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Reaper #3
Redemption
The final, climactic volume of Jon Grahame's hard-boiled apocalyptic trilogy It's been a year since the virulent flu-like pandemic known as "SuperSARS" wiped out more than 98% of the world's population. Ex-cop Jim Reaper and his small band of trained "enforcers" have successfully defended the little community of Haven that Reaper founded in North Yorkshire and it has become the hub of trade and cooperation between the dozens of peaceful settlements that comprise most of what's left of northern England. But not to the north, the city of Newcastle has become invested by a feral horde that Reaper knows will sooner or later turn rapacious gaze towards Haven. To the south is a regime called Redemption that claims to be the new seat of British government—claiming Prince Harry as its patron and with a full battalion of regular soldiers to enforce its authority. Reaper decides that what is happening in the south can no longer be ignored, and together with his ruthless young protégé Sandra Hinchliffe, sets off to learn about Redemption for himself. Reaper and Sandra are soon embroiled in a bloody struggle for power that threatens to engulf and then enslave most of the country. And then, with Reaper and Sandra far from Haven, the feral horde takes to the road.
384 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2014
70 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 25, 2018
3.5*
July 25, 2015
Redemption is a simplistic novel of the standard post-apocalypse school. All social structure has disappeared and people have organised themselves either into working communities or rapacious feral gangs.
Our heroes Reaper and The Angel are highly trained, heavily armed do-gooders of the Lara Croft school. So heavily armed in fact that it's a wonder they can move at all. "The reaper had two Uzi sub-machine guns slung across his back, on each hip he wore his usual Glock 9mm pistols and on his right forearm he had a Bowie knife in a spring-release sheath. On his left forearm he had a group of three throwing knives, and tucked down each boot a double-barrelled sawn-off shotgun. Hidden in his beard was concealed a very small attack helicopter." - OK, I exaggerate, but you'll know the passage when you reach it.
The writing is pedestrian - a bit like being on a train not running on continuous welded rail, so you feel every join as you pass over it. Some writers can manage to write about violence without seeming prurient - Bernard Cornwell one of the best examples - but Jon Grahame fails. By the end this is like a slasher movie, schlock for the sake of it.
His writing is at its lowest ebb when dealing with male-female relationships. I didn't know whether I was back in the 1960s or trapped in a teenage romance, but it was cartoon stuff for sure.
I might not have got to the end if I hadn't been stuck in a hospital waiting room.
Our heroes Reaper and The Angel are highly trained, heavily armed do-gooders of the Lara Croft school. So heavily armed in fact that it's a wonder they can move at all. "The reaper had two Uzi sub-machine guns slung across his back, on each hip he wore his usual Glock 9mm pistols and on his right forearm he had a Bowie knife in a spring-release sheath. On his left forearm he had a group of three throwing knives, and tucked down each boot a double-barrelled sawn-off shotgun. Hidden in his beard was concealed a very small attack helicopter." - OK, I exaggerate, but you'll know the passage when you reach it.
The writing is pedestrian - a bit like being on a train not running on continuous welded rail, so you feel every join as you pass over it. Some writers can manage to write about violence without seeming prurient - Bernard Cornwell one of the best examples - but Jon Grahame fails. By the end this is like a slasher movie, schlock for the sake of it.
His writing is at its lowest ebb when dealing with male-female relationships. I didn't know whether I was back in the 1960s or trapped in a teenage romance, but it was cartoon stuff for sure.
I might not have got to the end if I hadn't been stuck in a hospital waiting room.
August 11, 2014
This book, like the previous two Reaper and Angel, has a great storyline and is full of action. My favourite characters are Reaper and Sandra, and I especially enjoyed the parts of the books from their perspectives. At times I felt the book seemed to drag a little and this is why I have given the book four stars. However I still really enjoyed the story and thought that this was a good end to the trilogy, and I would recommend this series.
July 21, 2014
(I received a free copy of Redemption through Goodreads First Reads.)
Let's just say, the long awaited finale most defiantly is worth a read. The plot sucks you in within the first few chapters and Jon Grahame has created a post - apocalyptic reality, that is most parts terrifying and a little exciting. The fact that some thing as common as the Flu could progress into a pandemic that could wipe out a large proportion of the population is utterly petrifying, and to be honest, totally capable of happening. A real page Turner that had me up til the wee hours of the morning reading. An absolute gem of a book!
Let's just say, the long awaited finale most defiantly is worth a read. The plot sucks you in within the first few chapters and Jon Grahame has created a post - apocalyptic reality, that is most parts terrifying and a little exciting. The fact that some thing as common as the Flu could progress into a pandemic that could wipe out a large proportion of the population is utterly petrifying, and to be honest, totally capable of happening. A real page Turner that had me up til the wee hours of the morning reading. An absolute gem of a book!
June 14, 2016
Couldn't wait to read this book after reading the last two and i was not disappointed at all. The same spark was in this one. A great story-line set in a crazy and morally dubious world where survival is easier said than done and sticking to a moral compass is difficult. I love this book and the reaper and angel are people i would want to know if i were ever to survive the destruction of civilization. My only problem with this book was that i didn't want it to end! any chance of another one??? (won in a goodreads giveaway)
December 23, 2014
The final in this trilogy .. it's been a year since "SuperSARS" wiped out more than 98% of the world's population. Reaper, his Angel and others have settled into the community at Haven but threats still loom. From the South, worrying tales emerge from people who have escaped Redemption - meant to be the new British army & government with Prince Harry as its figure head. And from the North, ferals from Newcastle begin venturing further afield for fresh supplies and fresh blood.
Very brutal and violent, far more that it needed to be in my opinion - some strong parts.
Very brutal and violent, far more that it needed to be in my opinion - some strong parts.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews