Kenneth McKenney

In this environmental apocalyptic horror novel, plants rise up (sometimes literally) to give humanity a warning that the planet doesn't need them, and is more than ready to wipe them out if they don't change their ways. The action of the novel takes place primarily in the English village of Brandling (population: 40), ground zero for the plantocalypse.

The novel primarily follows protagonist Philip Monk, Brandling resident and BBC popular science reporter, as he returns to Brandling to investigate a 13-foot marrow squash that has grown and to see how it relates to other rumors of surprising plant growth and behavior during an especially lush summer. Other leads include Ted Wilkes, something of a lay preacher, who deduces on his own what the plants are trying to tell humanity, and Monk's daughter Debbie, who can hear the plants talk.

McKenney's character dynamics work very well, whether within the Monk family or in the cast of locals gathered at the local bar, The Bunch of Grapes, but the plot stumbles badly in the middle, when everyone knows what's going on but the book isn't long enough to conclude. And there's the question of how sending a message to a village of forty people is supposed to convince the entire human race to change course. All in all, it's a decent study in character, and a unique apocalypse tale, but not terribly memorable.… (mehr)

I think this was an awful book, but I enjoyed it. The story of the changeling seemed really contrived and cobbled together. It was full of holes. How could the changeling have no soul and yet so obviously care about the girl? At one point the author even said he had a soul after making the premise that all children born on a certain day had empty souls, ripe for possession by demons. Also it wasn't the kind of changeling I usually associate the word with. I think of that as goblins replacing an infant with one of their own. Demon possession is an entirely different subject. So basically I quibble with the pseudo-science, pseudo-occult aspects of it.

Once you ignore that and decide you're going to read it just to see what happens, it plays out like a whodunit. There's a detective from Scotland Yard and a girl who loves the changeling's better self. And a really cool pub which I think he should have done more with. Why were the pictures of the changeling's mother hanging in the pub?

So a weak effort, but enjoyable trash. Sequel to The Moonchild and followed by The Offspring, neither of which I'm in any hurry to read.… (mehr)