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Infractus
Abandoned as a newborn, a nameless boy roams the streets of Vancouver like a mouse, living by few rules, under the wing of a charismatic grifter, while a voice in his head whispers very bad things in the night. When a terrorist attack destroys the global balance of power, society bleeds into anarchy. For the mouse to survive, his rules have to change.
From the ashes of chaos, Panopticon rises, a shadow regime exercising control through surveillance, and the occasional act of erasure. The mouse – now a man – becomes an invisible assassin in their New World Order. It’s a dirty job, but for a nameless misanthrope with a terrible voice in his head, it’s just about perfect. At least, until he’s nearly decapitated by a strange woman with an even stranger proclamation of looming Armageddon. She offers him a help her destroy Panopticon, or take a seat for the end of the world.
The voice in his head has been biding its time, armed with a secret as old as time, as old as the world itself. It waits to speak an ancient name that will invite a reckoning.An edgy, subversive apocalypse tale that explores the depths of human existence and the heights of our collective fears. Another spectacular adventure from Coffin Hop Weird
“…smart, sassy characters and a highly creative plot… language that ratchets the story above and beyond ordinary post-apocalyptic literature; there were passages where the writing left me breathless.” – Nancy Kilpatrick, author of Revenge of the Vampir King
“Sarah Johnson’s powerful tale delivers a dose of adrenaline and originality to the post-apocalyptic genre. INFRACTUS’ fearless exploration of the human spirit showcases compelling moral dilemmas that will satisfy the most demanding aficionado of the field. Irreverent dialogue and complex twists make this book a must-read for fans of cutting edge spec fic.” K.J. Howe, author of The Freedom Broker
“An A+ Apocalypse.” – Chadwick Ginther, Prix Aurora Award nominated author of the Thunder Road Trilogy
From the ashes of chaos, Panopticon rises, a shadow regime exercising control through surveillance, and the occasional act of erasure. The mouse – now a man – becomes an invisible assassin in their New World Order. It’s a dirty job, but for a nameless misanthrope with a terrible voice in his head, it’s just about perfect. At least, until he’s nearly decapitated by a strange woman with an even stranger proclamation of looming Armageddon. She offers him a help her destroy Panopticon, or take a seat for the end of the world.
The voice in his head has been biding its time, armed with a secret as old as time, as old as the world itself. It waits to speak an ancient name that will invite a reckoning.An edgy, subversive apocalypse tale that explores the depths of human existence and the heights of our collective fears. Another spectacular adventure from Coffin Hop Weird
“…smart, sassy characters and a highly creative plot… language that ratchets the story above and beyond ordinary post-apocalyptic literature; there were passages where the writing left me breathless.” – Nancy Kilpatrick, author of Revenge of the Vampir King
“Sarah Johnson’s powerful tale delivers a dose of adrenaline and originality to the post-apocalyptic genre. INFRACTUS’ fearless exploration of the human spirit showcases compelling moral dilemmas that will satisfy the most demanding aficionado of the field. Irreverent dialogue and complex twists make this book a must-read for fans of cutting edge spec fic.” K.J. Howe, author of The Freedom Broker
“An A+ Apocalypse.” – Chadwick Ginther, Prix Aurora Award nominated author of the Thunder Road Trilogy
494 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 10, 2018
3 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 8, 2018
Unique. Original. Fantastic!!
I don't usually read post apocalyptic stories. I couldn't put this one down. I was away for a over a week when I was close to finishing, and it was agonizing not being able to see what happened until I got home again!!!
Sarah's ability to create a number of different 'worlds' from the main character's perspective is outstanding. Each world is intricate, and the reader cares about the characters instantly. Essentially each world is a different scenario for the main character in which he has to be someone entirely different each time. It is truly amazing how Sarah has written this. The main character is still recognizably him, yet, he can put on a number of believable faces.
The other characters that play fundamental roles in this story are incredible. They are unique reinventions of characters we have heard about from biblical history. Yet, their reinventions are truly believable, down to earth, and inventive.
