The Suicide CollectorsDavid Oppegaard
Another book about the end of the world! What can I say, I've been feeling a little apocalyptic.
Anyway, this one's an odd duck. So, right: the end of the world has come, this time due to the suicide of nearly everyone on the planet. After some time, these odd "suicide collectors" arrive to collect the body of the deceased. Time passes, and, as our novel opens, our protagonist (Norman) and his friend (Pops), hearing rumors of survivors in Seattle, decide to leave their homes in Florida to see what's up.
As our story unfolds, taking us through the ruins of America, we encounter survivors, who are handling the apocalypse in different ways. Some are good, some are bad, you get the point. Onward to Seattle.
Upon arriving in Seattle, Norman becomes mixed up with the scientists attempting to solve the suicide problem. And then he blows something up, although what it is, I was never sure. Unfortunately, that's the major problem with The Suicide Collectors: there's no explanation. Why did everyone start killing themselves? I dunno. Why do the collectors collect the bodies? What are they doing with them? Not sure. What is this mysterious thing Norman blows up? Not sure of that, either.
The Suicide Collectors suffers from other flaws as well; some scenes are simply too incredible, the characters somewhat flat. On the positive side, however, the plotting is fantastic and the novel barrels along, allowing me to read it entirely in the course of a few hours.
In a nutshell: Interesting idea, but a lack of explanation and clunky writing undermines the intriguing premise.
Bibliolatry Scale: 2 out of 6 stars
FTCBS: Yep, bought this one too.
Anyway, this one's an odd duck. So, right: the end of the world has come, this time due to the suicide of nearly everyone on the planet. After some time, these odd "suicide collectors" arrive to collect the body of the deceased. Time passes, and, as our novel opens, our protagonist (Norman) and his friend (Pops), hearing rumors of survivors in Seattle, decide to leave their homes in Florida to see what's up.
As our story unfolds, taking us through the ruins of America, we encounter survivors, who are handling the apocalypse in different ways. Some are good, some are bad, you get the point. Onward to Seattle.
Upon arriving in Seattle, Norman becomes mixed up with the scientists attempting to solve the suicide problem. And then he blows something up, although what it is, I was never sure. Unfortunately, that's the major problem with The Suicide Collectors: there's no explanation. Why did everyone start killing themselves? I dunno. Why do the collectors collect the bodies? What are they doing with them? Not sure. What is this mysterious thing Norman blows up? Not sure of that, either.
The Suicide Collectors suffers from other flaws as well; some scenes are simply too incredible, the characters somewhat flat. On the positive side, however, the plotting is fantastic and the novel barrels along, allowing me to read it entirely in the course of a few hours.
In a nutshell: Interesting idea, but a lack of explanation and clunky writing undermines the intriguing premise.
Bibliolatry Scale: 2 out of 6 stars
FTCBS: Yep, bought this one too.
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