California - Edan Lepucki

California is Edan Lepucki's debut novel.

I am infatuated with dystopian and apocalyptic novels. The description of California immediately caught my eye...

"The world Cal and Frida have always known is gone, and they've left the crumbling city of Los Angeles far behind them. They now live a shack in the wilderness, working side by side to make their days tolerable in the face of hardship.....But the tentative existence they've built for themselves is turned upside down when Frida finds out she's pregnant."

There hasn't been a great nuclear war or one significant event that has heralded the end of the world that Cal and Frida knew. Instead it has been a series of natural disasters and reluctant but necessary acceptance of the way things are now. Society has eroded into the haves and the have nots. While Cal and Frida make their home in a shack, those that can afford to, live in safe, gated communities with food, health care and more. I immediately thought that this scenario is not that far off - having just read a newspaper story of water being turned off - the city of Detroit sprang to mind.

I wanted to know to know more about the erosion of society, but this isn't the focus of the book. Instead it is what comes after. I also wanted to know what lay beyond the woods that Cal and Frida have settled in. Are the rumours of other outsider settlements true?

I'm always fascinated by an author's world building in such novels. Lepucki does a good job imagining what might be. I think because it is so 'near future' and absolutely believable that the world of California is all the more chilling.

There are a great number of varied characters populating California. Of the two lead characters I was drawn to and empathized with Cal. I have to say that I didn't like Frida at all as I found her spoiled and selfish. But several of the players from 'beyond' the woods really captured my interest.

Much, if not most of the book, is focused on the characters and their interactions - between couples, family, friends and strangers. A society rebuilding does not necessarily learn from it's past mistakes. Much of what happens can be sadly predicted.  Lepucki infuses this rebuilding with a plot that was slowly (and a bit maddeningly) revealed. The buildup to the end in the last quarter of the book is tension and action filled and had me reading just another chapter before bed. But the actual ending left me feeling somewhat unfulfilled. I found it anti-climatic after the journey to get there. It's a bit nebulous, leaving the reader to their own inferences as to what happens going forward.

Still, California was a strong debut and I would be interested in reading Lepucki's next novel. Read an excerpt of California. You can find Edan Lepucki on Twitter. And here's the story behind the "Colbert Approved".

The Dog Stars - Peter Heller

Peter Heller is an acclaimed adventure writer, but The Dog Stars is his debut fiction effort.

Hig is one of the few who survived the flu that devastated the earth. He also escaped the blood sickness that followed. Not many did - Hig's wife and unborn child perished. His dog Jasper survived.

And now, Hig, a pilot, lives in an airport hangar with Jasper and a weapons obsessed loner named Bangley. Hig flies the perimeter of their staked claim every day, ready to defend against all intruders. But, what if it isn't enough to just be safe. Isn't there more to being alive? Once, about seven years into this new world, Hig heard another voice on the airplane radio - just briefly. And that staticky voice stays with him - until he decides to leave and fly until the point of no return.....however far the gas tank on the plane will take him.

I love post apocalyptic fiction and Heller has done a fantastic job with his imagined outcome. Heller's novel explores what it takes to stay alive and what physical lengths his characters will go to. But, it is much more than that. Heller also explores the emotions of the few characters that populate his novels - grief, sadness, loneliness, hope, joy and what it means to be human.

I chose to listen to The Dog Stars. The reader was Mark Deakins. I've listened to him before and he was somewhat 'overdone' in his interpretation. This time he was a perfect choice. His voice reflected all the emotions of the writing. Heller chose a first person narrative style that absolutely worked for the audio version.  I think some of the short, fragmented sentences would have annoyed me on paper.  But, in the audio version they simply seemed like an extension of Hig's thoughts. Listen to an excerpt of The Dog Stars.

If you liked The Road, you'll love The Dog Stars. Not as bleak, but just as moving. And a testament to the human spirit. Read an excerpt of The Dog Stars.

Robopocalypse - Daniel. H. Wilson- Review AND Giveaway

I'm wondering if my computer's camera is watching me as I type this review.....No I haven't lost my marbles. That's the premise of Daniel H. Wilson's debut novel Robopocalypse.

The computers, machines and robotics that humans have built, developed and embraced as part of our everyday lives have turned the tables....Slowly but surely, they've evolved...and learned to think for themselves. And us? Well, we're now expendable. Zero Hour is scheduled.

I freakin' loved this book! It totally fed my passion for dystopian, apocalyptic fiction. There are no deep themes to discuss at book club (but you will be talking about it) and it won't be immortalized as great literature. But, boy oh boy was it was an action packed thrill ride of a read.

Wilson utilizes a very unique and creative format to tell the story of the War between humankind and machines. We meet Cormac "Bright Boy" Wallace in the opening chapter. He has survived the war so far and makes a startling discovery. "This is the goddamn black box on the whole war." Utilizing the data found on the cube with back up from other electronic and human sources, we start at the beginning of the end and works backwards. At first I thought, no, I know the outcome already, but it works. Every chapter introduces us to more players in this planet encompassing apocalypse. Each is completely different and their actions and lives intersect in ways they couldn't have imagined. Cormac's commentary opens and closes each chapter tying it to the next. The foreshadowing at the end of many chapters kept me up turning pages far into the night. 

For sheer entertainment this summer, Robopocalypse simply can't be beat. And in the near future, you'll be able to catch the movie version - Spielberg will be directing.

Who would like this book? Those who enjoyed the movies The Book of Eli, The Road, Terminator, the television show The Walking Dead and the books The Stand, The Road and I Am Legend. Vehicles that celebrate the triumph of human spirit.

Read an excerpt of Robopocalypse. You can find Daniel H. Wilson on Twitter and Robopocalypse on Face book.

AND thanks to Doubleday Publishing Canada, I have one copy of Robopocalypse to giveaway. Canada only, ends Sunday July 31 at 6 pm EST. Simply comment to be entered.

Daniel H. Wilson has a Ph.D in robotics. Maybe it's not so far fetched an idea. Do you know what destination your GPS has programmed for you?

The Reapers Are The Angels - Alden Bell

Oh boy! I stayed up way too late last night - I literally could not put down The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell. I have a fondness for post-apocalyptic novels and this one grabbed and wouldn't let go of me 'til the last page.

Sometime in the future, zombies have stumbled about the land for over twenty five years, eating whatever humans they can catch. Temple has been born into this world and knows no other. She remembers living with an old man and a boy who might have been her brother. Now fifteen and with heartache and tragedy her constant companions, she travels what is left of the world that was, seeking something. Her chance encounter with a man named Maury could be her salvation - although she doesn't recognize it as such. And an encounter with a man named Moses could be her downfall.

Reapers was such a great read on so many levels. The uncertainty of what Bell would come up with next in this world and what Temple would encounter had me holding my breath and frantically turning pages. Temple as a character was fascinating. Old beyond her years, born into a world with no compass, she has her own sense of morality and direction. The conversations she has with those she meets in her travels and herself are quite philosophical.

"See it's a daily chore tryin to do the right thing. Not because the right thing is hard to do - it ain't. It's just cause the right thing - well, the right thing's got a way of eluding you. You give me a compass that tells good from bad, and boy I'll be a soldier of the righteous truth. But them two things are a slippery business and tellin then apart might as well be a blind man's guess. And sometimes, you just get tired of pokin at the issue. Those are the times you just do something because you're tired of thinkin on it. And that's when the devil better get his pencil ready to tally up a score, cause the time for nuances is gone. And you think, that's it for me on this world. You think, all right then hell is my home."

The setting is mostly in the Southern states and has a distinct Southern gothic tone. In the cover blurb, author Michael Gruber compared it to Flannery OConnor's style - an apt description. Athough the book has zombies, they are more of a supporting platform than a main focus. How they came to be is never explained. Granted, there is a fair amount of violence and blood spilled, so be warned. But it is Temple and her personal journey that captivated me.

An excellent read for me - definitely 5 stars. This novel would appeal to those who enjoyed Cormac McCarthy's The Road or Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. I can see this being made into a movie as well.

Read an excerpt of The Reapers Are The Angels.

(interesting sidenote - the title seems to be taken from the Bible - Matthew, Chapter 13, verse 39 King James version)  "The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels."