Saint Elspeth

by Wick Welker

Why did they come?

When they appeared across the sky, speculation wheeled around the world—the aliens were from heaven, the invaders were from hell… or they were proof that neither existed. But when they landed, curiosity gave way to suspicion and the nations reacted with nuclear force, setting off a chain reaction that left the world in ruins.

Twenty years later, instead of nearing her retirement, Dr. Elspeth Darrow struggles to forget the loss of her child and husband by plunging herself into the work of operating the last remaining hospital in San Francisco. With medical supplies running out and working herself to exhaustion, Elspeth must embark on a risky salvage mission into the heart of the Neo California danger zone. Here, she discovers the disturbing truth: the aliens have returned.

As the mystery of the aliens' purpose on Earth unravels before her, Elspeth must hide what she discovers from reactionary despots, all vying to bring Neo California under their control. Aided by a band of pre-war scientists and new-world medical students, Elspeth races against astronomical odds to reveal the terrifying truth that might save the world—or finally destroy it for good.

Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic, Aliens, Audiobook, Speculative Fiction, Action

380 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 4, 2023

About the author

Wick Welker is the the winner of the Self Published Science Fiction Contest SPSFC4 with Saint Elspeth and a two time finalist of the competition as well. Start with either Dark Theory or Saint Elspeth for an intro into his writing.

Contact at wickwelker@gmail.com. Follow on Twitter @wickwelker.

Reviews

[TXGAL1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

YES! YES! YES! Wick Welker has a new offering in the Sci-Fi book arena with SAINT ELSPETH. I’ve been patiently waiting for this and I am more than delighted.

We are immediately introduced to Dr. Elspeth Darrow as she reflects on the whisper of a memory in a time BEFORE..before the arrival of intergalactic pods on Earth, before the apocalypse, before her being the only doctor in all of Neo SF.

Paranoia is out of control while waiting for something to happen with the pods--but nothing. “We attacked ourselves!” Some nations bomb the pods inside their borders, and then bomb other nations that do not bomb their pods. Following years underground, survivors emerge to establish colonies and begin life again.

To say that circumstances are challenging is an understatement. Limited supplies, medicines, diagnostic equipment, staff, and knowledge is a daily trial in the contest to see who might be saved today.

Dr. Darrow is joined in her daily defiance of situations by medical student Ward, nurses Max and Patience and pharmacist Nadine. One way to stretch out the inevitable is to get permission from Mayor Hutch to leave the colony and scavenge other locations for desperately needed supplies. Of course, this involves politics.

Still nothing is heard from the “invaders”. Why have they come to Earth? If the reason is good or not why has no contact been made? The answers to these questions require deep thought.

As a fan of Welker’s writing, I found that he hit all the marks in presenting a well-thought-out premise. It really caused me to think about human nature and caused me to feel deep emotion.

With wonderful characters, sharp pacing, and thought-provoking situations, SAINT ELSPETH is definitely a 5-star read and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to those who enjoy science fiction, psychology, biology and a host of other genres.

I thank Wick Welker for my eARC copy to read in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Wick Welker]

8/7/25: Saint Elspeth is the WINNER of SPSFC4!!

6/5/25: Saint Elspeth just made the finals of the indie book competition SPSFC! My second book (Dark Theory the other) to make the finals in the competition.

9/2/2024: I just entered Saint Elspeth into the SPSFC4 indie pub competition!

1/9/24: Audiobook out now!

🚀 Launch day!📕

The grim post-apocalyptic setting of The Last of Us combined with the medical realism of ER, and with a dash of the alien astrobiology in Hail Mary. Available now!

9/22/23: audiobook going into production soon!

8/31/23 update: Available on NetGalley currently for ebook ARC

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars
I have previously read and loved this author's work, so at this point, I will happily read anything else they publish. I will admit that in 2023, I am not particularly eager to read more post-apocalyptic fiction. 2020 is still too fresh in my memory. However, for this author, I made an exception, and I'm glad I did.

There's a lot going on in this plot, and I think this story could have benefited from having fewer layers. I think this could have been a five-star read for me if the story had been more streamlined.

That being said, this story mostly worked. I feel the key element was the characters or, specifically, the emotional weight of their experience. For anyone with birth or pregnancy trauma, this book is going to hit hard. There were several gut punch moments in this book, and I really felt it.

I would recommend this book to readers looking for a powerful emotional story. Even if you don't normally read science fiction or post-apocalyptic stories, I would recommend giving this one a try. Hopefully, you end up loving it as much as I did.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author.

[Paul Ataua · Rating 3 out of 5]

The arrivals of aliens on earth has led to a nuclear reaction from nations that has led to a chain reaction that has left the world in ruins. Dr. Elspeth is left as the only doctor in the last remaining hospital in San Francisco trying to keep people alive, but medicines are running short. I so wanted to like this, especially as GR friends whose reviews I trust gave this five stars. Unfortunately, I didn’t. The story was fine, and I could accept it being very slow to get going, but I really didn’t like any of the characters, especially the good doctor herself, and that dislike for them grew as I read on. I guess this happens sometimes. It was just a struggle for me, but it seemed others just loved it.

[Steve Kimmins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m going to heap a pile a praise on this self published SciFi novel. As it’s an ARC I’d better get the usual spiel out of the way; that it’s an honest review, that I’m not a personal friend of the author, etc!

This is a First Contact SciFi story set against a post-apocalyptic backdrop. Unusually, the events and details associated with the collapse of our modern world are underplayed. The disaster happens partly because of Alien contact but mainly because we seem to have primed the world that way for some time and it just needed a trigger. I liked that. The story doesn’t try to cover too much. It concentrates on a world attempting to recover from collapse in combination with a mysterious Alien presence.

I’m quite a fan of First Contact SciFi, as it gives the chance for a good author to use their imagination to conjure up truly Alien beings and play with the potentially bizarre communication and cultural issues involved. From my experience I’d give the author top marks for that aspect; distinctively different Aliens for sure.

However, where the novel really wins for me is in its characterisations, often a weak spot of SciFi storylines, especially those with heavy science inputs. The lead character is Elspeth Darrow, medically trained and struggling to provide First World medical care in a ruined San Francisco, where medical supplies and equipment have to be scavenged. The author is following the mantra of ‘write what you know’ as I understand he is a doctor. There are several scenes where Elspeth tries to provide emergency, life saving, care in desperate circumstances and maybe I learnt a little bit more about digging for bullets in flesh and emergency C-sections than I was prepared for! But the authenticity is clear.
Elspeth is a good person doing her hard working best but she’s also flawed, critical of mistakes in others when they maybe need sympathy, though she seems to mostly understand that. There’s a good supporting cast. I especially look for how the darker, or bad, characters are drawn and again the book does well here. Are ‘strong men’ sometimes needed in such grim circumstances (and they are always men here)? Those trying to impress their authority on this world are recognisable as the despots we still see around today but they have their own reasons for being authoritative, and sometimes justify themselves pretty well when given the opportunity.

Any weak spots for me? Not really. As a pseudo-expert on First Contact stories I had doubts about some aspects involving the Alien presence but the more I think about it the less I’m sure there is a problem with it. Something for the Alien fiction specialists to discuss possibly, and tied in with the issue of whether we should have advertised our presence to the rest of the universe without thinking about it.
So I’m piling on the praise for the story. Well written, good characters, and an interesting SciFi story. I’ve read a couple of the author’s previous SciFi books, which lean towards the heavy science end of the genre and, although I enjoyed them, I did find the characterisations to be a bit swamped by the science. Here I think the ‘sweet spot’ has been hit, the right balance between the science aspects and the characters.

Recommended and I expect it’ll do very well if entered into a future self published SciFi competition (SPSFC?). 5* enjoyment for me.

[Efka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, that was... Unexpected. Interesting, but very different from what I thought this will be about. Because, let's see. Is it a sci-fi? Well, yes. You can't even call it a soft sci fi. At the same time, the sci in this book is very "local" (no spaceships, planets, galaxies, superb tech or particle weapons, etc.) and very chemically medical. I guess this is the one book, when you can see for yourself that when it is written by a real doctor of medicine, the injuries and traumas and recoveries and generally everything health related is very diffrent to what we are accustomed to. Because of the blood and sutures and chemically correct drug administration, at least.

Besides that, it also is a very atypical invasion/first contact book. And I really liked the extraterrestrial beings, though admittedly they are not very active characters - for the most of the book they are more of an afterthought, than something substantial. The idea and biochemistry of these beings is quite impressive.

Main character, dr. Darrow is really tough, prickly, grumpy and generally well written. I could really relate to her and feel her thoughs and motivations. The supporting cast lacked it a bit, but since it is a book about Saint Elspeth after all, I guess I can overlook it. The book promised a very strong lead character and delivered. And no promises for support cast had been made.

The post-apocalyptic world is just as I imagine it would look like. Bland, a bit dirty, full of resource shortages and quite empty. Though I missed a bit that background, about how the bombs fell. There had been this TV Show, Jericho, made on the same premise - Little town, bombs fell, nobody knows anything and everybody is scared shitless. And though Jericho later lost a bit of steam and transformed into more or less casual power games/raiders/resources drama (quite similar to this book here, actually), that's probably still one of the top 3 tv series starts for me. It grips, chills and captivates. So yeah, I missed that a bit here.

But overall, it is a book I really enjoyed and especially liked precisely because it's a sci-fi, but different sci-fi. Not that kind I usually read and not that kind that is easy to find. So, I guess my objective rating would be a 9/10 and, as usually, I give the benefit of doubt for those half star ratings, so it's a 5* read.

[Whitney Jamimah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had higher hopes for this than it ended off with but it was still an enjoyable read.

There was an unexpectedly large aspect of medical care within this book. As someone who is in medicine I always love when an author and throw in a good amount of medical “stuff” and there was no shortage of that here. Elspeth was a pathologist pre-arrival and had since taken it upon herself to become the self taught head doctor and surgeon to the hospital she founded in New San Francisco. The most enjoyable part of this was watching Elspeth teach herself to be a doctor and the ways that they had to get creative 20 years into this new life they live after the aliens have arrived with the tools and techniques used in this new age of medicine. We see them deal with shortages. Elspeth has access to a wealth of knowledge on disease processes and surgery but doesn’t have all the tools and medications needed for each. All of it was very engrossing to my medical self.

I thought the beginning part of their studying and contact with the aliens was super interesting but it just felt like there wasn’t enough time dedicated once we got to that part. This book felt like it could have benefited from more pages OR less plot overall. It was like there were so many different things introduced that all could have been great if we had more time with all of it. I think Welker made a valiant effort but the ending did feel rushed.

[Paul (Life In The Slow Lane) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey look, the aliens are here. Let’s blow the shit out of each other to demonstrate how friendly we are.

Dr Elspeth Darrow is one of the few remaining doctors at the only remaining hospital (improvised hospital) in San Francisco in a post-apocalyptic world. The aliens who unintentionally triggered a nuclear disaster are surprisingly shy and definitely NON-human. This is a look at the frustrating but predictable human response to alien arrival. Then, it’s a look at the frustrating but predictable human survivor’s reaction to…well…survival. Band together. Form groups. Attack the other groups. Sigh.

Scene descriptions are excellent. The visual descriptions of a wrecked and decayed SF and San Jose are vivid and memorable, even for a bloke like me, whose never even been there. The mystery of why the aliens came and how they tried to survive is riveting. So are the descriptions of despair at trying to help sick and injured people without all the modern drugs and equipment. I just loved the characters, particularly Prasad. His gentle wisdom is admirable and beautifully demonstrated in the very last chapter. So good is it, I had to read it more than twice…and don’t laugh…had a little tear. The aliens themselves are very original and well thought out. I don’t know how the author dreamed them up.

Way better than I expected and probably one of the better post—apocalyptic books I have read.

[Lukasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saint Elspeth takes place in a gritty, post-apocalyptic San Francisco where aliens once appeared in the sky, humanity panicked, and nukes flew. Now, twenty years later, the world’s still a mess, and Dr. Elspeth Darrow, overworked, under-supplied, and grieving the loss of her family, is trying to keep what’s left of her city alive, one patient at a time.

Elspeth is a great lead. She's smart, determined, and doing her best in impossible circumstances. The story follows her on a dangerous scavenger-hunt mission into the ruined city, where, instead of much needed supplies, she stumbles across a truth that changes everything: the aliens are back, and this time, they want to talk. Sort of.

There’s a lot going on in this book - first contact mystery, political tension between factions, scavenger missions, emotional flashbacks, and moments of high-stakes medical drama (some of which might make you squeamish if you're not into improvised surgery). Despite all that, the pacing (almost) never drags. There’s always something happening, and the tension rarely lets up.

That said, the structure could’ve used a little smoothing out. The story shifts between timelines and plot threads. Most of it is compelling, but some of the transitions feel a bit choppy. You may occasionally find yourself flipping back to check where (or when) you are. A tighter focus would make parts of it hit even harder, I think.

Still, Wecker nails the characters, especially Elspeth, and delivers a thought-provoking story about fear, power, and what it means to trust the unknown. The aliens (the Hila) are truly strange, and their biology is fascinating. The book handles the first contact element with creativity and just enough weirdness to keep it interesting without getting too abstract.

In the end, Saint Elspeth is a smart, intense and character-driven sci-fi story. It’s not perfect, but it’s a rewarding ride, especially if you enjoy character-driven stories with high stakes and alien mysteries. I'll definitely read more from Wecker.

[donna backshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saint Elspeth was like nothing I've read before, yet comfortable and insightful in a way that makes me feel like I was always destined to read it.

With all her faults and frustrations, Elspeth Darrow was absolutely the kind of character I could relate to. I'd love to ask her to join our book club, because her passion and practicality would enliven all our discussions.

Did you like The Book of the Unnamed Midwife? What about Swan Song, or The Passage? If this kind of personal journey within an apocalyptic struggle intrigues you, Saint Elspeth just might be the book for you.

[Nicholas Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the future, a mysterious alien race called the Hila comes to Earth, but no one Earth knows why they're here as they do nothing. Humanity gets suspicious of each other and after long, destructive worlds, societies fall and slowly rebuild. Elspeth Darrow lost her husband and unborn child during all that chaos and now the jaded pathologist works in a hospital in the fractured remains of San Francisco. She toils away each day with limited medical supplies trying to save dying patients, dealing with a timid student named Ward, and trying to just get by with the politics of Mayor Hutch.
However, after going on a journey for more supplies, Elspeth learns that the Hilamen are calling. They want something from her and something is happening to them.

