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The Estuary
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28-06-2009 7:50pm#1
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It arrived this morning, I just read the opening chapter before putting it down so I can read it tonight.
I have a question based on the opening chapter though, and I won't say much about what is in that chapter, but were/are you a fan of Peter Benchley? As there are parallels with the opening chapter of his book "Great White"
But I have higher hopes for The Estuary compared with the standards achieved in Great White, as much as I like some of Benchley's work, his writing style was a bit ham fisted and over obvious at times, whereas although your style is new to me as I have only read the first of your Vampire Apocalypse series so far, and the Estuary being the second of your books that I will read, but your style is one that flows better and is easier on the mind as it is less cliched.
Mind you Benchley did inspire a certain film that pretty much invented the summer blockbuster in cinemas, and a slew of imitators, none more obvious than Steve Alten and his Meg series, so the bar has been set for you to create a story that will grace the silver screen.
No pressure then.
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The first ten chapters and prologue have now been read (Yesterday when I was talking about the first chapter having something in common with the book Great White, I should have said prologues), and it is proving to be an enjoyable read.
I won't give anything away about the plot as there may be many here who have not gotten the book, and who may wish to do so in the future.
I like the pacing of the story over the first ten chapters, it is a slow burner that hints that when the pace finally does pick up that it will beome hectic. The same slow burner start allows for some decent character introductions, and allows back story on some of the characters to be fleshed out, so that there is more of an attachment to some of them.
I also like the use of real life areas, like actual hospitals being named, as having been in them irl, it adds to the picture being painted in my head.
The author also shows a good eye that suggests that he is either a father or around kids a lot, as he nails some family interactions spot on and makes them more believable as a result.
Ok, now I am sure many of you are asking "where are the Zs?"
Well they are there, but as I have only read ten chapters so far, they are not around in great numbers yet, but their ranks are swelling in a suitable (and bitey) manner. They, so far, seem to be along the lines of the traditional Z in terms of movement, reminding me a little of the Zs in the graveyard at the start of Romero's Night Of The Living Dead.
I am expecting the fecal matter to hit the air circulating cooling device soon though, and while I still have a long way to go in the book, I find myself hoping that it will leave itself open to a sequel, maybe in a larger town/city in Ireland like Limerick or Cork, but until I read how this ends, that possibility is in Schrodinger's Cat territory.
What I also like is the change in pace when compared to many of the other Z books that are out there at the moment, and I think it falls more in line with the David Moody or Z.A. Recht style of pace and level of detail, than it does with the Brian Keene or David Wellington style. I generally hate to compare writers, but I am doing so to give an idea for people who may have books by those authors. Ironically Wellington is the one who you may have expected to have more in common with the author of The Estuary, given that both have their vampire series as well as dipping into the Z world, but I find their styles very different.
To sum up, it is a good read so far, one that is hinting at getting a lot better as the pace quickens, and defo one for those who like a Z pageturner.
PS
This gives nothing at all away about the plot or story, but the Flash is not a Marvel character, he is a DC character. Although you could pass that one off as a parent not being quite so up to scratch on comic characters. 
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Finished the book, the small matter of having to see Mr Springsteen, delayed me on saying what I thought.
Now being able to view the story as a whole, it is a damn fine first venture into Z territory, and a better read than some of those that have been written by writers who have a number of Z novels to their names.
The pace did indeed pick up since my last post on the book, quite a lot in fact, and I felt the style of writing changed a bit also, as the story began to feel more like a film or tv show in terms of cut scenes and pacing.
The ending was a little too fast for me, in terms of aftermath and conclusion, but not one that was out of place with what had happened beforehand.
Plenty of extra characters were introduced from when I last posted also, and most were given the time needed to flesh out their personalities to the point where you were mentally deciding which ones were the obvious ones to survive and which were the obvious ones to become a snack. Credit must go to the author in that although some obvious survivors were still standing at the end, others that I thought would survive did not.
The same level of detail continued throughout the book, with some nice touches added in a subtle manner, especially in terms of character interactions. I also like the way that while it is impossible to avoid some cliches in a genre that has had it's path well walked, the author did not go overboard on them, and managed to work many into believable scenarios.
I am very curious as to where the author saw or sees his Zs going, as there were some changes in them as the story progressed, and this was not really expanded on enough for me.
I do think that at least a second book is needed to follow up, although I prefer my Z novels to comes in threes
All in all, it was a satisfying Z read that shows promise for future tales should that route be chosen, and after the final page was turned, it left me pondering possible future events that could be set into play by the finale, which for me is always a good sign when I finish a book.
If any boardsies have some spare cash floating about and want a good Z read, then this would be a good purchase, and it would acknowledge an Irish writer in this genre.
Now I will go back to reading the novel I was starting to read just before The Estuary was delivered, The Strain as co-written by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan.0 -
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