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The Wasteland Saga #2
The Savage Boy
Forty years after the end of civilization...
The author of the acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel The Old Man and the Wasteland returns! Amid the remains of a world destroyed by a devastating Global Thermonuclear Armageddon, barbaric tribes rule the New American Dark Age. A boy and his horse must complete the final mission of the last United States soldier, and what unfolds is an epic journey across an America gone savage.
239 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 26, 2013
66 people are currently reading
285 people want to read
About the author
Nick Cole
186 books623 followersNick Cole is a working actor living in Southern California. When he is not auditioning for commercials, going out for sitcoms or being shot, kicked, stabbed or beaten by the students of various film schools for their projects, he can often be found as a guard for King Phillip the Second of Spain in the Opera Don Carlo at Los Angeles Opera or some similar role. Nick Cole has been writing for most of his life and acting in Hollywood after serving in the U.S. Army.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
April 3, 2013
4 Stars
I enjoyed The Savage Boy and feel that it is a good edition to the post-apocalyptic genre. This is the second book that I have read by Nick Cole, The Old Man and the Wasteland was the first. This is an intimate story about a boy, a “bear killer”, and unnamed young man. This is his attempt to make it cross country to find the army.
“Staff Sergeant Presley was gone now.
The Boy crossed the open lot. Horse looked at him, then turned away. And there was something in that dismissal of Horse that told the Boy everything he needed to know and did not want to.
Staff Sergeant Presley was gone.
He laid the wood down near the crumbling curb and crossed into the tiny office that once watched the county road.
Staff Sergeant Presley’s hand was cold. His chest did not rise. His eyes were closed.
The Boy sat next to the body throughout that long afternoon until the wind came up.
You take everything with you.
And . . .
The Army is west. Keep going west, Boy. When you find them, show them the map. Tell them who I was. They’ll know what to do. Tell them Staff Sergeant Lyman Julius Presley, Third Battalion, 47th Infantry, Scouts. Tell them I made it all the way—¬all the way to D.C., never quit. Tell them there’s nothing left. No one.
And . . .”
Nick Cole has an interesting style and flair to how he writes. His thoughts and sentences are often short, punctuated, and twisted. This makes some of his writing a bit difficult or the characters a bit unreliable, either way; it fits in perfectly with his end of days worlds.
Boy talks to his dead father figure all through this book and has only one constant companion, his horse, and named aptly “Horse”. The world building and the way that the boy’s life is centered on and dependent on horse make this a raw fight for survival. Both of Cole’s novels do a great job at painting a bleak and realistic take on the world after it’s’ end. The atmosphere, the grey, the wind, and the dirt add texture and dimension to these works.
This is an action novel that has many crazy elements in it. There are scenes with Armies fighting, with crazed loonies trying to have it all, to a big bad ass black bear, and also many hungry lions. I loved the danger and the action that faced the boy.
“The fear crept into the Boy as it always did before combat.
Ain’t nothin’ but a thang, Boy. Ain’t nothin’ but a thang. Mind over matter; you don’t mind, it don’t matter.
The closest cat charged forward, its fangs out, and in that instant the Boy knew it would leap. Its desire to leap and clutch at Horse’s flanks telegraphed in the cat’s wicked burst of speed.
The Boy lowered the crossbow onto the flat of his good arm holding the tomahawk, aimed on the fly, and sent a bolt into the flurry of dust and claws from which the terrible fanged mouth and triangular head watched him through cold eyes.”
This is an enjoyable post-apocalyptic novel that fans of the genre will find satisfying. Nick Cole is an author to check out…My Recommendations!!!
I enjoyed The Savage Boy and feel that it is a good edition to the post-apocalyptic genre. This is the second book that I have read by Nick Cole, The Old Man and the Wasteland was the first. This is an intimate story about a boy, a “bear killer”, and unnamed young man. This is his attempt to make it cross country to find the army.
“Staff Sergeant Presley was gone now.
The Boy crossed the open lot. Horse looked at him, then turned away. And there was something in that dismissal of Horse that told the Boy everything he needed to know and did not want to.
Staff Sergeant Presley was gone.
He laid the wood down near the crumbling curb and crossed into the tiny office that once watched the county road.
Staff Sergeant Presley’s hand was cold. His chest did not rise. His eyes were closed.
The Boy sat next to the body throughout that long afternoon until the wind came up.
You take everything with you.
And . . .