Saint Elspeth is the third book I've read by Wick Welker and once again the man presents us with a hard science fiction novel that still moves at a reasonable pace and doesn't get too bogged down by the science in it. I will say that the pacing in the second half of the book felt a bit quicker than that of the first half, but the pacing in the first half is not at all laborious. That's good thing because Saint Elspeth has a lot going on in it, but it's one of those science fiction that handles its immense content with such care and precision that very little, if anything, is lost. This is ultimately the story of one very cynical woman who is presented with an extremely daunting task and must decide what she must do amidst conflicting ideals and decisions.

In comparison to Welker's previous two books, Refraction and Dark Theory, I think the characters are the most tight and well-developed here. Even minor characters are properly fleshed out. Elspeth being the main character is a rare treat, because we do not often get older female protagonists in sci-fi and fantasy. Elspeth has been through a lot prior to the book's beginning and goes through a lot much to her frustration and chagrin. Even from the opening pages you can tell that she's a woman who is just living her life and doing her medical work to whatever extent she can with very little hope. She's pretty much tired of everyone and everything, but that increases by the book's end. The deaths of her husband and unborn child haunt her. She is a very stoic woman, but beneath all that--and it lays many layers beneath the bedrock of stoicism--is a woman who is hurt and worried and in pain. Thankfully, Welker doesn't get stereotypical with this archetype of woman character who is tough outside but broken inside. Even in her most vulnerable moments, the few that there are, Elspeth struggles to keep her walls up.
As Elspeth studies and investigates more of the mystery of the Hilamen, she is met with conflicting world views and philosophies from the other characters that test her judgement. There's the aforementioned Mayor Hutch and his son Reece, both who believe the world, or at least the San Francisco colony, have to follow a set of rules; or, at least, their rules. There's Ward, who, despite his timidity and self-hatred, still tries to look for the beauty in things. Akin to Ward, there's Prasad, a trader who helps Elspeth along the way, who thinks the Hila genuinely have good intentions. There's Rafa, a brief former boyfriend of Elspeth's, who has a hippie-ish view of the world of everything being connected. And then there's Mavis, a nihilist who thinks the Hila only have nefarious means. I enjoyed Elspeth interactions with each of these characters and how pieces of their own worldviews informed or conflicted with hers. At the book's end, Elspeth definitely has a more hopeful view about the world and the Hilamen, based on things that happen. Basically, in the middle of the book, Elspeth and the others discover that the Hilamen create a Northern Lights-style lightshow every year to defend Earth, which is one of the reasons they've been reaching out to Elspeth. At the end of the book, there's a lingering question as to why the Hila did all that? Self-preservation? Maintaining the symbiosis with humans and their environment? Following an inherent "pre-programed" nature? Genuine altruism? We never find out and neither does Elspeth, but this tired, old woman, believes in something hopeful.

As I said, even the side characters are all fleshed out, but you will have to endure some of their annoyances in the beginning. I didn't like Ward at first, but he grew on me. I think I enjoyed Prasad the most out of the side characters. A hopeful, but not foolish man who did everything he could to help Elspeth. I didn't agree with Mayor Hutch's actions and goals, you're obviously not mean to, but I like how Welker made his machinations move the plot. The only character I really disliked was Sabion, but he has a sort of redemption near the middle end of the book.

The science here is not as heavy as it was in Dark Theory. I wasn't as lost as I was in that overwise amazing book. There is some info-dumping, but it isn't too heavy-handed nor does it go for pages. Things are explained to the point where even non-science-minded people, such as myself, can understand but without the feeling that we're being talked down to. Now, Saint Elspeth does touch upon a few social issues here and there, such a toxic masculinity and prejudice, some at more lengths than others. I think Welker handled these issues decently, but they could've been better. These issues are not central themes to the book nor are constantly mentioned throughout, but they appear from time to time. Again, some more than others. There's two ways subtly discuss issues in fiction: 1) one way is when the author is not directly mentioning the themes and issues, but readers gradually pick up the pieces of what's being discussed or implied when the and go, "OOOHHH I get what they're doing here!" or 2) the author's kind of going "Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink. Know what I mean?" Welker's delivery here is the second option and it isn't bad; I think it was definitely handled better than that one moment from Dark Theory where Miree complains about the jetpack--if you know, you know. Anyway, if I have any criticism about Saint Elspeth's handling about these issues is that one the prejudice moments leads to the reveal of one of the characters' race. I am not of that character's race, but I don't think you should reveal an, otherwise undescribed, character's race through that method.

Overall, this is a very good stand-alone novel from Welker. He mostly writes stand-alones, still waiting on the Dark Theory sequel, and it was refreshing for the character development of its main character. Highly recommend.

[Nancy Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am one of the judges of team Space Girls for the SPSFC4 contest. This review is my personal opinion. Officially, it is still in the running for the contest, pending any official team announcements.

Status: Finalist
Read: 69%

This book deservedly has earned itself a spot in the contest finals as a solid read. It interestingly stars a Pathologist named Elspeth Darrow who has been turned into an every-specialty physician against her will because nobody else seems up for the job. People outside of medicine might be unaware, but there are some truths regarding personalities that veer towards specific specialties.

Whether its because of the procedures/disease/work vibe or mere coincidence, I do believe while not an absolute truth, people with variable degrees of extraversion and agreeableness will feel more inclined to enjoy a residency in X or Y field. As a specialty where your patient doesn't tend to be alive and the most interaction with fellow hospital staff might be an awkward visit to the cafeteria, Pathology will seem more enticing to introverted people that enjoy know disease minutiae over interacting with demanding patients or coworkers.

So, to see a story starring a rather grumpy Pathologist being forced to relearn Med School 101 and performing surgical procedures on living patients because there are no surgeons 500 miles, this book hits the mark very well regarding the added stressor of learning things about fields you have scant interest in and even worse, being stuck teaching the next generation of med students that seem... well. Apparently when modern medicine is a luxury in a dystopia future, the glamor of medicine becomes replaced more easily with the futility of neverending death due to no longer treatable ailments. So, even though Ward might not be an exemplary student, Elspeth kinda needs to start training any replacement before humanity's past knowledge vanishes into a new Dark Age.

I definitely liked Elspeth's sass and Ward being... well... Ward.

There's some aspects of the book that overlap a tad bit too much for me with Dark Theory in both good and negative ways. Overall, I believe readers that enjoyed one of the two books will vibe with the other.

Due to personal reasons totally unrelated to the merits of the book, I need to pause this read at the 69% point. I might make an effort to go back in the near future to finish it when I am in a mentally better place for it. From the way the book is going, it would be highly unlikely the final 30% of the story would severely affect my score which has remained at a highly enviable 4.5 stars.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from the SPSFC4, where I was a judge. This book was a finalist in the competition, and I'm sorry to the author for posting this so late. While my reviews on other places went up back in July, I've been bogged down in my written reviews.

A fun post-apoclaypic novel with aliens, medical procedures, and fertilizer, St Elsbeth is a quick-paced one-woman show.

When it comes to post-apocalyptic stuff, I have drifted from it recently due to having absorbed too much of the stuff as a gig as a writer at a post-apocalyptic themed website. But this one was a little different because while it had the “scavenging for pre-war goods” and “factions fighting” tropes, we weren’t exposed to any of the other tropes that sometimes go along with it, like extreme violence or war. I’m not knocking that in the sub-genre - my own novel features some of that - but it was nice to have one where the issue is something very different - something less about survival (though this also is about that) than solving a problem. The aliens were quite cool with an interesting dilemma, solution, and physiology.

