DNF, Too much for me. ( )

The apocalypse is on in A Necessary End. These days zombies, aliens, or a major environmental event tend to be what brings about the end of things, but in this novel, it is something more realistic, a plague that results from flies, which is a bit of an old-school concept considering the history of our planet and the diseases brought about by flies. The novel is set in the UK where Nigel is a reporter trying to uncover the start of the plague. Abby is his wife, who is among the many religious folk who seem to give up on finding a cure and have just accepted this as the will of God. People are dropping like flies (pun intended) while some crazed survivors are making things worse by purposely trying to spread the plague.

This is a tightly plotted novel, with a great deal of suspense. There are some good horror elements involved in the novel. The characters are good and bad. I think Nigel was a well-developed character, but I found Abby to be really annoying. Her fatalism and hard-headed beliefs wore on me as the novel progressed. The novel gets into heavy religious and philosophical debates. Although, I think they fit the story, they dragged on for too long and I found myself wanting to skip those parts. The writing is really strong in this novel. The pace was good, and it was in general quite entertaining. Overall, this is an enjoyable novel that I recommend.

Carl Alves - author of Reconquest: Mother Earth ( )