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Die Farm
Irgendwo in Südafrika. Eine Farm wird belagert und beschossen. Schützen sind keine zu sehen. Sicher ist nur: Die Angreifer sind zum Äußersten entschlossen. In der Farm verbarrikadieren sich ganz unterschiedliche Menschen: Frauen, Männer und Kinder, Chefs und Angestellte, Schwarze und Weiße, ein Polizist, zufällig Anwesende. Wem gilt der Anschlag? Worum geht es? Politik? Rache? Gier? Drogen? Waffen? Aber wissen die draußen mehr? Die Heckenschützen, die im Dunkeln der Nacht operieren? Wer muss sterben, wer wird überleben? Wer zieht die Strippen, wer an den Drähten? Wer wird gewinnen, wer wird verlieren? Und wie lange können acht Stunden sein? Max Annas' straffer, knapper Roman basiert auf der Grundkonstellation von John Carpenters epochalem Film "Assault on Precinct 13" - und bringt das Kunststück fertig, daraus ein hochkonzentriertes Stück Literatur zu machen. Acht Stunden im Minutentakt, ständiger Perspektivenwechsel, schneidende Genauigkeit. Eine explosive Mischung aus Psycho-Thriller und Neo-Western mit politischem Subtext.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 25, 2014
42 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 16, 2020
#TheFarm - Max Annas
#CatalystPress (Distributed by #Lapa)
At 17:32, on a farm in the rural Eastern Cape, shots are fired and one man dies instantly. What should have been a peaceful late winter afternoon, turns into a deadly 8 hour long shootout between an unusual group of people thrown together by circumstances, now trapped in the farm house, and several heavily armed attackers on the outside.
The novel was originally published in German and is based on the foundation of the iconic ‘Assault on Precinct 13’ by John Carpenter, but is nevertheless very convincing in the South African setting. The pace is very fast with several wild cards thrown in as the night of horror progresses.
I recommend this novel for readers who enjoy fast paced thrillers with unexpected twists and turns.
3 stars
#Uitdieperdsebek
#CatalystPress (Distributed by #Lapa)
At 17:32, on a farm in the rural Eastern Cape, shots are fired and one man dies instantly. What should have been a peaceful late winter afternoon, turns into a deadly 8 hour long shootout between an unusual group of people thrown together by circumstances, now trapped in the farm house, and several heavily armed attackers on the outside.
The novel was originally published in German and is based on the foundation of the iconic ‘Assault on Precinct 13’ by John Carpenter, but is nevertheless very convincing in the South African setting. The pace is very fast with several wild cards thrown in as the night of horror progresses.
I recommend this novel for readers who enjoy fast paced thrillers with unexpected twists and turns.
3 stars
#Uitdieperdsebek
December 26, 2016
Mit dem Ende nicht so ganz glücklich, aber ansonsten ein sehr schön aufgebauter Thriller, der mich besonders mit dem steten Perspektivwechsel begeistern konnte.
July 10, 2017
Eine interessante Ausgangslage und weitgehend stringente Montagetechnik münden leider in ein verwirrendes Feuergefecht im Dunkeln, bei dem sich alle davor mühsam aufgebauten sozialen Spannungen als völlig gegenstandslos erweisen. Dann doch lieber wieder Roger Smith wenns um Südafrika gehen soll...
October 6, 2020
I really liked the idea of this novel -- a minute-by-minute detailing of an attack on an isolated South African farm and how it plays out as a disparate cast takes shelter inside from the gunfire of unknown assailants. It opens with zero backstory, just a bunch of people near a farmhouse, and gunfire opens up. The story unfurls in brief choppy sections from a different person's perspective, each headed with a timestamp. However, it never really quite works for a few basic logistical reasons.