This book had a lot of medical situations in it, which I found well-paced and described, but just don’t turn my crank. Yet, the characters were good. Elsbeth is extremely no-nonsense and middle-aged, which was nice to see, and while I wouldn't say I ever warmed to her, I understood her for the most part. The side characters I could have seen more of. Ward and Sibion were great, but we didn’t get enough time with Hutch and Reece, for example, to really grasp their motives.

I enjoyed the aliens, but I do wish they were in the story a bit more. I really liked the concept behind what they were hoping to accomplish.

One thing that sort of bogged down the ending for me was that it was a bit preachy. The diaglogue got a bit stuff when “the point” of the book came up, which I didn’t think we needed. It stood strong enough on its own without Elizabeth having to spell it out in dialogue that fell a bit into monologing. It wasn’t egregious, but given the high stakes in the competition, it stood out.

This didn’t affect the rating, but there was a missed opportunity for an enemies-to-lovers between Elsbeth and another character. The book also seemed to hinting at another romance between two other characters but shied away at the last minute from going all-in, leaving me disappointed.

Overall, though, a solid post-apocalyptic novel with aliens that goes in a different direction than it starts. And if you love medical drama, you will probably really enjoy it. While it wasn't my favourite book in the competition on a personal connection level, I did score it very highly as it's very well written.

[Angie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4 stars*

Saint Elspeth by Wick Welker is a solid post-apocalyptic, sci-fi novel. This is the first of Welker’s works that I’ve read, and I might just need to sample some others.
I really appreciated the description of life in San Francesco, post-nuclear war, brought about by the arrival of an alien species almost 40 years ago. This allowed me to feel immersed in this altered world, where modern technologies are rare. Cinematic is the word I would use to describe the world-building here.

I was drawn to this novel because of the main female character, who is the only trained medical doctor for all that remains of the city. Determined & driven is good description of Dr. Elspeth Darrow. But be forewarned, there is plenty of medical gore while we share her desperate attempts to save lives. Not for the faint of heart reader.

The book did become a bit heavy handed in its idealistic, philosophical ending, but since I share a similar outlook on life, it didn’t bother me. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a unique post-apocalyptic tale, and I look forward to film adaptation of this book.

Publishing date for this is 11/4/23.

Many thanks to Demodocus Publishing LLC and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest, unbiased review.

[Jay Brantner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Saint Elspeth as part of a judging team for the fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC4), where it is a finalist.

Saint Elspeth takes place in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco. The arrival of strange aliens decades before had set off waves of violence and mistrust that led to nuclear conflict and the destruction of much of Earth’s population centers. The aliens had remained a quiet mystery while the humans destroyed themselves, only years later banding into groups of survivors trying to build a society atop the rubble of the old world. The lead is San Francisco’s only doctor, scrounging supplies from abandoned hospitals and setting up shop in city hall to do her best to treat the ill and injured. But dwindling supplies and an increasingly bellicose mayor are straining a fragile system, and the rumors of alien sightings never quite cease. Further conflict is coming, in some form or another.

Saint Elspeth limits itself to a single perspective character, the titular doctor Elspeth, with most of the story taking place in the post-apocalyptic setting and only a handful of flashbacks to the tragedies of the past. Even though I’d struggled with Welker’s sprawling Dark Theory, I didn’t have complaints about his prose style, and the limited scope of Saint Elspeth makes for a tale that flows much more freely and rarely bogs down.

The ultimate conflict doesn’t truly take shape until well into the story, with the early stages focusing on the struggle to find medical supplies and to shape the minds of the youths who will lead the next generation. But these storylines bring their own drama, engaging the reader from the start, all while the unknown alien motivations lurk in the background to threaten the future.

I’m a big fan of first contact, and despite the aliens having been around for years when the action begins, little enough is known about them that there was still plenty of opportunity for a story along those lines. And there are enough hints in the setup that it’s not a spoiler to say that the promise comes good—there’s a significant subplot about trying to find a way to understand this strange race and their motivations, and it’s a blast. That sort of plot is a sci-fi classic for a reason, and it’s executed well here.

It’s clear from the get-go that Saint Elspeth wants to make a point about the way that fear and cynicism drives people and societies to destruction, and the theme comes through loud and clear. There are even a few passages where characters directly debate the wisdom of assuming the worst and the rationality of viewing any actions as altruistic. But while the discussion of the tale’s major themes is certainly direct, it doesn’t come at the expense of the story. This isn’t a meditative, philosophical sci-fi (I say with no judgement toward meditative, philosophical sci-fi, which I often love); it’s a post-apocalyptic first contact in which human nature is perhaps the primary battleground.

There are a few moments where plot dominos may fall a little too easily, or characters behave in a way that feels a tad too convenient to establish the major themes. And perhaps for a reader who loves to nitpick minutiae, that could be a serious flaw. But even when I had questions, it never really inhibited the flow of reading or my ability to invest emotionally in the story. It all comes together in a way that makes a point while doing justice to the characters and telling a plenty entertaining story with a satisfying ending.

Overall, Saint Elspeth is a quality post-apocalyptic first contact novel with a lot to say about human nature.

15/20

[Azrah · Rating 4 out of 5]

[This review can also be found on my BLOG]

**I read this book as a judge for the fourth annual Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), this review is solely my own and does not reflect the opinions of the whole team**

CW: violence/gun violence, blood, injury, death, child death, pregnancy, mention of miscarriage, medical content, medical trauma, mention of cancer, suicide, grief, bullying, racism, homophobia, xenophobia
--

Saint Elspeth takes place in a gritty, post-apocalyptic future where much of the world has been destroyed due to human paranoia following a mysterious alien species, referred to as Hila/Hilamen, coming to earth. The story follow Dr. Elspeth Darrow, a middle aged ex-pathologist who is the sole doctor of the makeshift hospital for the community in Neo San Francisco, doing her best to treat and save patients with the ever dwindling medical supplies that can be salvaged. Tensions between city states are on a knife edge and Elspeth’s attempts to train new medics have largely been in vain so she is just taking things day by day. That is until on a supply run the reserved aliens finally make themselves known, and they’ve chosen Elspeth to receive and share their message.

I’m going to straight away point out that this book is a slow burner but honestly stick with it because it is such an engrossing take on human nature when facing a first-contact situation and a post-apocalyptic society.

Having read Dark Theory for last year’s competition this book is my second time experiencing how fantastic Welker is at setting up atmosphere. While there is a sort of generic feel to the one in this book the descriptions of the setting immediately immerse you in. Plus the medic perspective and the healthcare focus in such a future felt fresh. So many moments in the book were a reminder of why I steered clear of any sort of medical career, like I was empathising with Ward so much in those early chapters because I wouldn’t be able to hack it in the slightest. At times the amount of attention given to these medical scenes did disrupt the pace a little bit but they were still well written and you could really feel the stress in the situations.

When the mystery with regards to the Hila started to unfold I was hooked right in and all the tension of the accompanying political powerplay storyline balanced with it fittingly.

I really liked Elspeth as a protagonist, she had a really engaging perspective and her journey as well as the glimpses of her past that were provided in the flashbacks really allow you to connect with her emotionally. In fact a lot of the supporting characters were written just as well, a handful of them frustrated me to no end so seeing them grow over the course of the book was also rewarding.

