Adam BakerRezensionen
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(Avanzada 01) Solos von Adam Baker
I originally thought this was a stand alone novel by Baker, but realized it is sort of a prequel to his other novel, OUTPOST. I didn't realize the connection until I was about a good third into the book. It started out well, gathering a group of mercs, and sending them on a mission to find a hidden cache of gold. Really? Hasn't that been done before? Needless to say, it was little better than I expected. I did finish the second half of the book, just because I wanted to see how it tied into OUTPOST. Baker's next book, TERMINUS, I hope is much better.
This is not your normal 'survival of the end of the world' type of story. It centers around six characters of a crew on a derelict oil rig in the Artic Circle, and tells of how they survive being stranded on the rig as some sort of world-wide epidemic runs rampant. There is no explanation of the epidemic, but leaves the body to become what many would call zombie-like, but not exactly what we consider zombies. Great easy reading story, that Baker takes in some unexpected directions, leaving an ending that I would not have guessed. Great action, captures some of the emotion that solitude could bring out in a person, and the need to fight on at all costs for life.
Here's a question for you, my dear reader. What the hell or what the heck would you do if you got stuck at a refinery platform moored in the Arctic Ocean with a group of fifteen people some are strangers and some are friends,, and on the other side of the world, far from the place you are at, the world is slowly ending and destroying itself because of a global pandemic that has overtaken it? Would you stay there,with people who are about to go mad or insane because of the situation, or would you go back to that kind of world to try to save your family? Whatever the case, the author of this novel did quite an excellent job with this one, cause it's very intense and it has its truly great moments within it, some of which shall leave you breathless and others shall leave you wonder what's gonna come next. It's a truly great novel, but it's that kind of novel that you've really got to read the whole way through, or else you can't fully understand the full extent and the spectrum of its truly horrifying and terrifying story.
The apocalypse arrives whilst a skeleton crew is aboard a remote arctic oil rig. Personalities clash and the number of survivors slowly erodes as they attempt to escape to freedom.
Pretty good story, features the same disease as the Juggernaut novel, believe this comes after that based on the background story of the world collapsing as the virus spreads.
This is the first book in the Outpost series, a prequel of the virus's origins.
It's not bad, there's plenty of action, viral devastation and a plausible origin plot.
However overall, it's rather average. The characters don't really ever get much depth and the CIA agent with bottomless pits of money hires a mere pair of fourth rate ex-soldiers with two run down helicopters. The starting with the ending sequence can work for some novels but this one also didn't quite pull that off leaving you reading a story for which you already know who survives.
It fills in time but it's not something I'd read again, or further to next book in the series.
For the rest of the review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2016/10/29/winter-raven-adam-baker/
very fun to read, interesting plot with a zombie twist
I has the flu. I is doped up. I read this book. It is great. Great stuff about low-level mercenaries hustling to make money in Iraq, 2005, more great stuff about, y'know, zombies way out in the desert. Action. Fighting. Kaboom.
When the night closes in and the jungle sounds start with their screeches and shrieks and ice-cream jingles, we gather round the fire and huddle together for warmth and clutch our rusty knives and clubs and garotting wires and the kids ask for a story and I say how about some post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror military action from the incomparable pen of Adam Baker? And they groan and cry and sob and beg for Winnie the Pooh or the goddamnd Gruffalo or whatever and I start shouting and swearing 'cause we only got the post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror military action from the incomparable pen of Adam Baker, you understand? That's all that's left! The rest is gone! Just us and this book is what's left of humanity! And they say quiet, quiet they'll hear you and come looking and I say fine, fine, you wanna hear this or not and they say yay! Post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror military action from the incomparable pen of Adam Baker! Our favourite! Fine, I say, then I'll begin.
