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teainthelibrary's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Miscarriage
dirtnails's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
Easily a 5 star book. Wow.
imaniram's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
teh_niarr's review
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
faedre's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
abandonedmegastructure's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"Post-apocalypse" is almost synonymous with 'urban collapse'. Deer frolick on a weed-choked main square, skyscrapers stand battered and empty, and only far out in the fields and wilds do a few survivors eke out their meager living. Not so in Salt Lick.
In the wake of a great pandemic, it is not city folk but villagers who flee their homes. The M25 isn't choked with automobile coffins, but converted into a ramshackle shantytown. The government doesn't collapse, but tightens its grip on the urban centers while letting go of everything else. Farms and hamlets fall apart, their cows set loose as feral herds. The tide seeps in at the edges and refuses to leave. Hauntingly, believably, with what might very well be prescience, Lulu Allison describes a shifting world.
But this book is about so much more than the excellent worldbuilding. Salt Lick is a truly moving story about connection and lack thereof, about things collapsing and new things rising from the ruins, about people who only have hate and those who only have each other. I cried several times towards the end.
Is the book flawed? For sure. The writing voice is a little overwrought sometimes, and I notably couldn't read the book in anything other than several sizeable stretches: every time, it took a while getting used to the narration again. Not all characters are equally compelling: Lee and his subplot are fine but he's notably less fleshed-out than Jesse and Isolde. From time to time, the book's love for lengthy passages transforms into grating unsubtlety. The 'greek chorus of feral cows' gimmick (not kidding!) did not really manage to move me, though I'm glad it wasn't cut.
But I'm nitpicking: by and large, Salt Lick is a great book; a must-read for lovers of Station Eleven, and a strong recommendation for anyone who likes stories about human connection and/or novel takes on dystopia.
In the wake of a great pandemic, it is not city folk but villagers who flee their homes. The M25 isn't choked with automobile coffins, but converted into a ramshackle shantytown. The government doesn't collapse, but tightens its grip on the urban centers while letting go of everything else. Farms and hamlets fall apart, their cows set loose as feral herds. The tide seeps in at the edges and refuses to leave. Hauntingly, believably, with what might very well be prescience, Lulu Allison describes a shifting world.
But this book is about so much more than the excellent worldbuilding. Salt Lick is a truly moving story about connection and lack thereof, about things collapsing and new things rising from the ruins, about people who only have hate and those who only have each other. I cried several times towards the end.
Is the book flawed? For sure. The writing voice is a little overwrought sometimes, and I notably couldn't read the book in anything other than several sizeable stretches: every time, it took a while getting used to the narration again. Not all characters are equally compelling: Lee and his subplot are fine but he's notably less fleshed-out than Jesse and Isolde. From time to time, the book's love for lengthy passages transforms into grating unsubtlety. The 'greek chorus of feral cows' gimmick (not kidding!) did not really manage to move me, though I'm glad it wasn't cut.
But I'm nitpicking: by and large, Salt Lick is a great book; a must-read for lovers of Station Eleven, and a strong recommendation for anyone who likes stories about human connection and/or novel takes on dystopia.
kimberlyallen011's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
gbatts's review against another edition
3.0
Very visual storytelling. I’d love for a movie version to be made.
terrypaulpearce's review
5.0
Too many people will miss this book as it goes under the radar. Don't be one of them: it's stark, bold and beautiful.
briancrandall's review
The excitement that has kept them warm becomes a glow that cheers hearts but leaves feet to freeze. [368]