There were some monologues towards the end that came across as a little preachy and I did find the whole explanation on why the aliens came to earth to be a bit flimsy too but overall this was a really solid standalone book and I really enjoyed reading it.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saint Elspeth
I received this book from NetGalley for a honest review!!
I give this 4.5 stars🌟

Wick Welker is a unique talent and Scifi is his jam. I have read dark theory from him and was really impressed.

This book doesn’t miss a beat!! He is very methodical with emotions e running on all cylinders!
Extraterrestrial is a large word , but Wick knows how to fill the pages with characters and Strong female protagonist!! With great world building! Of a physical or chemical nature.

[I.K. Stokbaek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked from the first chapter. Aliens show up, they hang in the sky bothering no one. Then a nuclear war breaks out, not directly caused by the passive aliens. It’s not immediately revealed what the aliens wanted or why they showed up. That’s an enticing mystery that unravels throughout the book.

In the post-apocalyptic world, people are recolonising known geographical locations in America. The changed world is well described in detail, but the book doesn’t do anything new in this regard, except for the medical terms and obvious expertise of the author. But to be honest, most of that went over my head. It’s very detailed.

Doctor Elspeth Darrow is a brilliant character. I liked her from the start. When the aliens arrive in the opening scene, she is pregnant, but for a long time it remains a mystery what happened to her child. After a time jump, she’s one of few who still recall the world before the nuclear war, and she doesn’t have anything from the old world, other than her profession. She’s a good doctor, but resources are scarce, and politics are getting in her way.

The book has some of the coolest aliens I’ve ever encountered. Quite often alien species in fiction are much like humans, but these aren’t. The details of the aliens come later in the book, and I don’t want to spoil anything. They’re worth waiting for.

A few prose style choices weren't to my taste, and at times the pacing felt slow. In the first half of the book, I found some of the descriptions unnecessary, and I could have done without quite so many details about medical procedures. But that's subjective, and a lot of people will love it.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story.

[Ken Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most unique takes on TEOTWAWKI I've ever read. This is a very smart piece of post apocalyptic science fiction, and there's a bit of a learning curve involved. Complex descriptions of medical procedures that might be a bit much for the Mark Tufo crowd are littered amongst the other goings on in the story.
Another excellent dose of reality in Saint Elspeth is how necessary it is for people who are carrying firearms to be properly trained in their use, lest REALLY BAD things happen to them and the people all around them.
Welker's take on alien life is right out of left field, and completely captivating.
Brainy entertainment - I absolutely ate this book.
Highly recommended!

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable first contact story in a post-apocalyptic setting. I really liked the main person, a female medical doctor who tries to save as many people as she possibly can. Meanwhile she tries to understand the situation with the visiting aliens. This book has enough mystery to keep a reader interested and the answers are very unexpected.

[Darnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started lukewarm on this, but my feeling progressively improved starting from the alien autopsy. Happy to see a post-apocalyptic setting used for something other than the usual.

On the scale of optimism to pessimism, the author is further toward the optimism end than I am, but I decided that this preference shouldn't bother me: he's making a valid statement on the genre, even if an idealistic one.

I have mixed feelings about the antagonists: while they're bluntly characterized, petty tyrants exist in real life, and it isn't as if bravado and machismo are unrealistic. I think my only substantial complaint is how incompetent so many of the non-Elspeth characters are, which is something that improves throughout the novel.

One of the positives during my lukewarm period also blossomed. I was initially thinking that at least post-apocalyptic medics are a less common focus, but the author really built a novel from this: most of the crises are medical (and justify the time spent on minor characters), a major turn comes from a life the protagonist saves, and of course the central issue of the aliens is basically medical. I wonder what a medical professional would think of the clinic segments, but to my inexpert eye, they seemed authentic and crunchier than usual.

Aside from being a good read, this one is living up to the promise of indie publishing: a slightly different sort of story that probably wouldn't be published by a trad house.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this novel for my honest review.

3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed most aspects of this book. I think the character work was very well done. Elspeth felt like a complicated, well fleshed out individual. I also really liked the alien presence in the book. I haven't read many post-apocalyptic books where survivors have to navigate interactions with aliens, as well as each other. This complication brought a freshness to what can feel like a very tired genre, at least for my tastes. And that doesn't mean that Saint Elspeth didn't fall into some of my least favorite tropes, because it did. As a reader I am tired of reading post-apocalyptic stories where men fight to be the supreme leader of whatever civilization is left. I've seen it a million times, it doesn't feel creative, it doesn't make me excited to keep turning the pages. And unfortunately, that was definitely present here and it's why I couldn't give a higher rating. This is a personal distaste of mine and doesn't mean that another reader can't absolutely love that story line. But even with this trope that I dislike, Welker still kept me interested in what would happen because of the aliens. I enjoyed the conversations around both their motivations and biology. They were easily my favorite sections to read.

The only other critique I would give is that I would have enjoyed more flashbacks to the time right after the alien craft arrived and during Elspeth's time in the bunker. The few we got to see were incredibly interesting and a great opportunity to explore more of her history and development.

Overall, this was a very good book, and I will check out more of Welker's work.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the audible very much... the main characters were well drawn...and I enjoyed the philosophical/spiritual themes that emerged in the conflict.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER - I received a free copy of this book to review for the 2024/25 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC).

For SPSFC 23/24 Wick Welker submitted his book Dark Theory. It was excellent! So, when I saw he had submitted a new book for this year’s competition I immediately put it on my “to read” list.

Much like Dark Theory, Saint Elspeth centers around the actions of a small but growing band of somewhat dysfunctional characters. The group is lead by our title character, Dr. Elspeth Darrow, who would probably see herself as the ultimate antihero. Elspeth is a war widow, who lost her baby in childbirth, prefers working in a lab away from people, but who has been thrust into the role of primary healer for a group of humans who survived the apocalypse in an underground bunker near San Francisco.

Saint Elspeth one of those books that flips back and forth through time, focused mainly in the present but returning to the past to fill in the storyline. While it is a first contact novel, the aliens are not a focus into much later in the book and it is the humans, not the aliens, that pose the biggest threat.

Welker is a medical doctor so the book is filled with a lot scenes based on actual medical practices. As with book one, hard science is not central to his writing but, fortunately, he does not include made-up science. There is a fair amount of blood and gore which is there for the realism, rather than graphic violence.

I found the name Elspeth to be intriguing. It is used almost exclusively in Scotland, England, and Australia. Like the name Elizabeth, Elspeth comes from the Hebrew Elisheva. It is interesting that in the old testament, Elisheva was a Hebrew midwife who bravely stood up to Pharaoh’s draconic order to murder all baby boys born to the Hebrews. Welker’s Elspeth not only stands up to the colony ruler but issues related to childbirth are a recurring event in her life.

Central to the story line is the theory of the Dark Forest, the name and focus of the excellent 2008 science fiction novel by the Chinese writer Liu Cixin. The theory is that any space-faring civilization would view intelligent life on other planets as an inevitable threat. This perceived threat would force them to destroy any advanced lifeform that makes itself known, most likely through the electromagnetic spectrum (such as the TV and Radio waves humans have been broadcasting for decades).

There is so much to love about this book; the three dimensional characters, the crisp, tight writing, the overlapping issues and events, the surprise twists and turns, and the many moral and ethical questions raised by the characters and events. This book is excellent as a standalone but, personally, I would love to see a sequel.

