Smorgasbord Fantasia

Well, the full trailer is finally out! What do you think? [ Personally, am disappointed with the casting, a little.]  While I went absolutely nuts about the book ( I had just discovered the wonderful genius of MR Carey and was trying to find out all books written by him! ) I am bit wary about the movie. It shouldn't end up being just another zombie movie - because, hey it is NOT about the zombies. And I hope it does justice to the mind-blowing and mind-fuck-of-an-ending in a book.

After the Unwritten graphic novel series and The Girl with All the Gifts , M R Carey ( Pen name ) is now one of my all time favorite writer. His novels are a reality-check, a sucker-punch to the guts in the way things finally unfold, mostly bleak and grim but the overall narratives work wonders in terms of driving the plot forward. I love his novels. And so with Fellside . If you are here seeking a 'spiritual' sequel to Girl with All the Gifts or are looking to be taken on a similar flow, then you are going to be disappointed. Fellside is a different book - a book much closer to reality dealing with pain, guilt and greed - all things human in a very grim book set inside a maximum-security prison. But that short description really doesn't do the book justice - as Carey paints a sympathetic picture of Jess Moulson , the girl accused of manslaughter of a ten-year old boy and having deliberately set the apartment complex on fire, while being high on drugs. Jess is on ...

The Girl with All the Gifts is perhaps the most heart-rending dystopian post-apocalyptic fiction that I have ever read till date. A book that is pure gold and shines through the clutter that clogs the genre fiction today. One of Orbit ’s biggest US releases this year – it came in UK in January this year – this book surpasses all my other post-apocalyptic/zombie reads (Yes. Put The Passage , Reapers are Angels , Aftermath and Newsflesh trilogy down in that list please!) By far the most satisfying read in this genre and I’m not exaggerating. Maybe it’s because Carey decided to spin this tale mainly from the point of view of the protagonist ( the Girl with all the gifts ), a ten-years old sweet young child. It is a great move. In addition to making a reader bask in the sweet innocence of a young child exploring the wonders of the world and then slowly proceed to unravel mysteries and thus mature along the way, it also fulfills the purpose of lulling them into a false sense ...