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Year 47 #1
Year 47
Horror-Writers.com's 2016 Novel of the Year.
There once was a creator who watched over you from the Heavens. Who kept you safe from his past and present. Who gave you all that you needed to build your own lives while guiding you home. Who knew your name and loved you.
But He no longer existed, and His three houses were destroyed. Your countless prayers have gone unanswered, and your endless hopes have been buried in unmarked graves for forty-six years.
With the walls torn away, the three became one. And among the blackened skies and arid soil of the New West walked a man with a gun and no purpose. A Stranger to you and everyone else.
But as chance and fate collided, a lonely girl crossed the path he walked, carrying hope that her home was still out there waiting for her.
How long can purpose be denied, and how far can hope carry two heavy hearts in an unknown land?
There is no Heaven.
There is no Hell.
There just is.
And you will bear witness to Year 47.
There once was a creator who watched over you from the Heavens. Who kept you safe from his past and present. Who gave you all that you needed to build your own lives while guiding you home. Who knew your name and loved you.
But He no longer existed, and His three houses were destroyed. Your countless prayers have gone unanswered, and your endless hopes have been buried in unmarked graves for forty-six years.
With the walls torn away, the three became one. And among the blackened skies and arid soil of the New West walked a man with a gun and no purpose. A Stranger to you and everyone else.
But as chance and fate collided, a lonely girl crossed the path he walked, carrying hope that her home was still out there waiting for her.
How long can purpose be denied, and how far can hope carry two heavy hearts in an unknown land?
There is no Heaven.
There is no Hell.
There just is.
And you will bear witness to Year 47.
300 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 15, 2019
My first journey into Bo Chappell’s Western post-apocalyptic world was the excellent anthology By Year’s End, where a number of writers penned short stories based upon this very book. Perhaps I went about things the wrong way, but reading that I felt something was missing, like a blank needed filling, so had to jump in and find out just what inspired those great stories.
Reading this novel, I could really tell how the surroundings of this world could inspire further works; there’s so much scope to capitalise on. That’s not to say the ideas here weren’t fleshed out, in fact they were pulled off teasingly well.
There’s the apocalypse, demons, zombie-types, and that’s just for starters!
The world has gone to, well, shit. Strange giant and frightening monsters, the Forlorn, terrorize the surviving humans. These beasts are a nasty set of bastards and are the minions of a well-known baddie, but more about that soon.
The quality of the writing really makes this world real, without spending ages banging on about specific details. You just kind of ‘get it’. No wasted words with world-building here, kids.
It’s a story of survival, where an unnamed dude simply called ‘The Stranger’ befriends a young girl who just wants to get back to her parents, if indeed they’re still alive. The Stranger takes it upon himself to be her guide, to try to save her from the perils now infecting this world.
As the story progresses we’re introduced to the real antagonist of the piece, the one and only Lucifer. I’ll be honest, this threw me a little. A story in By Year’s End involved angels and demons, but at the time I assumed the author, Liam Gil, had gone down the religion road of his own accord. But alas, he hadn’t.
In fact a great deal of this book involves humanity being shat on by the dude in the sky who’s supposed to be looking out for them. The epic battle between good and evil took a seat very near the front.
I was a little disappointed by this angle, although this is very much a personal opinion. I do enjoy a good religion-horror story every now and again, but I felt this one could have been much stronger if the evil was more other-worldly than the Devil-and-his-demons we’re so accustomed to. I’d liken it to Clive Barker’s The Scarlet Gospels; the monsters are more terrifying if they’re kind of ‘beyond’ the Devil, if you get me.
However, I was still thoroughly engrossed in the story throughout, and those who enjoy the ultimate good vs evil of Judaeo-Christian teachings would really dig this I’m sure.
So although I wasn’t as blown away by this book as I was hoping, I can still appreciate the skill involved in its telling. There’re people out there who are really going to enjoy this one, though.
Although saying all that, the appearance of the Four Horsemen was very unsettling indeed. These riders are badass!
The action is intense, the characters real, and the gore at just the right level without going over the top.
I’m not raving about this book, but I’m definitely recommending it!
