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Behind the Ruins
Grey has turned his back on the life of a raider. He’s learned other ways to survive in a damaged world stripped of its technology. Late in life, he’s made friends and a home - and buried his inner darkness in dreams. He’s respected, known and trusted throughout the slowly-recovering valley he calls home. He should be happy, and he is. But a murderous chance meeting shows that others have dire plans for this refuge. Further, the power behind the plot is a man Grey once called a friend. More worrying, he has an army, with yet another chasing behind. Grey is left with the choice of abandoning his home and friends, or risking everything – including those friends - in a desperate and pitiless stand behind the bloody skills of his own ruined youth.
- GenresDystopia
347 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 26, 2012
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25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 22, 2013
What I Liked
In no particular order, I liked the characters, the plot, the pacing and the setting.
The people in the book seemed very real. They were easy to tell apart by their distinct personalities and habits of speech, and they had complexities, layers and even inconsistencies, like you and I do.
The plot struck me as well-organized without being either contrived or obvious. I kept guessing what was going to happen, and I kept being wrong, which I consider a good sign. And when the book was over, I thought, "Yes, that is probably what would end up happening, if these people were in this situation."
The pacing felt right. It was slow enough to feel gritty and real: I felt forced to relate to cold and heat, the dirt, the indecision and dread. And it was fast enough not to make me feel bogged down or bored. There was, perhaps, one section of necessary explanation that dragged a little, but maybe it didn't. I was tired when I read that part, so maybe it was just me.
Michael Lane lives in Western Canada, and the story takes place in the borderland of southern British Columbia and northern Washington State. To be honest, it annoys me a little when novel after novel is set in either New York, Los Angeles or a big-city concept of what a 'small town' must be like (yup, I'm talking about Forks, Washington). Michael wrote about his homeland, and that makes a difference in the quality of the book.
What I Didn't Like
Behind the Ruins has the same problem my own books have: a crying need for editing. In fairness, I do not have the latest version, and some of the errors may have been fixed since I downloaded it. Editing is just not one of those things an author can do for his own work. It's one of the growing pains of the indie author/publisher movement. And, yes, we're working on that.
In no particular order, I liked the characters, the plot, the pacing and the setting.
The people in the book seemed very real. They were easy to tell apart by their distinct personalities and habits of speech, and they had complexities, layers and even inconsistencies, like you and I do.
The plot struck me as well-organized without being either contrived or obvious. I kept guessing what was going to happen, and I kept being wrong, which I consider a good sign. And when the book was over, I thought, "Yes, that is probably what would end up happening, if these people were in this situation."
The pacing felt right. It was slow enough to feel gritty and real: I felt forced to relate to cold and heat, the dirt, the indecision and dread. And it was fast enough not to make me feel bogged down or bored. There was, perhaps, one section of necessary explanation that dragged a little, but maybe it didn't. I was tired when I read that part, so maybe it was just me.
Michael Lane lives in Western Canada, and the story takes place in the borderland of southern British Columbia and northern Washington State. To be honest, it annoys me a little when novel after novel is set in either New York, Los Angeles or a big-city concept of what a 'small town' must be like (yup, I'm talking about Forks, Washington). Michael wrote about his homeland, and that makes a difference in the quality of the book.
What I Didn't Like
Behind the Ruins has the same problem my own books have: a crying need for editing. In fairness, I do not have the latest version, and some of the errors may have been fixed since I downloaded it. Editing is just not one of those things an author can do for his own work. It's one of the growing pains of the indie author/publisher movement. And, yes, we're working on that.
January 30, 2014
This review is for the Kindle edition ebook.
Action, adventure, fighting, a mixture of feelings and emotions.
This is a story after the apocalypse, but it is also the story of one man's fight to correct a wrong. It is the story of how much doing the right thing can cost a person.
II enjoyed most of this book. It is a good story, from the viewpoint of one man trying to correct a mistake he made in the past. It stirred a lot of emotion within me, and at times drags the reader right inside the story. Although we are allowed a glimpse of the main characters past life at times, it is very clear when we are in the past instead of the present.
The author did an excellent job showing what could happen after the apocalypse. He gave me, as the reader, a look into the future, and allowed me to imagine being there. I could feel the frustration and self-searching of the main characters, and their emotions.
If you enjoy reading post-apocalypse science fiction, this is a great book. If you like science fiction without monsters and zombies, this is a great book. I would recommend this book to all adult readers, I think they will enjoy it without allowing the emotions overwhelming them.
Action, adventure, fighting, a mixture of feelings and emotions.
This is a story after the apocalypse, but it is also the story of one man's fight to correct a wrong. It is the story of how much doing the right thing can cost a person.
II enjoyed most of this book. It is a good story, from the viewpoint of one man trying to correct a mistake he made in the past. It stirred a lot of emotion within me, and at times drags the reader right inside the story. Although we are allowed a glimpse of the main characters past life at times, it is very clear when we are in the past instead of the present.
The author did an excellent job showing what could happen after the apocalypse. He gave me, as the reader, a look into the future, and allowed me to imagine being there. I could feel the frustration and self-searching of the main characters, and their emotions.
If you enjoy reading post-apocalypse science fiction, this is a great book. If you like science fiction without monsters and zombies, this is a great book. I would recommend this book to all adult readers, I think they will enjoy it without allowing the emotions overwhelming them.
October 31, 2015
The cover is pretty terrible, but as an indie book this isn’t so unusual. It is definitely a case of not judging a book by its cover. The writing style is excellent, particularly for the genre; he does not use excessive adjectives and allows the world to unfold for the reader, showing rather than telling about the people, places and events the book covers. I really appreciated his rationale for the apocalypse that doesn’t involve GSBs (Giant Space Bats).
I have a more in-depth review posted here.
I have a more in-depth review posted here.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews