Game Changers of the Apocalypse
Author: Mark Kirkbride
Publisher: Omnium Gatherum Media
Pages: 299
ASIN: B07L8TTJQP
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes
Synopsis:
It’s always the end of the world when you break up with someone. This time it really is... Everyone on the planet has mysteriously disappeared, leaving exes Greg and Polly. They've survived the apocalypse, yet shouldn't have. Battling each other and a malevolent entity that teases them with their fate, how long can they remain ahead? Even more terrifying than everyone else on the planet disappearing is what’s about to take their place…
Review:
So far I have read several novels based around the apocalypse and most have been predictable at best, even if they were what I might call readable. Game Changers of the Apocalypse, however is different as it deals with real-life situations; Greg and Polly are going through problems with their relationship which leaves the apocalypse going on around them a secondary part of their lives - until it doesn't and urges them to take a look at the fact if they do decide to stay together, they might not have a world to wake up to. At the time they realise something weird is going on (they are the only ones left on the planet having survived) they must find out why they have been saved, and what this malevolent entity is that threatens their very survival.
I desperately wanted to find an apocalyptic novel that was unlike any I had ever read before, and I think I found it. For me there were several moments in it that wouldn't have been out of place in Shaun of the Dead, there was comedy in it I liked, Greg and Polly were the sort of couple I thought wouldn't work out most of the way through the story, but there was something that held them together, their strength, their want and need to survive through the fact they were the only people on the planet and they had some kind of reason to survive.
The story seemed to move slowly, almost as if done on purpose, but then this reflected how the characters felt in their lives; they were normal, everyday people who suddenly realised they were special and had to be the game changers as opposed to being people who drifted through their lives. To find this out while reading it was rewarding to me. Zombies aren't my thing in almost any horror novel, but occasionally I find one that is to my taste, even if there are a few floors to the story; there was a lack of science fact behind a lot of the story as an explanation for how the apocalypse happened, Greg acts as though he would do anything for Polly, while Polly shuns him most of the way through, proving herself to be nothing more than a nagging woman. These were the only criticisms I could find though. I liked how the story jogged along, how Greg and Polly got out of difficult situations, the action sequences and the general humour of the story. I mean, how would anyone act if they were the only people on earth and zombies were attacking them? I know how I would feel!
Summary:
Satan's Fan Club was the last novel I reviewed by this author which made me think there was the possibility Mark may have his tongue firmly set in his cheek ready for this next novel, and I was right. I had only heard about his previous foray into short stories on his website, and how wide ranging they were, even sci-fi took his interest with his It's Me or the Robot. It's good to see his work again, and would enjoy seeing what else he can do.
Synopsis:
It’s always the end of the world when you break up with someone. This time it really is... Everyone on the planet has mysteriously disappeared, leaving exes Greg and Polly. They've survived the apocalypse, yet shouldn't have. Battling each other and a malevolent entity that teases them with their fate, how long can they remain ahead? Even more terrifying than everyone else on the planet disappearing is what’s about to take their place…
Review:
So far I have read several novels based around the apocalypse and most have been predictable at best, even if they were what I might call readable. Game Changers of the Apocalypse, however is different as it deals with real-life situations; Greg and Polly are going through problems with their relationship which leaves the apocalypse going on around them a secondary part of their lives - until it doesn't and urges them to take a look at the fact if they do decide to stay together, they might not have a world to wake up to. At the time they realise something weird is going on (they are the only ones left on the planet having survived) they must find out why they have been saved, and what this malevolent entity is that threatens their very survival.
I desperately wanted to find an apocalyptic novel that was unlike any I had ever read before, and I think I found it. For me there were several moments in it that wouldn't have been out of place in Shaun of the Dead, there was comedy in it I liked, Greg and Polly were the sort of couple I thought wouldn't work out most of the way through the story, but there was something that held them together, their strength, their want and need to survive through the fact they were the only people on the planet and they had some kind of reason to survive.
The story seemed to move slowly, almost as if done on purpose, but then this reflected how the characters felt in their lives; they were normal, everyday people who suddenly realised they were special and had to be the game changers as opposed to being people who drifted through their lives. To find this out while reading it was rewarding to me. Zombies aren't my thing in almost any horror novel, but occasionally I find one that is to my taste, even if there are a few floors to the story; there was a lack of science fact behind a lot of the story as an explanation for how the apocalypse happened, Greg acts as though he would do anything for Polly, while Polly shuns him most of the way through, proving herself to be nothing more than a nagging woman. These were the only criticisms I could find though. I liked how the story jogged along, how Greg and Polly got out of difficult situations, the action sequences and the general humour of the story. I mean, how would anyone act if they were the only people on earth and zombies were attacking them? I know how I would feel!
Summary:
Satan's Fan Club was the last novel I reviewed by this author which made me think there was the possibility Mark may have his tongue firmly set in his cheek ready for this next novel, and I was right. I had only heard about his previous foray into short stories on his website, and how wide ranging they were, even sci-fi took his interest with his It's Me or the Robot. It's good to see his work again, and would enjoy seeing what else he can do.
Thank you very much, Sandra.
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