The Outpost by Adam Baker: I got this from the library on a whim, and it is a cracking, taut, cinematic thriller. The prose is pared-down to the bone, making for a fast, furious read. A caretaker crew on an Arctic oil refinery are abandoned as the world comes to a end due to a mysterious plague. Winter closes in, food stores are too low and the plague itself makes an unexpected arrival. Though atmospheric and claustrophopic, Baker pulls off a few sepctacular set-pieces. The heroine is unusual - basically she's the Vicar of Dibley - and he avoids the obvious killed-off-one-by-one route, building instead a core of four characters for the reader to become totally invested in. I've come to respect the art of writing books that read like really cool films, mostly because when they're made into films they usually end up a mess. I blew through this in a day and a half. An unexpected treat.
All the crew have to do is drop the bomb and head to safety.
But when the Liberty Bell crashes, the surviving crew are stranded in the most remote corner of Death Valley. They're alone in an alien environment, their only shelter the wreckage of their giant aircraft, with no hope of rescue. And death is creeping towards them from the place they sought to destroy - and may already reside beneath their feet in the burning desert sands.
Lock and load bitches!
Adam Baker's Outpost series is one of my guilty pleasures....fast paced, compulsive and enormous fun!
The world has been overrun by a lethal infection, ravaged by a pathogen that leaves its victims locked half-way between life and death. New York, bombed to prevent the spread of the disease, has been reduced to radioactive rubble. A rescue squad enters the subway tunnels beneath Manhattan, searching for the one man who can create an antidote. The squad battle floodwaters, lethal radiation and infected, irradiated survivors as they race against the disease that threatens to extinguish the human race.
The Outpost trilogy is one of my guilty pleasures. I enjoyed Terminus an apocalyptical page turner written in a staccato rhythm that takes you on a non-stop terrifying ride to a world of death and despair...and zombies
The characters rise to such heights of heroism and bravery you know come Armageddon you would want them on your team...
'Okay,' murmured Lupe. 'Let's do this shit the hard way'
Juggernaut
By Adam Baker
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Published In: New York City, NY, USA
Date: 2012
Pgs: 305
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
Work in a warzone when you aren’t military or part of one of the big conglomerates is a hardscrabble life. Rumors swirl. The fog of war reaches everywhere. Rumor of abandoned Iraqi gold out in the desert leads seven mercenaries into the deep desert. Tons of Saddam’s gold, greed, betrayal, and an army that won’t stay dead. Escaping the desert and the web of intrigue being drawn tight around them may be more than the seven of them can survive.
Genre:
fiction, zombies, militaria, horror
Why this book:
The blurb referred to this book as being Three Kings meets The Walking Dead. I was in.
This Story is About:
courage, working hard, doing the right thing, duty, hard times, pragmatism in the face of horror and disaster
Favorite Character:
I like the core group of Lucy’s mercenary family, hard bitten(ha) assholes, the lot of them, even though, they act like idiots who have never seen a zombie movie in their entire life.
Least Favorite Character:
Koell is the by-the-book black ops asset who will end up letting an apocalypse run free across the world while trying to make a profit for himself and feed his ambition.
Gaunt who in the face of an army of reanimate creatures follows through with his orders from The Company to betray his fellow travellers, even though that will leave him on his own to face the Republican Guard zombies and try to escape.
Character I Most Identified With:
Jabril, who leads the mercenaries into the enclave in the deep desert; them for gold, him to make sure that the evil that he has seen in the desert doesn’t have a chance to escape back into the world, this despite the evil that he did earlier in life as a member of Saddam’s secret police. Jabril is a complex character.
The Feel:
The story feels too open. I wanted close and claustrophobic in the ancient ruined city and temple where Saddam’s Republican Guard hid the gold and the virus containers.
Favorite Scene:
Love the train scene that opens the story.
Settings:
Runaway train in the deserts of Iraq; Baghdad; Abu Ghraib; the deep desert; the temple city;
Pacing:
Really like the short chapters. They move the action along.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
Gaunt is a Swiss army knife character. West Point graduate, 2nd Lieutenant when he arrives in Iraq, leads a door knock crew searching for insurgents, wet behind the ears. And when next you see him, he is washed out because of something he took part in in the past, but he is also running a small two chopper private airlift company on the Baghdad airport apron. So, West Pointer, 2nd Looey to washed up, mercenary chopper pilot...and he has the skills to find a trip wire between two ancient columns in the desert during a sandstorm...and he can drive a diesel electric locomotive. He’s a bit much to take, too deus ex machina.
