigued about the ending.
I enjoyed it and I liked how it ended. My initial thoughts were that it was very realistic. It also had an ending that I haven’t seen too much explored in any post-apocalyptic fiction I’ve read or seen. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of explanation to some points. However, I think the main characters’ stories and experiences in the end of the book contributed to a balanced and emotional ending.
I definitely recommend By the Feet of Men to all fans of post-apocalyptic fiction. Something new and fresh, unexplored anywhere else and full of adventure and realistic brutality. I am sure you will enjoy it.
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By the Feet of Men by Grant Price is a very good post-apocalyptic novel, full of adventures and danger. I am glad I got the chance to read and review this book. Thank you to the author, Grant Price, for sending me a copy of his book in exchange for my honest review.
<b><i>Synopsis:</i></b>
The book is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where the world’s population has been decimated by the Change, a chain reaction of events triggered by global warming. Governments have fallen and cities have crumbled. The productions have stopped. The Alps region, which contains the continent’s fresh water, has become a closed state with heavily fortified borders.
The ones that managed to survive cling on by trading through the Runners, truck drivers who deliver cargo and take a percentage. Two Runners, Cassady and Ghazi are called to deliver medical supplies to a research base deep in the Italian desert, where scientists claim to be building a machine that could reverse the effects of the Change.
On this journey they will be joined by a collection of other Runners, all of whom have something to prove and have a story of their own. Standing in their way are starving nomads, crumbling cities, hostile weather and a rogue state set to destroy the convoy. And there’s another problem: Cassady is close to losing his nerve.
<b><i>My Thoughts: </i></b>
The world building in By the Feet of Men is very interesting and very well described, especially the part about the Change and the Koalition. From the beginning, we get a very good idea of what kind of world we are living in now, from global warming, to the starving nomads, to how the Runners make a living. I think that was a very good introduction to the new normal that we are about to engage in.
I think perhaps due to the elaborate description, I found the beginning quite slow. The true adventure and road trip doesn’t start until halfway through the book. Once the adventure begins, though, many things happen in short spaces of time. The pacing is quite fast until the very end. The book contains brutal and graphic details, so it may contain a lot of trigger warnings and I wouldn’t recommend it for the faint hearted people.
I loved Cassady and Ghazi and really enjoyed their backstories.
The way how they made decisions based on their past experiences, which were sometimes very different. I love the constant battle they seem to have between what is right and wrong, when a decision has to be made quite fast to ensure their survival. Sometimes, their survival might mean leaving someone behind, and not both of them would agree that this is the right decision to be made. However, I think there is something much more difficult than making such a decision, and that’s living with the consequences.
Apart from the main characters, I had a very hard time remembering the other characters and their backstories. This made me annoyed a few times. I am very good at remembering side characters, and I usually prefer them to the main characters. However. this wasn’t the case for this book. And this is something that really bothers me.
I was quite intrigued about the ending.
I enjoyed it and I liked how it ended. My initial thoughts were that it was very realistic. It also had an ending that I haven’t seen too much explored in any post-apocalyptic fiction I’ve read or seen. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of explanation to some points. However, I think the main characters’ stories and experiences in the end of the book contributed to a balanced and emotional ending.
I definitely recommend By the Feet of Men to all fans of post-apocalyptic fiction. Something new and fresh, unexplored anywhere else and full of adventure and realistic brutality. I am sure you will enjoy it.
Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Station Eleven in Books
Oct 15, 2018
Unique post - apocalyptic story
This book is clever both conceptually but also in how it is written. It's been ages since a book has been so thought provoking and made me reflect. I found it to be deep in terms of those previously mentioned aspects but also in terms of character development.
STATION ELEVEN is set around a pandemic that wipes out 99% of the population a day after getting the virus. The story arcs out from the build up to that day and to 20-30 years post-pandemic. I'm not always a fan of long and shifting timelines but I now realise I can be a fan of that if they're as well written as this one. The story jumps back and forth both past and present without losing any flow in the story.
The are multiple characters and povs that are so cleverly interwoven and when a thread was tied up, I went "ahhhh". Most of the story was unpredictable but I admit to guessing the prophet element.
I found this story of potential apocalypse so very realistic that I often reflected on my own mortality in this scenario (day one - I have asthma). I really enjoyed seeing a deconstructed civilisation and what that might look like. The promise of the future was also interesting.
I think Emily St John Mandel is an incredibly talented writer and I would recommend this book to many.
STATION ELEVEN is set around a pandemic that wipes out 99% of the population a day after getting the virus. The story arcs out from the build up to that day and to 20-30 years post-pandemic. I'm not always a fan of long and shifting timelines but I now realise I can be a fan of that if they're as well written as this one. The story jumps back and forth both past and present without losing any flow in the story.
The are multiple characters and povs that are so cleverly interwoven and when a thread was tied up, I went "ahhhh". Most of the story was unpredictable but I admit to guessing the prophet element.
I found this story of potential apocalypse so very realistic that I often reflected on my own mortality in this scenario (day one - I have asthma). I really enjoyed seeing a deconstructed civilisation and what that might look like. The promise of the future was also interesting.
