Review: A Post Apocalyptic Love Story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 14, 2013
Elgin is the narrator in 600 Miles and he is on a journey from Arizona to California hoping to take in the city of Los Angeles in the process and his main problem is that he is walking there because the story is set several decades into the future in a world of complete chaos. The cause of the apocalypse is hinted at and appears to have been all out war between the state and the people but this all happened years ago; Elgin only knows a hand to mouth existence in a world which has sunk to basest depravity and his frequent dispassionate observations of "skellies" tells you how bad things are.The story is Elgin's life over the several months of his journey; the places he passes through; the people he meets. It is a love story in the most unlikely of circumstances and an exploration of Elgin's personality as he tries to cope with the tribulations and challenges of survival. The story is full of unexpected developments and at times is tense, exciting and shocking. It is a well written novel but what I thought was exceptionally good was the way Elgin's voice comes through with a slow deliberation resonant of a time much earlier than the Armageddon.The ending of the book is, I suspect, deliberately vague and lends itself to a sequel which I for one would be quick to download.