I will be honest. I cared about ALL the characters, regardless of how 'bad' or 'evil' they were. Sarah is truly a talented writer.
So many other aspects about this story kept me glued to the pages. The action, the challenges faced, the twists and turns...and the ultimate twist at the end!!
Just read it!
I don't usually read post apocalyptic stories. I couldn't put this one down. I was away for a over a week when I was close to finishing, and it was agonizing not being able to see what happened until I got home again!!!
Sarah's ability to create a number of different 'worlds' from the main character's perspective is outstanding. Each world is intricate, and the reader cares about the characters instantly. Essentially each world is a different scenario for the main character in which he has to be someone entirely different each time. It is truly amazing how Sarah has written this. The main character is still recognizably him, yet, he can put on a number of believable faces.
The other characters that play fundamental roles in this story are incredible. They are unique reinventions of characters we have heard about from biblical history. Yet, their reinventions are truly believable, down to earth, and inventive.
I will be honest. I cared about ALL the characters, regardless of how 'bad' or 'evil' they were. Sarah is truly a talented writer.
So many other aspects about this story kept me glued to the pages. The action, the challenges faced, the twists and turns...and the ultimate twist at the end!!
Just read it!
May 31, 2021
If you’ve been pining for some literary-quality dystopian fiction, look no further. I love, love, love dystopian fiction. Some people like lighthearted romances, and some people like to watch the world burn while roasting lighthearted romances over the fire, and this book is in the latter category—so naturally I love, love, love it.
This book is a delicious slow burn—this was not the kind of book that I wanted to blow through, it was the kind of book I sat back and savoured. The pacing was still fine and it was never boring, but I didn’t want it to go fast. I wanted to step inside of it, wrap myself up in it and live there, and that’s what it delivered for me. Every word choice and beautifully rendered sentence was a little spark of pleasure to read, building to an inferno, and often I found myself lingering over each delicate turn of phrase.
I actually have a lot to say about this book, so believe it or not, this review will only highlight the most pressing topics.
There are a ton of great secondary characters in this—and by great, I mean characters that stick with you long after their roles in the book have been played out and long after you put the book down. I had a few favourites, which I will be naming, but ultimately what made each of them so great for me as a reader was how complex they were. They were all very much three-dimensional. People say that a lot, but in this case I felt the level of nuance granted to each character is what made them feel so real—none were purely good or bad, each had a different degree of both, and all were deeply flawed. Flaws make the characters for me.
My favourites were Zee, Jenny, and Suit Two. Of these three, Jenny was this soft beautiful soul who shows our MC that there is good in the world and there are people worth knowing (the Mary Magdalene character, perhaps?). That character arc nearly killed me but I won’t spoil it here. Zee presents himself as a good guy, a friend, and in some ways he is, but he’s also a very complicated Judas-type, manipulative and abusive, and he and the MC have an equally complicated relationship. I wanted to hate him but he was just so human I couldn’t. Suit Two is a shark—she’s batshit crazy, wildly disturbed, arguably pure evil, but also just damaged and probably one of the very best characters in this book as well as one of the best characters I’ve read in a long time. The relationships that the Main Character forges with each of these characters lifts both the characters and the MC to a new level and contributes tremendous depth to their characterization, their arcs, and the plot itself.
The author also chooses not to “name” the main character in this, at least until the end, but this isn’t for the usual reasons. Not only is that a bold choice in general (and often executed poorly), but in the case of this specific story it’s a choice that plays beautifully into one of the story’s overall themes of identity. The choice has a purpose and that purpose is executed skillfully over the course of the book (and that could not have been easy). Instead of leaving me confused, I never found myself at a loss in terms of following this structure and in fact it contributed massively to my overall enjoyment of the narrative.
We have a main character here who lives many different lives, takes on many aliases, and is never truly certain who he is or where he belongs, and that’s reflected in the choice not to name him. Oftentimes his name is simply ‘the assassin’ which I found fitting because it is used at times when the MC identifies as “what he’s good at” (assassination) (conflating this with his identity/who he fundamentally is). When he’s younger, he’s Mouse, at a time when he’s small, vulnerable, sometimes scared and is still tentatively searching for his place in the world. And then of course he has a bunch of different undercover identities and his names (aliases) become masks that he pulls on when it serves him, even though none of those masks ever fit him very well—sometimes they represent who he wants to be, or lives he could have lived, or just what he thinks other people want him to be.
Ultimately, we don’t get his true name until the end and that revelation has the exact impact I wanted from it while still feeling like a natural progression. The MC is also arguably asexual—or at least has qualities and experiences that I found reflective of the asexuality spectrum—which I rarely see represented in fiction let alone done authentically or thoughtfully. I couldn’t say whether this was intentional or not on the author’s part, or just a pure reflection of the character himself, but it was very well done and I enjoyed this facet of his personality. He was very complex and layered.
To me, this was a character-driven book with a compelling plot. And as with many character-driven narratives, you don’t want to go in expecting a fast-paced, page-turner read that you won’t remember a month from now. It’s a book that will make you think—actually, it will require your active, thoughtful participation in the experience, and you’ll be richly rewarded for it. And as far as I’m concerned, this kind of book represents a dying breed in our twitter-byte zero-attention-span society, so it was a breath of fresh air for me.
All of this is to say that while this book is, indeed, about a post-apocalyptic dystopia, that’s really just the awesome backdrop of what’s ultimately a story about identity. Or at least, that was my interpretation of it. Descriptions and imagery were beautiful and rich, and what I would expect from a high-quality piece of literature, but also lacking the high-brow pretension of literature by embracing its genre, and if you know what I’m talking about with this then you know that’s a damn difficult line to balance—and this book succeeds. I’m really looking forward to seeing if the author will write more in this universe, because I was so attached to the characters that I didn’t want to leave them, and I felt there was still more to be explored by the end. I can say with certainty that this is a beautiful, captivating read and I recommend it highly, without reservation.
I’d say that if you generally love dystopian/post-apocalyptic (without zombies) fiction, stories that subvert tropes and take a unique perspective on religious mythology, or all of the above with a sprinkling of sci-fi, then this should be right up your alley. If you loved Station Eleven, this has a similar vibe to me but with a more supernatural bent. A joy to read and a world I’ll be returning to often.
This book is a delicious slow burn—this was not the kind of book that I wanted to blow through, it was the kind of book I sat back and savoured. The pacing was still fine and it was never boring, but I didn’t want it to go fast. I wanted to step inside of it, wrap myself up in it and live there, and that’s what it delivered for me. Every word choice and beautifully rendered sentence was a little spark of pleasure to read, building to an inferno, and often I found myself lingering over each delicate turn of phrase.
I actually have a lot to say about this book, so believe it or not, this review will only highlight the most pressing topics.
There are a ton of great secondary characters in this—and by great, I mean characters that stick with you long after their roles in the book have been played out and long after you put the book down. I had a few favourites, which I will be naming, but ultimately what made each of them so great for me as a reader was how complex they were. They were all very much three-dimensional. People say that a lot, but in this case I felt the level of nuance granted to each character is what made them feel so real—none were purely good or bad, each had a different degree of both, and all were deeply flawed. Flaws make the characters for me.
My favourites were Zee, Jenny, and Suit Two. Of these three, Jenny was this soft beautiful soul who shows our MC that there is good in the world and there are people worth knowing (the Mary Magdalene character, perhaps?). That character arc nearly killed me but I won’t spoil it here. Zee presents himself as a good guy, a friend, and in some ways he is, but he’s also a very complicated Judas-type, manipulative and abusive, and he and the MC have an equally complicated relationship. I wanted to hate him but he was just so human I couldn’t. Suit Two is a shark—she’s batshit crazy, wildly disturbed, arguably pure evil, but also just damaged and probably one of the very best characters in this book as well as one of the best characters I’ve read in a long time. The relationships that the Main Character forges with each of these characters lifts both the characters and the MC to a new level and contributes tremendous depth to their characterization, their arcs, and the plot itself.
