What’s For Those in Peril on the Sea about? More importantly are there zombies?
Primarily set in the northern Bahamas, this book weaves its story of post-apocalyptic survival into the local sub-tropical seascape and the sailing culture that can be found there. With its evocative use of real locations haunted by zombie-like infected and atmospheric depictions of the trials of life at sea drawn from the author’s own experiences, For Those In Peril On The Sea provides a new and unusual take on the traditional post-apocalyptic genre.
From the back of the book:
After a six week voyage across the Atlantic, they couldn’t wait to get to shore. When they got there, they found the land would never be safe again…
There was nothing to suggest it would be anything more than a routine delivery. Four people thrown together by chance, sailing a newly-built catamaran from South Africa to Miami. But while they were away, something happened, something none of them could ever have imagined. When they get back to civilisation, they find it no longer exists. The land is no longer safe. Their only option is to stay on the boat and try to survive.
Join Bill, Rob, Jon and CJ as they travel around their frightening new world. One where they must struggle against the infected that now rule the land, the elements and each other.
Our For Those in Peril on the Sea Review (keep in mind these are infected and not zombies)
I have to admit, with a somewhat long and pretentious title and a cover that was a bit bland, I didn’t hold out much hope, yet now having read For Those in Peril . . . I find myself thinking about this book in positive ways quite a bit.
As the tag line says, ‘When the infected rule the land, where can you go?’ And there is the very basic premise of this novel. We are informed through emerging newscasts at the beginning, that a new strain of rabies has been discovered in Haiti linked to an illegal vaccine trial. We first meet, albeit briefly, Carlos; a drug smuggling local who has entered the US and brought something far more dangerous with him. The boat is found with bodies littered and ripped apart, the contaminated cocaine causing the US outbreak.
Swiftly, Drysdale moves on to first person narrator, Rob, who agrees to take on a delivery job from South Africa to Miami with Captain Bill, and crew members Jon and CJ. In the midst of a storm, the crew lose all of their electronics so receive no news of the outside world as they embark on their six week journey. When they reach a small lighthouse island, they get no answer to their messages and there is no sign of humanity anywhere, yet when they enter the lighthouse to explore, there is blood splattered everywhere. Panicking, Jon and Rob return to the boat, but not before they see a man tackled down by what appear to be other humans, and ripped apart. Watching through the binoculars, they see the attackers eating the victim’s intestines. Deciding to report the unknown crisis, the crew travel to Miami to find a burnt out husk of a city, littered with the infected. This leaves the crew dejected and obviously scared. And wherever they sail to the land is brimming with infected, which brings us to the answer to that first question; where can they go? The answer is of course, the sea.
There are some proof reading errors in this book, and it could have really done with a Copy Editor, but that aside, it did not detract from my enjoyment. This initially feels like a solemn ghost story; the isolation of the lighthouse and the sea adding to the atmosphere. The silence is soon broken however, and tension builds as the four personalities on board assert themselves and arguments over what they should do break out. Thankfully the ‘cast’ doesn’t stay at four. The boat soon picks up two young boys adrift themselves and orphaned, and their ongoing journey to find a sage haven takes them to a small community existing on the sea in random boats.
This is where things get really interesting, as in between attacks, the inhabitants of Hope Town try to come to terms with their various losses and try to adapt to a new life on the sea. The more characters we meet, the more we learn about the disaster that has struck the world and as there are heroes and heroines, there are also antagonists. Some of the narrative dialogue explaining the breakout from various POVs sounds very similar, there are no distinctions between them, however, Rob’s narrative voice is very strong. This is quite reminiscent of the books of David Moody in places; the poignancy and the business of day to day survival, mingled with the fact that like the Hater books, these ‘zombies’ aren’t actually dead.
All in all this is a very welcome addition to the genre and is solidly written. Drysdale’s experience as a marine biologist certainly adds a new dimension to the zombie novel. A good read.
Where can one get For Those in Peril on the Sea?
You can get For Those in Peril on the Sea on Amazon!
