EDEN BOOK 1 (2012)
By David Holley
Misery Loves Company
Publishing
* *
I won’t mince words–Eden
Book 1 is an awkward, clunky book, even by the relatively low standards of
pulp science fiction. First-time novelist David Holley comes from a background
in advertising and graffiti art, both of which influence this book. Like
advertising, Holley piggybacks on what is hot rather than substantive. He rides
current waves of cynicism through his post-apocalyptic, dystopian setting, and
gloms onto contemporary trends such as glamorizing soldier-warriors, engaging
in disaster-of-the-day reporting, and sticking zombies into every narrative.
Like graffiti art, much of Holley’s intent is internal and enigmatic for those
living outside his vision. (Did you ever try to decipher a tagged wall?) For
all of that, his book is a page-turner—more accurately a screen-flipper as it’s
an e-book–that one zips through. If you’re looking for a trashy, thrill-a-minute
bit of beach reading, this one won’t tax your intellect.
The year is 2022 and the United States has been wiped off
the map, weakened by wars against Muslim terrorists, and then leveled by
volcanic eruptions and tsunamis off the West Coat. Okay—we already have a
problem. Holley simply states the devastation without explaining how ocean
waters managed to traverse the Coastal Range, the Sierra Nevadas, and the
Rockies! If tsunamis also formed on the Atlantic and caused seas to rise, why
does Britain still exist? He needs to explain that because the major
protagonists of his book are British, former Special Forces officer Noah
Lockhart and his medical researcher wife, Evelyn.
The set up is that the Muslim uprising has just been
defeated, but it cost Noah most of his unit. He is burnt out, resigns his
commission, and decides to reconnect with Evelyn by taking a four-hour space
shuttle flight to New Zealand for some much needed detox time. En route, the
shuttle is sabotaged by an onboard terrorist and the shuttle breaks into sections
and plummets to earth. The Lockharts are part of a small survivor group that
manages to board rafts and make their way to some remote, uninhabited part of
the South Island of New Zealand. All of Noah’s survival skills will be put to
test as he tries to captain his intrepid band across mountains and ravines and
through thick bush to civilization. Other major players include 18-year-old
twins Max and Mia, and a Japanese couple, Hiroshi and Luna, whose daughter died
in the shuttle’s impact. Did I mention that Mia is clairvoyant, or that Noah
just happened to grab all manner of equipment, food, and spices (!) before the
shuttle crashed? Good thing about the spices—just the sort of thing one needs
when one is sautéing grubs. Noah’s backpack is the equivalent of Captain
Kangaroo’s pockets—there always seems to be duct tape, a bit of rope, or some
sustaining cashews at just the right moment.
Gilligan’s Island this
isn’t. In their quest to survive, our crew will encounter obstacles such as
another tsunami, a volcano about to explode, several Maori of questionable
character, a pandemic, and, of course, some zombies. The book fails on three
basic levels: plot, plausibility, and prose. If you think Dan Brown stretches
logic, wait until you wend your way through Holley. His book is stuffed with
more coincidences than a sophomore explaining why his research paper isn’t
finished. It would be fair to say that the only consistent narrative device at
work is convenience. There are also gag-me purple passages throughout the book,
including (seriously) references to Noah’s “thick manhood.”
I will not deny that Eden
Book 1 is a breezy read with entertaining moments, nor that I soared
through it. (I had just finished a far weightier book and was looking for just
such a diversion.) The book is offered for $3.99 on Amazon. That’s about $3 too
high in my view, but as long as you know this book is not The Road and David Holley is no Cormac McCarthy, you can devour it
as you might processed snack food. I don’t regret having read it, but neither will
I indulge in forthcoming sequels. –Rob Weir
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