Firstly, considering the story hinges greatly on the physical location of all the characters, and the layout of the house and surroundings, the absence of a map is a huge problem. I found it incredibly hard to visualize who was where and how all the different places related to each other. Somewhat related is the second problem -- which is that there are far too many characters to keep track of, much less care about in any way. There are at least 12 in the house, plus 6-7 attackers, plus 4 women who come along later, plus 4-5 police who get involved -- and it's just way too many to track.
The story starts with a focus on the Afrikaaner man whose farm it is, but he recedes to the background after a while, and a middle-aged white neighbor lady becomes more central, then the leader of the attackers moves to the fore, then police. Basically, there's no protagonist, and there's no one to care about. The final problem is that the sections don't run chronologically. The action at the farmhouse is the main timeline, but then the police timeline runs behind, which is confusing and doesn't seem to have any narrative purpose.
All in all -- it really reads more like a screenplay than narrative prose. I could see this making a taut thriller on film, with flashbacks to give some greater depth and connection to a few characters. But as a book, it's a bit of a disappointment.
Firstly, considering the story hinges greatly on the physical location of all the characters, and the layout of the house and surroundings, the absence of a map is a huge problem. I found it incredibly hard to visualize who was where and how all the different places related to each other. Somewhat related is the second problem -- which is that there are far too many characters to keep track of, much less care about in any way. There are at least 12 in the house, plus 6-7 attackers, plus 4 women who come along later, plus 4-5 police who get involved -- and it's just way too many to track.
The story starts with a focus on the Afrikaaner man whose farm it is, but he recedes to the background after a while, and a middle-aged white neighbor lady becomes more central, then the leader of the attackers moves to the fore, then police. Basically, there's no protagonist, and there's no one to care about. The final problem is that the sections don't run chronologically. The action at the farmhouse is the main timeline, but then the police timeline runs behind, which is confusing and doesn't seem to have any narrative purpose.
All in all -- it really reads more like a screenplay than narrative prose. I could see this making a taut thriller on film, with flashbacks to give some greater depth and connection to a few characters. But as a book, it's a bit of a disappointment.
February 13, 2018
Gerade mal knappe 200 Seiten hat dieses Buch, das ich weder als einen Krimi noch als einen Thriller bezeichnen möchte, denn es gibt weder eine Auflösung noch einen Höhepunkt, auf den das Ganze zuläuft. Es beschreibt stattdessen 'nur', was sich in einer Winternacht auf einer Farm in Südafrika abspielt.
Gegen 18 Uhr werden plötzlich die Menschen auf der Farm von Muller beschossen, ohne dass jemand eine Ahnung hat, weshalb. Es gibt einen ersten Toten, die Anderen verbarrikadieren sich im Haus. Doch nun steht das Haus unter Beschuss und die Eingeschlossenen wissen, dass sie um ihr Leben kämpfen müssen.
Der Autor lässt beinahe schon im minütlichen Wechsel die Eingeschlossenen abwechselnd zu Wort kommen, wobei aus deren Sicht die Situation sowie ihre Gedanken emotionslos geschildert werden. So erhält man fast beiläufig, häufig nur durch einen Halbsatz, Hintergrundinformationen nicht nur zu den Beteiligten, sondern ebenso zur Lage in Südafrika. Nach und nach werden die Perspektiven der Angreifer miteinbezogen, was langsam etwas Licht in diese fast schon kriegsähnliche Situation hineinbringt.
Ein außergewöhnliches Buch, das auf engstem Raum spielt, gerade einmal eine halbe Nacht umfasst und dennoch in knappen Sätzen eine Vielzahl von Beziehungen offenlegt. Dazu noch spannend und brutal - nichts für schwache Gemüter.
Gegen 18 Uhr werden plötzlich die Menschen auf der Farm von Muller beschossen, ohne dass jemand eine Ahnung hat, weshalb. Es gibt einen ersten Toten, die Anderen verbarrikadieren sich im Haus. Doch nun steht das Haus unter Beschuss und die Eingeschlossenen wissen, dass sie um ihr Leben kämpfen müssen.
