Apocalyptic Organ Grinder by William Todd Rose
Monday, April 25, 2011 at 10:54PM A few days ago we welcomed another author to the Post-Apocalyptic Forum when William Todd Rose stopped by to peddle his wares. Promoting your own projects is always welcome on the forum, but in this case it was doubly so, as the novella that Rose introduced us to, Apocalyptic Organ Grinder, is a free download.
Last night, as I spent some time adding it to my Fiction page, the intro section of the story really caught my attention. Today I found myself putting aside the other book I was reading, and jumping into this one. I didn't want to put it down when my lunch hour ended, and then I started it back up again when I got home from work. With two young kids in the house, that is a rare occurrence, but this book really made me want to finish it as soon as I could.
Coming in at probably about 75 pages, there's not a lot to the story, but what there is is great. It takes place about a century after a virus is loosed on the earth, and focuses on two individuals from opposing cultures. Tanner is a "Sweeper", a guardian of the Settlers, oath-bound to give his life to protect his people from the infection of the Spewers. Lila is a hunter of The People, afflicted, infected, and just trying to live their lives in accordance with The Way.
When they cross each other's path, there is hatred and brutality on both sides, and even after the story ended, I was left wondering which of the two was supposed to be the "good guy", if either was meant to be at all, or if that was really the point.
Overall, it was a great read, and I'm really glad I found out about it. I would definitely suggest you head over to the Fiction page or www.williamtoddrose.com to grab your own copy and see if you like it as much as I did.
Reader Comments (3)
Thanks for your kind words. It thrills me that you enjoyed it so much. It was extrememly important for me when writing this that I try to stay impartial when it came to Tanner and Lila . . . so I'm very glad that came across.
glad to see another teacher type intio apocalyptic fiction. also thanks for posting that megaton. i've been too busy killing zack and working so i'm a bit behind on the forum ... and my blog , you blog all that stuff.
Yeah, Fear, I've been wondering when you're going to post something new. I know you must be reading stuff worth reviewing.