2015; 244 pages. Book 2 (out of 5) in the “Duck and Cover” series. New Author? : No, but it’s been a while. Genres : Post-Apocalypse Thriller; Action-Adventure;
Dark Humor. Overall Rating : 8½*/10.
Sometimes you just get tired of running away.
That’s true for Jerry, aka "the
librarian", aka "the post-apocalyptic nomadic warrior" and Erica, who’s fleeing
with him. They are wanted in what
remains of Texas after the bombs fell there, and their faces are shown on
Wanted Posters all over the place.
But finding a safe haven in a
post-apocalyptic world is not easy, and that’s what makes them so optimistic about their arrival in
Colorado. The cities
in the Rocky Mountains there fared relatively well in the nuclear
holocaust. Maybe Jerry and Erica can finally find a place to settle down.
Except that they’ve stumbled
into a realm called The Kingdom of the Five Peaks, which is ruled by a King
Elias, and patrolled by a bunch of armor-clad thugs who go by “Sir names” such
as Sir Thomas, Sir Steven, and Sir Dominic.
And we won’t even mention the
enigmatic “Sir Nameless.”
What’s To Like...
Knights of the
Apocalypse is the second book in Benjamin Wallace’s Duck & Cover series. I read Book One, Post-Apocalyptic
Nomadic Warriors, way back in 2014 (and reviewed here) and remember
being blown away by the worldbuilding.
At that point, it was a standalone novel, now this is a completed (presumably) pentalogy.
Once again, the storytelling
is top-notch. The post-nuclear-disaster world of death
and destruction is cleverly blended with just enough wit and humor to keep the
tone lighthearted. The small pockets of
surviving Coloradans may have to deal with mutants, marauders, monsters, and mountain
men, but they also have time to relax while pretending they're back in King Arthur's Camelot.
The main plotline is fairly
straightforward. Jerry needs a new fuel
pump for his Cummins B-series truck, and auto parts stores just don’t exist
anymore. King Elias offers to procure the fuel pump, but in exchange Jerry and some other
“volunteers” must find and rescue the kingdom's missing princess. Needless to say, the rescue attempt rapidly gets more
complicated, where the most likely outcome for our volunteers/suckers is getting
killed, their mission an utter failure, and Erica suffering dire consequences because of that.
I liked when our
adventurers traveled along the I-40 interstate; I’ve recently traversed that stretch while going from Tennessee to Arizona. I chuckled at
the slang term used to refer to the apocalypse: “The
Crappening”, as well as the built-in design faults in King Elias’s throne. Sometimes it hurts to be the king.
Everything builds to an
exciting and twisty ending, although the main storyline (Erica and Jerry) is not resolved. Things end at a fairly logical place, but I wouldn’t call it a cliffhanger, which is one of my literary
peeves. Just be aware that reading the
next book is a requirement. I’d normally
deduct stars for this, but I’m reading an e-book bundle of the first three
books in this series, so it’s not like I have to go find and download the
sequel.
Ratings…
Amazon: 4.4*/5, based on 150 ratings
and 35 reviews.
Goodreads: 4.09*/5,
based on 701
ratings and 53 reviews.
Excerpts...
“Tie him to the rail!”
“Throw him in the canyon!”
“Drown him!”
“Tie him to the rail!”
“You already said that, Sarah!”
“I really like the idea!”
Jerry raised his hands above his head and
motioned for a calm that wouldn’t come.
“All of those sound like perfectly good horrible deaths. And, considering our first encounter, very
fitting. Especially tying me to the
rail, very poetic.”
“Thank you,” Sarah yelled. “See, Rob?” (loc. 5231)
“Did he tell you how we knew each other?”
Erica shook her head and Brae smiled
sheepishly.
“I don’t blame him for that. It must have been awkward. Meeting the ex always is.”
“The ex?”
Brae nodded and then put her hands up in
defense. “Don’t worry. It was a long time ago. We were over way before the end of the
world.” She laughed at this. “But you know how it is. Girl meets boy. Girl loses boy. World blows up. Girl finds boy in a post-apocalyptic kingdom
of dorks.” (loc. 5614)
Kindle Details…
Knights
of the Apocalypse sells for $4.99 right now at Amazon, as do the
other books in the series, with the exception of Book One, Post-Apocalyptic Nomadic Warriors, which only costs
$2.99. Alternatively, you can buy
the first three books as a bundle, as I did, for $9.99. Benjamin Wallace offers several other
series as well; the books in those are all in the $2.99-$4.99 price range.
“Think of it more
like a flea market but with fewer homemade wind chimes and more stabbings.” (loc. 3050)
I enjoyed reading Knights of
the Apocalypse despite the nine-year hiatus from the series, so finding things to
gripe about is difficult.
The cussing is sparse—I counted
just 16 instances in the first 20%—and most of times it was what I’d call the “milder” terms. I don’t recall any “adult
situations”, although several are alluded to.
The biggest issue was the
editing. Typos were rare for the first
third of the book, but around 41% (this book
spans 30%-62% in the 3-book bundle) errors began to pop up with distracting frequency. Perhaps the editor quit
halfway through this project?
But please don’t let the typos deter you from reading this series. Both the worldbuilding and character development are masterfully done, and the storyline is both action-packed and fast-paced. The wit and humor are an added treat. Just pick up the e-bundle, and, unlike me, don’t wait a decade between reading the first and second books in the series. I intend to not be so remiss in reading Book Three.
8½ Stars. Add ½ star if you’re familiar with, or participate in, activities such as the Society for Creative Anachronisms and/or Renaissance Festivals. If so, you'll thoroughly enjoy the encounters with the titular Knights of the Apocalypse here.
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