The fantasy of humanity's collective doom and sinking back into a technological oblivion is one that has pervaded literature for ages, and exponentially so with the incredible scientific advancements made in the past couple of centuries.
Steven Konkoly is a writer who decided to take a more realistic approach to the whole thing, gifting us The Perseid Collapse, the book which serves as the sequel to The Jakarta Pandemic and as a prequel to Event Horizon. As was mentioned in our review of the prequel to the Perseid Collapse series, the focus was placed on the survival of certain individuals during a most deadly flu pandemic.
This time around though, six years after the fact, a far more terrible fate befalls mankind and Alex Fletcher finds himself once again reeling and fighting for his survival at every turn. To explain it simply, the event itself is shrouded in mystery, with speculations including an EMP blast, an asteroid hitting Earth, or an attack by the Chinese government... whichever it is, the world's landscape has forever changed, becoming a deadly battleground where more will die than live.
The Perseid Collapse follows Fletcher and the other characters of the series as they navigate the crucial first 48 hours of the disaster and somehow find their ways to where Event Horizon picks up.
To begin with, if you are familiar with Konkoly's style then you are most certainly well aware that this is not a book for the faint of heart, especially where the gunfights are concerned. The author really makes a point to show the powers of naturalism and describes the terrible wounds in the most agonizing details, and from what I understand, quite realistically as well.
If this is not quite your thing though, do not fret too much as it isn't the main driving force of the book; yes, there certainly is a fair amount of violence, but it is used strategically and, after all, does wonders to create an atmosphere of decadence and omnipresent danger.
As you can imagine, when it comes to the writing itself there are really no complaints, other than maybe that it all went by a little too fast. The plot keeps on flying forward at a breakneck speed, making these 48 hours feel like an eternity during which time came to a halt... something which quite accurately mirrors the characters' state of minds. The descriptions are all fantastic in the sense that Konkoly knows exactly what and how to depict, seemingly having a specific plan for every detail.
Perhaps somewhat due to the book's pace, I found that the characters' actions are what truly took the center stage, as it was a show of crucial decisions, requiring the people to make assumptions, theories, deductions, and all that jazz.
The best part is that they conduct themselves as real-life people would; they don't have the astonishing powers mind-reading and making all the correct decisions straight away, blundering through many scenarios doing no better than the average person. It makes them very relatable and quite a pleasure to follow.
 | 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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