Reading this novel, I could really tell how the surroundings of this world could inspire further works; there’s so much scope to capitalise on. That’s not to say the ideas here weren’t fleshed out, in fact they were pulled off teasingly well.
There’s the apocalypse, demons, zombie-types, and that’s just for starters!
The world has gone to, well, shit. Strange giant and frightening monsters, the Forlorn, terrorize the surviving humans. These beasts are a nasty set of bastards and are the minions of a well-known baddie, but more about that soon.
The quality of the writing really makes this world real, without spending ages banging on about specific details. You just kind of ‘get it’. No wasted words with world-building here, kids.
It’s a story of survival, where an unnamed dude simply called ‘The Stranger’ befriends a young girl who just wants to get back to her parents, if indeed they’re still alive. The Stranger takes it upon himself to be her guide, to try to save her from the perils now infecting this world.
As the story progresses we’re introduced to the real antagonist of the piece, the one and only Lucifer. I’ll be honest, this threw me a little. A story in By Year’s End involved angels and demons, but at the time I assumed the author, Liam Gil, had gone down the religion road of his own accord. But alas, he hadn’t.
In fact a great deal of this book involves humanity being shat on by the dude in the sky who’s supposed to be looking out for them. The epic battle between good and evil took a seat very near the front.
I was a little disappointed by this angle, although this is very much a personal opinion. I do enjoy a good religion-horror story every now and again, but I felt this one could have been much stronger if the evil was more other-worldly than the Devil-and-his-demons we’re so accustomed to. I’d liken it to Clive Barker’s The Scarlet Gospels; the monsters are more terrifying if they’re kind of ‘beyond’ the Devil, if you get me.
However, I was still thoroughly engrossed in the story throughout, and those who enjoy the ultimate good vs evil of Judaeo-Christian teachings would really dig this I’m sure.
So although I wasn’t as blown away by this book as I was hoping, I can still appreciate the skill involved in its telling. There’re people out there who are really going to enjoy this one, though.
Although saying all that, the appearance of the Four Horsemen was very unsettling indeed. These riders are badass!
The action is intense, the characters real, and the gore at just the right level without going over the top.
I’m not raving about this book, but I’m definitely recommending it!
April 9, 2020
** Edited as review is now live on Kendall Reviews! **
Last year I had the fortune of reading ‘By Year’s End’ an anthology based on Chappell’s book ‘Year 47.’ It said in the introduction that the stories were all set in the same world, but you didn’t need to have read ‘Year 47’ beforehand. Now having read ‘Year 47,’ I can confirm that you do not need to have read it beforehand, but now the two combined make for a stunning double bill.
What I liked: Set 47 years after an event has thrown the world into a post-apocalyptic existence, we are quickly introduced to a non-verbal child named Sara and the gunslinger The Stranger. The Stranger has decided to try and accompany the girl back to her family, but nobody knows for sure if that part of the world even exists. I found The Stranger to be a nod to Roland from King’s Dark Tower series, but not in an obnoxious way or one that detracted from the story. I loved the world that this is set in and it was great to get a Mad Max type take on survival.
What I didn’t like: While I loved the setting and the world, I wished Chappell had given us more information, more descriptions on some of the beasties and baddies that swoop from the sky and attack from the dark. It didn’t detract from it, but at the beginning, I found I was getting some of the creatures jumbled.
Why you should buy it: If you are looking for an action/adventure post-apocalyptic story that features a stunning philosophical ending, I couldn’t recommend this enough. Chappell has created a really great world here and the good guy versus bad guy theme takes a number of hits as the story progresses, which is great to see as it made the decisions The Stranger had to make that much more compelling.
I had a great time reading this Mad Max Western and it really does gallop along at a breakneck pace.
Chappell delivers some vicious moments book-ended by beautifully written prose and I’m all the more fulfilled as the reader, having him treat this like a delicate flower in his delivery.
Last year I had the fortune of reading ‘By Year’s End’ an anthology based on Chappell’s book ‘Year 47.’ It said in the introduction that the stories were all set in the same world, but you didn’t need to have read ‘Year 47’ beforehand. Now having read ‘Year 47,’ I can confirm that you do not need to have read it beforehand, but now the two combined make for a stunning double bill.
