Brennan

by Bernard Knight

Five years after the catastrophe that destroys most of the human race, the tiny remnants of the British population are beginning to claw their way back to some form of civilisation. The survivors of Wales and the Marches are led by Brennan, a former brigadier who was left behind by the escaping government to salvage as much as possible. Brennan sets up his followers in a college near Newport, but attacks from abroad and from a rival group, drive them to shelter in Cardiff Castle, still intact amid the ruins of the city. When they go to the aid of the besieged Cambridge, the scale of the opposition and the enormity of their mission become apparent. It is all destined to end in a dramatic denouement along the M4 motorway. Not only is Brennan an exciting tale in its own right but it also reveals intriguing historical parallels. Unmissable!

Genres: Science Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2003

About the author

Aka Bernard Picton.

Professor Bernard Knight, CBE, (born 1931) became a Home Office pathologist in 1965 and was appointed Professor of Forensic Pathology, University of Wales College of Medicine, in 1980. He has been writing since before 1963, when his first crime novel was published. Since then, he has written about thirty books, including contemporary crime fiction, historical novels about Wales, biography, non-fiction popular works on forensic medicine, twelve medico-legal textbooks and the Crowner John Mysteries series of 12th-century historical mysteries.

In addition, he has written scripts for radio and television dramas and documentaries, including the forensic series The Expert starring Marius Goring, in the 1970s. He has contributed to many other textbooks and has edited several medical journals - he was Managing Editor of Elsevier's Forensic Science International, the leading international publication in the field.

Currently, he is a founder member of The Medieval Murderers, a select group of historical crime-writers within the Crime Writers' Association, who give presentations at literary festivals, libraries and bookshops, to promote their work amongst the public. He is also one of the non-fiction judges for the annual 'Dagger' Awards of the Crime Writers' Association and a regular reviewer of crime books for the Internet site Tangled Web.

He was born and lives in Cardiff and as well as being a doctor, he qualified as a barrister and was awarded the CBE in 1993 for services to forensic medicine. In the 1950s, he served as a Regular Army medical officer in Malaya during the terrorist campaign, in a military hospital which he compares with 'MASH'.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brennan hunched over the wheel, his eyes aching from staring through the steaming windscreen in the grey light of an overcast morning.

What a beginning for a girl who used this stretch regularly - it opens with a drive along the M4. The new Severn Bridge is down so the vehicle is heading for the old bridge and the conversation tells us that it is passable on motorbike but iffy for a car.

According to the blurb on the back cover we are looking to find shelter in both UCWN at Caerleon, and Cardiff Castle, and looking for an all out battle along the M4 as an ending. I hope this matches my eager antici--------pation.

New Crossing...

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Old Bridge via Aust services and Chepstow...

[Craig Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book I've read it a few times, I think its a quite accurate "what if" society collapsed, the King Arthur references are a bit forced but I found them amusing. I like to read it at the same time as Day of the Triffids, and compare how the writers think we will cope with the end of civilisation