Review: Very Enjoyable, Well Written, but
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 15, 2012
Apocalyptic fiction?  New Coastal Times is classified by Amazon as "apocalyptic fiction."  Okay, it's fiction.  And it's set in a world after the apocalypse of massive hurricanes caused by global warming, with much of coastal Florida and California washed away.  But when you're laughing out loud on almost every other page, it's hard to wring your hands at your and the planet's impending doom.  This is a very well written book and a huge bargain at the price.  Not error-free but with fewer than the amount of typos you'd expect from a budget book.  I give it four stars for being a lot of fun and for being more than a step above a self-published work.However, where's the plot?  New Coastal Times is simply a narrative of a trip from coastal Florida to upstate New York.  Plenty of trenchant observations and wise-cracking about the human condition as the locales change.  But there was never any plot development.  I thought Donna Callea was going there with the events surrounding New Utopia 376, but that thread was just left there for the next leg of the journey.  There was a possibility for something really sinister but the road trip had to continue.  And there was no denouement at the end, let alone a climax.So, what's the recommendation?  This book is an excellent read at a very good price.  Amazon estimates it at approximately 192 pages and at $2.99 that's great value for money for writing of this quality.  I really hope Donna Callea keeps writing, with an eye to more plot development and ambiguity.  Those of you who are looking for something dark will probably be disappointed.  But if you are hoping your apocalypse comes with a healthy dose of humor -- we'll need the latter to survive the former, won't we -- New Coastal Times just might do it for you.