[DC Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A jaded doctor tries to heal the wasteland. This is a great combination of alien invasion, post apocalypse, and medical thriller. The concepts behind the alien anatomy were fascinating. The medical descriptions are top notch. The politicking was cool, especially exploring how dire circumstances forces humans to band together for good or bad. Also it was really interesting when the when the characters make a crucial discovery about the aliens, altering the various city-state leaders' strategies for dealing with them. Hopeful conclusion that doesn't try to answer unanswerable questions.

[Isabella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2 stars

The end of civilisation as we know it effectively came and went. Earth is completely annihilated, uninhabitable. Humanity is dying a slow, and painful death. Remnants of once thriving societies squabble over finite resources, everyone desperate to see the next sunrise. Life expectancy is dwindling. Infant mortality rates are through the roof. Then, somehow, amongst all this turmoil, someone rises up. A lone figure, determined to make the most of what little hope humankind has left. Against all odds and defying all expectation, Isabella finally publishes her review.

Oh, you thought I was talking about the book? No, I was just being overly dramatic in regards to my complete neglect in writing this review. I seem to always take forever reading Wick's books. I would like to take this moment to abjectly apologise. For a timeline: on the 29th of August 2023, author Wick Welker kindly sent me an arc of Saint Elspeth, which I was more than grateful to accept. I started reading on the 4th of September, and finally finished it 37 days later on the 10th of October. Currently, as I write this, I am less than ten days out from Christmas Day itself, and I have just convinced myself to start expanding on my notes. But that's nothing. NOW we are in the far flung future of the 6th of April, in the year of our Lord 2025 - yes, 545 bloody days - and I am crawling out of the retirement home to finally post it. Hello procrastination, my old friend.

For the sake of my sanity (and yours) I have divided this review up into sections headed up by topic, rather than try and seamlessly blend between them. It will be less organic, yes, but I am working with my fried brain here, so, we're going to have to make do.

Medical:
The first thing from Saint Elspeth I would like to talk about is the wealth of medical knowledge and information put into the writing, and woven into the very essence of the story. If it wasn't clear before that Welker worked in the field of medicine, it sure as hell is now. Some of the A&E situations felt so personal, like they were partially based on or inspired by actual situations the author has been in himself. Because of this, on the whole, Saint Elspeth came across as the book furtherest inside Wick Welker's comfort zone. That is in no way a critique, because I firmly believe sticking to one's guns is more often than not the surest way to success. Because of the experience of the author shining through into the story, the book was never unsure of itself. Realism was never a question. Like, I didn’t think you could that much with a tracheotomy (emergency cut-hole-in-throat thingy), but I trust Wick in what he wrote to be true to life, because of the confidence in which it was written.

The medical knowledge is also added in such a way that is not jarring to the pacing of the story. If anything, it provides valuable imagery that helps build on the bleak backdrop of the post apocalyptic society. I made note of a couple of examples to include here:

“A line forms at Sabion’s side to tag team the brutal and exhaustive work of pumping his heart for him by throttling his sternum and cracking his ribs.”

“Not only did we break his ribs with chest compressions, probably puncturing his lungs, but he also undoubtedly breathed against the noose wrapped around his trachea, which drew fluid into his little lungs sacs instead of air from above.”

The visceral language used to describe the emergency medical procedures naturally adds to the tension of the actions undertaken to save these people. And we didn't need a large paragraph of cut away science-y jargon to receive the information. This was truly the strongest point of Saint Elspeth.


Writing/dialogue:
Now perhaps the weakest part: the dialogue. While there were nuggets of gold in the words spoken by characters, on the whole, the dialogue delivery was a bit clunky, flat, and it felt too rehearsed. I had this giant paragraph highlighted as an example, but I can't be bothered putting it here so I'll use this shorter one instead:

“ 'Do you like who you are?' I ask him.
He stiffens at my question and angles his rifle back on me.
'You can change,' I tell him.' ”

I mean, it's not quite as bad as the infamous "I've changed. I'm different now" from Refraction, but it still feels a little unnatural, as in it doesn't flow organically like dialogue should. It is at times a little too preachy, and (while I hate to use the word) cringy. I don't think this is due to Saint Elspeth being told in first person, because the other books I have read from Welker have been in third and I had the same issue there. Maybe this is just an experience thing. While delivering technical details in an engaging way may come easily to Wick, perhaps dialogue is something he has to work at. (This is not me looking down at the author here, as I'm sure my attempts at writing conversations are miles behind Welker's.) But watch this space, because Welker's strengths as a writer are only growing, and I have no doubt this particular skill will continue to improve from here.



Characters:
Flowing on from the dialogue comes the people delivering it. While there were elements that were very strong in the crafting of the characters in Saint Elspeth, I also found there were some significant gaps. There are parts of the novel where the plot is rather stagnant, which is totally fine and even expected in fiction nowadays, but the problem with character is most prevalent during these sections. When a story is not going anywhere, you need good characters to keep the reader invested in your book. The problem with Saint Elspeth is that it didn't have any characters complex or interesting enough to achieve this. Whenever the book focused on its main storyline, it was engaging and flowed really well, but whenever we had to halt and flesh out characters, it got weak. Because the characters felt so underdeveloped, it was difficult for me to differentiate them from one another. They had no strong characteristics to make them stand out in any way. I remembered all the names of the people in the story, I just kept forgetting which character went with which name.

Putting aside the craft of actually writing them and looking in-universe at these characters, here is where they really shine. While I am extrapolating a little, (due to the lack development in this area in the story itself) the motivations and core drive of our characters were all logical products of the situations and environments they found themselves in. The foundations were all there. Each person had the potential to be a compelling and layered character. I just personally don't think it was delivered upon quite enough for me taste.

This next point totally comes down to personal preference, even more so than the rest, but Saint Elspeth had a bit of "Chekhov's gun" approach to characters. No character is wasted. If a person is set up, you know they will definitely be plot relevant at some point and utilised thusly. I don't mind this method of story telling, and in this instance it works really well because it made the narrative more interconnected and cohesive, like everything was tied together, but it ultimately depends on what you prefer. You do have to sacrifice some things, though, doing it this way, because it generally makes the world feel narrower in scope. Yet here I think it was the perfect choice, because the story of Saint Elspeth is centred around a small section of the entire world created, so this method suits it.



Plot/story:
Around 30% mark, the story switches and goes in a different direction. To me it seemed to be setting up for a traveling/quest story across an apocalyptic landscape, The Last of Us-style, but then the focus shifts again. This is completely a personal reaction and others will naturally feel differently, but for me this change in tone/direction meant that the book lost a good portion of its narrative thrust. It did somewhat pick itself back up afterwards, but it was a bit jarring for me and I found I wasn't as invested in the middle chunk of the book.

I got worried around the 85% mark because things seemed to be wrapping up a little too quickly and cleanly… and it perhaps ended that way. The beginning was just so strong, and by comparison the ending seemed a bit lacking. This (like everything else) is subjective, but I felt like the book needed another something in the last 20% to really drive it home. I am not entirely sure what exactly was missing, but it needed an extra... oomph to bring everything to a close more effectively for my taste.