The Army is west. Keep going west, Boy. When you find them, show them the map. Tell them who I was. They’ll know what to do. Tell them Staff Sergeant Lyman Julius Presley, Third Battalion, 47th Infantry, Scouts. Tell them I made it all the way—¬all the way to D.C., never quit. Tell them there’s nothing left. No one.
And . . .”
Nick Cole has an interesting style and flair to how he writes. His thoughts and sentences are often short, punctuated, and twisted. This makes some of his writing a bit difficult or the characters a bit unreliable, either way; it fits in perfectly with his end of days worlds.
Boy talks to his dead father figure all through this book and has only one constant companion, his horse, and named aptly “Horse”. The world building and the way that the boy’s life is centered on and dependent on horse make this a raw fight for survival. Both of Cole’s novels do a great job at painting a bleak and realistic take on the world after it’s’ end. The atmosphere, the grey, the wind, and the dirt add texture and dimension to these works.
This is an action novel that has many crazy elements in it. There are scenes with Armies fighting, with crazed loonies trying to have it all, to a big bad ass black bear, and also many hungry lions. I loved the danger and the action that faced the boy.
“The fear crept into the Boy as it always did before combat.
Ain’t nothin’ but a thang, Boy. Ain’t nothin’ but a thang. Mind over matter; you don’t mind, it don’t matter.
The closest cat charged forward, its fangs out, and in that instant the Boy knew it would leap. Its desire to leap and clutch at Horse’s flanks telegraphed in the cat’s wicked burst of speed.
The Boy lowered the crossbow onto the flat of his good arm holding the tomahawk, aimed on the fly, and sent a bolt into the flurry of dust and claws from which the terrible fanged mouth and triangular head watched him through cold eyes.”
This is an enjoyable post-apocalyptic novel that fans of the genre will find satisfying. Nick Cole is an author to check out…My Recommendations!!!
June 1, 2023
After reading and enjoying The Old Man and the Wasteland, the first half of the next story in Cole's trilogy felt a little disappointing. I didn't connect with it and it wasn't as interesting as the first book. However, the second half of the story is wonderful and makes up for it. The second half of this book may be even better than the first book in the trilogy.
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November 19, 2020I open the book and close it after a couple of pages or even lines. The story may be objectively ok but it just leaves me indifferent.
August 15, 2013
WARNING: MILD SPOILERS! I read "The Old Man and the Wasteland" a few summers ago and enjoyed it immensely. I am a sucker for all things Post Apocalyptic, both the serious and dramatic interpretations and the more whimsical lighthearted renditions, so, naturally, I devoured it in about two nights of reading. When "The Savage Boy" popped up in one of my BookBub deals of the day emails, I was excited! I had no idea that Cole had written a follow-up to The Old Man and the Wasteland. This one is a bit longer, so it took me a bit longer to read, and while I loved the setting, the emotional elements, and the characters, I have to say, by the end, I was completely dissatisfied. I was hooked, feverishly reading through each chapter, and by the last quarter, I couldn't put it down. I had to know what happened! And then it happened. And I won't spoil anything but I was NOT happy. I kept waiting for events to unfold to redeem such an outcome, but they just didn't. I honestly felt cheated at the end of the book. I had invested so much emotional energy into the story only to be rather abruptly shut down. Now I have often heard the argument for books that end like this being more realistic, edgy, or true-to-life. I HATE that argument. I read fiction to escape real life! If I wanted to read something real and depressing I would read a memoir from the Vietnam War. I can't give the book a bad rating because I didn't like the ending, because it was well written, original (in a genre where originality is very hard to find), and hard to put down, but I did knock a star off for the letdown.
December 24, 2013
This is the story of Boy. We meet him just after the passing of his caretaker and only friend, Sergeant Presley. It's been decades since the bombs fell. Decades since Presley was sent on a mission to go into America and find out what was left. It was during these travels he came upon Boy. Boy is young, too young to know what the world was like before. All he knows is what Presley has taught him and now that Presley is gone, it's up to Boy to travel back to I Corps to complete Presley's mission.
It is a very rare occurrence for me to be as affected by a book as I have been with this one. It's not a happy story. I would describe it more as haunting. It's bleak and depressing but at the same time it can be so overwhelmingly hopeful. Even at the end when it seems all is lost, you are left with some hope. I would highly recommend this book - it's now on my list of favorites.
