Things I Love Thursdays: White Horse by Alex Adams

I've been reading a lot lately. Too much, some might say. I don't have a library or a bookstore at my disposal, and it takes several weeks to get stuff from Amazon. So I buy books on my Kindle. Frequently. I tell myself I'm supporting my fellow writers (and I am). But until I start making money off my own writing, it's really just a luxury. One I am extremely grateful for.

A week or so ago my mom recommended a book called White Horse. At first I thought it was about horses. We are a horse family, so this would make sense. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was a post-apocalyptic suspense novel, sort of The Road for women, but more commercial than literary. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since my mom is a huge Stephen King fan and no stranger to post-apocalpytic fiction, but she also reads a lot of obscure women's fiction that the members of her book club must work hard to scrounge up, so I wasn't expecting this. (I thought the different covers were interesting - here are three of them.)

I only wish she had suggested it to me BEFORE I went on vacation, because White Horse is a perfect vacation novel, the kind of book you always wish you had on a ten-hour flight. Not the kind of book you want to read before bed at night, because it's nearly impossible to put down. So consider yourself warned. Unless you like being banished from the bedroom by your husband, who can't handle the glow of the Kindle at 1 a.m. Hmph.

Here's the synopsis from Amazon:

The world has ended, but her journey has just begun.

Thirty-year-old Zoe leads an ordinary life until the end of the world arrives. She is cleaning cages and floors at Pope Pharmaceuticals when the president of the United States announces that human beings are no longer a viable species. When Zoe realizes that everyone she loves is disappearing, she starts running. Scared and alone in a shockingly changed world, she embarks on a remarkable journey of survival and redemption. Along the way, Zoe comes to see that humans are defined not by their genetic code, but rather by their actions and choices. White Horse offers hope for a broken world, where love can lead to the most unexpected places.

I have been living in Siberia, but it doesn't seem like this book has gotten a lot of buzz. It only has 68 reviews on Amazon. But the critics had good things to say about it (just in case you won't take my word for it).

“Adams’ fantasy is brilliant!  It’s McCarthy’s The Road on hope steroids.  Adams’ narrative is the prose of the world’s destruction, beautiful yet horrible.  Her amazing characters are full of both hope and hopelessness in the face of death—and worse.  This is what apocalyptic fiction will aspire to be from now on.”

(RT Book Reviews)

“Adams has an excellent sense of timing, delivering gasp-inducing moments that punctuate her nightmare with verve. But it’s Zoe’s clear-eyed sense of self-preservation that will keep readers waiting for Adams’ follow-up.”

(Kirkus Reviews (starred review))

“Written with such skill and confidence that it sits easily in the pantheon of post-apocalyptic thrillers alongside the likes of Justin Cronin and Stephen King. . .The first installment in a bold new trilogy, White Horse is the perfect start to a series that promises to both terrify and thrill.”

(Bookpage)

“Kept me up way too late at night, avidly racing to the thrilling end.”

(Kaye George, Suspense Magazine)

“Alex Adams' debut, White Horse, is the first in a brilliant trilogy which will no doubt be ranked among the great fantasy novels.”

(The Huffington Post Blog)

I agree with some reviewers that Adams over-writes at times, and some of her one-liners were a little too snappy and obvious. Regardless, I couldn't stop reading this novel. And as an aspiring author, I know that's what it takes to sell a book, even if the prose isn't perfect.