Today it's my pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The End of the World Survivors Club by Adrian J Walker.
Adrian J Walker was born in the bush suburbs of Sydney, Australia in the mid '70s. After his father found a camper van in a ditch, he renovated it and moved his family back to the UK, where Adrian was raised.
Ever since he can remember, Adrian has been interested in three things: words, music and technology, and when he graduated from the University of Leeds, he found a career in software. His novel The End of the World Running Club, a post-apocalyptic running fable about hope, love and endurance, was a Simon Mayo Radio 2 book club choice.
He lives in Aberdeen with his wife and two children.
Follow @adrianwalker on Twitter, Visit adrianjwalker.com, Buy The End of the World Survivors Club
About the book
In the End of the World Running Club Edgar Hill ran 550 miles after an apocalypse to ty and find his family. He had it easy. This is his wife's story.
Beth Hill has survived the apocalypse with a baby and toddler in tow. And what’s more she’s done it alone - without her husband’s help. He’s never been any help. But when disaster strikes and someone steals her kids, she knows what she has to do.
The new world might be very different: no government, no law, no infrastructure and a whole lot more ocean than there used to be. But one thing hasn’t changed - the lengths a mother will go to save her family...
Think Water World at the early stages of the apocalypse, but with redefined coasts, countries and continents left. The beginning of the end is when people show you who they really are, and you should believe them the first time they show you.
The story takes place before the deterioration and destruction has come to a halt. It's somewhere between 'it's really happening' and 'this is our new reality' so we have to adjust to it asap. Following on from Ed's story, this is the story of his wife and children. Beth steps up to the mark and proves how far a mother will go to protect her children.
There is a moment in the book between Beth and Ed, which is particularly poignant and also relevant in normal circumstances and not just post-apocalyptic scenarios. Ed does what most men do and would do in that situation, he blames Beth for losing their children. She loses it and gives him a loaded barrel of truth. The non-caregiver or non-primary caregiver really has no clue what it is like to take care of babies or children 24/7 without any break. To be the person who is sucked dry of any choice other than things relating to said children and to have all the responsibility and none of the accolades. It's always easier to judge when you're sat on the outside looking in.
Kind of fascinating to realise that even in the middle of a crisis and the end of the world, some things never change. There will always be someone who thinks they know better and feel it's their duty to tell you exactly that. Kudos to Walker for capturing the gist, frustration and anger of the underappreciated full-time mother absolutely perfectly.
It's post-apocalyptic fiction with a realistic and down-to-earth plot. Walker plays on hidden fears and very real threats, which is what makes the read less speculative and more believable.
Buy The End of the World Survivors Club at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Penguin Random House UK - Ebury Pub ; pub date 5 Sept. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.
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