"The Jakarta Pandemic" by Steven Konkoly – The Apocalypse in Your Backyard
Most of us would like to believe that all these thoughts and discussions about the end of the world are only speculations from curious minds... however, at the back of our heads we know everything ends at some point, and I believe it’s that fear which makes stories about survival in a post-apocalyptic setting so attractive to us.
In The Jakarta Pandemic, Steven Konkoly capitalizes on that fear, following Iraq War Veteran Alex Fletcher, as he first desperately attempts to keep his family safe from the flu pandemic, and then works with the entire neighbourhood to fight off a threat far greater than a deadly virus, which says a lot about the kind of evil they are facing.
I’m sure I won’t be in the minority when I say that I find the post-apocalyptic genre to be very interesting, especially when the first stages of whatever cataclysm has occurred are being described. It is always fascinating to conjecture what we, regular humans, would do if the world we knew was suddenly torn away from us in favour of a life where survival is the only concern.
In this case, Konkoly delivers on every level. First, he takes us into the world of Fletcher, how he plans everything when news of the pandemic reaches him. After having prepared his house for complete isolation for a certain period of time, he begins to confront a new terror: the residents of his neighbourhood turning against him… supplies are dwindling, and people are getting closer and closer to the edge.
For those who are into the immediate survival aspect of post-apocalyptic stories, let me tell you that you’ll be in for a real ride, analyzing each decision Fletcher makes, perhaps even comparing it to yourself.
However, there is more than that to the story; at one point, the neighbourhood finds itself under the threat of complete extermination at the hands of a true harbinger of death, for fear of giving away any spoilers.
All in all, this story pretty much has everything you could ever be looking for in this kind of novel, ranging from how people micro-manage their day-to-day tasks all the way to an epic tale about how a few relative strangers react when faced with an evil far greater than any of them could imagine. Fast-paced, riveting and though-provoking, The Jakarta Pandemic will surely find a place in your heart.
In The Jakarta Pandemic, Steven Konkoly capitalizes on that fear, following Iraq War Veteran Alex Fletcher, as he first desperately attempts to keep his family safe from the flu pandemic, and then works with the entire neighbourhood to fight off a threat far greater than a deadly virus, which says a lot about the kind of evil they are facing.
I’m sure I won’t be in the minority when I say that I find the post-apocalyptic genre to be very interesting, especially when the first stages of whatever cataclysm has occurred are being described. It is always fascinating to conjecture what we, regular humans, would do if the world we knew was suddenly torn away from us in favour of a life where survival is the only concern.
In this case, Konkoly delivers on every level. First, he takes us into the world of Fletcher, how he plans everything when news of the pandemic reaches him. After having prepared his house for complete isolation for a certain period of time, he begins to confront a new terror: the residents of his neighbourhood turning against him… supplies are dwindling, and people are getting closer and closer to the edge.
For those who are into the immediate survival aspect of post-apocalyptic stories, let me tell you that you’ll be in for a real ride, analyzing each decision Fletcher makes, perhaps even comparing it to yourself.
However, there is more than that to the story; at one point, the neighbourhood finds itself under the threat of complete extermination at the hands of a true harbinger of death, for fear of giving away any spoilers.
All in all, this story pretty much has everything you could ever be looking for in this kind of novel, ranging from how people micro-manage their day-to-day tasks all the way to an epic tale about how a few relative strangers react when faced with an evil far greater than any of them could imagine. Fast-paced, riveting and though-provoking, The Jakarta Pandemic will surely find a place in your heart.
 | Steven KonkolyPersonal site Steven Konkoly is a graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy, holds a Bachelor of Science in English Literature, and has served seven years with Navy and Marine Corps units. More recently, he has taken to writing, and his unusual experiences certainly show in his books, with his better-known ones being Black Flagged, The Perseid Collapse and The Jakarta Pandemic. |
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