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Novels :
Blackout
Blackout - Michael Pryor
Cover blurb
How do you survive the end of the world?
When an intense electromagnetic pulse strikes, the world grinds
to a halt. No power, no light, no transport, governments
break down, the cities fall silent. Four teenagers try to cope in this dangerous
and harsh world, searching for ways to create a better one. But first they
must survive the chaos that comes with the collapse - misery, disease, violence.
And in the midst of the suffering rises a new danger: the New Order, a movement
that threatens to take the flickering flame of civilisation and snuff it out
completely. There are no longer any rules. Everything we take for granted is
gone. Who will keep the flame alive?
'
Michael
Pryor says
Blackout looks at how ordinary people
cope in extraordinary situations. It’s
an End of the World as We Know It scenario, and it follows some ordinary teenagers
as they try to survive in a world which has collapsed around them. Why? Without
giving away too much, everything electrical has suddenly stopped working. No
TVs, no telephones, no computers, no electric lights. The modern world depends
so much on these sorts of things – without them, the collapse is sudden
and catastrophic. In this world, Holly, Alex, Tony and Paulie struggle to keep
their lives together, faced with an uncertain future.
It seems to me
that there are two ways to go
with this sort of novel. One is to take the overview, trying
to show how the whole world is affected by such a calamity, having
a huge cast of characters and moving backwards and forwards through
them. I’ve seen this done and done well. The other approach
is the one I chose.
I wanted to focus on the human dimension a
bit more, getting close to the frustrations, fears and trials
of a few individuals, getting to know them better and seeing
how they are changed by their experiences.
In planning this novel, I knew I was
going down a well established path. The End of the World novel
has fascinated writers for a long time. We’ve had the
world pulverised by giant asteroids, blown up by nuclear holocausts,
overrun by giant ants and the population has been decimated
by plagues, famines, madness, thirst…
'Blackout' begins
How many people died in the first few weeks?
Millions? Billions? I have no idea, and I don't think anyone
else has either. But I do know that I missed the start of the
end of the world.
When I opened my eyes,
I was looking up at the stars. Nothing seemed to be as important
as lying there and staring at the night sky. I was happy for
a while, not thinking about Mum and Dad or my brother Alex,
or about my well and truly ex-boyfriend Dale. All of that seemed
far, far away.
My thoughts were fuzzy, not connected very
well, and my head hurt. I spent somw time trying to work out
why, then I heard a groan. It took me a few seconds, but that
groan made my brain kick in. I took a sharp breath as, one after
the other, memories hit me like slaps in the face.
Alex and I packing for the start of the holidays.
Mum and Dad waving as we left.
Driving towards the coast, just wanting to
get to the beach house.
The light in the sky.
The light.
The car lurching, coughing, swerving.
The truck stopped right in the middle of the road, too close to avoid.
Clipping the truck, then skidding through the
safety barrier.
Tumbling over and over and over.
Alex. Alex!
As I sat up the whole world seemed to wobble
and I had to close my eyes. When I opened them things seemed
steady enough, so I looked around for Alex.
The first thing I noticed was that I was on the ground, next to the car. The
door was open, but I couldn't remember how I'd got out. The second thing was
that the car wasn't looking good, even in the darkness.
It was Alex's car and he'd spent a lot of money
on it, even if it was mostly my work under the bonnet that got
it running. The whole front end of the car had crumpled where
it had slammed into a big gum tree. The windscreen was cracked
in a pattern that looked like a giant spider web.
The third thing was the smell of burning, and
that started the alarm bells ringing in the back of my head.
Or maybe that was only the sick headache that was gnawing at
my skull.
I was gradually becoming more and more alert
as the fog lifted from my brain. I got to my knees. I swayed
a bit, but managed not to fall over. "Alex!" I shuffled
painfully to the open door. "Alex!"
He was there, in the driver's seat. The air
bag had gone off and he looked as though he was just sleeping,
head resting on a giant pillow. I scrambled over the passenger's
seat towards him. Even though I couldn't tell if Alex was breathing
or not, I found myself staring at his glasses. They were twisted
and hanging on the cigarette lighter and I knew he'd be disappointed
about that because he'd only got them last week. He really fancied
himself in them, even though he tried to play it cool. The wire
frames and his dark curly hair made him look intelligent and
interesting, which is probably just like he planned.
Really slowly, I reached out and touched his
cheek.
It was warm. I could feel his breath. He was alive.
I’ve provided a list
of recommended reading for those who want to explore
this sub-genre.
Happy reading! |