It is a very rare occurrence for me to be as affected by a book as I have been with this one. It's not a happy story. I would describe it more as haunting. It's bleak and depressing but at the same time it can be so overwhelmingly hopeful. Even at the end when it seems all is lost, you are left with some hope. I would highly recommend this book - it's now on my list of favorites.
March 1, 2013
The characters and setting win in this novel.
The sparse post-apocalyptic setting is described with sentences written in short sparse prose. I liked the characters used and the way he wrote this, a good flowing on the road to somewhere story.
Also @ http://more2read.com/review/the-savage-boy-by-nick-cole/
The sparse post-apocalyptic setting is described with sentences written in short sparse prose. I liked the characters used and the way he wrote this, a good flowing on the road to somewhere story.
Also @ http://more2read.com/review/the-savage-boy-by-nick-cole/
December 6, 2013
Stark.
Bleak.
I want to believe that the goodness in people would win out, and especially that civilization would not deteriorate so quickly - but seeing what folk will do for a toaster on sale at Christmas makes me suspect that Mr. Cole may be right.
Maybe there will be a glimmer of hope in the final book of the trilogy.
Bleak.
I want to believe that the goodness in people would win out, and especially that civilization would not deteriorate so quickly - but seeing what folk will do for a toaster on sale at Christmas makes me suspect that Mr. Cole may be right.
Maybe there will be a glimmer of hope in the final book of the trilogy.
April 30, 2014
This book is even better than the first. Nick Cole is on my list of new authors to watch. The first one was "good but no Hugh Howey" but the second is right on with Hugh Howey in terms of greatness.
October 27, 2013
Nick Cole expands on his dystopian vision of the world in "Savage Boy." Much like "The Old Man and the Wasteland" which precedes it, Boy presents a totally disfunctional United States. There is no manufacturing, no government and no society. It's all about survival. He starts off the tale with the boy, who has a withered left side, ministering to the needs of his dying friend Staff Sgt. Presley. Cole doesn't let too much detail slip. This is character-driven as seen through the eyes of the Boy, who has grown up, the reader discovers, on the run with Presley. The soldier had been with a last-gasp regiment of the U.S. Army fighting off the West Coast invasion of the Chinese. His beloved I Corps had sent a team across the country to see if any government remained in Washington D.C. The rest of the group died. Presley continued despite getting into battles at nearly every turn. He even spent a couple years enslaved by the nasty remains of what had been the human race. He meets the Boy along the way. We're not told when or how. The Boy doesn't know. And most of what the reader learns of the sergeant is from his voice, speaking from Boy's memory. Presley spent all those years drilling Boy on everything from survival and fighting techniques to spelling and book learning. The Boy takes up Presley's quest to return to I Corps in Oakland to see if they're still alive and tell them nobody else is. What he finds is more conflict that doesn't exactly tell him who he is, but he learns quickly that he has to get involved. The Savage Boy doesn't have any slow parts, but it's not for the weak spirited. This is not a rosy picture of the future. Boy's life is hard, and although he fights on, the challenge to continue tests everything he's learned.
September 6, 2016
I really enjoyed this middle book in the The Wasteland Saga: Three Novels: Old Man and the Wasteland, The Savage Boy, The Road is a River. But it made me very sad. The story is bleak - what is left of our country after nuclear war is being destroyed by tribes of savages. The Chinese set up camp in San Francisco after leaving THEIR destroyed country, and the US Army & the Chinese Army duke it out for years. I would hope that after a nuclear war we might learn NOT to wage war, but to try to work together to rebuild society.
The Boy in the title does go on - and he has some glimmers of hope that life can be good again. But his hopes are dashed again and again. Just so sad...
This is a good read, but sad. I am hoping that the 3rd book will bring some hope in closing out the trilogy.
The Boy in the title does go on - and he has some glimmers of hope that life can be good again. But his hopes are dashed again and again. Just so sad...
This is a good read, but sad. I am hoping that the 3rd book will bring some hope in closing out the trilogy.
April 24, 2013
Nick Cole is one of my favorite new authors. I have really enjoyed both of his books and am looking forward to another.
This is the story of a young man who lives in a shattered United States. Civilization no longer really exists. Throughout the early part of the book he repeatedly wonders "Who am I?" I'm not sure the question is ever fully answered, but that's probably part of the point.
The only part of the story that I didn't really like was the bit from the lioness's point of view - it seemed out of place, but maybe it was a good way to show a little more what the world of the story is like.
If you like post apocalyptic stories, speculative fiction, or stories that mostly happen in character's head, this is a good one.