To close, I want to reiterate that the parts of this book that work, really do work extremely well, and overall make it worth your time. The medical knowledge alone is a reason to read Saint Elspeth. But... yeah. I promised to be honest, and so my 2 star rating (unfortunately) still stands. I almost regret putting the paragraph with all my commendations first, because it means you are left with my criticisms (that is assuming anyone made it down this far... which I highly doubt somehow). I have the utmost respect for Wick Welker. His books are consistently of value and always an enjoyable reading experience. If anything, this more critical look at Saint Elspeth should serve only to strengthen my glowing review of Dark Theory, which was one of my favourite books the year I read it.

But maybe I don't know anything. Looking at the average ratings of Welker's books, they actually go in the opposite direction to my personal enjoyment. I suppose everything is subjective, and my reviews can only hope to convey my own feelings and give others an idea as to where they might stand. Or perhaps they are just mildly entertaining. I hope they can at least do that.


______________
Updates:

22/12/24
I promise this review is coming, Wick... I have been continuously working on it and sometimes it goes nowhere, but I'm trying my best! Though at this stage it looks like the heat death is going to beat me to it. Or at least GTA 6.

11/10/23
Ok I finished. Let me see if I can get this review out before the heat death of the universe

[Ziggy Nixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligent life is too dumb to live long.

If you are like me and go to the very very last page of a book after you finish reading it - yes, just as if you're at a Marvel Universe film and are waiting on the theater ushers to appear to signal that yes, the movie and credits and surprise credit scenes are now done done! - you'll see that Wick Welker's bio indicates that he "writes in multiple genres including medicine, post-apocalyptic and science fiction." That is certainly one reason that I have enjoyed each and every book of his that I've read (no, I must ashamedly admit I have not completed his entire catalogue… YET!). My point being that you can never pigeonhole the genre he'll be presenting and certainly not how he'll be presenting it. He has a true knack for taking various, well, tropes and turning them into an amalgam of new ways of looking at things, not only those needed to understand the book you're reading, but so much more.

We put on the masks of a new society, trying to build our way back to greatness. But we were never that great. The aliens showed us who we really are.

That being said, for me the best part is that he manages to wrap each of his often bizarre plot-lines up in some absolutely delicious prose! And it is both of these aspects will be my lasting memory of "Saint Elspeth". Now without being unnecessarily abrupt or even insulting, the general scenario of the story is not terribly new: aliens have ARRIVED. We don't know how, why don't know why, and we don't know what to do next. But in true apocalyptic, dystopian fashion, by the end of those first reveals we are left to ponder: who are the real monsters here? And naturally, it continues to be - unsurprisingly - man and his treatment of his fellow man. He has what I want and I have something he wants but he can't have it. Ad nauseam, ad infinitum. Naturally if this (waves hands vaguely) ever did happen, we'd probably even react more violently that Welker suggests and definitely wouldn't be leaving the West Coast out of our irradiated wasteland re-zoning!

Leaning towers of ancient corporatism loom like the corpses of mythical giants— a legend of old-world gods, part of the apocrypha of a once-powerful tribe.

There is enough of the "believable" with Neo SF, Neo LA and other colonies to balance very well the incredibly imaginative and sheer alienness (alienosity?) of the visitors. Welker even mentions the book that I would also parallel to this one in that regard, namely, Andy Weir's "Hail Mary". Both invite the reader to try and wrap their heads around something out there having not only an extremely different biological, neurological and whatever other fill-in-the-blank-ological make-up, but potentially very different motivations (or even the same as in Weir's drama) for travelling the heavens. But then we're challenged to consider if those motivations really are that different and we just go about reaching the same result with different tactics. And if there's also a Borg-level threat also looming, well, work on your resistance no matter how futile it feels!

The universe is intensely aware of who we are, where we are, and has nothing but intelligent contempt at our existence.

One thing I will say about "Saint Elspeth" is that it is not a very, well, happy book. Life is not great once the shelters release their re-colonizers back into what can only be described as a nearly New Middle Ages. It's so bad that our protagonist, former nerdy pathologist Elspeth (not a Saint per se but play along), winds up having to learn the breadth and depth of medical knowledge, all while having to do so in less than ideal conditions (a spare wing and the basement of City Hall can not be considered ideal in any scenario). Her success may be impressive under the circumstances, but very quickly the reader is almost overwhelmed with her growing malaise, desperation, and depression, feelings which seem to infect anyone with any trace of human empathy left.

I sigh with depression so cutting and eternal that I’m almost looking forward to no longer existing.

And of course, this all happens with the possibility of a new Civil War hanging over everyone's heads, not to mention the potential for ultimate annihilation. You know, if you're willing to stop scratching yourself (I'm lookin' at us, boys!) and listen to the smart people for a while. But by the end of the day, it is indeed a fascinating read. If you're like me, you'll keep stopping and wonder: just how alien could I make aliens if I was asked to do so? And just how human do I think our own species will remain in the face of potential extinction? Welker does well to accompany us along as we're challenged to address these questions. Like a favorite professor that could still regale his class with lessons learned while teaching the most complex of subjects, somehow it winds up being a hell of a lot of fun … despite it all! Enjoy!

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to start by saying that my mind always goes more towards critiques of books than strengths unfortunately. I gave this book three stars because I think it is entertaining, interesting, and worth reading. I liked it more than I disliked it, so just because my rambling may contain a bit more critique than praise doesn't mean I don't think it was good, my brain just works like that. Spoilers below.

Really, really great world building. Thought the Hila's entire design and all of the plot points that circled around them were amazing. I found Welker through his medical podcast and was very pleased by how he incorporated his expertise into the novel, really incredible job. I also found the plot itself to be believable, engaging, and exciting. For a moment I thought the "dark forest" plot point was a bit cliche, but I appreciate the way it developed in the absence of the actual threat. The focus more-so on the terrestrial obstacles to avoiding this predator species while dealing with the uncertainty of the Hila's motives or truthfulness kept me very interested. While it doesn't revolutionize the theme, it focuses on an aspect not often explored and raises some good questions. If anything, I would have appreciated if Prasad's view of the Hila had been expressed earlier, and had been allowed to become it's own competing theory through the course of the plot alongside all of the more pessimistic ones.

On that note, I have to say I really appreciate Welker's optimism. He reminds me of Le Guinn in that way. Throughout the novel, he reaffirms again and again that the world is what we make it. That the suffering and violence of the world are not truths, but happen because of concrete choices that humans make. Choices that they do not have to. This is a very important idea that I think is left out in a lot of political writing (which this is), too much of our political and social systems are in place on the basis of completely unfounded beliefs in how the world has to work. More often than not in beliefs that benefit those who believe in them.

Okay, looks like I did actually have a lot of good things to say, I'm glad! Most of my critiques of the novel are of the writing rather than plot or world building. For one, the characters. While they served their purpose in moving the plot forward, I don't know that I actually liked or connected with any of them. Many are one dimensional, there to represent a stereotype or a theme, and their dialogue mostly just serves to affirm this singular trait. This issue is primarily with the minor characters like Reese, but I think is true to a large extent about the main characters who do have a concrete personality (some like Rafa just kind of feel there). The other issue I have is the way characters evolve in the novel. Geddes was my favorite character largely because he was the exception, he was presented as someone who was already between the worlds of Reese and Elspeth, and because of that his shift to becoming a medical student felt much more natural. For most of the other characters who change, it is usually as the result of a single event that changes them for the rest of the book. Sabion is the prime example of this. The Sabion we get before and after his suicide attempt kind of feel like two different characters. It is helped by the fact that he can't speak after this character transformation, but I don't truly believe in who he has become. I think part of what confuses this is that characters like Ward do change over in universe time, but not really over written time. While they may have had time to grow and change, the way the pacing of the book is handled we don't often get to see that evolution, rather, we get one of two flashes of the journey, and then their destination.