Last Page Sound:
Sigh.
Author Assessment:
There’s a feel that there is something missing. Can’t put my finger on it. Like when mashed potatoes don’t have enough of something in them.
Editorial Assessment:
See above.
Did the Book Cover Reflect the Story:
Soldier standing face to face with the zombies Would have been better served with the train being the juggernaut instead of the oncoming horde. The train with a zombie horde following behind it or overrunning it would have made an awesome cover image for this story.
Song the Story Reminds me of or That Plays in my Head While Reading:
Renegade by Styx. There’s a lot of the feeling that the “hangman is coming down from the gallows and I don’t have very long” here.
Hmm Moments:
The intimation that the black hats in the dark shades walk around in the warzones looking for advantages and stuff that they can use for profit.
Voss’s pragmatism in the run up to the climax feels right, horrible, but right.
Knee Jerk Reaction:
meh!
Disposition of Book:
Irving Public Library, Irving, TX
Why isn’t there a screenplay?
How this isn’t in the pipeline to be a movie is beyond me. Just on concept alone, this should be in the works, rapidly, while zombie fever is still strong. Could end up on Syfy easily.
Casting call:
Pauley Perrette could play Amanda, the hardnosed mercenary, California girl, ex-Meth-head who found absolution with a rifle in her hand and getting lost in mercenary ways.
Gaunt could be Sam Rockwell. Almost washed up, ex-soldier, lost in a deadend, looking for a way up or a way out, wanting into the covert life and the invisible opportunities that lurk there.
Jason Staitham could be Voss, South African mercenary expat ready for retirement, tired of the grind, fighting his last war..
If they went the Syfy route, they could cast Debbie Gibson and Tiffany as Lucy and Amanda.
Would recommend to:
zombiophones
A decaying oil rig in the hostile Arctic Ocean. A zombie pandemic sweeping the globe. A skeleton crew slowly coming to the realisation the relief ship they’ve been waiting on is not coming anymore, and their little world is all they have left.
This is the premise for the debut novel from Adam Baker: Outpost, published in 2011.
The world is awash with zombies, found across the entertainment spectrum in books, films, TV series, comics, cosplay and video games. Just to name a few. When there’s so much to choose from, additions to the genre have to start to offer something new – whether it is World War Z with its documentary-style retelling of the Zombie Wars, Warm Bodies and it’s Romeo and Juliet romance, or the brilliant-but-flawed Walking Dead.
Adam Baker offers us a rusting castle in the ice and a plague that crosses 28 Days Later with Terminator. He then mixes in a group of people, all with their own secrets, fears and flaws, succumbing to terror and struggling to survive even before the plague arrives on their doorstep. This book should have the makings of either an action-filled thriller with this demoralised crew fighting to protect their steel castle, or a psychological horror as these same people succumb to fear and starvation. Either way, it sounds interesting.
Unfortunately, I don’t think Baker knew which direction he wanted to go in, and the result is a book that could have been good but falls at the first hurdle.
His protagonist is a self-hating reverend with body image issues who feels that she’s fat and useless. Her mostly male flock are aware of this and share her sentiments. It is difficult to read a book when the main character is as annoying as she was. I didn’t feel any sympathy for her, and I really didn’t like her. This seems to have been his aim – at the beginning, the reader is encouraged to feel as much disgust for her as she and the people around her clearly do. Then events are set in motion, and she decides the only way to help the crew is to be thin and fit. In a series of scenes that rival a Rocky montage, she jogs, then runs, for miles around the rig.
The character and the author equate her weight to her usefulness. When she was fat, she had low self image and couldn’t help herself let alone anyone else. Then she turned into Ripley, the action hero of the story. She went from one extreme to the other, and it isn’t believable. I also don’t believe the author has enough of an insight into the female psyche to create a female protagonist with the issues she has – she despises herself, and all it takes for her to gain some confidence is to lose weight. It’s shallow.
Out of all the characters, however, she was the only one who was remotely memorable. The other characters are cardboard cut-outs, and not only are they instantly forgettable it’s also very difficult to tell them apart. Everybody sounds the same, no matter their gender, role on the rig or social background. This is especially clear when one of the characters is infected and decides to track the disease first in their diary, and then later when we’re treated to a view of the world from a zombie’s eyes. This is an interesting concept, and it could have been very good. Due to the poor characterisation, it wasn’t.
It impossible to have a good psychological thriller with badly written characters. Unfortunately, the action fails to hit the mark for several reasons. It’s impossible to believe the main character being capable of some of the things she does, and it’s difficult to tell the characters apart which means, for a moment, the reader stops to figure out who is who before moving on. The action scenes are also forced and don’t flow naturally from one to the next.
Where Adam Baker fails in characterisation and action, he more than makes up for with atmosphere and scenery. The rig is oppressive and cold, a steel castle in one of the earth’s most inhospitable regions. I could picture the landscape, feel the loneliness of being all alone in an ice field. The biting cold, the starvation and hyperthermia. This was vivid and real. I started to relish the times he meandered off into his descriptions as much as I cringed at the dialogue.
Interesting ideas and amazing landscapes can’t make up for badly written characters, especially in a book focusing on an ensemble cast struggling for survival. It is a debut novel, and I will read what he writes next in the hope he learns and grows as an author.
Would I recommend this for anyone to read? If you want a quick zombie book to pass a few hours then yes, read it. But don’t expect too much.
http://annikisbookcase.com/2013/05/outpost/
THEY SEARCHED FOR GOLD. THEY FOUND DEATH.
Iraq 2005. Seven mercenaries hear an enticing rumor: somewhere, abandoned in the swirling desert sands, lies an abandoned Republican Guard convoy containing millions of pounds of Saddam's gold. They form an unlikely crew of battle-scarred privateers, killers and thieves, veterans of a dozen war zones, each of them anxious to make one last score before their luck runs out.
After liberating the sole surviving Guard member from US capture, the team makes their way to the ancient ruins where the convoy was last seen. Although all seems eerily quiet and deserted when they arrive, they soon find themselves caught in a desperate battle for their lives, confronted by greed, betrayal, and an army that won't stay dead.
Second book in the Outpost series and another rollicking, rollercoster page turning read. Baker excells at writing strong female protagonists and I loved the female lead in the last book "Outpost". In Juggernaut Lucy, mercenary leader and general all round kick arse makes a refreshing change to have a female in the kind of role that's usually reserved for pumped-up action men.
In fact Lucy Whyte is so hard she makes pumped-up action men cry:
*Lucy and her team were wearing full body armor. Lucy had a cheery Sheraton conference badge pinned to her flak jacket. “Hello, my name is … F*** YOU.”
*Lucy shot him through the left eye and blew out the back of his skull. He was thrown clean out of his flip-flops.
*Lucy threw him over the parapet. He fell three stories into the wreckage of the burning Humvee, and was lost in flame.
:)
I love survivalist stories, either real or imaginary, the way the survivors interact with each other, the breakdown of relationships, strengths and weaknesses and the changes of personality that occurs in trauma driven experiences.
Werner Herzog’s quote seems apt when related to this book “Civilization is like a thin layer of ice upon a deep ocean of chaos and darkness.
Kasker Rampart is an oil platform moored in the Barents Sea which normally holds 1000 personnel but is winding down for the winter. Fifteen skeleton crew members are left on board to keep things ticking over until the next relief ship arrives to take them home.
But back in civilisation something bad is happening. Before the TV news broadcasts and radio reports cease the Kasker crew see images of panic and mayhem across the globe and they realise that there may not be a relief ship coming anytime soon.
The crew must first survive the freezing, dark of an Arctic Winter before they can even address the problem of getting home. With low supplies of both food and energy the prospect for survival is bleak but it is going to get worse…much worse. The claustrophobic atmosphere of this huge rig that has become a prison and the threat of impending doom slowly drifting towards them is chilling
Outpost is the debut novel from Adam Baker and like the characters we don’t really know what caused this apocalypse in the outside world, it is not that important. The author focuses on the human condition, the physiological impact of being lone survivors on his characters.
We quickly get to know the main protagonist, Jane Blanc the Kasker’s vicar, who took the thankless job to escape her old life and is weak physically and mentally…she fantasies about suicide …taking an overdose in a bowl of ice cream or jumping into the freezing waters below. As the story progresses she believably develops into a kick arse Ripley-esque determined character, who wants to survive despite the odds. All around her the situation brings out the best and the worst in her colleagues as the primeval instincts to survive at all costs kicks in bringing with it paranoia, madness, cruelty and ultimately self sacrifice.
A good solid, pacy debut from this author who is writing a prequel that is set in Iraq during the Gulf War.
Good premise and well executed. This is a good book in PA-Zombie fiction category and is worthy of more attention. On an off-shore refinery platform in the Arctic, the crew is isolated from rest of the world when the apocalypse occurs. This book reads more as a movie script and keeps you turning pages in order to know what happens next.
Yes characters are not as well developed as books from other genre but you have to accept the fact that the aim of this genre is different than others. To put it simply, its main objective is pure enjoyment. If you want to read about more fleshed out characters, go read something from a Nobel laureate of literature.
Now back to this particular book. I really liked how the story arc of some characters, like Rye in particular was developed. And the main male character in the book is an Indian (Rajesh Ghosh aka Ghost) – Sikh to be exact. Our main protagonist, Jane Blanc, is a female who, thankfully for a change, is not a slim and trim beauty with brains but fat and unskilled. Her character develops well as the book progresses.
The end could have been done better but that is just a minor hiccup for otherwise a good work of PA Zombie fiction.
3.5 stars.
The skeleton crew of a massive oil refinery complex in the Arctic Ocean are expecting the arrival of the ship that will take them home. They do not yet know of the terror that has plunged the world into chaos, but they soon will. if the apparent delay to the ships arrival did not alter them, the newscasts on their TVs would, until one by one those broadcasting stations disappeared from their screens. The gradually come to realise they are on their own with just the supplies and resources of their Arctic home with which to work. They seek to escape, but escape to what, is there any where to escape to?
Of this skeleton crew we get to know just a few in any depth, including Jane the young priest with a personal problem, Punch the young chef with better plans, Rawlins the man in charge, Sian the young administrator seeking adventure, Ghost the Asian 'caretaker', and Nail the diver who likes to pump iron. As we get to know these characters and the few others who play a significant part we learn that almost each one has a past he or she is trying to escape.
Outpost is a well written and a very well paced apocalyptic drama. It is one of those rare novels that captivates from the very first pages, and that with an initially not particularly appealing character. It manages to maintain the drama and build the tension as the plot develops, and as we gradually learn something of nature of the problem that has beset the world.
However while I found this a gripping, hard to put down read, it is very formulaic in structure; relying on the familiar well worn plot devices we almost come to expect in such stories and including some character stereotypes: the self-loathing individual turned hero, the self-serving hunk turned villain, the good hearted one who makes the ultimate sacrifice. Offering relief from the unfolding narrative, occasionally we are given a little on the background of some of the characters.
It is unquestionably a good read, thoroughly engrossing, but it offers little out of the ordinary for this genre; however it you want to kept on the edge of your seat throughout you can't go far wrong with Outpost.
I can´t believe I actually read this book to the end. I think I hoped it would become better... It started ok, I liked the idea of a small group isolated in the snow and ice while the world collapses around them. Well, to begin with I was quite happy with the story but as I read along it got from not so good, to bad, and when I finished it, it was like a bad joke. Don´t read it.
