December 5, 2014: 'All is Silence'

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Date: December 5, 2014

Special Report

Note: This review is written in a different format. I started this book, but I didn't really finish it until later on. I don't remember all of what happened. Therefore, this book is in a different format. 

Headline

All is Silence

Robert L Slater

In a future that could be ours, Lizzie, a suicidal teen-age girl, barely navigates her own life. Then everything falls apart. In an apocalyptic land nearly deserted by disease, she lacks reasons to live until a shocking turn of events reveals a phone number. Her call pulls her dangerously cross-country to meet a stranger she thought was dead.

In a world where there is plenty of food, plenty of gas, plenty of space… fear, anger and a lust for power still control the patterns of human life.

This is actually a pretty good book. I did enjoy some of it. It caught my attention with its summary of a suicidal main character in a post-apocalyptic world. I mean...combining realistic aspects with a dystopia world? That's perfect. It's the book I've been waiting for someone to write. I love when books aren't just one genre. It's nice to have a mix. 

I like the character development. They grow into new people. Lizzie isn't suicidal in the end. She finds Saj. She finds Spike. She gains a reason, or more than one, to live. Which is fantastic, I might add. I think that Zach changes. He clung to the idea of these girls, but he slowly turned to one, Nev, and hung onto her. That is important. Loving one person, I mean. 

Like most books I read,  I do have some problems.

As with most books. One of those problems is the romance.

I do think that Nev and Zach are a cute couple. They even each other out. They even have the couple squabbles about a menagerie of topics. 

But I hoped for more from them. Maybe they are like parents. Maybe they're like teenagers. I wanted more from their relationship. A few kisses? A smile? A 'I love you'? Convince me you're in love. That's what I look for. 

And I have a problem with the story. To me, it seems like the beginning is a survival, typical 'I'm the last human being, oh god' story. Then our dear Lizzie jumps in and finds people. Many people. Saj. Spike. Rachael. It turns to a road trip story. (Don't see what I mean? Well...it's a different type of road trip. But one nonetheless.) We have kidnappers. Attackers. A hacker in hiding. It falls into a lull. Not much action. Not much Lizzie, who seems like our main character. We get new places and new people. But not enough of these new places. The group seems to avoid towns with government. Why? Why won't they just go there? Is the government in these cities to oppressive? I don't get it. 

There also seems to be too many people. Lizzie and Zach are too trusting. Where do these people come from? The beginning made it seem like there was only a few survivors. Why? Where did they come from? How did they all survive? Why aren't they in cities? I'm not exactly sure. And it is pure coincidence that Lizzie and Mannie survived. But Jayce didn't? So it's not biological. 

We don't get enough of this disease. How does it happen? How do the people die? Heart attack? Dehydration? It doesn't really elaborate. 

I'm also not a fan of these characters. They get drunk. They get high. The dad is an ex-alcoholic even. What is with that? The characters seem to have dimensions. But they aren't likable. Lizzie is reckless. Nev is okay. She's sweet. Zach can be controlled by anger. Spike doesn't really communicate. (And I have problems with dog-man in another way.) And Charley? And Jess? They have back stories. But they aren't interesting. They all seem fine with the death around them. Really. We only get Lizzie's mourning. Everyone else seems to bounce back easily. And they kill too. Not even a flinch. It seems like Lizzie is more real than the others. Really.

Weather:

Cloudy with a 75% chance of rain

2.5/5