Der Autor lässt beinahe schon im minütlichen Wechsel die Eingeschlossenen abwechselnd zu Wort kommen, wobei aus deren Sicht die Situation sowie ihre Gedanken emotionslos geschildert werden. So erhält man fast beiläufig, häufig nur durch einen Halbsatz, Hintergrundinformationen nicht nur zu den Beteiligten, sondern ebenso zur Lage in Südafrika. Nach und nach werden die Perspektiven der Angreifer miteinbezogen, was langsam etwas Licht in diese fast schon kriegsähnliche Situation hineinbringt.
Ein außergewöhnliches Buch, das auf engstem Raum spielt, gerade einmal eine halbe Nacht umfasst und dennoch in knappen Sätzen eine Vielzahl von Beziehungen offenlegt. Dazu noch spannend und brutal - nichts für schwache Gemüter.
July 2, 2020
This book was brilliant, the plot is well planned and I absolutely loved how Max added the date and time as the story played off. I couldn't stop reading I read this book in one day.
.
.
Franz Muller had no idea what is going to happen to him, his family, guest and workers on August 24 at 5:32 pm. Franz Muller, His Family, Staff, the handy man (to repair the fence), and a local police man have barricade themselves in a farmhouse somewhere in South Africa from gunmen. The petrified group of people has no clue what the gunmen want, but it's clear that the gunmen wants the occupants dead.
.
.
With no phone signal or a way of summoning help the group battles for their lives, with an impressive amount of weapons Franz Muller has stored in his office floor for safety. As the night played of several people has lost their lives and family members and what is a matter of hours felt like years to the group of people.
.
.
Franz Muller had no idea what is going to happen to him, his family, guest and workers on August 24 at 5:32 pm. Franz Muller, His Family, Staff, the handy man (to repair the fence), and a local police man have barricade themselves in a farmhouse somewhere in South Africa from gunmen. The petrified group of people has no clue what the gunmen want, but it's clear that the gunmen wants the occupants dead.
.
.
With no phone signal or a way of summoning help the group battles for their lives, with an impressive amount of weapons Franz Muller has stored in his office floor for safety. As the night played of several people has lost their lives and family members and what is a matter of hours felt like years to the group of people.
June 22, 2020
I was given a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. On the plus side, this was thrilling in terms of plot. A family, some of their staff, a delivery person, a local policeman and a handyman who was there to repair a fence, are trapped in farmhouse in South Africa by unknown gunmen. The terrified family and their group do not know what the attackers want, but it’s clear they want the house’s occupants dead. They battle for their lives however. With no phone and no way of summoning help but with an impressive home stockpile of weapons, Frantz Muller, his wife, adult son and daughter and two granddaughters and several other people must strategize how to defend themselves. The story features shifting perspectives over a period of hours that the standoff lasts.
On the less ideal side, while the characters are potentially intriguing, none of the racial, social or family issues raised by the plot are resolved. I got the distinct impression that the author was unwilling to really unpack the underlying racial hostility, the hints of marital discord and the suggestion of mental illness in at least one family member that simmer in this story. A shame because the plot had me on the edge of my seat but the themes are never developed.
On the less ideal side, while the characters are potentially intriguing, none of the racial, social or family issues raised by the plot are resolved. I got the distinct impression that the author was unwilling to really unpack the underlying racial hostility, the hints of marital discord and the suggestion of mental illness in at least one family member that simmer in this story. A shame because the plot had me on the edge of my seat but the themes are never developed.
September 11, 2020
This would make a better movie than a book. It's about a how people react during a siege on a farm house in South Africa. There's an unusual collection holed up as it is riddled with bullets. There's the farmer Franz and his family, farm hands, a police officer, and Jayne, a friend of Franz's wife. There's also an us versus them racism issue which makes this marginally deeper. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. It's a short read but it was not my cup of tea.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews