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A review by bmacenlightened
Population Zero by Wrath James White
4.0
So after reading this book I have decided that it might behoove me to make happier choices in my reading material, perhaps something with a sunny disposition. But that's later, and this is now.
I had previously read Scab by the same author and enjoyed the writing not only because of the explicit nature but also because of the level of writing and the skill that the author utilizes for his descriptions. This story was no different and showed that he could weave a longer story than the short ones I had read in the collection. After this I'm going to look at reading one of his longer works, but as I stated previously there needs to be something happy in the middle.
Essentially its a tale of eco-terrorism and the antithesis of pro life gone on a ridiculous rampage in the mind of a man who'd suffered trauma as a child in the same vein.
The juxtaposition of the character in his job and public life vs the level that he went to for a cause he believed in was very interesting to me, as was the descent into a different state of mind than he'd previously been privy to. Outside the main character and his descriptions of the love of his life the characterization was mostly flat but the importance was that he was looking at people as names on a list, numbers on a graph, caring more about their impact on the world around them than the fact that they too had lives that at one point might have been of some value.
The gore was pretty intense, and reminded me of the new French extremity film Inside and did a pretty good job of matching the sheer desperation that was showcased in that film despite having no visual aids with which to do so.
Honestly the only part that I really wasn't a big fan of was the ending where it kind of took a cliche turn and things went the way that one might've expected if they were looking at an easy way to tie up all the lose ends quickly. I understand that part of this is probably by design and maybe it does a better job of giving a sense of closure to the experience, I just wish it were less reminiscent of just quickly drawing things to a close.
I had previously read Scab by the same author and enjoyed the writing not only because of the explicit nature but also because of the level of writing and the skill that the author utilizes for his descriptions. This story was no different and showed that he could weave a longer story than the short ones I had read in the collection. After this I'm going to look at reading one of his longer works, but as I stated previously there needs to be something happy in the middle.
Essentially its a tale of eco-terrorism and the antithesis of pro life gone on a ridiculous rampage in the mind of a man who'd suffered trauma as a child in the same vein.
The juxtaposition of the character in his job and public life vs the level that he went to for a cause he believed in was very interesting to me, as was the descent into a different state of mind than he'd previously been privy to. Outside the main character and his descriptions of the love of his life the characterization was mostly flat but the importance was that he was looking at people as names on a list, numbers on a graph, caring more about their impact on the world around them than the fact that they too had lives that at one point might have been of some value.
The gore was pretty intense, and reminded me of the new French extremity film Inside and did a pretty good job of matching the sheer desperation that was showcased in that film despite having no visual aids with which to do so.
Honestly the only part that I really wasn't a big fan of was the ending where it kind of took a cliche turn and things went the way that one might've expected if they were looking at an easy way to tie up all the lose ends quickly. I understand that part of this is probably by design and maybe it does a better job of giving a sense of closure to the experience, I just wish it were less reminiscent of just quickly drawing things to a close.