1 
Amsa1959 | 15 weitere Rezensionen | Apr 20, 2012 |
Amsa1959 | 15 weitere Rezensionen | Apr 20, 2012 | I have found my preferred zombie books focus on first person or smaller groups of 'survivors'. Jumping all over the world to a slew of characters is rather overwhelming. If you prefer that smaller perspective, this book is for you.
I liked the unique setting a remote oil drilling rig in the Artic. The author never goes too far into the source of zombie situation, but provides enough to keep it interesting and wanting more. I liked the viewpoint of a remote site losing contact with the outside world over time.
I found the author's writing style unique. The use of short terse statements in lieu of full sentences is interesting. Helps to keep a flow to the writing. Some times these short 'statements' might serve to replace several sentences or paragraphs, but the author gets away with it. Interesting style.
Many zombie books provide a unique twist on the genre. This book is not an exception. Don't want to go to far into this (to avoid spoilers). The author's angle is different. I prefer a more traditional zombie perspective that is found in the Walking Dead TV series or DBDA (less the ending). However, the divergence from the norm is not overwhelming.
The end of the book was good, but I felt the author used some 'fuzzy logic' (as other reviewers have stated). I have the impression that to get to a quick ending of the book, this fuzzy logic was used to surf quickly over events that could have taken more time to adequately explain. Not a critical flaw, but it seemed to eclipse the ending of the book making it shorter than it might otherwise have been.
Am still in search of zombie books in first person or focusing on smaller groups in the vein of traditional zombies, but Outpost was not bad. Not hard reading. Something I would recommend to my sons if they ever catch the zombie bug.
Adam Baker has a literary style which is most unique. A story narrated almost exclusively in short punchy statements creates a feeling that the words are being hammered in to your skull. The words of Juggernaut are almost weaponised. It helps Baker establish a frantic feeling early on and vast amount of information can be fed to the reader in a short amount of time. However this approach to the narrative is prohibitive in the creation of emotions and subsequently the characters never really leave the paper.
The plot is fairly direct and staggered revelations offer information rather than allow deviations from the expected path. There is clearly a start, middle and end, Baker doesn't play with the standard construction. This is a by-the-numbers action thriller, cashing in on the zombie related genre and scooping up the post-Iraq/Green Zone genre to add a new shine. Baker has done his homework and the military scenario is peppered with jargon and hints of the reality of war. Little of it actually propels the plot, although it aids the realism.
Ultimately Juggernaut feels rather flat despite the clear effort of the author. Outpost was a spectacular read and the author is very talented and although this is eclipsed by his first piece of work Juggernaut is by no means a bad book and another adventure will be relished.
You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/03/outpost-by-adam-baker.html
While reading Outpost, I had the persistent need to seek out a very warm bwankie and swaddle myself in it, or perhaps put on one of those survival suits used in very cold climates. The book begins like this:
“Jane woke, stretched, and decided to kill herself. If she hadn’t found a reason to live by the end of the day she would jump from the rig. It felt good to have a plan.”
I dare you to read that passage and not be immediately hooked. I was, and it led to a marathon reading session lasting long into the night. Outpost takes place on an oil rig in the Arctic Circle. Are you shivering yet? That right there is pretty much all you need to set the scene for menace. Remote oil rig at the top of the world, cold that’s colder than you can imagine, limited food andsupplies…you get the picture. When the crew discovers that a virus has decimated the rest of the world, via a series of shocking and gruesome footage on BBC, they prepare to batten down the hatches and settle in for a long winter. This is easier said than done, though, and little do they know, the contagion that has destroyed the world is on its way to them, and it doesn’t discriminate.
You’re thinking zombies, right? You’d only be half wrong. The author has created something a little bit different with Outpost. The infected do have the propensity to bite and attack, but it’s for the sole purpose of spreading the parasite that infects them, and it’s a doozy. I don’t want to give away too much about the contagion, because it’s so darn cool, and really, really scary. Seriously, like, little hairs standing up on the back of your neck scary.
