Empty World in Apocalypse Whenever

Feb 15, 2022 Jak rated it liked it · review of another edition

Empty World is a post-apocalyptic YA novel about a virus that is 99.99% lethal wiping out all but a few dozen teenagers. The story follows main character Neil who has recently been orphaned and is now living with his grandparents in Winchelsea on the South East coast of the UK. A highly infectious novel virus develops in India that drastically ages it’s carries and their organs over the course of a coupe of weeks eventually causing death by ‘old age’.

As the virus hits the UK Neil loses his gran Empty World is a post-apocalyptic YA novel about a virus that is 99.99% lethal wiping out all but a few dozen teenagers. The story follows main character Neil who has recently been orphaned and is now living with his grandparents in Winchelsea on the South East coast of the UK. A highly infectious novel virus develops in India that drastically ages it’s carries and their organs over the course of a coupe of weeks eventually causing death by ‘old age’.

As the virus hits the UK Neil loses his grandparents and school friends and eventually society collapses, leaving an empty world. Neil then decides to set off to London as he feels there is more likelihood of finding other survivors, if there are any, and that provisions will be easier to find.

Neil sets up in a now deserted mansion in Knightsbridge as that’s close to the Serpentine (fresh water) and the shops of Oxford Street/King’s Road and Harrods. Neil initially goes about his daily routine with a numbness that hides his loneliness. Having has a near miss in meeting another survivor, who’s committed suicide due to loneliness, Neil finds a fresh footprint at one of the department stores on the King’s Road and sets out to find this ‘new’ survivor.

Eventually, Neil succeeds, and it turns out to be two teenage girls, one of whom, Lucy, he develops a crush on and Billie whom he shares a bitter resentment with as both want to keep the attentions of Lucy for themselves.

Overall, the book if an enjoyable, quick read and is well written. It’s also, in its own 70’s way, quite shocking for YA book. Like many other reviews I’ve read, the last third of the book, where he meets Lucy and Billie, lets the overall story down. I was quite neutral on Neil though out but felt he turns into a proper dick in how he handles the Lucy/Billie situation and verges on becoming a stalker wanting to own and control Lucy for himself alone. The ending is also hugely abrupt and while I generally applaud the bravery of open endings, this felt more like John Christopher lack an idea on how to finish the story rather then devised an ending that could be interpreted a number of ways depending on the reader.
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