Wormwood in Apocalypse Whenever

Feb 16, 2013 Krazykiwi rated it really liked it

Wormwood This one jumps right into the story and gets right into the action, with little buildup, which is a big plus. A self-confident heroine who has her world, quite literally, shaken apart, so she spends the rest of the story just trying to walk on quicksand, and a hero who is quite the epitome of glorious bastard.

If any storyline invited deus ex machina, considering this one literally begins with a literal act of god, there's surprisingly little of it. And while our heroine is often blind Wormwood This one jumps right into the story and gets right into the action, with little buildup, which is a big plus. A self-confident heroine who has her world, quite literally, shaken apart, so she spends the rest of the story just trying to walk on quicksand, and a hero who is quite the epitome of glorious bastard.

If any storyline invited deus ex machina, considering this one literally begins with a literal act of god, there's surprisingly little of it. And while our heroine is often blind to what's going on, it's not because she's not paying attention or the usual reasons, it's because the people who know are purposefully doing their best to keep her that way. So for me, the dialogue hit the right note, not mountains of exposition, it's limited to things people might actually say. That was a relief (I see some other reviewers complained about that: I am writing them off as unsophisticated.) And there's none of the usual info-dumps outside of the dialogue, which takes a deft touch to pull off - we know as much as Kali knows, and not a bit more, as it should be. It also shows off the rather spectacularly well done worldbuilding - this is a post-apocalyptic ruined world that feels visceral and real.

I thought there was a distinct lack of insta-love. There's insta-attraction maybe, but also I thought pretty natural reactions to events and actions by the heroine. It's hard to say what our hero considers natural reactions, but he's got his own issues. FWIW, the idea that adults might have consenting (fade to black) even while having good reason to loathe each other, isn't a massive reach for me. When everything around you has been destroyed, I imagine one takes ones life-affirming moments where one finds them. Kali's emotions and reactions are skewed all over the place for most of the middle of the book, but that makes complete sense, given her situation. She's half on autopilot, trying to survive, and it's no wonder she's way off pitch emotionally.

I have two smallish (tiny!) complaints: One is Tiamat's name: Tiamat is firmly ensconced in my brain as a babylonian goddess, so that took me right out of the story more than once. I was half waiting for Erishkigal to show up too (maybe she can be boss of Achaia? :) As a complaint, that is a mild one, and I was over it by a third of the way into the book, this Tiamat is most definitely not that Tiamat. The other is a tendency shared by a million and one books: there's a couple too many situations of "We need to talk" -> "I know" -> "Ok, so let's do that, later" followed by the characters being alone together for several more hours (ie pages) before the promised conversation. Sometimes it's clear Tiamat is just stringing Kali along with a promise of answers, in order to get her to do as she's told, but once or twice it almost comes off as if he can't physically manage walking and talking simultaneously.

Oh and before I forget, I love the little touches of humour (the biodegradable soap made me snicker out loud) and that they aren't overdone.Overall, a solid 4, and I'm looking very much forward to more.

Disclosure: I won this book in a GR giveaway. I don't believe it affects my opinion however, I'd pay for it in a heartbeat, and I'll happily buy any sequels.(ETA to fix braindead flu-induced typo where I missed out half a sentence) ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 16, 2013 Jak rated it it was ok

Shelves: post-apocalypse

I read Wormwood as I had seen it recommended (amongst many others) on the ‘Apocalypse Whenever’ Goodreads group. It’s an interesting book but not my normal sort of reading.

The plot revolves around 28 year old Kali who is in a forested mountain range when the earth starts to ‘churn’ and all life is whipped out pretty quickly, in what we come to see is the rapture. Kali runs into a chap, Tiamat, whom she’s not seen since a chance meeting 10 years previous and it turns out is the leader of the Nep I read Wormwood as I had seen it recommended (amongst many others) on the ‘Apocalypse Whenever’ Goodreads group. It’s an interesting book but not my normal sort of reading.

The plot revolves around 28 year old Kali who is in a forested mountain range when the earth starts to ‘churn’ and all life is whipped out pretty quickly, in what we come to see is the rapture. Kali runs into a chap, Tiamat, whom she’s not seen since a chance meeting 10 years previous and it turns out is the leader of the Nephilim a breed of half human angels charted with the task of wiping out every human on the planet.

However, Tiamat has feelings for Kali and this clash of supernatural cultures throws up all sorts of issues.

As I said, I saw the book recommended on a post apocalypse forum but would say that the apocalypse is more tangential than an intrinsic part of the tale. This is because the destruction of the world takes place away from Kali, and her environment of the forest is barely disturbed. We also see little in the way of other survivors and their trials and tribulations and fight for survival. Baring in mind that Kali becomes blessed with supernatural powers and herself has not a single issue relating to food, drink, shelter or any other issues and dangers relating to environment, it becomes easy to see why it doesn’t feel post-apocalyptic.

The main reason I said it’s not my normal sort of reason is that the book is pretty much a romance novel. I don’t read many (any?) romance novels but the relationship between Tiamat and Kali seemed almost lifted strait off the pages of Pride and Prejudice. If Mr Darcy has just talked to Elizabeth Bennet and told her he actually liked her, I’d have been spared suffering the book for ‘A’ levels. The same applied to Wormwood. Tiamat can’t explain anything to Kali and seemingly everything he does causes confusion and simultaneously causes Kali to love him all the more while increasing her hatred of him. I don’t have tome for that kind of thing and just want characters to talk it out. But I guess that’s just the bloke in me and my failing.

These two criticisms aside, it was well written and I liked Nevins writing style. I was also interested to find out how the story would end and what would happen with Tiamat and the rest of the Nephilim.
...more

Like · see review