NEMATODES

If you thought Lord of the Flies was a cool concept, yet always wanted a version that was light on philosophy and heavy on excitement (and includes plenty of gunfire) then you will love Nematodes…rural America, after nematodes (microscopic worms that are part of our ecosystem) killed almost all of the adults in America, turning them into flesh-eating, raving lunatics that soon die from the effects. If you saw that old movie The Crazies, the adults are kinda like that…The author does an excellent job portraying Paradise and its inhabitants.  Here, a rough social order has emerged, run by the strong, and force is the only law. The children are shown as you might expect – petty, extremely cruel, lying constantly to save themselves, and willing to turn on each other whenever necessary…a nice job showing what is likely to actually happen, as opposed to trying to portray the kids as suddenly maturing and acting like adults…shifts from being just 'survival of the fittest' to 'will humans survive, in the face of what they learn about the nematode infestation?'…high-octane pacing…you thought the Children of the Corn were bad news? They are bush-league amateurs compared to Caleb and his gang…truly a 'take no prisoners' world and it can be a bit tough to read at times, but it makes for a real page-turner of a story…if you want to see an ugly, ultra-violent world where the kids are every parent's worse nightmare, you don't want to miss this.