I think Emily St John Mandel is an incredibly talented writer and I would recommend this book to many.
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Merissa (12051 KP) rated The Blood Will Dry in Books
Oct 27, 2017
The Blood Will Dry by Kate L. Mary
The Blood Will Dry is a post-apocalyptic story that starts off minutes before the first attack. That gives you long enough to identify with the main character, Diana, and you immediately want her to survive. You already know she does, but you know what I mean, surely?! Fast forward five years, and Diana is surviving, but not living. She is still trapped inside a bubble of survivor's guilt, getting by from day to day. However, bubbles burst, and hers has some help from a face from the past. Bryan was her husband's brother, and the last time they met, he wasn't very nice. Diana has to come to some quick realisations that life now is not the same as it was then.
This was a gripping story that kept me turning the pages. I loved how Diana is a 'normal' human being. She gets injured, she isn't Wonder Woman even if they do share the same name! She makes mistakes, she hurts. Above all that though, she tries. She doesn't give in, and she will continue trying until her last breath. Now, of course, we have a few communication issues with her and Bryan, but I was pleasantly surprised by how minor they were in the general scheme of things. It appears that the author is content to let the story stand on its own legs, and not let miscommunication win the day. I loved this! With everything going on that goes on, communication is important in every aspect.
This book was very well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. The pacing was smooth and the scenes flowed from one to the next. I would love to read more about Diana and Bryan, but maybe from Daisy and Tyler's point of view. Definitely recommended for all Post-Apocalyptic fans!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This was a gripping story that kept me turning the pages. I loved how Diana is a 'normal' human being. She gets injured, she isn't Wonder Woman even if they do share the same name! She makes mistakes, she hurts. Above all that though, she tries. She doesn't give in, and she will continue trying until her last breath. Now, of course, we have a few communication issues with her and Bryan, but I was pleasantly surprised by how minor they were in the general scheme of things. It appears that the author is content to let the story stand on its own legs, and not let miscommunication win the day. I loved this! With everything going on that goes on, communication is important in every aspect.
This book was very well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. The pacing was smooth and the scenes flowed from one to the next. I would love to read more about Diana and Bryan, but maybe from Daisy and Tyler's point of view. Definitely recommended for all Post-Apocalyptic fans!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
ArecRain (8 KP) rated The Forest of Hands and Teeth (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #1) in Books
Jan 18, 2018
This book was everything I though it would be and yet nothing like I expected.
Come on, it's a zombie movie. If you go into this novel expecting it to have a happy ending or that no one important will die, then you are going to be gravely disappointed. In fact, after reading the ending, I was such a storm of emotion that I had to go play Pokemon to make it go away. I don't know which was sadder now that I think about it.
First of all, you have to go into this novel realizing that it is in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by zombies. How many books have you read or movies have you watched about post-apocalyptic worlds overrun by zombies where everyone is happy and everything is sunshine and rainbows? That is what I thought. This book is dark and tense and filled with so many secrets that it boggles the mind. Like Mary, I felt frustrated because I knew there had to be more, there had to be something that was not being let out and I wanted to know what was really going down.
Second, do not get attached to any character. There is always a chance that they will die even if they are the main character. I should have remembered this rule, but, alas, I fell prey to people Ryan created. I should have known there would be no happy endings or fulfilled romance in this novel. But I had hope.
The only reason I am not giving this five is because I hate the way Ryan writes. I am sure the novel would not be the same if it was written differently. I just did not like. I often found myself confused as to what exactly just happened or what was happening, probably because I also often found myself skipping over sentences and paragraphs because that is how Ryan writes.
Despite this novel being dark and depressing, it is one of the greatest zombie novels I have ever read and I will definitely be reading the second two.
I mean the second one deals with an amusement park and zombies. How can I pass that up?
Come on, it's a zombie movie. If you go into this novel expecting it to have a happy ending or that no one important will die, then you are going to be gravely disappointed. In fact, after reading the ending, I was such a storm of emotion that I had to go play Pokemon to make it go away. I don't know which was sadder now that I think about it.
First of all, you have to go into this novel realizing that it is in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by zombies. How many books have you read or movies have you watched about post-apocalyptic worlds overrun by zombies where everyone is happy and everything is sunshine and rainbows? That is what I thought. This book is dark and tense and filled with so many secrets that it boggles the mind. Like Mary, I felt frustrated because I knew there had to be more, there had to be something that was not being let out and I wanted to know what was really going down.
Second, do not get attached to any character. There is always a chance that they will die even if they are the main character. I should have remembered this rule, but, alas, I fell prey to people Ryan created. I should have known there would be no happy endings or fulfilled romance in this novel. But I had hope.
The only reason I am not giving this five is because I hate the way Ryan writes. I am sure the novel would not be the same if it was written differently. I just did not like. I often found myself confused as to what exactly just happened or what was happening, probably because I also often found myself skipping over sentences and paragraphs because that is how Ryan writes.
Despite this novel being dark and depressing, it is one of the greatest zombie novels I have ever read and I will definitely be reading the second two.
I mean the second one deals with an amusement park and zombies. How can I pass that up?
