Brennan by
Bernard Knight
hbk out June 03
Published by Hale
at £18.99
Near darkness tinged with blue, grass like barbed wire growing up round a skull, part of a ruined building in the foreground and in the background a jeep type vehicle and the menacing figure of an armed man. The dust jacket sets the scene.
It is five years after a deadly virus has wreaked havoc (presumably world wide) on the human population, causing countless deaths and damage to buildings and transport systems through fires started by people too ill to prevent accidents.
The main location of the story is South Wales where the author lives, so that places, buildings, named roads and the surrounding countryside are described with first hand knowledge.
The group of survivors focused on are led by the Brennan of the title and at first have settled in Caerleon but later need a safer location and move to Cardiff Castle. There are at least two other communities that we hear of, one in Cambridge and one in Glastonbury. Suspicion, some distrust and even enmity exists between them but soon they discover that the biggest threat to their existence comes from would be settlers from Ireland and from Germany who land on the coasts and press inland in attempts to overcome the Welsh and the English survivors.
Eventually a major confrontation takes place and here the author creates a scenario which is entirely and eerily reminiscent of WW2. - a putting back of the clock to this earlier time.
Brennan was, in life before the disaster, in the army - a brigadier. He is a big man, solid, clever and dependable, with all the skills from his army career at hand. He is both tough and decisive - a born leader who is well respected by the community he leads.
So - the story is one of survival and of a very gradual overcoming of the lack of the trappings of the world which existed before the disaster. Progress previously achieved must be struggled for again and this is what happens. But instead of the kind of doom-laden atmosphere you may expect in such a situation the author, in his emphasis on the ingenuity and creativity that the survivors find in themselves, creates a positive and often exciting atmosphere and this is where the success of the book lies. Ways are found once more of , amidst all the desolation, transporting both people and salvaged equipment and of communicating with other scattered survivors who can sometimes contribute other necessary skills for the benefit of the whole community.
"Brennan" is a well written, cracking good story with a topical theme - an exciting and very enjoyable read.
Brennan by
Bernard Knight
