Hard Winter

by Neil Davies

A new ice age, an approaching glacier, and driven before it, unimaginable horror. The winter of twenty-one eighteen was a hard one. A new ice age approached and the movement of the glacier over Scotland, while slow, was constant and unstoppable. Norman and Chrissie Leonard believed they were safe for a while longer, in the almost deserted Liverpool town centre, but then Norman heard The Roar and discovered that man wasn’t the only creature forced from its home by the ice.

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2009

About the author

Born in 1959, and preferring not to think too hard about it, Neil Davies writes genre fiction (mostly science fiction and horror, but he refuses to be held to that). When not writing books, he records music with his son as The 1850 Project, and paints pictures of dubious artistic merit with acrylic paints. When not creating, he likes to read books, listen to music, and watch well-made films and trashy TV. A solitary animal by nature, he nevertheless lives with his long-suffering wife and two adult children in the Wirral, UK.

Reviews

[Crystal Lake Publishing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neil Davies’s Hard Winter put me smack down in the middle of an icy world I, as a reader, never want to leave. His descriptions and atmosphere made me shiver and drink whatever warm beverages I could find, while his character insights and prose left me breathless. This book will make you cringe, cry, laugh and beg for more.

What an amazing book.

[Kate Jonez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world in Hard Winter by Neil Davies is horrifying. Even though I read it in a relatively warm climate I shivered. Like an overwhelming sense of melancholy the creeping ice destroys everything in its path. The main character is as rich as any in literature. Davies puts an ordinary man into extraordinary circumstances and forces him to overcome his weaknesses. This is an excellent story. I highly recommend it. The only negative is that it ended too soon. I want more.

[mark monday · Rating 2 out of 5]

an interesting novella. the author certainly has descriptive prowess and the apocalyptic setting was striking & unusual (and an intriguing departure from the blasted heat of other post-apocalypse novels). the main drawback - and it is a very big one - is the brevity. i enjoyed this but it felt like a preface. hopefully some day it will indeed be a preface to a longer, richer novel - one that would no doubt earn more than 2 stars. it was over before it barely even began.

[Debbie Kuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The year is 2118, and the world has become a nightmarish place to exist, thanks to a war and a nuclear winter that took place fifty odd years before. Norman Leonard and his wife Chrissy must flee their home in northern England and head south away from the advancing glacier. And worse, Norman has begun hearing a hair-raising, inexplicable sound he calls The Roar. Something else is heading south with them – something they can’t outrun for long.

“Hard Winter” is a mix of sci-fi and horror, and author Neil Davies does an excellent job of keeping the tension and suspense at high levels, resulting in a fast-paced, thoroughly entertaining novel. But it’s not all about the plot. The characters are well-drawn, believable and easy to care about, especially Norman, who struggles hard to change and adapt to his new reality. If you like post-apocalyptic fiction, this book is a must read.

[Bill Thibadeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book leaves me in a quandry. I enjoyed the author's writing style. I felt compassion for the characters. The story flowed well and kept my interest - to a point. I think the plot was certainly implausible. The ice age climate was a good backdrop for the story. However, I think it would have been more believable and enjoyable if the trolls were not a part of the story. There is so much that could have been done with the Norsemen rather than bring in the giant trolls. I would have much preferred a futuristic thriller with a historical rather than a mythylogical basis. I will read more by this author.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard Winter by Neil Davies excells in its high concept of a world gripped by an encroaching ice-age. A visceral, gripping vision of a world collapsing as the glaciers advance. The blend of realism and elements of fantasy (the terrifying addition of trolls and norsemen) is handled with aplomb and the main characters are believable and sympathetic. For my taste it started a trifle slowly, but like a snowball the plot gathered a relentless pace. Reccomended.

[Neil Davies]

"I was captured by this tale from the first sentence and was unable to pull myself free until I had finished."

Read the full review on http://www.authormeetingplace.com/min...