The pacing itself was confusing at times as well. Sometimes weeks would be skipped, sometimes days, sometimes these skips would happen between chapters, sometimes within chapters. It can get confusing at times, especially near the end when all of a sudden we have a time constraint.

Finally the politics. While I'm pretty sure I'm a bit more lefty than Welker is (mostly from listening to Welker's podcast), I liked everything he had to say politically in the book, some of it is mentioned above. That being said, while (what I term) topical one liners weren't present like a lot of popular political media (see any Knives Out movie), there is still more telling than showing of the political messaging. This always conflicts me in media because I understand that without it many people may miss the message entirely, but unfortunately, it detracts from the quality of the writing.

Prose was fine. Dialogue was a bit stiff and similar sounding, but everything does when you're hot off an Iris Murdoch novel.

[E.L. Montague · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Saint Elspeth tells the story of a crisis in post-apocalyptic California from the point of view one woman in San Francisco, or rather Neo SF. We wiped ourselves out in a nuclear holocaust when aliens appeared 25 years ago. A tiny slice of humanity survived in bunkers and came out to refound the human race in colonies around the world. Elspeth Darrow is the only doctor in NeoSF where she tries to keep hope alive in a hospital she built in the east wing of the old City Hall building. She has to deal with dwindling supplies, a youthful and ignorant populace, colony politics, her own demons, and an endless tide of sorrow. She keeps hope alive because what else is she supposed to do. She uses every skill she can from the old world to keep the new world going. She struggles to make others care and work with her. But her simple brand of goodness makes her loved. Now throw in the aliens, a medical mystery that is causing them all to die, and a looming threat from outer space and you've got Saint Elspeth. It's a compelling story.

The Good: There are two things that shine in this story. One, Welker has presented an inventive alien species and a realistic outcome of first contact. And two, it's clear that Welker knows medicine and hospitals. I have a strong sense of the East Wing hospital and the surrounding city. And I feel like I know these aliens. Both are done marvelously.

Welker gives us a very satisfying resolution. He rewards us with promises kept. The whole cast of character follow logical arcs for their place in the world, and Elspeth - our heroine - both grows and is rewarded for her growth. From the very beginning I felt for her. And in the end, I stayed up late to learn where she ended. This is very good.

We get to enjoy a richly created world and the anatomy of a crisis at the end of the world.

The Bad: I never got to fully immerse myself in NeoSF. It's a shame because everything else about Saint Elspeth eventually seduced me, but this one thing about worldbuilding killed me the whole time. I never got away from it - coffee. Coffee set me into a negative spin. There is a scene early in the book with nurses sitting around drinking coffee. It stopped me dead in my tracks. I don't actually know that much about antibiotics or medicine or a whole list of old world technology that seemed to work in NeoSF, but I know about coffee. It does not grow naturally in Northern California. There is Californian coffee, surprise, surprise, but even if untended coffee plantations survived the nuclear winter, they wouldn't be irrigated or tended. But that's not the point. The point is, coffee pulled me out of the moment and made me start questioning Welker's world building. How come all the tires don't have dry rot? Would antibiotics really survive 25 years? Is plastic tubing medically sound after 25 years? Where does all the electricity come from? Do car batteries last 25 years? I have to replace mine after 5 years no matter what happens with them. And on and on. They use an awful lot of bullets without industry. I'm a big believer that we are only one generation away from the wild west if we lost all our industry and population. Welker gives us 15,000 people in a walled city in a future with no heavy industry, but enough of the old world survives to have coffee on your break.

I only mention it because this type of question pulled me out of the story as late as the last 30 pages. Maybe it's a me thing.

Overall: I'm really glad I read this book. In the end, Welker has something to say about humanity, the nature of first contact, the possibilities of a post-apocalyptic world, and the essential decency of people when you let them be decent. I like Elspeth Darrow. I rooted for her. I spent a whole novel wanting to see her succeed and her story will stick with me. I'll read more. The whole thing with coffee aside, this is a strong recommend for anyone who wants to hear a story about an alien invasion in a dystopian future. Well done.

4.4 of 5 stars for me.

[TennesseeReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back before the wars when I was a pathologist, San Francisco had one physcian for every one thousand people in the city. Neo SF had grown to more than fifteen thousand. There was only one physician for all those people. Doctor Elspeth Darrow.

Wick Welker's newest novel, Saint Elspeth, is an instant sci-fi classic! Twenty years after the arrival of aliens, Dr. Elspeth Darrow does everything she can to help the citizens of Neo SF be cared for. A journey for some medical supplies leads to some shocking discoveries for Dr. Darrow and it's up to her, and her 'fellowship', to figure out the mysteries that lead to our planet's potential end or salvation.

I can no longer sleep because of the worry, but it's no longer a worry for the present which is already sealed - the story already written. Nor do I worry about my tragic past that the Hila came and stole from me. No, I worry for the world that comes after the relics of pre-war people are finally swept from the earth. I worry that we're on the cusp of reverse human evolution where clinical trials are replaced by witch trials. I fear I am a mere residue on glass - an airbrushed silhouette of a grasping hand reaching for the walls of ancient caves. We had one chance at civilization. I'm uncertain we deserve another.

Saint Elspeth is the second novel of Wick Welker's that I've read. The first was Dark Theory which is in my Top 5 Favorite Books of All Time list. It was a brilliant mix of sci-fi and fantasy. He has more novels that I haven't read yet but it's clear to see that Wick is already a well-established author.

I did not know what to expect with this one. I read the blurb, I knew it was sci-fi, and I knew that aliens had shown up. That was about it. What I discovered was a very personal story of survival, hope, and the end of the world.

Even though this is a big story, it is very personal and very deep. We see it all through Dr. Darrow's eyes. Wick has a way of describing the post-apocalyptic world that is very beautiful. Imagine the worlds from the video games of The Last of Us and Horizon: Zero West and Forbidden Dawn. The way he writes and describes this world hooked me quickly.

"What were once were? People are the same now as they were then."

This book wears its influences on its sleeves. With the video games mentioned above, I can also see The Walking Dead. Like the zombies in that show, we begin to ask ourselves the same question: Are the biggest threats to humanity Aliens or ourselves as humankind?

And like The Last of Us, there is a giraffe!

"Little by little, each human mind adds to the story of knowledge. Someone toils their whole lives trying to figure something out. They figure out maybe a millimeter of the problem, and the next generation takes it from there. Everyone is like one link in the chain of scientific knowledge."

I love the way Wick writes. A lot of this book involves medical procedures and jargon. It's clear he knows what he's talking about as he is a medical doctor as well. However, none of it became confusing or hard to understand thanks to the way he writes.

He also knows how to develop characters. The story is told in the first-person perspective of Dr. Marrow. We see her hopes and struggles. But we also see the other characters, her "fellowship" as they are called. I came to love and adore characters that at the beginning of the novel were getting on my nerves (I'm looking at you Ward). Wick does a masterful job of capturing human emotion and spirit, in all its good and bad ways.

Come for the sci-fi and the mysteries. Stay for the characters and emotions! Wick knocks it out of the park again and I look forward to reading more from him.