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Loading... Journal of the Plague Year: An Omnibus of Post-Apocalyptic Talesby Adrian Tchaikovsky (Contributor), David Thomas Moore (Editor)
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.  KelMunger | Jan 12, 2015 |    ) autumnturner76 | Sep 22, 2014 | The first story, Orbital Decay by Malcolm Cross, was the strongest of the three, and was very tense. The American and Russian crew of the International Space Station are watching events unfold on the ground, events that are decimating the human race. Additional details and happenings on the ISS (and on the ground) made this a real page turner! The second story, Dead Kelly by C. B. Harvey, I didn't like at all, and ended up skipping ahead to story #3. The third story, The Bloody Deluge by Adrian Tchaikovsky, was interesting in that it wasn't set in a "normal" environment: western Poland. Other twists make this a good read, too. ( ) ssimon2000 | Jul 28, 2014 | no reviews | add a review
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HTML: When the world ended... The Cull swept the world in the early years of the twenty-first century, killing billions and ending civilisation. Only a fortunate few, blessed with the right blood type, were spared. In the chaos of the Afterblight, scientists, priestsâ??even armed robbersâ??may become leaders, or heroes. In Malcolm Cross's Orbital Decay, the team in the International Space Station watch helplessly as the world is all but wiped out. Exiled from Earth by his blood-type, astronaut Alvin Burrows must solve the mystery of the "Pandora" experiment, even as someone on the station takes to murdering the crew one by one... In C. B. Harvey's Dead Kelly, fugitive and convict "Dead" Kelly McGuire returns from hiding out in the Bush to the lawless city of Melbourne. McGuire has three jobs to do: to be revenged on his old gangmates, to confront some uncomfortable truths about his past, andâ??ultimatelyâ??to discover his own terrible destiny... In Adrian Tchaikovsky's The Bloody Deluge, Katy Lewkowitz and her friend and old tutor Dr. Emil Weber, fleeing the depredations of the so-called New Teutonic Order, take refuge among the strangely anachronistic survivors at the monastery of Jasna GĂłra in Western Poland. A battle of faith ensues, that could decide the future of hum No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.0876208092Literature English English fiction By Type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Speculative fiction Science fiction Collections Modern period 21st century 2000–RatingAverage: (3.6)
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Journal of the Plague Year: A Post-Apocalyptic Omnibus, by Malcolm Cross, C.B. Harvey and Adrian Tchaikovsky (Abaddon Books, $9.99).
Existing within the “Afterblight” universe, this collection of novellas occur during and immediately after a rampaging epidemic—the Cull—kills roughly 96% of the population.
Why such a high mortality rate? Well, it attacks everyone who has a blood type other than O Neg. The universal donors turn out to be the only survivors.
In this case, the first and last novellas are much, much stronger than the one in the middle. C. B. Harvey’s “Dead Kelly,” set in the Australian Outback, was just a touch too Mad Max for me.
But the other two? Fantastico.
In “Orbital Decay,” Malcolm Cross writes a novella of intense humanity (not to mention madness and pure human fuckery) as the six astronauts on the International Space Station are stuck in orbit while the world dies beneath them. With tense pacing, excellent characterization, and a few good surprises, it also reveals some interesting bits of information about the nature of the Cull, and was, for my money, the best of the three novellas.
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “The Bloody Deluge” invokes some powerful ghosts—the title refers to the powerful Swedes attempt to roll right over the top of Poland in the 17th century—in a tale of a wannabe-Charlemagne conquering in the name of holy … something. Is it a real religious revival? Not at the top.
But when the religion-fueled, backward-looking armies of the new order chase a scientist who’s probably the last true prince of reason to the doorstep of a warrior abbot, they get more than they expected.
While I haven’t read all the Afterblight books, I did enjoy School’s Out Forever, and have Hooded Man in the queue.
Reviewed on The United States of Armageddon: www.kelmunger.tumblr.com (