Jon Cronshaw is a British science fiction and fantasy author based in the north of England, just south of the wall. As a freelance features writer, he has had work published in local and national newspapers across the UK, including the Yorkshire Post and the Guardian. He earned his PhD in history of art from the University of Leeds in 2011, focusing on the life and work of Anglo-American sculptor, Jacob Epstein (1880-1959). He's a voracious reader, guide dog owner, ex-gamer, and wrestling fan.
The Wasteland Series: Complete Omnibus - a review by Rosemary Kenny.
A fantastic inspiring, moving and unputdownable masterpiece of a collection of the first four books in Jon Cronshaw's The Wasteland Series: The Complete Omnibus, a dystopian, post-Apocalyptic 'what if...?' futuristic epic that you must not miss!
1) Wizard of the Wasteland: The so-called wizard, Great Alfonso, comes into a desolate town and stages a 'magic' act on his wagon, as in medieval times. Heading towards the next 'stop' in Trinity, Alfonso meets up with Abel and his dog, Pip and the duo journey across the Wasteland, having run-ins with some people and keeping an eye out for each other...a great futuristic fantasy you'll love!
2) Knight of the Wasteland: After Alfonso dies, the eponymous 'Knight', Abel, has a violent run-in with the vicious raider gang, called 'The Family'. Recovering addict Abel is struggling to cope with the recent tragic loss of Pip and his moral standards cannot accept the forced addiction of innocents to 'prez'. What's the result of Abel's face-off with the Family? Who survives to start a new beginning far away from their last 'camp'? Who's Sal?
3) King of the Wasteland: Abel and David, rescue Sis, who's being hunted by 'King', Omar and the Family. Now David and Abel are targets too. Escaping to Big Ned's trading post they find it in ruins and hear Trinity's next...can Abel warn Sal in time to prevent a repeat? As the battle intensifies another group arrives, but can their strangely familiar leader show Sal and Abel how to end King Omar's reign of terror?
4) Cleric of the Wasteland: After things settle down, Abel, Sal, Big Ned and his people head back to Town, trusting that since Alf and his followers are securing Trinity to be their HQ, they can return to comparative independence. Why does David stay behind? Why does Sal leave? Big Ned and son, Bob 2, think that ruined parts of the city can become the new Town, though not everyone agrees with them. A dangerous journey across the frozen Wasteland sees Abel and Sal struggling to cope and having to deal with the dregs of the City, as a new reality sees Sal cast out by the religion and its representative, that she struggled against the odds to reach. Before they can escape, tragedy strikes and only one will be freed to seek a new life, with an unexpected ending for the revenant.
An amazing conclusion to not only Jon Cronshaw's magnificent tale, Cleric of the Wasteland, but also now the (4 book), Wasteland Series box set, that's hopefully not the last we'll hear of Abel and his fellow survivors in The Wasteland: The Complete Omnibus. Get it now for an outstanding epic of Post-Apocalyptic survival - and a new life beyond it!
I have reviewed each part separately so this is just an overview.
This is one of the best series I've read because of its great writing, characters and it's set in a believable (if awful) world that I could imagine would happen because of those in power today.
The Wasteland is a desolate place, where Abel attempts to survive amongst decay, dangerous gangs and little to no sustenance. He scavenges amongst the ruins of 'before' and trades what he can with various groups; the main one being Trinity, a community of Christians. Sal is the leader, one who dedicates her life to 'saving' people for a god that she believes is real. I don't like her judgemental attitude or smugness. She has no idea what the Wasteland is really like and prides herself on how her community survive so well.
Abel is the best of everyone. Humble, wise and brave. I loved his philosophy on life and how Sal's god meant nothing to him and yet his heart is the biggest of them all. Pip was another favourite. David and Sis were also on my 'like' list, but not many others, though the Town was intriguing.
I don't want to give away anything, so it's difficult to say too much. The writing style reminded me of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men - the melancholy with maybe a thread of hope - Abel's hope.
Themes such as cruelty, greed, selfishness, cowardliness and mean alongside hope, wisdom, bravery and love, in addition to the actions, thoughts and feelings of the characters, while set in a world of impossible, made this a compelling read.
I rarely reread books let alone complete series, but when Jon Cronshaw said he rewrote his Wasteland series I was very curious to see what his changes entailed and how much better he made the story from its original version. Well, this updated version is excellent, and I found following Able, Sal and all the other characters through the Wasteland once again to be a very enjoyable experience. Sure, I pretty much knew what to expect story wise, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable. If you haven’t read this series, I would say you need to grab a copy of this version and settle in for an awesome dystopian/post-apocalyptic tale. I received an Advance Reader Copy and chose to provide this review.
All of the characters in this series are very interesting and many are entertaining but Abel, main protagonist throughout, is a character that touched my heart and will remain a favorite long after this review is posted. Abel is a flawed man (who isn't) but he tries to live and love to the best of his abilities. The world is very well described and easy to picture in my mind. There is turmoil, heartache, danger and sadness but, also, moments of joy, adventure and hope, always hope. I highly recommend this series as well as all of the very talented author Jon Cronshaw's works.
I loved this series and hated to see it end. This could be our world one day. Abel is a passionate man who follows his heart. I can't say I liked Sal that much but she was the sum of how many would handle the hardships and complete break down of society. Pip added love and special bonding for abel. I read this complete box set in 3 days. It was so good I only put it down when I had to.
kid? kid? kid? started out way good,then it was ............im really angry. i never write rev,i stoped reading when every other word was kid? you say kid 50 times in 14 pages,im out.i stoped reading it. so fkin bad,did the author get lazy? kid? kid? kid? dont waist your money unless you like to see the word kid.
This is an amazing set to read. Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start. Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable. Great suspense and action with wonderful world building. Can't wait to read what the author brings out next. Recommend reading.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Ok but it went on again and again with similar descriptions of dust and pines and sunsets. I know it’s after an apocalpse but we already know it’s dusty, and there’s pines. There didn’t seem to be much else happening, apart from the dust and the pines. I sort of drifted away from it and only read part of the first book.
Life in the Wastelands is incredibly hard & dangerous. Survival is a daily fight. Overcoming the lure of drugs is a constant challenge.
This story illustrates a I dff.aren't perspective on the how& why we choose to rise to fight the challenge. Well developed charactars. Constant dangers. Great read!
I admit I was bored when I downloaded this series ... and I didn't expect too much - but boy was I mistaken! This is an artful tale of hope and love with lots of dark humour and interesting characters and situations. I'm sad to have reached the end of the series and would love to know what happens next with Abel.
So many apocalyptic novels revolve around Zombies it's refreshing to find a book that's based on a different angle, my only criticism is that the chats between Able and Sal became a bit repetitive and I had to skip a few pages, but I would read another book by this author
Just finished reading the complete wasteland series. Excellent characters each with flaws which make them more believable. Life in the Wastes is tough but it's possible to do the right thing and live free. At the end of the series you discover that life in the protected zone may be safer in some ways but not free of control.
I picked up your book and couldn’t put it down. I read quite a few books a have been looking for a new series. Please give me more Wastelands. It broke my heart to lose Sal. I am so glad the kids came back.
I tried really hard to get into this book especially because of the great reviews but sadly it just didn't do it for me, I got to chapter 7 and gave up. I may try again in the future but for now I'm sorry to say, it's a no from me.
I enjoy dystopian stories. This one was not what I was expecting. It is not Christian, although there was talk of God, Jesus and faith. The words damn it was used far too often.
Very enjoyable story telling of hardship in an apocalypse of brutal people and how people could survive after an EMP strike and how the lucky ones ignored misery of their fellow man.
Great book and a well written journey through the wastelands, the character Abel was one of the best I've read about, life is hard everywhere but he had his code to live by, don't miss this book, I'm sure you will love it as much as I did.
I almost didn’t read this, just send it back to KU, then I read a couple of pages and couldn’t put it down. A great plot and great characters. A lesson acceptance and life