This is the story of a young man who lives in a shattered United States. Civilization no longer really exists. Throughout the early part of the book he repeatedly wonders "Who am I?" I'm not sure the question is ever fully answered, but that's probably part of the point.
The only part of the story that I didn't really like was the bit from the lioness's point of view - it seemed out of place, but maybe it was a good way to show a little more what the world of the story is like.
If you like post apocalyptic stories, speculative fiction, or stories that mostly happen in character's head, this is a good one.
September 6, 2013
I loved this book overall, but the second half did not hold the same level of awesome for me as the first. The Boy's love interest felt thrown on me, and I never really attached with her. The Boy alludes to her being strong-minded, but I never saw it. Without this connection, much of the conflict escalation at the end held less emotional turmoil for me than earlier sections.
That said, I very much enjoyed this book. The style worked and Nick used it to focus on the interesting bits, displaying excellent craft. The Boy's conflicted feelings are probably better understood by us reading than by the Boy himself, and the resolution with Dunn circles back to the book's resonating opening words:
"You take everything with you."
That said, I very much enjoyed this book. The style worked and Nick used it to focus on the interesting bits, displaying excellent craft. The Boy's conflicted feelings are probably better understood by us reading than by the Boy himself, and the resolution with Dunn circles back to the book's resonating opening words:
"You take everything with you."
January 16, 2017
A really good book. Equal or better than the previous one from this authot (The Old Man and the Wasteland). More than once the ending I was expecting while reading changed into something unexpected. It's short, really entertaining and I like the way he tells the story describing the thing that happen but as well the dilemmas and thoughts of the protagonist.
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Bastante bueno. Tanto o más que el anterior de este autor (The Old Man and The Wasteland). Más de una vez me cambió el final que pensé que se veía venir. Es corto, bien entretenido y me gusta la forma en que cuenta tanto las cosas que suceden como los dilemas y pensamientos del protagonista.
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Bastante bueno. Tanto o más que el anterior de este autor (The Old Man and The Wasteland). Más de una vez me cambió el final que pensé que se veía venir. Es corto, bien entretenido y me gusta la forma en que cuenta tanto las cosas que suceden como los dilemas y pensamientos del protagonista.
June 2, 2013
I gave The Old Man and the Wasteland a generous 5 stars. If I could I would Give The Savage Boy a 6, and feel like that wasn't generous enough.
The story was great. The ending was very very good. But once again it's the narration that really captivates me. It's a truly unique style and I absolutely love it. I would go so far as to say Nick Cole is a master of narration, and a master of story telling in a way that no other author has been able to impress me.
This book was excellent and joins my all time favorite list, right next to WOOL and Ready Player One.
The story was great. The ending was very very good. But once again it's the narration that really captivates me. It's a truly unique style and I absolutely love it. I would go so far as to say Nick Cole is a master of narration, and a master of story telling in a way that no other author has been able to impress me.
This book was excellent and joins my all time favorite list, right next to WOOL and Ready Player One.
September 3, 2013
Another deeply developed character by Nick Cole. This is a longer and more deeply satisfying novel than "The Old Man and The Wasteland", which was very very good in its own rite. Amazingly Nick Cole seems to be able to project himself well beyond the initial chaos of society falling and into a future where tribal rules and violence shape the lives of those who remain. Brief glimmers of hope keeps "The Boy" going...and the ever present question of "Who am I?". At once crushing and uplifting, this is well worth the read!
November 15, 2014
Compared to the post-apocalyptic world Cole has created here, "bleak" would look like sunshine and rainbows. Except. Except that in this violent, dark, cold wasteland, mostly populated by horrid excused for human beings, Cole also gives the reader glimmers of hope and some of the warmth of love--family (whether by birth or circumstance and regardless of species), friends, and romantic. The characters are "real" people, fleshed out, some sympathetic and others not so much; there are a number of people here a reader will care about.
March 22, 2021
Just love his writing style and the world he has created. I read The Old Man and the Wasteland last year on a whim. Something about these books draws me in to that world and makes me feel kinship with the characters. The struggles and conflicts throughout the book are well thought out. There were a couple of plot points that I considered weak, but they didn't detract from my overall enjoyment. I hope he keeps writing more of these books.
June 13, 2013
Beautifully written. You see "Boy" go from a boy to a man and back to being a boy again as he attempts to complete "the mission". He experiences so much on the journey and beyond that change his views on everything again and again. Another post-apocalyptic novel that's not about the end of the world at all.
April 16, 2013
While not technically a sequel to The Old Man and the Wasteland, it's a great parallel story that takes place in the same world. Nick Cole has an incredible writing style.
April 13, 2013
A very enjoyable read; left me looking forward to Nick Cole's next book.
December 28, 2013
Beautiful novella. The characterization and setting are superb. Probably my second favorite post-apocalyptic read after Neville Shutes' On the Beach.
Highly recommend.
Highly recommend.
July 12, 2016
I loved the first 2 books of the saga. Hopefully the 3rd book will be better than the review suggest.
February 22, 2015
A very good story and page turner. Thanks Nick, keep it up. I would like to be able to write like that.
April 27, 2015
Dark look into one future
I enjoyed The Old Man in Cole's first story, however this tale is darker with an ending that will surprise you.
I enjoyed The Old Man in Cole's first story, however this tale is darker with an ending that will surprise you.
February 26, 2021
A second story in Nick Cole's post apocalyptic Wasteland saga. In this story we meet Boy who is sent on a mission by a dying soldier, Sergeant Presley, who had looked after Boy but has now died. Presley tells Boy to complete his mission to report back what is left of America - which is essentially nothing.
Boy takes his horse called Horse and seeks to complete the mission. On the way he finds people, danger, betrayal, bears and lions. He also finds love and hardship.
As before, the writing is powerful, characters and imagination are very good, but I was still not gripped by the storyline, and I was a little unconvinced about the whole love at first sight element. I have the last book in the series so will keep going.
Boy takes his horse called Horse and seeks to complete the mission. On the way he finds people, danger, betrayal, bears and lions. He also finds love and hardship.
As before, the writing is powerful, characters and imagination are very good, but I was still not gripped by the storyline, and I was a little unconvinced about the whole love at first sight element. I have the last book in the series so will keep going.
June 8, 2025
Very similar in style to the first in this series. A lone traveller -this time a teenage boy instead of an old man- but the story of a quest … a bleak, cards-stacked-against-you quest through an apocalyptic landscape … told in a minimalistic writing style feels similar. There isn’t really any carry over or through line between this one and the first, so this can be read as a stand alone. Nick Cole has created a very grim world in this series. Almost as grim as The Road … almost.
February 15, 2014
When I first started reading “The Savage Boy” by Nick Cole, I didn’t think I would like it nearly as much as his previous book, “The Old Man and the Wasteland,” but surprisingly, it was just as good, if not better.
I’ve read a number of post-apocalyptic novels over the years, and I enjoy (if there is such a thing as enjoying a wasteland due to thermonuclear bombing) the setting Cole has given us very much, along with the voice he uses for his characters. While coming across as somewhat detached, Boy and his story, much like The Old Man, pulls you in and allows you to share an intimacy that is different from the way many stories are written.
While I wasn’t happy about some of the things that happened in the novel (it’s the darn romantic in me that is crushed over and over when things don’t go the way we want them to…and why should they when the United States has basically turned into a barbaric mess), I still highly recommend it. And I did love the ending.
Cole has a third novel in this series called “The Road is a River.” Disappointingly, you have to buy an omnibus containing all three books to get the last. My advice is to buy the omnibus if you like post-apocalyptic settings, so that you don’t end up like me with having bought the first two, only to have to pay for both of them again in the collection. If you want to see what his writing style is like, you can click on the cover at the top of the Amazon page and read the first 10 percent of the book. As for me, I still have hope that “The Road is a River” will become available as a standalone.
I’ve read a number of post-apocalyptic novels over the years, and I enjoy (if there is such a thing as enjoying a wasteland due to thermonuclear bombing) the setting Cole has given us very much, along with the voice he uses for his characters. While coming across as somewhat detached, Boy and his story, much like The Old Man, pulls you in and allows you to share an intimacy that is different from the way many stories are written.
While I wasn’t happy about some of the things that happened in the novel (it’s the darn romantic in me that is crushed over and over when things don’t go the way we want them to…and why should they when the United States has basically turned into a barbaric mess), I still highly recommend it. And I did love the ending.
Cole has a third novel in this series called “The Road is a River.” Disappointingly, you have to buy an omnibus containing all three books to get the last. My advice is to buy the omnibus if you like post-apocalyptic settings, so that you don’t end up like me with having bought the first two, only to have to pay for both of them again in the collection. If you want to see what his writing style is like, you can click on the cover at the top of the Amazon page and read the first 10 percent of the book. As for me, I still have hope that “The Road is a River” will become available as a standalone.
