The Great Indoors

 'Bunker: Building for the End Times' by Dr. Bradley Garrett

Some books are lucky enough to be published at just the right moment.  'Bunker: Building for the End Times' by Bradley Garrett, released near the start of the Covid-19 global pandemic, is just such a book.

Apocalypse Now?

At the height of the Cold War, US citizens were told to prepare for nuclear attack, ensuring they could first survive then rebuild.  Though the threat faded, the general sense of dread remained, and many people continue to believe an extinction-level event is just around the corner.  Some expect disease, some climate disaster, others an attack from abroad, but all 'preppers' stockpile and plan in order to survive the inevitable collapse of society and state.  Somewhere to go and a way to get there are essential.  In 'Bunker', Dr. Garrett explores both the prepper subculture and the modern-day bunkers that preppers hope to survive in.  From the buried tubular descendents of Anderson Shelters, to converted 1960s government installations, repurposed military vehicles to luxury, inverted tower blocks, it seems everyone thinks they know how to survive the end of the world.

Apocalypse Then

As you may have noticed, there's been a bit of a blogging drought recently.  Having had a brilliant start to the year, all of a sudden I found that I couldn't settle to anything in particular.  I'm currently part way through eight books.  Even for me, that's not unusual!  Desperate for an inspirational read, I spotted a tweet from Allen and Unwin (@AllenandUnwinUK) about 'The Last Hours' by Minette Walters.  They were looking for bloggers to review it, but would it be the answer to my prayers?

'The Last Hours'
by Minette Walters
(Allen & Unwin, 2017)

It's summer 1348 when the Black Death arrives in England via the Dorset port of Melcombe.  Before the population realises the danger, this most heinous disease is spreading rapidly across the county, slaying young and old with no regard for money or status.  On the estate of Develish, the compassionate and resourceful Lady Anne decides to take the bold step of bringing the estate's two hundred serfs within the manor house walls, much to the distress of her teenaged daughter Eleanor.  They may be safe from the pestilence, but soon become prey to internal conflicts as the social order shifts and even faith in God is challenged.  Under threat from without and within, how long can the people of Develish last?

Apocalypse Wow

Technically, I've lived through several expected apocalypses.  I survived both the fever caused by the Millennium Bug in 1999/2000 and the end of the Mayan calendar in December 2012. Oh, and that time that asteroid skimmed past the Earth a couple of years ago. I'm sure there have been many more 'false alarms', but I somehow find our obsession with the end of the world intriguing, particularly as in all likelihood we either won't see it coming or will ignore it's coming because we don't want to change our destructive ways.

Anyway, I've just finished reading 'The Year of the Flood' by Margaret Atwood, the second book in the 'Oryx and Crake' trilogy.  'Oryx and Crake' has the rare distinction of being one of only a handful of books which I've read within two days.  Aren't train journeys great?

'The Year of the Flood'
by Margaret Atwood
(2010, Virago)

'The Year of the Flood' runs parallel to 'Oryx and Crake'.  Both books cover the lead up to and immediate aftermath of a terrible pandemic that wipes out the majority of mankind, but told from two very different perspectives.  While 'Oryx and Crake' witnesses the end of days from the upper class, high security compounds of society's elite, 'The Year of the Flood' explores the poorer and criminal strata of the population in the hard and vicious pleeblands.  The pleebs are home to Toby and Ren, two women who have survived the plague and now tell their own, intertwined versions of events.  Toby is living alone on the roof of the AnooYoo spa, nurturing her rooftop garden and nervously watching the horizon for disease carrying humans, predatory wolvogs and inquisitive pigoons. Meanwhile, Ren is trapped in quarantine in Scales and Tails, a high class strip club, wondering just how long her food will last and if anyone will find her before it's too late.  Are they the last human beings alive? Will they find each other?

As you might've guessed from my recent tweets (@Girl_LovesBooks), I thoroughly enjoyed this book (if that's the right word for it!  The story is incredibly dark and violent in places. But the end of the world was never going to be cheerful.).  I loved 'Oryx and Crake' and Atwood's other famous apocalyptic novel, 'The Handmaid's Tale'.  Atwood is an absolute master when it comes to looking at modern trends and extrapolating plausible futures from them, making her stories different and captivating yet familiar and real.  On top of this, 'The Year of the Flood' is pacy and Ren and Toby flawed, fragile and human characters that you root for.  It's an irresistible combination that makes 'The Year of the Flood' a real page turner, even when you know what's coming.

I also absolutely love the way Atwood plays with language. As well as the AnooYoo spa, there are the genetically engineered animals including rakunks and Mo'Hairs, new technology like the Sea/H/Ear Candy ear phones and foodstuffs including Zizzy Fruits, ChickieNobs and Happicuppa.  This adds a playfulness to the story which makes it easier to handle its darker elements.

Overall, I enjoyed this book so much that I've moved straight onto the third in the trilogy, the recently published 'MaddAddam'.  It'll be an interesting test, especially after the bad experience I had recently trying to read the whole Cousins' War series by Philippa Gregory in a row. So we'll have to see.

The world has ended. So what now?

No More Heroes...

I have just finished 'I am Legend' by Richard Matheson, a relatively short book often cited as a classic of Science Fiction and Horror and the first book to combine the two great genres.  I've not seen the Will Smith film, but may do having read the book.

'I am Legend' by
Richard Matheson
(Film Tie-In Edition,
2007, Gollancz)

'I am Legend' is the intense and claustrophobic story of Robert Neville, (quite possibly) the last man standing after a plague has swept through the human race and made vampires a nightly reality.  Trapped in his own world and left with nothing but memories and his survival instinct, the book tracks Neville's character over three years as he battles demons without and within.

Although this was a fantastically written book, capturing and developing the character of Robert Neville to great effect, I'm finding it hard to be passionate about it.  Then again, that may just be the nature of the genre.  After all, how many people want to recommend something they know may scare?  I don't really want to give people nightmares!  To be fair, though, this book isn't particularly gory, even for my relatively low horror threshold.

Speaking for myself, I found this book completely engrossing.  The first half presents a fascinating, close quarters analysis of how someone might react and behave in such extraordinary circumstances and highlights the author's incredible imagination.  In the second half, as Neville's mood moves from despair to acceptance, the pace of the novella changes and the plot starts moving towards its almost inevitable climax and conclusion.

Also - always the sign of a classic - the book doesn't feel at all dated, despite the fact that it's 57 years old.  I love it when that happens.  It's nice to know that when change comes, it doesn't automatically make everything that came before irrelevant and obsolete.  It's horrible to think that the meaning of things we care about today may be completely lost to future generations, just as the significance of cave paintings or carved deities can only be guessed at by even the most eminent of modern academics.

Hmm, I'm clearly in a very philosophical mood today!

Anyway, back to the book.  I would recommend it if you like these sorts of apocalyptic tales, but I don't think there's enough of a meal here for even the most sharp-toothed literary analyst.  Then again, I doubt it was ever meant to be high culture, so, if you can, enjoy it for what it is.  An engaging twentieth century classic.