What I liked: Set 47 years after an event has thrown the world into a post-apocalyptic existence, we are quickly introduced to a non-verbal child named Sara and the gunslinger The Stranger. The Stranger has decided to try and accompany the girl back to her family, but nobody knows for sure if that part of the world even exists. I found The Stranger to be a nod to Roland from King’s Dark Tower series, but not in an obnoxious way or one that detracted from the story. I loved the world that this is set in and it was great to get a Mad Max type take on survival.
What I didn’t like: While I loved the setting and the world, I wished Chappell had given us more information, more descriptions on some of the beasties and baddies that swoop from the sky and attack from the dark. It didn’t detract from it, but at the beginning, I found I was getting some of the creatures jumbled.
Why you should buy it: If you are looking for an action/adventure post-apocalyptic story that features a stunning philosophical ending, I couldn’t recommend this enough. Chappell has created a really great world here and the good guy versus bad guy theme takes a number of hits as the story progresses, which is great to see as it made the decisions The Stranger had to make that much more compelling.
I had a great time reading this Mad Max Western and it really does gallop along at a breakneck pace.
Chappell delivers some vicious moments book-ended by beautifully written prose and I’m all the more fulfilled as the reader, having him treat this like a delicate flower in his delivery.
November 1, 2017
A great novel will envelope the reader in emotions and entangle them into the protagonist's plight. Year 47 is one of those novels. I found myself sympathy for little Sara and her helplessness and lost in frustrated admiration for The Stranger's compassion and fearlessness. Year 47 reads like poetry and I continually lost time while reading. It is perfectly paced non-stop action from the beginning. A post-apocalyptic western which would hold its ground on film against classics of the John Wayne and Clint Eastwood era all the way past the Young Guns and Tombstone era. I definitely recommend.
May 23, 2018
Preacher meets The Gunslinger.
Bo Chappell has managed to create a wildly imaginative and interesting world with Year 47, taking the reader on a quest across a demon strewn Wild West.
The novel almost plays out like a video game in parts, full of action and interesting characters. I think it would actually work very well as a game script!
I loved reading this novel. It’s a different form of horror, and genres always need fresh blood.
Bo Chappell has managed to create a wildly imaginative and interesting world with Year 47, taking the reader on a quest across a demon strewn Wild West.
The novel almost plays out like a video game in parts, full of action and interesting characters. I think it would actually work very well as a game script!
I loved reading this novel. It’s a different form of horror, and genres always need fresh blood.
October 28, 2017
WOW! Wildly different.
This book is so different from anything I have read that has anything to do with Heaven and Hell. I like that these ghosts aren't vapor, but take some sort of form and oddly enough they can be "killed". God is " dead", such an interesting concept! I really enjoyed the originality of this book. It"s well edited and extremely well written. This author describes his characters so well, I could get a clear visual picture. The ending has an unexpected twisted too. Well worth all 5 stars.
This book is so different from anything I have read that has anything to do with Heaven and Hell. I like that these ghosts aren't vapor, but take some sort of form and oddly enough they can be "killed". God is " dead", such an interesting concept! I really enjoyed the originality of this book. It"s well edited and extremely well written. This author describes his characters so well, I could get a clear visual picture. The ending has an unexpected twisted too. Well worth all 5 stars.
April 18, 2020
This is a very well written book. The story line is unique to me, and I truly loved the premise of this book. The author has a way with words that I haven't found too often in novels.
That being said, while I enjoyed it, it just wasn't the right fit for me. The fighting scenes is something I found myself not very interested in.
It's still a good book, and people should definitely give it a try!
That being said, while I enjoyed it, it just wasn't the right fit for me. The fighting scenes is something I found myself not very interested in.
It's still a good book, and people should definitely give it a try!
December 25, 2017
This is good for what it is, but I don't personally enjoy heavy use of Christian imagery.
November 8, 2016
I really liked the premise of this book.
However, the execution was terrible. Run on sentences, bad editing, and absurdly purple prose were just too much.
However, the execution was terrible. Run on sentences, bad editing, and absurdly purple prose were just too much.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews