The first fiction book from Johnny Pearce (Survival of the Fittest: Metamorphosis) has just been released and the opening couple of UK reviews on Amazon are fantastic. Here they are for your perusal:
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Brilliant new take on the Zombie theme, 19 May 2016Verified Purchase(What is this?)
This review is from: Survival of the Fittest: Metamorphosis (Kindle Edition)
Johno Pearce is a philosopher, who has written many books and lectures on philosophical, sceptical themes. As far as I know this is his first work of fiction. So why choose zombies?
I guess because it enables him to explore how ordinary people react to extraordinary circumstances, and thus to better explore their humanity. He takes a large variety of unrelated people, from a wide variety of backgrounds and lets us get to know them as people in a normal context before in each case seeing how they deal with what for some is a gradual unfolding of the crisis, for others, who for one reason or another have been insulated from its early stages, is a more sudden overturning of their worlds.
It is brilliantly done and leaves the reader looking forward to what I hope will be not too long a wait for the next volume in what could be a classic saga. Thoroughly recommended.
I guess because it enables him to explore how ordinary people react to extraordinary circumstances, and thus to better explore their humanity. He takes a large variety of unrelated people, from a wide variety of backgrounds and lets us get to know them as people in a normal context before in each case seeing how they deal with what for some is a gradual unfolding of the crisis, for others, who for one reason or another have been insulated from its early stages, is a more sudden overturning of their worlds.
It is brilliantly done and leaves the reader looking forward to what I hope will be not too long a wait for the next volume in what could be a classic saga. Thoroughly recommended.
Realistic and terrifying, 23 May 2016Verified Purchase(What is this?)
This review is from: Survival of the Fittest: Metamorphosis (Kindle Edition)
Johnny Pearce has done a first class job of describing a rapid descent into anarchy without resorting to hyperbole. The story is the zombie apocalypse as it would happen to you or me; scary, brutal and gripping.
The intertwining of different characters and their story arcs was particularly ingenious; some characters join forces, while some… well, some don’t!
Not everyone is likeable, and as in life, coincidence and luck plays a far bigger part in survival than any cosmic justice. It’s not that nice guys finish last, but when treating your neighbour as you would want them to treat you can lead to your neighbour attempting to chew off your face, you may need to adjust your moral compass.
Of course, given Johnny’s expertise as a philosopher, several important ethical issues are dealt with admirably: the nuances of personhood, euthanasia, rights and responsibilities.If you enjoyed Shaun of the Dead and wished they would make some more rational decisions on The Walking Dead then this is the book for you!The book left me yearning for more. I am very much looking forward to the sequel.
The intertwining of different characters and their story arcs was particularly ingenious; some characters join forces, while some… well, some don’t!
Not everyone is likeable, and as in life, coincidence and luck plays a far bigger part in survival than any cosmic justice. It’s not that nice guys finish last, but when treating your neighbour as you would want them to treat you can lead to your neighbour attempting to chew off your face, you may need to adjust your moral compass.
Of course, given Johnny’s expertise as a philosopher, several important ethical issues are dealt with admirably: the nuances of personhood, euthanasia, rights and responsibilities.If you enjoyed Shaun of the Dead and wished they would make some more rational decisions on The Walking Dead then this is the book for you!The book left me yearning for more. I am very much looking forward to the sequel.
