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Things Unborn
Some say the Atom War of 1962 caused the dead to be reborn, while others claim it's God's work. Throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Soviet Russia hundreds of thousands of 'retreads' have returned from the grave.
In Britain, three-quarters of the population died during the Atom War and its aftermath, but the dead are being re-born to take their place. Dozens of small wars led to a final struggle between the rabid fundamentalist Nationalists and the democratic Coalition of all creeds. The Coalition's army was led by a reborn Lawrence of Arabia, while the Nationalists wanted to put the Duke of Monmouth on the throne.
Now, in 2008, the Coalition's victory is threatened by new plots against the government and the king — Richard of Gloucester, Shakespeare's hunchback murderer, who is writing his memoirs for his retirement nest egg.
Inspector Scipio Africanus, war-hero and former slave, Detective Constable Jenny Pearson, whose usual line is catching pickpockets, and apprentice detective Guy Boswell, who was a Battle of Britain fighter pilot until ten days ago, find themselves dealing with murderous conspirators who plan to seize power and create a totalitarian Britain where being different will mean certain death.
In Britain, three-quarters of the population died during the Atom War and its aftermath, but the dead are being re-born to take their place. Dozens of small wars led to a final struggle between the rabid fundamentalist Nationalists and the democratic Coalition of all creeds. The Coalition's army was led by a reborn Lawrence of Arabia, while the Nationalists wanted to put the Duke of Monmouth on the throne.
Now, in 2008, the Coalition's victory is threatened by new plots against the government and the king — Richard of Gloucester, Shakespeare's hunchback murderer, who is writing his memoirs for his retirement nest egg.
Inspector Scipio Africanus, war-hero and former slave, Detective Constable Jenny Pearson, whose usual line is catching pickpockets, and apprentice detective Guy Boswell, who was a Battle of Britain fighter pilot until ten days ago, find themselves dealing with murderous conspirators who plan to seize power and create a totalitarian Britain where being different will mean certain death.
421 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 17, 2008
Random dead people are returned to life after a nuclear war what more could you want
December 20, 2018
A fun fast-paced murder-mystery/conspiracy thriller starring resurrected figures from all across history. What's not to like?
February 20, 2015
This is a book I remember reading years ago and then mostly forgot about, despite really enjoying it at the time. When I finally remembered it and tried to get a copy I was considerably surprised (and disappointed) to find that the author hadn't really written anything else remotely similar. This is such a shame because Eugene Byrne is clearly a very talented author.
The book is very hard to summarise but I'll give it a go. Things Unborn is set in a world whose history diverged from ours when an atomic war erupted sometime in the 60s leaving a number of regions devastated, including the UK. The survivors endured a lawless post-apocalyptic time of feudal conflicts and then a new civil war but the fact that this is technically a post-post-apocalyptic novel isn't the part where this book gets strange, interesting and very original; Ever since the Atom War people who have suffered untimely deaths throughout history have been springing back into existence on site of their demise with all ailments cured and their memories fully intact! These people are known as 'Retreads'.
The novel is set in a London that is just starting to return to semblance of civilized normality but the people whole live there are a diverse collection of individuals who are either survivors, people who may have come from an earlier time, or the children of either or both. This society has lots of curious slang and familiar ideas with a slight twist, making the whole thing heaps of fun to read about.
The story follows several members of the Police force who stumble into a criminal conspiracy that is motivated by religious and political tensions. We are introduced to the cast as Guy Boswell is starting his first day. Guy is a former Hurricane pilot from WW2 (former as in he burned to death and crashed into a field!) and so acts as a conveniently confused point of view for the reader to be introduced to this world and it's rules. The other central POV characters are Guy's boss Scipio Africanus, an ironically named slave in his first life and a hero of the Feudal Wars in this one and Jenny Pearson a 'hereborn' child of two Retreads.
The story quickly gets going despite a pretty complex set up and we get to meet plenty of interesting people as the characters slowly unravel the mystery, some of whom are versions of historical figures who are trying to fit into this very different version of 2008. Rochester,a hilarious Richard III and a certain Harry Seymour (not his real name) stand out as particularly good examples.
After plenty of intrigue, action and betrayal the story draws to a satisfying conclusion which certainly left me wanting more tales in this fascinating world. If you can find a copy of this book and aren't put off by the scarily complex sounding set up then I wholeheartedly recommend it.
The book is very hard to summarise but I'll give it a go. Things Unborn is set in a world whose history diverged from ours when an atomic war erupted sometime in the 60s leaving a number of regions devastated, including the UK. The survivors endured a lawless post-apocalyptic time of feudal conflicts and then a new civil war but the fact that this is technically a post-post-apocalyptic novel isn't the part where this book gets strange, interesting and very original; Ever since the Atom War people who have suffered untimely deaths throughout history have been springing back into existence on site of their demise with all ailments cured and their memories fully intact! These people are known as 'Retreads'.
The novel is set in a London that is just starting to return to semblance of civilized normality but the people whole live there are a diverse collection of individuals who are either survivors, people who may have come from an earlier time, or the children of either or both. This society has lots of curious slang and familiar ideas with a slight twist, making the whole thing heaps of fun to read about.
The story follows several members of the Police force who stumble into a criminal conspiracy that is motivated by religious and political tensions. We are introduced to the cast as Guy Boswell is starting his first day. Guy is a former Hurricane pilot from WW2 (former as in he burned to death and crashed into a field!) and so acts as a conveniently confused point of view for the reader to be introduced to this world and it's rules. The other central POV characters are Guy's boss Scipio Africanus, an ironically named slave in his first life and a hero of the Feudal Wars in this one and Jenny Pearson a 'hereborn' child of two Retreads.
The story quickly gets going despite a pretty complex set up and we get to meet plenty of interesting people as the characters slowly unravel the mystery, some of whom are versions of historical figures who are trying to fit into this very different version of 2008. Rochester,a hilarious Richard III and a certain Harry Seymour (not his real name) stand out as particularly good examples.
After plenty of intrigue, action and betrayal the story draws to a satisfying conclusion which certainly left me wanting more tales in this fascinating world. If you can find a copy of this book and aren't put off by the scarily complex sounding set up then I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews