There have been so many post apocalyptic novels out there that I now tend to avoid them. It’s become such an overused trope – right up there with vampires and zombies and…well you get the idea. However this one seemed special so I took a chance. Worth it.
The story starts out just before the onset of the apocalypse ( “The Georgia Flu) with the sudden death of an aging Hollywood actor one snowy night while he is playing “King Lear”. An EMT in the audience (Javeen) tries to save him but fails. Javeen has connections to the actor – which will become clearer later on – as do many other connections. As the Javeen tries to make his way home, both a snow storm and the Flu hit the city and civilization with a rapidity that is quite shocking but very believable. The story then jumps forward 20 years to a troupe of actors (the Symphony) who travel the devastated land performing Shakespeare. The tale focuses on the actress Kristen who is, as it turns out, was one of the kids in the supporting cast at the beginning of the story.
The Symphony has the bad luck to encounter a “doomsday cult” preacher in one of the towns and this tears the troupe apart and sets Kristen and her friend out on their own. At this point in the tale, the EMT Javeen makes a return as do other people connected to the dead actor: ex wives, children, girlfriends. Essentially the common thread of this tale is that everyone has is their connection to the dead actor . Everyone. The story works back and forth between the pre and post apocalyptic times. The connections, the twists, the action – it’s all very intriguing and keeps you turning the pages. Its a clever bit of story telling and worth the read.