We are more than happy to review the odd bit of genre fiction as well as factual books, if it ties in with our horror and atmospheric tag and that includes novels that are written more for a young adult market than those older. After all your interest for the genre no doubt came from what you viewed and read in your formative years I know mine did. I fondly remember (well actually not too fondly in some cases as the odd thing scared the crap out of me) viewing Pertwee and Baker Dr Who and great BBC dramas like Children Of The Stones and The Changes (do you remember these)? As for books, well we did not have the wealth of young adult writers that are around today and had more whimsical fantasy and horror writers. Some of them were great though such as Alan Garner whose books I am currently devouring again. From there it was the somewhat more adult worlds of John Wyndham and the late and recently sadly departed Ray Bradbury, then a big innocence losing jump to Guy N Smith, Graham Masterton, James Herbert and Stephen King.
I devoured David Gatward’s ‘Dead’ trilogy of books and was struck at just how visceral they actually were. They did not lose any sense of responsibility as far as I was concerned, there was no sex or swearing amongst the pages but an awful lot of dread, doom, gore and grue; which should appeal to the dark sensibilities of all ages. I enjoyed them myself and would have been happy to let any children of mine read them, so was looking forward to see what was coming next from the author.
This has arrived in the form of ‘Doom Rider’ which can be tagged very neatly with the words “apocalyptic fantasy fiction.” We are in a world that is somewhat familiar although it is as though we are on a parallel universe as well. We are in Great Britain but it is not quite as we know it, this is a world run by sinister religious ideologies which are fervently run by all seeing eyes with extreme zealots enforcing the rules. On the most part people are indoctrinated and happily enslaved by the system and even at a festival like Glastonbury happy to worship carnival sideshows aglow with the miracles of religion rather than the blood and thunder of the bands that we idolise today.
Seth is a performer at such a sideshow along with his family. He is the sort of person who questions what is going on around him and an outsider not constrained by the rules and looked on as odd by the masses. He is also known as The Apocalypse Boy due to the fact that he can see visions of what is coming. With a name like that it is obvious that what is coming is not very good and Seth’s world is just about to be turned completely upside down.
I don’t like giving away much of the plot and will leave you to read the book for much more of an insight but this is a really good read as Seth is drawn into a fast paced, adrenaline-rushing, page turner of a race aided by dependable sidekick Lily, which should have readers literally gasping for breath.
The timing of this book is perfect when you look beneath the subtext, after all have we not been told that the world is due to end on the 22nd of December 2012? If you believe the Mayans something is sure to be about to happen although after the clamour about it at the beginning of the year, the closer we get the less people seem to be talking about it. Has everyone got complacent or are they just doing that ostrich head beneath the sand thing all over again? One thing is for certain if you read this you are going to be questioning whether to bother buying any Christmas presents. Luckily you have time to read this before hand.
I was also fascinated by the utopian society ideas behind the novel. The idea of the world governed in a way that is somewhat alien to us is a great one and many have embraced it and turned out great fiction and films as far ranging as Animal Farm (fiction that has turned into fact) Planet Of The Apes, Logan’s Run and more recently the likes of Children Of Men, which this certainly reminded me of a fair bit, mainly due to the breakneck pacing. The other thing that should be said is that Gatward does not dumb down his audience in the slightest. The novel is intelligent and thoughtful and it even had me going back to cross reference things a couple of times during reading, so it is both entertaining and consuming. There are plenty of splattery moments in it as well; if you are after blood and guts you should not be disappointed. If you are after conquest, famine, strife, and death too, well step right in for an Apocalypse Now!
Pete Woods
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