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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
This book reminded me a lot of [b:The Road|6288|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320606344s/6288.jpg|3355573], except the people for the most part were much nicer to each other and there were zombies. If you like literary post-apocalyptic, this is a very good one.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
See my other reviews at Never Enough Books
For over twenty-five years, humanity has survived in small meager enclaves, guarding against the plague of zombies that have infested America. Among the survivors is a young woman named Temple, who prefers to travel the blighted landscape than stay still. She doesn't remember a time before the zombies but she does remember the old man who took her in and the younger brother she once cared for.
Moving across the brutal frontier, Temple is haunted by her past and soon becomes pursued by a killer. Surrounded by death and danger she must search where to try and make a home and find the redemption she needs.
This is one of those books that it rather hard to describe. While many categorize it as a sort of post-apocalyptic zombie novel, in truth that barely begins to describe things. Yes, the setting is a post-apocalyptic America; where an unnamed event has decimated the land; and yes, zombies do play a part in the narrative. Yet, there is so much more.
The Reapers are the Angels is coming of age story as well. Temple, our narrator and main character, is barely a teenager searching for a place to call home. Every place she finds herself, events occur and Temple finds herself leaving either by choice or by force. All the while she is trying to come to terms with events that occurred in the past that set the story in motion.
There are some who might have issue with the narrative style of The Reapers are the Angels. It has a very stream of consciousness feel which can be disconcerting at times. There are no actual quotes to indicate when a person is speaking, sometimes leaving the reader wondering who has said what.
Much as I enjoyed The Reapers are the Angels, it is doubtful I will be reading the subsequent books in the series. Certain events occurred, which I will not reveal due to spoilers, that rather ruined the ending for me.
Though the book itself is rather slim, I found it to be a good read. I would recommend it to those looking for something to entertain and perhaps make them think, but know that you might be disappointed too.
For over twenty-five years, humanity has survived in small meager enclaves, guarding against the plague of zombies that have infested America. Among the survivors is a young woman named Temple, who prefers to travel the blighted landscape than stay still. She doesn't remember a time before the zombies but she does remember the old man who took her in and the younger brother she once cared for.
Moving across the brutal frontier, Temple is haunted by her past and soon becomes pursued by a killer. Surrounded by death and danger she must search where to try and make a home and find the redemption she needs.
This is one of those books that it rather hard to describe. While many categorize it as a sort of post-apocalyptic zombie novel, in truth that barely begins to describe things. Yes, the setting is a post-apocalyptic America; where an unnamed event has decimated the land; and yes, zombies do play a part in the narrative. Yet, there is so much more.
The Reapers are the Angels is coming of age story as well. Temple, our narrator and main character, is barely a teenager searching for a place to call home. Every place she finds herself, events occur and Temple finds herself leaving either by choice or by force. All the while she is trying to come to terms with events that occurred in the past that set the story in motion.
There are some who might have issue with the narrative style of The Reapers are the Angels. It has a very stream of consciousness feel which can be disconcerting at times. There are no actual quotes to indicate when a person is speaking, sometimes leaving the reader wondering who has said what.
Much as I enjoyed The Reapers are the Angels, it is doubtful I will be reading the subsequent books in the series. Certain events occurred, which I will not reveal due to spoilers, that rather ruined the ending for me.
Though the book itself is rather slim, I found it to be a good read. I would recommend it to those looking for something to entertain and perhaps make them think, but know that you might be disappointed too.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was my third time reading this book and it remains utterly fantastic. It's a zombie book, but the zombies are incidental. They start out more central to the plot but as the book continues the zombies fade into the background. It's more about a girl trying to survive in a dog-eat-dog world, but it's a world she's always known, so she isn't bothered by it. She's killed a man and is being pursued by his brother, seeking the revenge that he believes is his duty, even though, in the depths of his soul, he actually likes and respects her. It's about being stuck to your fate, but facing it with grace.
Everybody should read this.
(Note: I have just finished reading this book for the fourth time and it only gets better with rereading. The ending made me cry this time. I don't think it's done that before. I am seriously considering going out and buying 12 copies and just handing it out to everybody I know.)
(5th time at least. Still my favorite. All the stars.)
Everybody should read this.
(Note: I have just finished reading this book for the fourth time and it only gets better with rereading. The ending made me cry this time. I don't think it's done that before. I am seriously considering going out and buying 12 copies and just handing it out to everybody I know.)
(5th time at least. Still my favorite. All the stars.)
An apocalyptic zombie novel with a different perspective - a genuinely human one. An unforgettable girl. A lovely story of loss, love and survival.
Original Post: http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/05/reapers-angels-alden-bell-book-review-bane-kings/
Some of you may recognise Russell T. Davies as being the man responsible for bringing back to life the longest running sci-fi TV series ever, the British -born Doctor Who in 2005, after the original series stopped in 1989. He’s lead Doctor Who through four spectacular series, and has even gone on to create darker spin off Torchwood, which has recently completed its fourth series, Miracle Day. Being a fan of the New series of Doctor Who, and after seeing Russell T. Davies’ endorsement on the front of the cover for The Reapers Are the Angels, I craved in, and brought the novel off Amazon, and it was the first thing that I read out of a choice between Star Wars: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn and Anno Dracula by Kim Newman. And, did it live up to the hype?
You can bet it did. The Reapers Are the Angels was an awesome novel, and I loved it, despite a few minor issues that I had with it – ALden Bell has knocked the ball out of the park, and has created something that every zombie fan should read.
Older than her years and completely alone, Temple is just trying to live one day at a time in a post-apocalyptic world, where the undead roam endlessly, and the remnant of mankind who have survived, at times, seem to retain little humanity themselves.
Temple has known nothing else. This is the world she was born into. Her journey takes her to far-flung places, to people struggling to maintain some semblance of civilization – and to those who have created a new world order for themselves.
When she comes across the helpless Maury, she attempts to set one thing right, if she can just get him back to his family then maybe it will bring forgiveness for some of the terrible things she’s done in her past. Because Temple has had to fight to survive, along the road she’s made enemies – and one vengeful man is determined that, in a world gone mad, killing her is the only thing that makes sense…
The first thing that you’ll notice about The Reapers Are the Angels is that it’s not your usual zombie novel. Most zombie novels start within two to five years of the original zombie outbreak, maybe even during the initial outbreak itself, and that’s what makes The Reapers Are The Angels so different to the normal post-apocalyptic zombie novel. It’s set an astounding 25 years after the initial outbreak, and what makes this more interesting is the fact that Temple, the main character, knows nothing else. She does not know what life was like before the dead walked, which is a concept that I haven’t seen explored that often in post-apocalyptic stuff before, as most zombie novels such as The Return Man by VM Zito, have the main character experience some sort of life before the outbreak. However, Alden Bell’s novel is different in this aspect. Temple doesn’t get the chance to explore the innocent-ness of childhood as most protagonists of zombie novels have in the past, and she’s thrust into this life with only one goal in mind, and that is survival. After all, in a post-apocalyptic America where the dead have risen, dying is easy. It’s living that’s hard.
The Reapers Are the Angels is also odd in the fact that the novel has no speech marks when the characters are talking. Once I got over my initial thought of that the editor or the author had been a bit forgetful, the more I started to see that with no speech marks, Alden Bell’s début novel just worked better than it would have with them. As you can tell, it’s the first exposure that I’ve had to a novel with no speech marks, but this is one of the things that the author has pulled off to make the novel flow better. You get to learn more about the thoughts of Temple, and the novel is told almost entirely from her third person POV perspective.
The writing is a masterpiece. The prose is well constructed, and Bell gets into the mind of Temple and shows us the extreme measures that she’s had to take in order to survive in the wastelands of America. This is certainly a bleak novel, and more along the lines of I am Legend than Sean of the Dead (A film, but still…), and you will come out of this novel feeling emotionally drained. It’s not an uplifting read – and it’s a deeply depressing one.
The novel is a pretty fast moving one, as Bell takes the reader on a terrific journey, not just for the character but for the reader. Temple is a memorable character, as well as being a strong heroine. The action is very much centred on Temple, and although other characters aren’t as memorable as her, she certainly leaves a pretty good impression. The Reapers Are the Angels, whilst short, is a page-turner, and you’ll get through it very quickly. I couldn’t put it down, and I don’t think you’ll be able to.
Verdict: 4.5/5
More by Alden Bell: The Reapers Are the Angels, Somewhere I have Never Travelled, Exit Kingdom (September 2012),
Some of you may recognise Russell T. Davies as being the man responsible for bringing back to life the longest running sci-fi TV series ever, the British -born Doctor Who in 2005, after the original series stopped in 1989. He’s lead Doctor Who through four spectacular series, and has even gone on to create darker spin off Torchwood, which has recently completed its fourth series, Miracle Day. Being a fan of the New series of Doctor Who, and after seeing Russell T. Davies’ endorsement on the front of the cover for The Reapers Are the Angels, I craved in, and brought the novel off Amazon, and it was the first thing that I read out of a choice between Star Wars: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn and Anno Dracula by Kim Newman. And, did it live up to the hype?
You can bet it did. The Reapers Are the Angels was an awesome novel, and I loved it, despite a few minor issues that I had with it – ALden Bell has knocked the ball out of the park, and has created something that every zombie fan should read.
Older than her years and completely alone, Temple is just trying to live one day at a time in a post-apocalyptic world, where the undead roam endlessly, and the remnant of mankind who have survived, at times, seem to retain little humanity themselves.
Temple has known nothing else. This is the world she was born into. Her journey takes her to far-flung places, to people struggling to maintain some semblance of civilization – and to those who have created a new world order for themselves.
When she comes across the helpless Maury, she attempts to set one thing right, if she can just get him back to his family then maybe it will bring forgiveness for some of the terrible things she’s done in her past. Because Temple has had to fight to survive, along the road she’s made enemies – and one vengeful man is determined that, in a world gone mad, killing her is the only thing that makes sense…
The first thing that you’ll notice about The Reapers Are the Angels is that it’s not your usual zombie novel. Most zombie novels start within two to five years of the original zombie outbreak, maybe even during the initial outbreak itself, and that’s what makes The Reapers Are The Angels so different to the normal post-apocalyptic zombie novel. It’s set an astounding 25 years after the initial outbreak, and what makes this more interesting is the fact that Temple, the main character, knows nothing else. She does not know what life was like before the dead walked, which is a concept that I haven’t seen explored that often in post-apocalyptic stuff before, as most zombie novels such as The Return Man by VM Zito, have the main character experience some sort of life before the outbreak. However, Alden Bell’s novel is different in this aspect. Temple doesn’t get the chance to explore the innocent-ness of childhood as most protagonists of zombie novels have in the past, and she’s thrust into this life with only one goal in mind, and that is survival. After all, in a post-apocalyptic America where the dead have risen, dying is easy. It’s living that’s hard.
The Reapers Are the Angels is also odd in the fact that the novel has no speech marks when the characters are talking. Once I got over my initial thought of that the editor or the author had been a bit forgetful, the more I started to see that with no speech marks, Alden Bell’s début novel just worked better than it would have with them. As you can tell, it’s the first exposure that I’ve had to a novel with no speech marks, but this is one of the things that the author has pulled off to make the novel flow better. You get to learn more about the thoughts of Temple, and the novel is told almost entirely from her third person POV perspective.
The writing is a masterpiece. The prose is well constructed, and Bell gets into the mind of Temple and shows us the extreme measures that she’s had to take in order to survive in the wastelands of America. This is certainly a bleak novel, and more along the lines of I am Legend than Sean of the Dead (A film, but still…), and you will come out of this novel feeling emotionally drained. It’s not an uplifting read – and it’s a deeply depressing one.
The novel is a pretty fast moving one, as Bell takes the reader on a terrific journey, not just for the character but for the reader. Temple is a memorable character, as well as being a strong heroine. The action is very much centred on Temple, and although other characters aren’t as memorable as her, she certainly leaves a pretty good impression. The Reapers Are the Angels, whilst short, is a page-turner, and you’ll get through it very quickly. I couldn’t put it down, and I don’t think you’ll be able to.
Verdict: 4.5/5
More by Alden Bell: The Reapers Are the Angels, Somewhere I have Never Travelled, Exit Kingdom (September 2012),