Suspenseful plot driven tragedy of a supervirus and its wake.
Suspenseful and plot driven, The Cull by Rachel Glickler is a work of fiction that will keep its reader wanting more. The book is effectively structured with a braided plot of the two points of views of main characters, Henry and Frankie, whose main objectives are how to survive and how to keep the faith. Set in the American west, specifically New Mexico, Author Glickler does well with the descriptive details of people with zombie like symptoms (ashen skin, snowy hair, gaping mouths) over running towns and streets. Death, disease, shooting, and despair are brought to life in each chapter, carefully headed with short messages on notes of the final words of individuals before death or after surviving their loved ones’ death. These messages build the final shreds of humanity crying out its end, where “grief sits and becomes heavier with no real release.” (Glickler p.356) Be it a missing person note tacked on a telephone pole, or a social media post announcing a suicide, or text message to announce illness or an act of violence, one by one the messages add to the portrayal of the human-race on the verge of extinction. Mix in death by friendly fire, civil war among the survivors, biological weapons labs, selective slaughter, and lots of terms about blood type, this fast-paced tragedy is filled with action, elements of surprise, and science gone wrong. The story is set where, “Fear seems to trump compassion.” (Glickler p. 320) The book's ending has given me a hangover, that only a sequel can fix. I highly recommend The Cull for lovers of action and suspense!
The Cull is available on Amazon.