Stranger - Hardcover

Simon Clark

3.81

463 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0709072244 ISBN 13: 9780709072249

Publisher: Robert Hale Ltd, 2002

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An ocean of humanity runs from a devastating force that no one can even see - they pour northwards over the Mexican border. A mighty nation falls...Sullivan town remains one of the last enclaves of civilisation. Greg Valdiva, a stranger to the community, has lost his city home and his mother and sister both died on the gruelling journey here. Beyond the township's ramparts humanity is undergoing a strange and terrifying transformation. Fearing contamination, Sullivan isolates itself, allowing no one in or out, under the threat of death. When Greg Valdiva helps hungry refugees, he is forced to flee. He joins a band of teenagers and discovers that the Earth has been overwhelmed by a new species of human beings. He and his friends are on the run; theirs is a ceaseless struggle for survival. Soon Greg will learn about the twenty-first century curse that has befallen humanity. And that this is the start of a war like no other as humankind plunges towards the abyss of total extinction. Is this the end? Or does humankind have a saviour?

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About the Author:

Simon Clark lives in Donaster, South Yorkshire. His short stories have appeared in several magazines and anthologies, including Darklands 2, Dark Voices 5 and The Year's Best Horror Stories (four times). As well as two collections of short stories, Blood and Grit and Salt Snake and Other Bloody Cuts, he has written nine novels including The Fall and Vampyrrhic, and most recently, The Night of the Triffids, which continues the story of John Wyndham's classic bestseller. His work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4, and he has also written material for the rock band U2.

From Publishers Weekly:

This highly readable but flawed tale from British horror author Clark (Vampyrrhic, etc.) suffers from multiple personality disorder. It begins as a tale of Sullivan, a small town protected from apocalyptic disaster by dint of its isolation and the protection of outsider Greg Valdiva. Valdiva can somehow sense if strangers seeking entry to the community are infected with the mysterious malady that has wiped out most of civilization. When he detects the zombie-like carriers, dubbed "hornets," he quickly dispatches them. As in many apocalyptic tales, the townspeople go too far in their quest to keep the outside world at bay and eventually turn on their own. In time, Valdiva flees Sullivan and hooks up with a band of young survivors that includes his love interest, Michaela. Just when the reader thinks it's them against the hornets, the hero and heroine find themselves trapped in a bunker with a mad scientist. Meanwhile, a new threat looms: "hives," rooms full of jiggling red gelatin with body parts floating in it, are sucking unwary humans dry. The story's jumpy plot has one benefit-it will keep readers on their toes. But the setting feels more British than American; the catastrophic cause of it all is unbelievable; the dialogue is bland; and the protagonist seems far more experienced than his 19 years.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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