Tribes
Tribes, written by S.W Best, L.A Richards, follows a struggling family who have managed to survive the worst cataclysmic event to rock and shatter the modern world. Our story begins seven years after the apocalypse, better known as ‘the reckoning’. To survive, the young family must do everything they can, Pillage, salvage, steal and fight when there is no other options available. Societies collapse are not the only terrors they have to face.
The story is set in north-east England, in one of the world’s most dangerous, broken cities, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where gangs have become organised and have established tribal laws. But it gets worse, Blake is questioning (Elisia) his wife’s love towards him. Elisia, is fighting demons of her own and becoming more fragile with every passing day, while their baby daughter (Megan) is medically dependent, and their medicine supply is running dangerously low.
Finding medicine is difficult and dangerous, but Blake knows that one of the tribes has a supply on a defunct, rusty ship which is permanently docked in the harbour a few miles from their abode. This leads Blake and his trusted companion Diesel, (husky) to risk everything and put their lives in danger; they have no choice but to sneak on-board the vessel to steal the much needed medicine.
Unfortunately all does not go to plan.
CUSTOMER REVIEWS
There is strength in all of us. It just needs to be awakened.
A thrilling science fiction adventure.
In this post-apocalyptic world, survival is everything.
Blake Summers Tribes
Something to think about in our own reality.
This reminded me of I Am Legend and the computer animation work ‘Ruin’ by Wes Ball (both in a good way) but set for a change in
Blake has to fight for space, food and even his life amongst other survivors in a fast-paced story that will grab you from the opening and hold your interest. If you’re a fan of films like 28 Days Later or if you just like adventure and narratives with central characters battling for survival, this will tick all your boxes. A first-person narrator takes us inside the mind of Blake as he seeks to protect his young family and to find the truth behind the so-called Reckoning and make sense of the chaos that has engulfed everything he knows.
Fantastic
Did find it shocking at the beginning when it was first person as if it was the character speaking about himself but soon loved
Reading this was fun and I even checked to see if I could lend it to my mate but sadly it's locked to my device. Dont think, buy it.
Entertaining but Flawed
For the most part it did.
Best and Richards have created a future that is chilling and believable. Although I've never visited the Newcastle area, their world building is enough to allow the imagination to fill in the gaps. Take a look around the more derelict areas of your home town and you can see how the world could easily slip into the one chronicled in Tribes. In some ways, this is the essence of good PA fiction - being able to see how the world of today could become that of the story with no more than a simple nudge.
The choice of first-person-present narration is an interesting one. It is a style that I am still undecided about and a difficult one to get right. In this case, the choice adds immediacy and a visceral quality to the unfolding story, sucking you into the narrative and refusing to let go. It allows the authors to move from melancholy or maudlin to fast paced action with the experience jarring the reader too much.
On the whole, the novel is well paced and, in many places, minimalist. By focusing on the character of Blake Summers, it allows the prose to keep to the point without the superfluous padding that can mar some tales. The plot is everything and every word is focused upon driving the story forward.
However, plot is not everything and the plot takes centre stage at the expense of character. While realising this is the first instalment in a series (and that characters can, and hopefully will, develop as the story arc moves on) there are times when a little more emphasis on character would reap a great reward. Probably my biggest bug-bear is the character of Meatcleaver. I'm sorry to say that, for the most part, he is a little too stereotypical of this kind of novel. While reading any scenes he appeared in, I just could not rid myself of a mental image of Isaac Hayes as the Duke in Escape From New York. There were many occasions when I could not help thinking that the character traits given to Grimm - the educated men forced to act in a barbaric manner through circumstance - might have suited Meatcleaver better. Similarly, the majority of the supporting cast also seemed to be stock characters. While in most cases, there is room for them to grow and develop as the series progresses. However, the character of Yakov is a little too much of a stock heavy. A little light and shade could have turned him into a truly memorable villain.
Finally we come to the character of Blake Summers. Too little is revealed about him from before The Reckoning. As such, something is lacking. A few more flashbacks, a greater sense of the man that he was, would have given the journey he is on much more of an emotional impact.
However, none of the above criticisms detract from what is an immensely readable and entertaining story. They simply prevent a good novel becoming a great one.