Author: Eric Brown
Publisher: Solaris Books
Publication Date: December 16, 2010
British science-fiction writer Eric Brown has a talent for taking characters of different nationalities, personalities, and backgrounds, and blending them together in a believable fashion that makes the reader care about them. I knew this firsthand, having previously read his novel Xenopath.
Such is the case in Brown's latest piece of work, Guardians of the Phoenix, set in a post-apocalyptic Europe. The story revolves around two seperate bands of survivors searching for a long-buried storage cache that could save the human race.
A road we know too well
Brown doesn't tackle anything new in Phoenix. It's the same setting we've all read (or seen) many times. The sun has burned through Earth's atmosphere, searing any skin not protected by it. Miles of sand bury the city streets and dried up rivers. Water is a scarce resource. Drifters and scavengers have turned to cannibalism and sexual depravity to survive. Such is the way of the world after the rapture known as the Breakdown sixty years earlier.
During this time, paths will cross that will alter the future and give mankind hope for returned prosperity.
The hand of fate
Paul has known nothing but sand, sun rays, and cooking lizards his whole life. He's been raised by the elderly Elise since birth. He's a survivor by nature.
Samara is heir to a small colony, in the wake of her senile father's death. She believes in the use of technology and mechanics for her people's survival, something her father opposes. And she will NEVER allow herself or her colony to feed on human flesh, no matter what the cost.
Dan and Paul are a middle-aged couple who remember the beginning of the Breakdown. Along with their elderly physician, Ed (who can't find his young daughter), they set out to find water under the dune-covered sea of Spain for their colony.
In the once-thriving city of Paris, Kath and Dan find Paul and rescue him from a band of killers. Meanwhile, Samara hears the final words of her father - words of a map leading to a secret facility buried underground. He tells her that the hiding place will keep her people thriving for decades. What none of them know is that, buried far out in the desert, is a long-forgotten attempt to preserve the human way of life.
A strong read
Phoenix delivers on a few fronts. For one, as stated above, there are a lot of believeable characters whom you cou can actually care about. A great example is Samara, who is conflicted throughout the book about her flame, the ruthless Hans. Samara doesn't consider herself a monster, but feels herself justifying what she must do to meet her ends. Her compassionate side begins to come out in the novel's climax.
Realistic action sequences in a desert setting make every line a must-read. There is particular concern for the more vulnerable characters, including Paul.
Because I'm not very familiar with Brown's other work (aside from Xenopath), I can't really say whether or not this is his best work. However, Guardians of the Phoenix is a solid post-apocalyptic read for fans of the survival genre.
Ryan Greenham - Hi everyone! My name is Ryan Greenham. I am 24 years old, live in Ottawa, Ontario, and am an aspiring science-fiction writer. I have ...
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