Devastation by Daniel D Longdon
Review by Daisy
What happens when civilisation is ground down by increasing lawlessness? How far will a man go to protect his hearth and home? These are the questions that the author sets out to answer in this story. It is set somewhere in the future on an Earth-like planet in the country of Albion, although the cover does seem to hint very strongly towards a spiritual connection with a henge on top of a hill and a knight's arm in the foreground. Jason de Silva is the central character of the novel and we follow him as he struggles to overcome the system which seems to favour the 'new breed' Skavites who run riot over all that is good in human nature with no comeback from the police or government. One man's war soon becomes the country's.
This book starts very well, it sets out the 'straw that broke the camel's back' situation and steps forward from there. About half-way through my interest started to wane as this became more about warcraft and the way that civilisation had developed. For me, this detracted from the central premise that had fired my interest. I wanted to know more about the main characters and what the 'wrong laws' had been to give some depth to this.
Overall, a good start which, in my view, loses the focus which would have made it even more memorable.
What happens when civilisation is ground down by increasing lawlessness? How far will a man go to protect his hearth and home? These are the questions that the author sets out to answer in this story. It is set somewhere in the future on an Earth-like planet in the country of Albion, although the cover does seem to hint very strongly towards a spiritual connection with a henge on top of a hill and a knight's arm in the foreground. Jason de Silva is the central character of the novel and we follow him as he struggles to overcome the system which seems to favour the 'new breed' Skavites who run riot over all that is good in human nature with no comeback from the police or government. One man's war soon becomes the country's.
This book starts very well, it sets out the 'straw that broke the camel's back' situation and steps forward from there. About half-way through my interest started to wane as this became more about warcraft and the way that civilisation had developed. For me, this detracted from the central premise that had fired my interest. I wanted to know more about the main characters and what the 'wrong laws' had been to give some depth to this.
Overall, a good start which, in my view, loses the focus which would have made it even more memorable.