October 31, 2013
Second in the Wasteland series by Nick Cole (after Old Man and the Wasteland). This tale follows the Savage Boy as he makes his way across post-apocalyptic US. Really enjoyed the speculation on what the US might look like in that future - genetically altered corn is everywhere, meaning a vast abundance of corn fed game... and predators of that game. Of course cannibals and savages are everywhere as well. No place is really safe. Also liked the military-oriented insights and details, especially the stupidity/futility/insanity of war. Even after it has destroyed the world, it continues on a much more personal, hand to hand level. Can we never learn?
I had a quibble with one of the major story turns (there are quite a few... many nicely unexpected), wherein . Having said all that, it moves the story in an interesting direction.
Looking forward to the next volume!
I had a quibble with one of the major story turns (there are quite a few... many nicely unexpected), wherein . Having said all that, it moves the story in an interesting direction.
Looking forward to the next volume!
October 7, 2013
The Savage Boy tells the story of one man's struggle to survive in a fallen world, forty years after a nuclear war left America in ruins.
Through the story, the Boy, a nomadic 'savage,' recalls the wisdom of Sgt. Presley, Boy's mentor who trained him how to survive in a dark world. Presley's ever-present voice guides Boy as he attempts to 'not get involved' in the affairs of others. Going against his mentor's advice, Boy does get involved and pays a price for that involvement.
I will not elaborate much on what happens, but in this book we get to see a larger portion of the post-apocalyptic world Cole creates, including those responsible for America's downfall. Like the Old Man in Wasteland, Cole develops the Boy character to great depth with skill. Even more, he creates a rounded character of Sgt. Presley through Boy's memories of him.
If you've read The Old Man and the Wasteland, then you are familiar with Cole's writing style. He isn't pretentious but has a story to tell, and tells it well. He takes Boy through high and lows, up and downs, and the reader benefits from the experience.
The Savage Boy contains considerably more violence (human fighting and descriptions) than Wasteland.
Through the story, the Boy, a nomadic 'savage,' recalls the wisdom of Sgt. Presley, Boy's mentor who trained him how to survive in a dark world. Presley's ever-present voice guides Boy as he attempts to 'not get involved' in the affairs of others. Going against his mentor's advice, Boy does get involved and pays a price for that involvement.
I will not elaborate much on what happens, but in this book we get to see a larger portion of the post-apocalyptic world Cole creates, including those responsible for America's downfall. Like the Old Man in Wasteland, Cole develops the Boy character to great depth with skill. Even more, he creates a rounded character of Sgt. Presley through Boy's memories of him.
If you've read The Old Man and the Wasteland, then you are familiar with Cole's writing style. He isn't pretentious but has a story to tell, and tells it well. He takes Boy through high and lows, up and downs, and the reader benefits from the experience.
The Savage Boy contains considerably more violence (human fighting and descriptions) than Wasteland.
June 10, 2017
Nick Cole has a knack for taking what should be a difficult premise to maintain and pulling off a consistently entertaining read. Once again, Cole selects a nearly silent protagonist who is often on his own and in desperate straits. Through internal dialogue and a few human (and animal) interactions, Cole keeps the story moving along briskly.
The bleak, post-apocalyptic world is very well realized and believable. Cole is relentless in reminding readers how devastating and hopeless this world is and yet, incredibly, injects just enough humanity and desperate hope at the right moments to offer a glimmer of salvation for the characters and world.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is that I sometimes felt like yelling at the character to say a few more words when he had the opportunity as it often would have saved him a lot of trouble. Also, there were a few points where the story abruptly jumps ahead where I would have liked to known how things actually played out instead of being reflected upon very briefly at a later point.
Highly recommended book, although not for the faint of heart.
The bleak, post-apocalyptic world is very well realized and believable. Cole is relentless in reminding readers how devastating and hopeless this world is and yet, incredibly, injects just enough humanity and desperate hope at the right moments to offer a glimmer of salvation for the characters and world.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is that I sometimes felt like yelling at the character to say a few more words when he had the opportunity as it often would have saved him a lot of trouble. Also, there were a few points where the story abruptly jumps ahead where I would have liked to known how things actually played out instead of being reflected upon very briefly at a later point.
Highly recommended book, although not for the faint of heart.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews