Falling Sky

Cross posted at my blog: http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/11/01/falling-sky-by-rajan-khanna/

I was zombie free for most of the summer. Once The Walking Dead ended, I mean. And except that one book, [b:The Girl with All the Gifts|17235026|The Girl with All the Gifts|M.R. Carey|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403033579s/17235026.jpg|23753235], which hardly counts, right? Oh, and I started that anthology [b:The Living Dead|3302568|The Living Dead (The Living Dead, #1)|John Joseph Adams|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1391343270s/3302568.jpg|3339382], but didn't get very far, so that shouldn't count either. So when I saw a post about Falling Sky, I was both nostalgic and intrigued. Zombies? Check. Dystopia? Check. Airships? --Wait, show more what?

Yes--Airships.

Basic gist: Ben and his airship Cherub have reluctantly taken a contract to work with the scientists of the small community of Apple Pi. It has been a couple of generations since the Bug appeared, and the group of scientists there are hoping their research will bring a vaccine. Maybe even turn the infected, aggressive Ferals back into people. Ben considers it a pipe dream, and when the scientists want him to transport a Feral in Cherub, he puts his foot down. No matter how much he might admire Miranda, one of the lead scientists, there are some things that can’t be tolerated, and risking exposure to the Bug is one of them. Ben flies off in the Cherub only to discover that the nightmare attack that ruined the last community he was part of is about to start again. He needs to decide quickly if he will continue alone or rejoin a community.

I was most reminded of The Reapers are the Angels in atmosphere and theme. To me, atmosphere is a critical part of apocalypse/zombie books, and Khanna captures those elements beautifully. The setting is an interesting take in the genre; although it is at least a couple of generations post-disaster, there are some significant technological remnants of civilization as well as new cultural communities rising from the remainder of the old. The writing doesn’t quite soar to the Hemingway heights of Reapers, but it is appropriate for Ben. Writing is focused, with a pleasant variety of structure and vocabulary, making it above average in the field. A clever blend of flashback, dialogue and current action keeps the pace snappy while filling in details on character and world history.

Characterization is one of the standout aspects of this book. Khanna uses a single-narrator viewpoint through Ben, but still manages to convey a great deal of complexity to the main characters. It’s worth noting that there is a wide mix of people represented in the story, and neatly avoids the majority of genre tropes. Although I found I didn’t altogether like Ben, I found him far more tolerable than the equally selfish narrator of The Goldfinch, likely because he’s a person in progress.

Plotting is perhaps the weakest section of the story. I was carried along with the various events, noting a significant deus ex machina but not really caring, when the story was pleasantly sidetracked to an existence scenario. It is always interesting to experience the post-apocalypse world on those hardest of terms–the single forager–but the episode ended up resolving quickly and conveniently, moving Ben on to the next and more important section. There is a nice little genre twist, bringing an updated approach to the inhumanity of man. And the ending–whew. The ending was exceptionally brief, both in terms of emotional and plot resolution. While it opens the way to another story, it does end this one. More or less. I anticipate reviewer drama over this one. As an after thought, once I finished reading, a number logistical questions occurred to me. That could be a positive sign, in the sense I was still thinking about it, but it was also a negative one, as I realized a major decision didn’t make logical sense.

Regardless, it was a lot of fun, generally entertaining and worth the time. As a first novel, this was exceptional. But the $10.99 Kindle price? Now that, I’m no so sure–I’m glad this one was a library read. Overall, I recommend this for genre fans. As for myself, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more from Khanna. show less

I enjoyed Falling Sky a lot more than I thought I would. That’s no meagre accomplishment, considering how many books are out there in the market these days involving zombies in a post-apocalyptic type future. But Rajan Khanna did not have to resort to any gimmicks or convoluted methods to make his novel stand out. All he did was come up with an awesome premise – that when a virulent epidemic broke out two generations ago and turned most of the population into mindless Ferals, humanity managed to survive by simply taking to the skies.

That means airships. Entire cities that float. People like main protagonist and narrator Ben Gold feel most comfortable off the ground, because that translates to safety from coming in contact with the show more tainted blood of Ferals, and in turns means being able to live out another day. Ben, who has always been happy on his own piloting his airship Cherub, finds a way to make money by working with the intelligent and headstrong Miranda, leader of a group of ambitious scientists hoping to find a cure for the Feral virus.

But then Valhalla strikes, and the skies are no longer a safe haven. A faction made up of savage pirates, Valhalla is bent on conquering and stealing from other settlements by employing the most depraved measures – like airlifting infected Ferals and dropping them into defenseless cities. After being caught in one such attack, Ben’s life is forever changed and he is forced to make some difficult decisions. He’s the kind of guy who’s always lived by the motto “Every man for himself”, but for the first time in his life he realizes there may be bigger things to fight for.

I don’t think I would have enjoyed this book so much if it weren’t for Ben. I loved his voice and took to his casual and devil-may-care attitude right away, and I found that the first-person narrative in the present tense worked surprisingly well for the story. Ben isn’t exactly someone you can admire or point to as a good role model, but I liked him all the same. Somewhat self-serving at times and frequently having a short view of the problem, Ben doesn’t always mean to screw the people around him over, but his impulsive nature usually leads him to do it all the same. But he’s got a good heart, as proven by the many times he’s gone out of his way to try and repay a favor or make up for his mistakes, and I find that admirable. And fine, I’ll also admit he’s got a bit of that roguish charm which I find irresistible.

You also have to love the mood of the story. One might expect a post-apocalyptic zombie book to be on the dark and grim side, but I would describe Falling Sky as more an adventurous and action-filled novel. That’s not to say the world that Ben lives in is without its grit and despair, because in fact, the author does a good job illustrating why a future infested with Ferals is not a very pleasant place to be. Mindless and violent beast-like zombies aside, so much technology has been lost and a lot of the crucial supplies like ammo and fuel from two generations ago have been depleted. But humanity has had enough time to deal with aftermath of the epidemic, and the tone that I get from the story is that life continues moving forward. Certain facets of society and culture have eroded away and things may be done a little differently, but people like Ben still have their sense of humor, and others like Miranda and her scientists have their hopes and dreams.

My main complaint is that the ending came and went too quickly and suddenly. We are literally dropped into the conclusion, and…scene. All I can say is, I really, really, really hope there will be a sequel. The story may be more or less wrapped up, but because of the abruptness of the way things ended, I just can’t help but think it’s not over. If there’s a book two though, definitely sign me up for it. show less

After I found out I won a copy of the third book in this trilogy I made an order for the first two. I don’t normally enter giveaways for the last book in a series when I don’t own any other books in it, but this trilogy just sounded so good that I knew I would get to it at some point. Between what the series is about and the fact that there is a blurb on the first book by Tad Williams that says “Like Hemingway meets The Walking Dead.”, I knew I would enjoy these books. So far, I am right.

I flew through this book. I just couldn’t put it down. I love all the characters. Well, most of the characters. I mean I’m not sure how I feel about Clay. Ben is amazing and I think I might be in love with Miranda. Everyone else is just as show more great. There is so much action, which I love. Plus Ferals! If you know me, then you know I love anything to do with zombies. I just can’t get enough of them.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it, and as soon as I’m done writing this review, I’m jumping into the next book, Rising Tide. I need more of this world and these characters. Please pick this book up and give it a read. It was so much fun. show less

I had to quit midway through this... just too dumb, and written for an 8th grade reading level.