Tagged: dan o’brien
The End of the World Playlist by Dan O’Brien
(Cover picture courtesy of The Dan O’Brien Project.)
The world as we knew it had ended. Deep in the mountains of the west coast, six men survived. In the town of River’s Bend, these six friends continued on with their lives as zombies inherited the Earth. As they navigated the world that had been left behind, the soundtrack of life played on.
[Full disclosure: I received a free book copy from Dan O’Brien in exchange for an honest review as part of his blog tour.]
I’ll just say right off the bat that there is a lot of cursing in this short story. This is seriously recommended for mature audiences only. Let’s just say there are a lot of cluster f-bombs and generally mature content leave it at that, shall we?
Well, I don’t really know what to say besides that there is some really interesting and scarily believable psychological themes at play here. From the fact that the survivors have chained zombies into their stores and call them all variations of Bob (Bob the Blind Zombie, Bob the Sports Authority Zombie, Bob the Gun Store Zombie, etc.) to their general disregard for social taboos it’s clear that five years after the apocalypse the survivors aren’t doing so well. There was an especially disturbing scene involving a Ms. Pacman arcade game, but I’m not going to go into anymore detail in regards to that incident.
Dan O’Brien certainly intended for this to be disturbing and believe me it was. It really makes you wonder about those people that wish for a zombie apocalypse when the reality would actually suck. So thank goodness this is just a novella because it’s incredibly depressing and sadly realistic. I’m not going to say much more on that topic because then I’d be getting into spoiler territory. Sometimes it goes a little overboard with the whole Crapsack World trope, but that could be just a matter of personal taste.
I can’t use the world ‘enjoyable’ to describe such a depressing novella, but it was well-written and interesting. It’s not science fiction because Dan O’Brien never cares to go into detail about the apocalypse, but that’s not the point. The point is that zombies are essentially ruling the world while the last semi-insane vestiges of humanity survive. If you’re interested in psychology you’ll like The End of the World Playlist, but other than that it’s definitely a specialized sort of novella.
I give this novella 4/5 stars.
Blog Tour: The End of the World Playlist by Dan O’Brien
Blog Tour: The Path of the Fallen by Dan O’Brien
As a side note, those of you who want to see my review of The Path of the Fallen can do so here. I loved the book so much that when Dan O’Brien contacted me to ask if I’d be interested in the tour, I agreed to help out!
Spotlight: The Path of the Fallen by Dan O’Brien
Spotlight is my weekly Saturday feature in which I highlight a book I really enjoyed or am eagerly awaiting. This week I want to draw attention to a book that was excellent despite being slightly outside my comfort zone: The Path of the Fallen by Dan O’Brien.
Set against the backdrop of the tundra and a world desperate for hope, the journey of a young man, E’Malkai, will come to define a realm that has been broken by an evil that does not sleep. A bitter betrayal, and the inception of a war that will consume the world, forces E’Malkai to confront the past and undertake a pilgrimage that is his by birthright. Follow him on his journey and be transformed.
As you’ve probably noticed, while I read a lot of fantasy, not much of it would be considered epic fantasy. And certainly none of it would be classified as epic fantasy/science fiction crossover. That’s why I considered The Path of the Fallen out of my comfort zone. It took me a while to get used to the unusual names like E’Malkai and the background of Dan O’Brien’s strange world, but once I did I really enjoyed his book.
Dan O’Brien’s world was well thought out and was a compelling mixture of typical epic fantasy tropes like swords and huge battles but also of science fiction elements like spaceships and lasers. Truly, it’s the best of both genres. The best part? The reason for the mixture actually makes sense when you look at the history of the world. However, the best part of The Path of the Fallen is the characters. E’Malkai isn’t your typical angsty coming-of-age protagonist and *gasp* behaves maturely most of the time because this is more of an adult novel. Fe’rein (the villain) isn’t as fleshed-out as I would have liked him to be, but he does make for a great antagonist.
I’d definitely recommend The Path of the Fallen to anyone who enjoys fantasy or science fiction.
The Path of the Fallen by Dan O’Brien
(Cover picture courtesy of a page on ASMSG Author’s Books that does not exist anymore.)
Set against the backdrop of the tundra and a world desperate for hope, the journey of a young man, E’Malkai, will come to define a realm that has been broken by an evil that does not sleep. A bitter betrayal, and the inception of a war that will consume the world, forces E’Malkai to confront the past and undertake a pilgrimage that is his by birthright. Follow him on his journey and be transformed.
[Full disclosure: Dan O’Brien sent me a print copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.]
After not reading epic fantasy for a very, very long time, I had a hard time getting into The Path of the Fallen, even if it’s a mixture of science fiction and fantasy. Still, as the pieces of the narrative fell together and we got a bigger picture of E’Malkai’s world, I began to really get into the book.
The Path of the Fallen is, quite simply, not a book for everyone. Avid readers of epic fantasy will love it for its unique ideas and the combination of technology and magic. However, if you don’t read fantasy as a rule, it’s probably best to read some so you can keep up with all of the names, the rich history and the complicated plot. I personally had a hard time keeping track of all of the names in the beginning because they all seemed to have apostrophes in them or were unpronounceable (although the main characters have reasonable names). But once you get into the book and learn the personalities of the characters, the names won’t distract you at all.
What I liked most about The Path of the Fallen was the fact that there was technology in an epic fantasy novel. This is not your regular swords-and-dragons epic fantasy, oh no! Dan O’Brien has crafted a new world based on both technology and magic and it blends well together. What explanation does he have for this interesting mix? A very good one that makes complete sense in the context of the book, as it turns out. Although there’s not much science, per se, I would still classify this as a fantasy/sci-fi crossover novel.
E’Malkai is actually a hero I can identify with. No, he doesn’t experience a lot of Young Hero Angst, but he does deal with inner struggles as well as his outer struggles. He’s sympathetic because he really does try to do the right thing, even at a cost to himself. The villain, Fe’rein is not your stereotypical black-wearing, mustache-twirling fiend, but he’ll never be among my list of best villains either. Still, he does have depth and a believable backstory, so I’ll give Dan O’Brien props for that. And for keeping track of all the plot lines and mostly tying them up without going for the cliché completely happy ending.
I give this book 4/5 stars.