Apocalypse

by Nancy Springer

A woman returns to wreak end-of-the-world vengeance on her Pennsylvania hometown 

Disfigured since birth, Joanie Musser has endured decades of taunts and torments from the “normals” in Hoadley, Pennsylvania. Her only friend is a boy named Barry Beal, who has an ugly birthmark on his face. A few days after Barry lends her $500 and his welder’s mask, Joanie disappears.
 
Cally Wilmore, a vaguely discontented mother of two and the wife of the local funeral director, sees Joanie first: a breathtaking blond apparition galloping through town on a white steed.
 
Rebel and resident cynic Gigi Wildasin senses that something peculiar is happening. The cicadas are crying out of season—modern-day locusts who swarm the town bearing dead children’s faces—and a blacksnake appears next to the most beautiful and erotic naked man anyone has ever seen. Cally and Gigi, along with Shirley Danyo and her lover, Elspeth, all ride horses to escape their everyday lives, unaware that they are the Four Horsewomen of doom. A familiar stranger has come to Hoadley with a terrible purpose, and for the inhabitants of this struggling coal-mining community, it seems that Judgment Day is nigh.
 
An allegorical novel about small-town prejudice and the secrets that fester beneath the surface, Apocalypse is also about the power of love to triumph against all odds. 

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

Hardcover

First published August 1, 1989

About the author

BIO -- NANCY SPRINGER


Nancy Springer has passed the fifty-book milestone, having written that many novels for adults, young adults and children, in genres including mythic fantasy, contemporary fiction, magical realism, horror, and mystery -- although she did not realize she wrote mystery until she won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America two years in succession. DARK LIE, recently released from NAL, is her first venture into mass-market psychological suspense.
Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Nancy Springer moved with her family to Gettysburg, of Civil War fame, when she was thirteen. She spent the next forty-six years in Pennsylvania, raising two children (Jonathan, now 38, and Nora, 34), writing, horseback riding, fishing, and birdwatching. In 2007 she surprised her friends and herself by moving with her second husband to an isolated area of the Florida panhandle, where the birdwatching is spectacular and where, when fishing, she occasionally catches an alligator.

Reviews

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this back in March and forgot to post my review somehow? Sorry if this review is disjointed - I parsed it from one on my blog.

Anyway,
The plot is rather wild and I can't outline it without going into too much detail, but there are six central characters who have their own arcs within the main story.

The characterization is fantastic. Everyone, even some secondary characters, is given a good basis for understanding their motivations and actions. Barry’s disability is treated not very nicely by the other characters, but his chunks of perspective are realistic and integral to explaining what is going on in the novel. Three of the five main characters are rather little unsympathetic, but they kept me very interested. There are some great (and by great I mean despicable) side-characters and the setting – the isolated and bigoted town – was clearly laid out.

The story moves very quickly into a menacing and, quite frankly, depressing tone. As in most “apocalypses” or even haunting stories, strange occurrences begin that are merely off-putting, but which ramp up into sheer insanity.

The prose is fantastic, with some great descriptions: "Devil ran like a black avalanche, black bowel-fire out of a volcano, a black sun exploding, and like the relentless passing of time he showed no signs of slowing down."

Overall, if you’re looking for something dark, angry, and keeps your chest a bit constricted when you read it, this is the novel for you.

[Ami E. Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this many years ago after finding and buying a used copy of it at a local thrift store and it left a lasting impact on me. It's a very weird story that should be read at least once. It gave me nightmares, though, for a long time right after!

[Xabi1990 · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/10. Con esta nota seguramente le abandoné. Ni me acuerdo de qué va....

(Y no he leído más de la autora, por supuesto)

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good solid read, though it relies heavily on Christian Mythology vis-a-vis Apocalypse... there's an actual devil... it would have been a four-star review if it weren't for some problematic material that falls victim to "Woke for the 90s." I mean... yay, there's a person of color lesbian character... but oh dear every other time she's mentioned it says "exotic." Yay, there's a trans woman protagonist... but oh dear do we have to have her partner not know and make that a source of tension between them?

I know it feels mean... but I just couldn't. If the story hadn't included a rather bizarre "OH NO AN ABORTIONIST! EVIL" bit and also a bit about I guess... like... problems with your husband are your own fault somehow? I'm not sure. There's some stuff I think the author probably didn't mean to put in there that I was picking up.

Still, it had lovely descriptions and I'm a sucker for decayed, industrial town fiction. I would read more by this author.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book alot more than I did. I find books like this difficult. It is well written and very descriptive. The vocabulary seems unnecessarily complex for the target audience and subject matter though. Instead of adding imagery it felt like swimming against a current and I am an attorney used to dealing with unneeded verbiage. None of the characters were particularly relatable or likable for me. The ending left me wanting a little more information, especially about Barry who did not seem to get his HEA like some of the other characters. I was an interesting use of the four horseman theme.

[Labri Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although some of the evil things depicted in the town are important to keep in mind, this book was horrible, besides all the profanity. It was dark and confusing, taking imagery out of the Revelation in a skewed manner... the most lauded character in the story was a man who became a woman and also a lesbian, and thereby honoring gender-change ideology. The Devil was personally shown to exist and act, but God was notably absent from the whole account: although in the end "love" prevailed and saved the world, it wasn't at all well thought through.

Bottom line, I don't at all recommend it.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was kept guessing and curious through nearly every chapter about which horsewoman claimed each title. Two were obvious early on. Two kept me guessing for along time. The resolution of the fate of Hoadley was a surprise to me.
Overall, I loved this book very much by the end. And I’m pretty sure I’ll read it again. Definitely recommend to any Nancy Springer fan readers.

[Debra collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird