Saturday, March 26, 2011

Plague Apocalypse Pre Wrath and Fighting the Devil on Somalia's Shores: A Book Review

*Full disclosure: an electronic book format of this novel was provided by Sinister Press.

Author: M. Joseph Schuhler Jr.

Plague Apocalypse Pre Wrath is a prequel to Joseph Schuhler's 2010 novel Plague Apocalypse. This novella was released March 10th, 2011 in Kindle formats, with paper back versions available at the Sinister Press website. The novel hints at Christian iconography, while a rising plague is strangely sourced to a Somali island in the Arabian Sea. This novella has all the elements of a solid zombie apocalyptic thriller and few of the constraints of in-depth characterizations.

The plot breaks down as follows. A ten man US Navy Seal unit is unloaded off a nearby ship, to investigate the source of a series of pirate attacks. Once there, they find the entire island inhabited by the walking dead. A portal to Hell has unleashed ghouls to seek out snacks in unwary Navy personnel and the unprepared local populace.

The result is a fast paced read, with Plague Apocalypse Pre Wrath also a short 92 pages. There is no need to delve too deeply into the characters, because shortly they are taken down by the undead hordes. The action is constant and the excitement builds fast. There are no stop signs in this novel; it is all: go, go, go!

However, one element kept surfacing for this reader and that was the setting. Why was the novel and the source of an evil, devilish plague located in Somalia? Previous authors like William Shakespeare have dealt with issues of race and ostracization in plays like Othello. Here, a Moor is believed to use Black Magic to possess the hearts of white women. As well, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness dealt with misconceptions of Africans e.g. cannialism. But, associating Somali pirates with the Devil seems a little too convenient and possibly even sinister. While offering death to wayward sailors on this anarchic coastline, pirates are without a doubt murderous and therefore evil, according to most moral codes. But, equating the Somali pirates with the bowels of Hell seems to be heaping too much responsibility on the shoulders of these desperately poor people.

Yet, this novel is one of fiction and likely Schuhler's use of Somali pirates as the source of evil is addressing implicit race issues culturally, in an interesting read; this novella is recommended, by this book reviewer. While not overly long, nor shedding too much light on the motivations of the characters, Plague Apocalypse Pre Wrath is a nice distraction from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Overall: 7 out of 10 (some Christian religious themes, not overdone, fast paced, few errors in the writing and exciting).

Visit the Sinister Press website to order yourself a copy, or to read the plotline in greater detail:

Plague Apocalypse Pre Wrath at Sinister

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Available in Kindle formats for under $5:



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