The book skips around to various characters, but they’re such an insular group, it’s not at all hard to keep up. The real stars of this drama are Jane and Ghost, however. Jane has been a “fat girl” all of her life. Choosing the career of a pastor, she thought it might help her to have to hear of other people’s problems, so as not to have to deal with her own. Taking the job on the rig was a last resort for her, and let me tell you, Jane blossoms in the face of adversity (I use this term lightly here-this situation is off-the-charts awful .) In fact, I couldn’t help but picture Jane looking just like Ripley from Alien; locked, loaded, and ready to go. She runs circuits around the rig, and “fat” no more, decides she’s gonna face this thing head on, and that she does. Ghost, the systems engineer, becomes her ally and friend, and together, they’re a pretty formidable team, but don’t sell Jane herself short. They say that situations such as these bring out a person’s true character, and the author explores that with each of the crew members. You have those that are out for themselves, those that will do anything to help the ones they love, and those that will turn into stone cold killers. The contagion is terrifying, and is, of course, a huge part of the story, but it’s the characters that will keep you turning the pages. There’s so much awesome in this book, it’s hard to pick what I liked best. Is it the spare, no-nonsense prose that the author uses? Well yes, I love that. Is it the luxury liner overrun with the infected that may be their only hope, or a deathtrap? I loved that too! There’s quite a lot to love, actually, about this book, especially if you’re a fan of superb survival horror, sci-fi, and yes, zombie fans will eat it up as well (pun totally intended). Also, don’t let the spare prose I mention fool you. These are complex characters in a situation I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and the author is expert in weaving the separate storylines together into one of the scariest books I’ve read this year. Absolutely not to be missed!
1 MyBookishWays | 15 weitere Rezensionen | Mar 8, 2012 |
MyBookishWays | 15 weitere Rezensionen | Mar 8, 2012 | Outpost by Adam Baker is an excellent, unique, gripping apocalyptic story. It all takes part on a closed-down oil refinery in the remote Arctic Ocean called Kasker Rampart. The skeleton crew of fifteen people who have been left to look after the station watch news reports of a global plague, looting, mass death, and global quarantines with helplessness -- they are stranded, and the ship with their relief and supplies for the winter never arrives. The group knows that they don't have enough food to last the winter, and have to face the fact that they won't be able to leave the refinery until the ice freezes over....at which time, the plague and death could also cross the ice to them. The isolated, icy, barren setting is the perfect stage for an end-of-the-world horror scenario.
Most of the book revolves around the motley crew's response to the disaster. Jane, a faithless, depressed priest, rises to the occasion and tries to support the rest of the group. Her metamorphosis is fascinating. Ghost, a skilled handyman, devises ways for the crew to survive. The cook Punch and hairdresser Sian contribute to rescue efforts, while many of the crewmen drown their fears in drugs or alcohol. The group fragments as they become increasingly isolated and afraid. All the characters in the story, even minor ones, are well-drawn, complex, compelling, interesting and full of depth. This is one of the major strengths of the story. I genuinely cared about the characters and wanted them ALL to make it (generally a false hope when reading an apocalyptic tale!).
Another real strength of this story is the plague victims themselves. Much like a typical zombie, they are mostly mindless and driven to kill humans; however, they are so much more than typical! They are genuinely creepy, scary, ever-evolving metallic creatures who become almost robotic. We never learn exactly what caused this, but we learn the origin and Jane speculates that it is a nano-type biological weapon. Regardless, the creatures are truly frightening, and somehow somewhat human, too. The horror they feel as they transform is riveting and adds to the reader's horror.
I found myself unable to put down this book. It is beautifully imagined and written. I would have rated it 5 stars but for a bit of fuzzy logic near the end. Despite that, it is a strong story and highly recommended. This is Adam Baker's first story -- I can't wait to see what he comes up with next!
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