An excellent start of a saga, I hope. The beautiful cover showcases enthralling writing as Minette Walters brings character after character to life in this strange world, always precise with just sufficient detail to make it real without overwhelming the reader with historical research. In fact, all the history displayed is of the culture and technology with none of the boring political events or dates.
The Last Hours by Minette Walters is historical and a crime mystery and an apocalyptic fantasy. How can it suit all these genres? It's dystopian with a community isolating itself and tryng to survive as disease kills and civilisation collapses. The survival and self-sufficiency theme reminded me of The Children of the New Forest as well as lots of colonisation stories and post-apocalyptic novels. There is also a crime to solve; one act shrouded in mystery causing unexpected repercussions on many lives.
But it's set in 1348 in England with the Black Death plague wreaking havoc. Nobody has a cure or even an explanation for how it spreads. Amid the fear and suffering some people see the possibility of a new beginning.
The Last Hours by Minette Walters is historical and a crime mystery and an apocalyptic fantasy. How can it suit all these genres? It's dystopian with a community isolating itself and tryng to survive as disease kills and civilisation collapses. The survival and self-sufficiency theme reminded me of The Children of the New Forest as well as lots of colonisation stories and post-apocalyptic novels. There is also a crime to solve; one act shrouded in mystery causing unexpected repercussions on many lives.
But it's set in 1348 in England with the Black Death plague wreaking havoc. Nobody has a cure or even an explanation for how it spreads. Amid the fear and suffering some people see the possibility of a new beginning.