Book review: World Made by Hand

Title: World Made by Hand
Author: James Howard Kunstler
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary:  The world as we know it has ended.  Washington DC was blown up and there might be a new President, but nobody's really sure.  Everybody has had to start over because there isn't any access to oil, gas or electricity is intermittent at best.  In the town of Union Grove, New York, the residents have created their own society.  When a pack of religious extremists come to town, they bring their own brand of law and order.

Review: If you read this blog often you know I'm a sucker for a good post-apocalypse tale. Reading books like this one where everybody that survives has to start over reminds me how screwed I'd be in an actual apocalypse and that deep down I really am quite a princess.  I might enjoy becoming a farmer though I suspect I'd become a vegetarian because I don't think I could handle killing and taking care of my own meat/chicken/game.  Anyway, the book.  The book is good and apparently part of a series.  I'm not sure if there's a prequel to this.  It seems like there might be because the book glosses over what led to the apocolaypse, implying that one already knew. Or it really wasn't that important.  Reading about the book on Amazon it apparently started when the world's oil supply ran out.  I didn't really pick up on this at all. I thought it was about an epidemic.  Regardless, I look forward to reading the next one in the series.

Time to write:  4:32

Book Review: Station Eleven

Title: Station Eleven

Author: Emily St. John Mandel

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary: Twenty years ago, a flu pandemic decimated the world's population.  A troupe of musicians and actors known as The Traveling Symphony have dedicated themselves to keeping art and culture alive by touring around the area formerly known as Michigan.  This book bounces between the pre- and post-pandemic worlds and paints a vivid picture of both.

Review: I do love a good post-apocalypse book.  However, when I think of my own survival in a post-apocalypse world, I have concerns, mainly pharmaceutical related (real drugs, people, not recreational).  Forget any aromatase inhibitors.  I also have hypothyroidism.  I'm more worried about running out of my levothyroixine than my AIs.  So I know in the event of an apocalypse, I need to stockpile meds.  I was tempted to give this book five stars but didn't for a few reasons:

1. Time lapses:  There are no cars so people have to walk everywhere or take horses.  I get that.  But can we have a clearer distinction about time passed when you're walking in a large circle around Michigan?
2. Antagonist: There's a preacher that has formed a cult and is feared.  I thought he was going to play a larger role than he did.  I understand why he was mentioned but it felt a little anti-climatic. 
3. More character development: Some characters were well developed, others not so much.  And yet the others that weren't that developed had large pre-apocalypse parts but very small post-apocalypse parts.  So why introduce these characters at all?

I guess that was it.  

Time to write: 7:31

Book review: Annihilation

Title: Annihilation
Author: Jeff VanderMeer
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Summary: Area X has been unreachable to most for a long time.  There have been eleven previous expeditions to Area X and many of them did not end well for one reason or another.  This book is about the twelfth expedition, lead by a psychologist.  She is accompanied by three other women: a biologist (the narrator), a surveyor and an anthropologist.  What secrets are these women hiding?  What will these women find?

Review: This book started off really creepy and is the first in a trilogy.  Despite the three star rating, I liked this book a lot.  However, I had some issues with the story development, which are difficult to share because I don't want to give away too much, so I'll try to be as vague as possible.  For one, I was disappointed by the lack of character depth for most of the characters, although you get a lot of the narrator's back story.  I like knowing what makes the characters tick.  Two, because the story focuses so much on the narrator, some of the creepiness disappeared for me.  Yet I'm still intrigued enough to read the next one. 

Time to write: 4:38