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A review by zaggeta
Apocalypse Now Now by Charlie Human
4.0
I enjoyed the book. It was an interesting, wacky take on urban fantasy, set in my home of Cape Town. I saw other reviews calling it YA, which is a tag I take exception with at the best of times, as the book contains mature themes and imagery. This isn't a kids book and is far weightier than many YA books.
What really stood out for me was the character development of Baxter from a generally unlikable borderline sociopath to someone trying to do the right thing. I disliked Baxter at the beginning but came to resonate with him as he tried to improve as a person.
The pacing of the book was a bit off. Scenes would rush by and I'd flip a page and not know what was going on because I dozed off for a sentence or two. But this does make for an action-packed read.
I found the dialogue a bit stilted. I struggled to differentiate between many of the characters as they all shared the same manner of speaking. The author didn't shy away from the racial conflict of South Africa, so it wouldn't have hurt to put in some bilingualism in speech to indicate who was speaking. I found the relatively boring dialogue odd as Baxter's inner dialogue is very entertaining and illustrative.
Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of urban fantasy from South Africa. I think it contains a little too much South Africanism to be accessible to foreign readers, but can always give it a shot.
I am not presently sure if I want to read the sequel.
What really stood out for me was the character development of Baxter from a generally unlikable borderline sociopath to someone trying to do the right thing. I disliked Baxter at the beginning but came to resonate with him as he tried to improve as a person.
The pacing of the book was a bit off. Scenes would rush by and I'd flip a page and not know what was going on because I dozed off for a sentence or two. But this does make for an action-packed read.
I found the dialogue a bit stilted. I struggled to differentiate between many of the characters as they all shared the same manner of speaking. The author didn't shy away from the racial conflict of South Africa, so it wouldn't have hurt to put in some bilingualism in speech to indicate who was speaking. I found the relatively boring dialogue odd as Baxter's inner dialogue is very entertaining and illustrative.
Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of urban fantasy from South Africa. I think it contains a little too much South Africanism to be accessible to foreign readers, but can always give it a shot.
I am not presently sure if I want to read the sequel.