Overview

ALBION: A POST-APOCALYPTIC DYSTOPIAN THRILLER The walls have ears, the trees have eyes, in Albion. 2050, a post apocalypse Britain, known now by its ancient name of Albion. James Benedict is just an ordinary man who finds himself caught up in the swirling tides of history, as the society that we have known collapses around him, following the plague that claims half the population of the world. Where did it come from, the mysterious sickness that wreaks such havoc? Was it a virus that escaped by chance from a government laboratory or is there much more to it than that? Benedict recounts his experiences in his journal, a story that takes us from his childhood in a Midlands industrial town to middle age and his status as the country's most wanted man, labelled by the Party as an enemy of the people. What were the events that led Benedict to find himself in this situation and who were the three very different women who helped to shape the greater part of his life, the women who have helped to form the person he is eventually to become? A man idealistic and brave, an individual who will risk everything so that generations as yet unborn will know of the conspiracy that led to the oppression of a nation and the truth of what life was like for ordinary citizens in the mythical place known as Albion. Everything is revealed as we follow the twists and turns that lead him eventually to discover the true nature of the man behind the mask, the leader of the all-knowing, all-seeing Party and what really happened to trigger the apocalypse.

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9781999640941

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Reviews

By Dr John Emsley (warning: spoilers) Overall impression: once I started reading the book I was swept along by the story and read it all in a morning. It had me thoroughly hooked. Excellent and well written. This is a dystopian novel set in 2050 in a world that has been badly affected by a new and fatal disease, the Sickness. This killed a third of the population, and resulted in a totalitarian state in the UK, whose name is now Albion. It would be nice to have been told a bit more about the Sickness itself, namely its symptoms and the effect it had on individuals. It kills both of the main character's (James) parents, but Chapter 5 doesn't say much about it. The first part of the book is basically a love story between James and his childhood sweetheart Tamsin who is raped by members of the state-run Youth Command. James has also to serve his time with that organisation, before he chooses to become a trainee solicitor, but mentally and emotionally he is a rebel. He then falls in love with Jo, who is a left-wing activist and she becomes his partner. She produces a newspaper with anti-government views. (It would have been interesting if a few headlines from this publication could have been included.) The book contains descriptions of the prevailing conditions in London which I found very interesting. The coverage of the love affair, and the society they live in, is just about right. I liked chapters 23-25, in which Tamsin re-enters the story but she is now part of the totalitarian state, and the unexpected consequences that follow. In the final chapter of the book James appears to have become a suicide bomber who has decided to blow up some key government building. Not knowing whether he will be successful in this, is not spelled out and is a good way to end the book. Reviewers will undoubtedly compare this book with George Orwell's 1984 and I think it stands comparison with it, both in plot and style. By Angelite James Benedict became an enemy of the state in subtle ways that left him undetected for a long time. His courage and charisma drew strong attractive women into life, women who helped shape his views and destiny. Kay's writing guides you effortlessly from scene to earth-shattering scene, seen through the eyes of a rebel. It's realistic enough, although no one seems to be micro-chipped and there aren't any robots. The final scene is a bit of a cliff hanger. Would like to see a sequel. By Alice Southerby, Cambs I read the book over a few days earlier in the week. I found it easy to read and the story had a good speed and was quite believable bearing in mind that it is post-apocalyptic and not the sort of thing I would normally read.

By Dr John Emsley (warning: spoilers) Overall impression: once I started reading the book I was swept along by the story and read it all in a morning. It had me thoroughly hooked. Excellent and well written. This is a dystopian novel set in 2050 in a world that has been badly affected by a new and fatal disease, the Sickness. This killed a third of the population, and resulted in a totalitarian state in the UK, whose name is now Albion. It would be nice to have been told a bit more about the Sickness itself, namely its symptoms and the effect it had on individuals. It kills both of the main character's (James) parents, but Chapter 5 doesn't say much about it. The first part of the book is basically a love story between James and his childhood sweetheart Tamsin who is raped by members of the state-run Youth Command. James has also to serve his time with that organisation, before he chooses to become a trainee solicitor, but mentally and emotionally he is a rebel. He then falls in love with Jo, who is a left-wing activist and she becomes his partner. She produces a newspaper with anti-government views. (It would have been interesting if a few headlines from this publication could have been included.) The book contains descriptions of the prevailing conditions in London which I found very interesting. The coverage of the love affair, and the society they live in, is just about right. I liked chapters 23-25, in which Tamsin re-enters the story but she is now part of the totalitarian state, and the unexpected consequences that follow. In the final chapter of the book James appears to have become a suicide bomber who has decided to blow up some key government building. Not knowing whether he will be successful in this, is not spelled out and is a good way to end the book. Reviewers will undoubtedly compare this book with George Orwell's 1984 and I think it stands comparison with it, both in plot and style. By Angelite James Benedict became an enemy of the state in subtle ways that left him undetected for a long time. His courage and charisma drew strong attractive women into life, women who helped shape his views and destiny. Kay's writing guides you effortlessly from scene to earth-shattering scene, seen through the eyes of a rebel. It's realistic enough, although no one seems to be micro-chipped and there aren't any robots. The final scene is a bit of a cliff hanger. Would like to see a sequel. By Alice Southerby, Cambs I read the book over a few days earlier in the week. I found it easy to read and the story had a good speed and was quite believable bearing in mind that it is post-apocalyptic and not the sort of thing I would normally read.

Author Information

ohn Kay, writer and lecturer, was born in Park Royal, London and brought up in nearby Hammersmith. He attended a state grammar school in the West London suburbs, an area colloquially known as Metroland, made famous by the celebrated poet John Betjeman. After leaving school at eighteen, he began a career in banking, working for Barclays Bank in central London, a stone's throw from the famed Portobello Market, fashionable South Kensington and up-market Chelsea. After gaining an Honours degree in English Literature from the University of Reading, he later studied for a Master's at the University of Leicester. Having taught at a number of schools and colleges in the south of England, he retired early as Head of Department from one of the largest colleges in the country.

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