The Culled, 1

A fun read, but required perhaps a bit too much suspension of disbelief. The native American metaphysics was a bit much, and probably unnecessary. It kept pulling me out of the story.

In The Culled, the first of the Afterblight Chronicles, Spurrier introduces a post-apocalyptic world that's vicious, deranged, horrific and a whole lot of fun. Spurrier channels the golden age of splatterpunk in describing a disease-ravaged land populated by cannibals, cultists and drug-hazed maniacs. The main character is an ex-SAS assassin type - exactly the sort of bullet-chewing hard man/action hero that the book needs. There's not a lot of subtlety going on - but that's not what the book requires. Spurrier takes the reader on a trans-atlantic, flashback-littered journey through the world of the Culled, keen to show off as much as possible before the ink runs out. As a result, the plot (such as it is) takes a bit of a backseat. There are clearly defined good guys and bad guys (whew), so the reader doesn't really need to know why anything is happening as much as sit back and enjoy the show. And, again, it is a pretty spectacular show. Explosions, lunatics, super-violence, more explosions, car chases, man-hunts, gladiators, cannibals... anything that can blow up and/or lose a head appears during the course of the book. The result is surprisingly creative (and a very good time). My one objection is the vague inference of the supernatural. Spurrier carefully mocks the rise of cult-like religion, while empathetically explaining how it came about. However, one of the sidekicks (a minor protagonist in his own right) is a Native American survivor of the Cull - chosen to go on a spiritual dream-quest by his tribal elders. He's plagued by mystical omens (some of which derive from his ultra-powerful drugs) and curious portents. It is a little over-the-top, and comes close to ruining an otherwise 'science fiction' style thriller. There's also the random editorial decision that allowed entire chapters to be written in italicized text - style aside, this was a (literal) headache. Overall, a fun, filthy (in a good way) book. The Cull is shaping up to be a great shared world from a publisher that's not afraid to take risks. The second book (Kill or Cure) is fantastic, and I look forward to pressing on with the third!

I have recently been delving through a list of Spurrier's old novels after I red some of his stories for Marvel back a year or so ago. This one, like his stand-alone novel Contract, is about a hitman. This one, however takes place in a dismal post-outbreak world where everything has gone to complete and utter hell. From the characters to the settings, everything in this story is poetic in it's subtle details and pitch perfect dialogue. Pacing is fantastic, the plot compelling, and the world he has created is simply fantastic. After reading this book I'm quietly optimistic about the rest of the Afterblight Chronicles, but this is definitely a book worth picking up if your in the mood for a interesting, suspenseful, and hyper-caffeinated novel about a man on a mission, and the skills to back it up.

Gook book, though a bit hard to get into at first (probably due to the depth of some of the hidden plot, so blame my lack of brain cells not the author!). Nice to see some alternative end-of-the-world, non-zombie fiction. I like the zombie stuff too of course! :-) The Afterblight collection has some great potential. One thing I wonder as an American. Maybe someone can tell me.. I do enjoy the Britsh authors (go David Moody!) but really, do the brits really use the 'F' word every thing word in sentences as they speak? British fiction makes me think so! I know some folks have a bit more colorful speech than others, but this tends to be a turn off for me. The end of this book leaves way for a possible sequel, but I doubt the author has one planned and maybe never intended that. He can feel free to correct me here if he likes!