Seed
by Rob Ziegler
science fiction
copyright 2011
read in November 2014
rated 9/10: really, really good
Harsh, violent, post-apocalyptic. Every day a struggle to survive. Death is common, from disease, starvation and violence.
Yet the characters have retained their humanity.
The hero murders others for their food, for his own survival. Okay, he'll only kill other thieves and murderers... A minor mitigation. On the other hand, he loves and looks after his brother.
The two boys travel with their murder mentor. The three depend on each other for survival. And they care for each other. It's almost a father-son relationship.
Other characters are also desperate, violent and entirely sympathetic. Not all -- there are some real creeps -- but the apocalypse had not destroyed every finer feeling.
There's an organic "factory" which produces the bulk of available food. How was it created ? The origins are both surprising -- and completely believable.
Okay, I do have a couple of niggles...
First, there are several typos. Words that sounds the same but have the wrong meaning. And several uses of words that are similar, but wrong.
Nitpicking, I know !
Then there is the use of ?Mexican? language... The hero and his friends speak a mixture of English and -- I'll call it -- Spanish. No worries with that, it suits the story. But...
What about readers who don't speak Spanish ?!
No, I'm sorry, I'm not going to use Google Translate on every other page. Some phrases I can guess. Others... I just skim over, ignore, perhaps miss some vital point...
Here's how I think it's done: you write the Spanish in italics with the English translation after it. For example:
"_Por que tan pensativo, viejo rata?_" he inquired. Isn't the moon lovely tonight?
Okay, that may not be a good translation :-) The point is... Provide a translation ! Remember that you are writing for an English-speaking audience !
Okay. That's out of my system.
It's a great book. Brutal, violent, touching, involving. The climactic battle suits this book... It would be way over the top in other books. The ending is satisfying, conclusive, indicating that the world is improved but there are still problems. Then the hero does... exactly as his character would be expected to do.
All this in the author's first book ! Which, I admit, helped crank the rating up from a good 8.
And a final word for the publisher... Night Shade Books. "An independent publisher of quality science-fiction and fantasy." Never heard of you before. I'll be keeping an eye out for your books in the future.
This could be the best science fiction that I have read, for quite a long time.
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Problems ? Solved
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