The author also chooses not to “name” the main character in this, at least until the end, but this isn’t for the usual reasons. Not only is that a bold choice in general (and often executed poorly), but in the case of this specific story it’s a choice that plays beautifully into one of the story’s overall themes of identity. The choice has a purpose and that purpose is executed skillfully over the course of the book (and that could not have been easy). Instead of leaving me confused, I never found myself at a loss in terms of following this structure and in fact it contributed massively to my overall enjoyment of the narrative.
We have a main character here who lives many different lives, takes on many aliases, and is never truly certain who he is or where he belongs, and that’s reflected in the choice not to name him. Oftentimes his name is simply ‘the assassin’ which I found fitting because it is used at times when the MC identifies as “what he’s good at” (assassination) (conflating this with his identity/who he fundamentally is). When he’s younger, he’s Mouse, at a time when he’s small, vulnerable, sometimes scared and is still tentatively searching for his place in the world. And then of course he has a bunch of different undercover identities and his names (aliases) become masks that he pulls on when it serves him, even though none of those masks ever fit him very well—sometimes they represent who he wants to be, or lives he could have lived, or just what he thinks other people want him to be.
Ultimately, we don’t get his true name until the end and that revelation has the exact impact I wanted from it while still feeling like a natural progression. The MC is also arguably asexual—or at least has qualities and experiences that I found reflective of the asexuality spectrum—which I rarely see represented in fiction let alone done authentically or thoughtfully. I couldn’t say whether this was intentional or not on the author’s part, or just a pure reflection of the character himself, but it was very well done and I enjoyed this facet of his personality. He was very complex and layered.
To me, this was a character-driven book with a compelling plot. And as with many character-driven narratives, you don’t want to go in expecting a fast-paced, page-turner read that you won’t remember a month from now. It’s a book that will make you think—actually, it will require your active, thoughtful participation in the experience, and you’ll be richly rewarded for it. And as far as I’m concerned, this kind of book represents a dying breed in our twitter-byte zero-attention-span society, so it was a breath of fresh air for me.
All of this is to say that while this book is, indeed, about a post-apocalyptic dystopia, that’s really just the awesome backdrop of what’s ultimately a story about identity. Or at least, that was my interpretation of it. Descriptions and imagery were beautiful and rich, and what I would expect from a high-quality piece of literature, but also lacking the high-brow pretension of literature by embracing its genre, and if you know what I’m talking about with this then you know that’s a damn difficult line to balance—and this book succeeds. I’m really looking forward to seeing if the author will write more in this universe, because I was so attached to the characters that I didn’t want to leave them, and I felt there was still more to be explored by the end. I can say with certainty that this is a beautiful, captivating read and I recommend it highly, without reservation.
I’d say that if you generally love dystopian/post-apocalyptic (without zombies) fiction, stories that subvert tropes and take a unique perspective on religious mythology, or all of the above with a sprinkling of sci-fi, then this should be right up your alley. If you loved Station Eleven, this has a similar vibe to me but with a more supernatural bent. A joy to read and a world I’ll be returning to often.
April 10, 2018
‘God is in the details, but get too hung up on them and the Devil walks off with the big picture.’
