4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bless the beasts and children..., Dec 5 2009
By J. Shurin "carnivore" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: AFTERBLIGHT CHRONICLES: SCHOOL'S OUT (Mass Market Paperback)
While the first installments (from Si Spurrier and Rebecca Levene) in the Afterblight Chronicles are more epic in nature, Scott Andrews' book - School's Out - is much more personal. Instead of exploring how the virus has wiped out 98% of the world, he looks at the repercussions from the point of view of Lee Keegan, a survivor & a schoolboy.
I've got a soft-spot for Toy Soldiers-style storylines, and this is no exception. I think every adolescent and teen has escapist fantasies on 'what would they do if it all fell apart?' (save the cheerleaders, punch out the bullies). School's Out reads like one of those. But as far as escapism goes, I should hope that most kids don't have an imagination this wild or morbid. Lee's world is an awful one: cannibals, cultists, and psychopaths of all ages abound. Even our hero isn't all 'there', and has to resort to some fairly grim behaviour in order to survive.
This is a terrific installment in the Afterblight series. It doesn't further the 'metaplot' any, but it does show how the changes in this horrible, post-apocalyptic world impact everyone - no matter how small. I highly recommend it. Scott Andrews has done an excellent job thinking through his plot, adding fantastic twists and telling the whole story through the eyes of an enjoyable and (oddly) empathetic protagonist. It may be gory teen escapism, but that doesn't make it any less fun...
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A post-apocalyptic Lord Of The Flies, April 20 2009
By Michael Lee "Mrs Lee" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: AFTERBLIGHT CHRONICLES: SCHOOL'S OUT (Mass Market Paperback)
I really enjoyed this book a whole hell of alot.It's the best of the series that I've read so far.Theses books are a quick entertaining read for me.I like how the author faced up to human reality before writing it.Because the reality is;it's the end of the world as we know it-well the you can just forget all that one for all and all for one balony-it's we've got ours and there's none for you!The protaganist in this story was awesome. The author captured that age perfectly.A great book,to be highly reccomended!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
What's a kid to do?, Mar 23 2009
By Horror Fan - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: AFTERBLIGHT CHRONICLES: SCHOOL'S OUT (Mass Market Paperback)
In a post-apocalyptic world what's a kid to do? This UK based tale offers a frightening glimpse of the world after the fall. This poor kid has to deal with all kinds of crap and grows up really fast. The story was relatively fast paced and filled with demented twists. The twisted religion that rises in the aftermath was a truly terrifying treat.