Welcome to my stop on the Random Things tour for A Savage Generation by David Tallerman. Many thanks to Anne and Flame Tree Press for inviting me to take part and for providing me with an ARC copy in return for my review.
About The Book
Sickness is ravaging America, driving the infected to savagery.
Petty criminal Ben Silensky is determined to get his girlfriend Carlita and son Kyle free of the quarantined city they live in, enough so to risk a foolhardy crime and then to team up with Carlita’s equally desperate cop cousin Nando. Once they’re out, Nando is certain they’ll find a place in the open prison where his uncle works, unbeknownst to him already become a survivalist colony named Funland under the management of entrepreneurial convict Plan John.
In Funland itself, guard Doyle Johnson is shocked when his ex-wife abandons his son Austin into his care. Fearing the vulnerable position he’s been placed in, he recruits the help of Katherine Aaronovich, the former prison’s doctor. But Aaronovich’s traumatic past has left her with vulnerabilities of her own, along with radical theories on the nature of the epidemic that will place all their lives in jeopardy. As the last vestiges of civilisation crumble, Funland may prove to be the safest or the most dangerous of places, depending on who comes out on top – and what can’t be held together will inevitably be torn apart
- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: FLAME TREE PRESS (26 Sept. 2019)
- ISBN-10: 1787582418
- ISBN-13: 978-1787582415
Get a copy direct from Flame Tree Press or Amazon
Dark Reads Review
As you are all aware I love a Dystopian read so was really excited to get started on this after reading the blurb.
The premise of the story is a classic pandemic end of the world scenario, with the sick and threat of infection driving people together in order to survive. As expected there is a real diverse set of characters who would otherwise never have crossed paths. With the plot and setting of the book I couldn’t help but be reminded of season 3 & 4 of The Walking Dead.
A Savage Generation doesn’t concentrate on the ‘Sickers’ they are out there and will kill and infect but the story is more about the characters, relationships, politics and the effect such an event would have on people. This is where it came unstuck a little bit for me, this is usually the stuff I really enjoy, but I struggled to make a connection with the characters, I’m not sure why, there were clear characters traits and they were well written it just didn’t click for me.
I found the story slow moving and I didn’t get the suspense and excitement I would usually get from this type of book which was a real shame.
Overall I thought the premise, imagery and writing were good, this one just didn’t work for me on an emotional level.
About the Author
David Tallerman is the author of crime drama The Bad Neighbour with Flame Tree Press. His other publications consist of the YA fantasy series The Black River Chronicles, which began in late 2016 with Level One and continued in 2017 with The Ursvaal Exchange, the Tales of Easie Damasco series – consisting of Giant Thief, Crown Thief and Prince Thief – and the novella Patchwerk. His comics work includes the absurdist steampunk graphic novel Endangered Weapon B: Mechanimal Science (with artist Bob Molesworth).
David’s short fiction has appeared in around eighty markets, including Clarkesworld, Nightmare, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. A number of his best dark fantasy and horror stories were gathered together in his debut collection The Sign in the Moonlight and Other Stories.
His previous career as an IT Technician took him all across the country, but he currently resides in West Yorkshire, on the opposite side of the county of his birth. In his spare time he likes to hike around the local countryside, a hobby that has also taken him to wild spots throughout England and beyond.
David can be found on his Blog
Be sure to follow the other fabulous Bloggers on the Tour!
Dark Reads Reviews 
Thanks for the blog tour support Toni x
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