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Children of the Different in Books
Nov 11, 2019
The Great Madness has decended and all but destroyed humankind. Of those that survived many have become less than human, feral, and hunt in packs preying on the rest.
Narrah and Arika are twins who have been born in Australia since the madness; like all children who come after the Great Madness they will enter a coma as teenagers and their minds will enter what is known as the Changeland. This will indeed change them - some gain special powers, others return damaged and feral.
The Great Madness has decended and all but destroyed humankind. Of those that survived many have become less than human, feral, and hunt in packs preying on the rest.
Narrah and Arika are twins who have been born in Australia since the madness; like all children who come after the Great Madness they will enter a coma as teenagers and their minds will enter what is known as the Changeland. This will indeed change them - some gain special powers, others return damaged and feral.
Against this post-apocalyptic backdrop Flynn follows Arika and Narrah as they enter the Changeland and what follows after. The Changeland sections, which take up the first half of the story, resemble dreams and nightmares - but ones in which any threats are very real. From their experiences the twins discover that there is an adversary who wants to destroy them.
Back in the real world they go on very different journeys, exploring what is left of society and finding that the effects of the Great Madness might extend beyond just the Changeland and that the very future of the human race is threatened.
Flynn tells this with verve; the twins are very likeable protagonists and the reader will be rooting for them through all of their adventures. There are breathless action scenes as well as some introspection on the fragility of human life and how quickly the lifestyle we take for granted can be reduced to ashes. Some great twists are thrown in and as the last page approaches the stakes are raised ever higher.
Well worth a read for anyone young adult and up who likes to read post apocalyptic and zombie style stories with interesting and challenging ideas
Narrah and Arika are twins who have been born in Australia since the madness; like all children who come after the Great Madness they will enter a coma as teenagers and their minds will enter what is known as the Changeland. This will indeed change them - some gain special powers, others return damaged and feral.
The Great Madness has decended and all but destroyed humankind. Of those that survived many have become less than human, feral, and hunt in packs preying on the rest.
Narrah and Arika are twins who have been born in Australia since the madness; like all children who come after the Great Madness they will enter a coma as teenagers and their minds will enter what is known as the Changeland. This will indeed change them - some gain special powers, others return damaged and feral.
Against this post-apocalyptic backdrop Flynn follows Arika and Narrah as they enter the Changeland and what follows after. The Changeland sections, which take up the first half of the story, resemble dreams and nightmares - but ones in which any threats are very real. From their experiences the twins discover that there is an adversary who wants to destroy them.
Back in the real world they go on very different journeys, exploring what is left of society and finding that the effects of the Great Madness might extend beyond just the Changeland and that the very future of the human race is threatened.
Flynn tells this with verve; the twins are very likeable protagonists and the reader will be rooting for them through all of their adventures. There are breathless action scenes as well as some introspection on the fragility of human life and how quickly the lifestyle we take for granted can be reduced to ashes. Some great twists are thrown in and as the last page approaches the stakes are raised ever higher.
Well worth a read for anyone young adult and up who likes to read post apocalyptic and zombie style stories with interesting and challenging ideas
I wanted to read Bird Box after hearing so many rave reviews from BookTube and the blogosphere. From what everyone was saying, I was going to be scared shitless and that was what I was hoping for but it didn’t happen. This book for me has to be my most disappointing read of 2017 so far! The writing wasn’t bad but I feel like this has been overhyped and my expectations were set pretty high. I suppose the reason I was disappointed with this book was because you never really get any answers and the thing that is killing people you never get to picture what it is or why it’s happening. There was one small part of this book that had me scared and it was a paragraph and that was all. I thought the writing was great and I liked most of the characters but for me I needed more answers. I would also put this book as survival/post apocalyptic book rather than a horror.
JT (287 KP) rated The Book of Eli (2010) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
A solid effort from the Hughes Brothers as they take on a post apocalyptic style western. Denzel Washington plays Eli a lone traveler who is following a path with a destination only he knows about. In his possession a book, so valuable to the resurrection of the human race that he’ll stop at nothing to protect it.
A story based around religion is not always going to be for everyone but if anything the cast is a shining light in an otherwise scrappy film.
Gary Oldman plays the true archetypal villain, looking like a cowboy but sounding like a biblical reverend, he truly knows how to play the bad guy. Washington gives an equally decent performance but is some way off his best.
The cinematography is stunning and the desolate landscape depicts a true reflection of the aftermath of nuclear war. It’s grainy and gritty but needed to pack more of a punch. The brief action and fight scenes are well choreographed and the twist in tale at the end should be enough raise a few questions in the car park.
A story based around religion is not always going to be for everyone but if anything the cast is a shining light in an otherwise scrappy film.
Gary Oldman plays the true archetypal villain, looking like a cowboy but sounding like a biblical reverend, he truly knows how to play the bad guy. Washington gives an equally decent performance but is some way off his best.
The cinematography is stunning and the desolate landscape depicts a true reflection of the aftermath of nuclear war. It’s grainy and gritty but needed to pack more of a punch. The brief action and fight scenes are well choreographed and the twist in tale at the end should be enough raise a few questions in the car park.