Ruin

by Rich Hawkins

These are the dark days, a time of ruin.
It began when the black rocks fell to earth, bringing with them a contagion which infected man and beast alike, spreading death and destruction across the land.
These are the days of the blight.
The south of England has become a quarantine zone, separated from the rest of the country by a huge wall, a wall which Gus Abernathy must cross to find his son, Tom, taken from him at the outbreak of the blight. Amid the decaying remnants of civilisation, Gus discovers he is not the only one searching for Tom, so too are the Nephilim, once human but now changed by the blight into something monstrous who want the boy for their own deadly reasons.
So begins one man's quest, a nightmare journey in which finding his son really could be the most important thing in the world...

117 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 24, 2016

Reviews

[Darren Dilnott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another wonderful post apocalyptic tale from Rich Hawkins

Terrific, sad and deeply dark tale from one of the finest post apocalyptic writers in the world. Few writers offer such vivid descriptions and heartfelt dialogue as Rich Hawkins.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are the dark days, a time of ruin, which began when black rocks fell to earth, bringing a contagion that infected man and beast, spreading death and destruction across the land. These are the days of the blight. Approaching this sci-fi/horror dystopia head-on, Hawkins throws us in at the deep end with a prologue between Gus Abernathy and his son Tom that pulls at the heartstrings even as it punches you in the belly. With Tom suffering from the blight and taken by soldiers, Gus is sent to a refugee camp as the south of England (they lived in Salisbury) is now a quarantine zone, separated from the rest of the UK by a huge wall. Sensing his son is still alive, Gus determines to find him and buys his way into the zone where he meets death, the Nephilim and small gods. I liked this a lot, though apocalyptic fiction isn’t really my thing and Hawkins describes the world - fallen to rack and ruin so quickly - well. Characterisation is brisk - we only know as much as we need to, indeed we only discover his wife’s name towards the end of the book - but I empathised with Gus and enjoyed his burgeoning friendship with Nolan, one of the Nephilim (those affected by the blight), who wants his own brand of revenge. The book moves quickly (I’d have preferred more time at the climax) and has a great atmosphere of doom and gloom that barely lifts. It’s a well constructed tale but my one niggle (apart from using the same word several times in a paragraph) would be that every now and then, the story becomes curiously overwritten, with the more formal language slowing the pace. This aside, it’s a good, solid b-movie of a read and very much keeps up the quality I’ve come to expect from the Dark Minds Press novellas series (this is the third I’ve read of four available). If you like your future dark, bleak and unpleasant, I’d recommend this.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those who are fans of Rich Hawkins will find plenty to like about this book. Once again, he manages to weave a beautifully bleak landscape upon which a chilling narrative unfolds.

At some point prior to the start of the book, an object of alien origin has crashed on Earth, bringing with it death in the form of an invasive blight. Those who are infected are quickly isolated into a quarantined zone. The main character of the book is a father, trying to regain contact with his only son, after having to see him taken away.

Hawkins has his strengths and in this book, he uses them well. The characters feel genuine and are sympathetic. His physical description shines though with some vivid and disturbing scenes. And he manages to take the fantastic and somehow make it completely rational.

This is a fun, quick read. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

On a side note, this book is the fourth in a series of novellas put out by Dark Minds Press. They are all stand-alone books and all worthy of reading.

[Thomas Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and offering a depth not usually found in apocalyptic fiction, Ruin is a sign that Hawkins continues to develop his own unique style of storytelling. Here, the author deftly moves between describing the horror of an England laid to waste and describing the horror of a parent who is separated from their child and must fight to be reunited. Indeed, the blight and the Nephilim (A wonderfully unique take on the apocalypse) sometimes seem to serve as stage dressing for the more intense storyline of Gus desperately searching for his son Tom. The author handles this heart-wrenching quest with great heart. But the story never becomes bogged down in what could have been a depressing story because it is interspersed with some truly horrific and terrific action scenes between Gus and the Nephilim.
Overall it was a very quick read and the unexpected ending will leave you reeling. A brilliant story!

[Mathology · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book by Rich that I've read. It was a brilliant read. I read it two sittings