Canadian author Sarah L. Johnson lives in Calgary and writes short stories dealing with literary, sci-fi, fantasy, noir, horror and romance themes. Her works have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies including Room Magazine; Shock Totem; the Bram Stoker nominated Dark Visions 1 and Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volume 2. Her anthology of her own short stories - SUICIDE STITCH – was published in 2016. INFRACTUS is her debut novel. Sarah is also the 2018 Writer in Residence for the Calgary based Alexandra Writers' Centre Society
Few writers of apocalyptic fantasy thrillers with years of experience can match the standard of performance Sarah L. Johnson offers with her debut novel in the genre. Try to defend that statement with examples and the selection is overwhelming. Sarah creates characters so unique and yet palpably credible that placing them in the sci-fi atmosphere of her book makes us complete believers in the strange world situation into which she guides us. But try this ‘for instance’ – ‘A noise he didn’t know he could make clawed out of his chest and up his throat. Hot water dripped out of his eyes and he buckled to the floor. Sister Claudia gathered him in her arms, and for the first time in his life he didn’t fight her. “John, tell me what happened.” “Something’s... coming . . .” That was it. He had no words for the voice in his head promising terrible things he couldn’t remember. So, he sagged in her arms, pressed his face into the fleece of her robe, and cried.‘
Sarah has provided a plot summary that gives credence to the story that hides within the covers of this fine book – ‘Abandoned as a newborn, a nameless boy roams the streets of Vancouver like a mouse, living by few rules, under the wing of a charismatic grifter, while a voice in his head whispers very bad things in the night. When a terrorist attack destroys the global balance of power, society bleeds into anarchy. For the mouse to survive, his rules have to change. From the ashes of chaos, Panopticon rises, a shadow regime exercising control through surveillance, and the occasional act of erasure. The mouse – now a man – becomes an invisible assassin in their New World Order. It’s a dirty job, but for a nameless misanthrope with a terrible voice in his head, it’s just about perfect. At least, until he’s nearly decapitated by a strange woman with an even stranger proclamation of looming Armageddon. She offers him a choice: help her destroy Panopticon, or take a seat for the end of the world. The voice in his head has been biding its time, armed with a secret as old as time, as old as the world itself. It waits to speak an ancient name that will invite a reckoning. An edgy, subversive apocalypse tale that explores the depths of human existence and the heights of our collective fears.’
Bright, tense, involving, this INFRACTUS (‘broken’) is a stunning achievement and doubtless signals the arrival of an important new voice in the genre
Canadian author Sarah L. Johnson lives in Calgary and writes short stories dealing with literary, sci-fi, fantasy, noir, horror and romance themes. Her works have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies including Room Magazine; Shock Totem; the Bram Stoker nominated Dark Visions 1 and Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volume 2. Her anthology of her own short stories - SUICIDE STITCH – was published in 2016. INFRACTUS is her debut novel. Sarah is also the 2018 Writer in Residence for the Calgary based Alexandra Writers' Centre Society
Few writers of apocalyptic fantasy thrillers with years of experience can match the standard of performance Sarah L. Johnson offers with her debut novel in the genre. Try to defend that statement with examples and the selection is overwhelming. Sarah creates characters so unique and yet palpably credible that placing them in the sci-fi atmosphere of her book makes us complete believers in the strange world situation into which she guides us. But try this ‘for instance’ – ‘A noise he didn’t know he could make clawed out of his chest and up his throat. Hot water dripped out of his eyes and he buckled to the floor. Sister Claudia gathered him in her arms, and for the first time in his life he didn’t fight her. “John, tell me what happened.” “Something’s... coming . . .” That was it. He had no words for the voice in his head promising terrible things he couldn’t remember. So, he sagged in her arms, pressed his face into the fleece of her robe, and cried.‘
Sarah has provided a plot summary that gives credence to the story that hides within the covers of this fine book – ‘Abandoned as a newborn, a nameless boy roams the streets of Vancouver like a mouse, living by few rules, under the wing of a charismatic grifter, while a voice in his head whispers very bad things in the night. When a terrorist attack destroys the global balance of power, society bleeds into anarchy. For the mouse to survive, his rules have to change. From the ashes of chaos, Panopticon rises, a shadow regime exercising control through surveillance, and the occasional act of erasure. The mouse – now a man – becomes an invisible assassin in their New World Order. It’s a dirty job, but for a nameless misanthrope with a terrible voice in his head, it’s just about perfect. At least, until he’s nearly decapitated by a strange woman with an even stranger proclamation of looming Armageddon. She offers him a choice: help her destroy Panopticon, or take a seat for the end of the world. The voice in his head has been biding its time, armed with a secret as old as time, as old as the world itself. It waits to speak an ancient name that will invite a reckoning. An edgy, subversive apocalypse tale that explores the depths of human existence and the heights of our collective fears.’
