Equations of Life

I finished "Equations of Life" by Simon Morden on Saturday.  I was struck by how very different his apocalypse is.  There are so many people.  Technology is still advanced and prevalent.  Nuclear war destroyed some cities, poisoned the country-side, and forced the remaining human population into a few crowded cities.  This story takes place in London, where riding the subway now is very much like being a sardine in a can.
This is a fun paperback to read.  The story is mostly like an action movie, with the characters running and fighting for their lives against the bad guys.  The one great twist is Petrovitch, the main character.  He's skinny.  He's a mathematician.  He has a bad heart that he wants to replace but can't afford to.  It kicks out on him several times during the book and his implanted defibrilator keeps restarting it.  His sidekick and savior is a six and a half foot tall nun who packs a hand-cannon.  She is often picking him up and carrying him around.  My favorite line: "I can throw your skinny ass through a wall, group twelve shots at fifty meters, and take a bullet for my priest."  So Petrovitch is not your ordinary action hero.
A fun book and a different PA look at things.  It feels like Morden has set this up to be a series.  It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Petrovitch.
And now the binge is over.  Only four books in two weeks, but I feel a strong itch to get back to writing.  Episode 2: "Cathartes Aura on the Road from Nowhere" is next.  I've already written 300 lines and hope to have it finished by August.  Stay tuned.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9435474-equations-of-life