Shawn’s Reviews > Slow Apocalypse > Status Update

90 minutes remain. It's been a journey, an adventure, & this book's done well to keep that. But the aimlessness is yawn-inducing. Being from So Cal, it's cool to hear about Anaheim, San Diego, the 91 & 15 fwys, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, & everywhere else around L.A.
Just disappointed that this book contains so much uneventful encounters. Dialogue's uninteresting & w/out spice, attitude, turmoil or tension.

Teddy had a glock.
Cool, this part's interesting, some imminent danger, & suspense. Will Teddy return? Surprising how many names Varley chooses to use. Some pop up out of nowhere. Are they're even necessary? Might be more effective to write "her" & "the tall guy," etc.
Varley's trilogy is worlds away from this book about the-world-falling-apart. "The White Plague" by Herbert = a true end-of-worlder.

He has yet to convey a visceral sense of danger. Horses, & two hospital trips, & a trailer full of goods. I'm confused. & the stereotypes! Southern Californians are familiar w/the word 'firebrand'--really? We're not. Yes, we've wildfires, but he tries to "make a thing" out of it. We don't say firebrand nor do we say embers. We say fire. & smoke. & wind. & why should I care about Addison's horse?! There's no objective

So boring! The scene w/dogs was sterotypical: big bad Rottweiler, vicious Pit-Bull, & the dumb scene w/lock-jawed Pit-Bull bite. Ugh. Then, the scene w/Afro father & son, Varley chooses to have the one looter be a black dude. Really? And everyone is categorized & typed by race. From a white man, this all comes off as shallow. The protagonist is a comedy writer. Terrible time sympathizing.

Nothing on the bacteria.

Getting a little more interesting, they're now on the move. Definitely dislike all of the cartography, would like more on the actual devastation. The dialogue all feels stilted and without characterization. No accents, no slang, even the women sound no different from the men. When they do speak, it sounds written out, rather than conversational & natural. Why Varley? This is so boring compared to the Wizard trilogy.

Desire to finish in three days (due date) but cannot measure the necessary stamina.

Boring