Bright, tense, involving, this INFRACTUS (‘broken’) is a stunning achievement and doubtless signals the arrival of an important new voice in the genre
November 10, 2021
Infractus is science fiction mixed with religious fantasy. It starts with the protagonist being abandoned as a newborn and moves in to a dark post-apocalypse when he grows up. He turns into a kind of a blade runner as some semblance of civilization re-emerges in the form of the Big Brother dictatorship known as the Panopticon. As the angels are introduced, the story becomes a dark comedy adventure along the lines of the Preacher, TV show.
The protagonist has no name until the final word of the book and is called various nicknames over time. He was raised by nuns in a boarding school/orphanage in Kamloops, British Columbia. Four years after the book was written, this location takes on a special significance for Canadians due to the recent discovery of 215 unmarked graves of native children in the old residential boarding school yard.
He hears voices and is protected and tormented by an unseen entity. He leaves the boarding school and the nuclear apocalypse occurs and he falls into the desperate life of a Vancouver street kid that is all too real.
We have seen religion used in other post-apocalyptic stories such as Canticle for Leibowitz that have moralistic endings, but more like Preacher, there is none of that here. Johnson brings a fresh perspective and uses the Latter Day Saints (LDS, formerly known as Mormon) pantheon rather than the mainstream Christian cosmology.
Her writing is brilliant, her characters rich, unpredictable, and usually well motivated. Sarah usually writes amazing short fiction and this was her first novel, and a very good one at that. The ending answers one big question but leaves others open and leaves the reader wanting a sequel. It’s been four years since this book was first released and still no sign of one. If you are listening, Sarah, please write one!
The protagonist has no name until the final word of the book and is called various nicknames over time. He was raised by nuns in a boarding school/orphanage in Kamloops, British Columbia. Four years after the book was written, this location takes on a special significance for Canadians due to the recent discovery of 215 unmarked graves of native children in the old residential boarding school yard.
He hears voices and is protected and tormented by an unseen entity. He leaves the boarding school and the nuclear apocalypse occurs and he falls into the desperate life of a Vancouver street kid that is all too real.
We have seen religion used in other post-apocalyptic stories such as Canticle for Leibowitz that have moralistic endings, but more like Preacher, there is none of that here. Johnson brings a fresh perspective and uses the Latter Day Saints (LDS, formerly known as Mormon) pantheon rather than the mainstream Christian cosmology.
Her writing is brilliant, her characters rich, unpredictable, and usually well motivated. Sarah usually writes amazing short fiction and this was her first novel, and a very good one at that. The ending answers one big question but leaves others open and leaves the reader wanting a sequel. It’s been four years since this book was first released and still no sign of one. If you are listening, Sarah, please write one!
November 6, 2021
This book drew me in instantly - and I tend to avoid post-apocalyptic books. But Johnson’s characters were so well written and intriguing, that I was glued to the pages and rooting for them all. Admittedly, I read this book two years ago, and am just getting around to this review. However, it was one of those books that stuck with me - I remember intricate details, how some characters made me cringe, while others had me bursting out laughing. That recall only occurs with an extremely well written story. Excited to read more from Johnson!!
July 31, 2018
Combining elements I seldom see in post-apocalyptic fiction with an often unsympathetic hero, Johnson has woven a tale that holds surprises and twists around every corner. A dark read told with a delightful style that pulls no punches but manages to find light within the dark after the end of civilization as we know it.
March 1, 2024
I was finally to read this and am so glad I did. I have read many apocalyptic novels as of late and this is one of the best ones that I have invested time in. Incredible character vitalization coupled with intelligence, tension, and humour all rolled into one. Johnson has a winner with Infractus and the book is a testament to how good a writer she actually is!!!!! Highly recommended.
May 8, 2018
Johnson's expertly crafted post-apocalyptic nightmare both horrifies and compels in equal measure. This ain't your average dystopia and Mouse/Assassin ain't your average hero. INFRACTUS packs a cosmic punch that's a cut above typical "end of the world" fare and takes on humanity's biggest questions with unflinching honesty. Johnson's prose is replete with stunning lines and (quite unexpectedly) hilarious zingers. An explosive ending left me both chilled and breathless. Bravo.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews