Reviewer’s Note: If you’re a regular, you may have noticed me go dark for the past few months. I don’t have much of an excuse, but I was working full time and taking 4 college classes and life sort of got in the way. Now that things have slowed down a bit, I’m hoping to get right back into the swing of things. Thanks for sticking with me.
Kyle Van Dongen’s post-apocalyptic creature feature Savage Days centers on a rural community surviving decades after the world as we know it comes to a nuclear end. When a young girl is abducted by a terrifying monster, the members of the community decide it may be time to pack up and move elsewhere. This proves to be problematic for Benjamin, an aging scavenger and one of the centric characters of the story. See, Benjamin is the only member of the community who braves the inner cities, dodging ‘Mutes while grabbing whatever supplies he can. In return, the community provides him with food. Despite providing the community with this valuable service, Benjamin is certain he won’t survive without the food they give him in return. In a desperate attempt to keep his community together (and his pantry stocked) Benjamin sets out to hunt the monster, making the area safe once again. To help him he enlists Caden, the son of a prepper who was totally ready for the end of the world.
Now that we’ve set the scene, let’s talk about the scene we’ve set. I absolutely love anything apocalyptic, and Savage Days does not disappoint. I strongly consider world building to be the most important aspect of a good apocalypse novel. There is a fine line to walk between painting a good picture and oversharing to the point of removing mystery. Van Dongen walks the line expertly; crafting a bleak, horrific world devoid of hope. He drops you right into the middle of his world with little in the way of introduction. You don’t know what has happened or why the world is the way that it is. By means of believable dialog and character’s thoughts, Van Dongen slowly fills in the blanks and back story. The best part is that it never feels like we are being fed the story. Little details come to light through the natural discourse of the story.
As far as characters go, Van Dongen has a pretty solid cast. The main trio are Maisie, (the mourning mother of the missing girl), Benjamin the scavenger and Caden the survivalist. At first, Caden has nothing but disdain for the others; seeing Benjamin as a bumbling idiot and Maisie as an unhinged liability. As the tale unwinds, the dynamic is constantly shifting and the characters each go through some significant realizations and changes. These are not cookie-cutter character archetypes; nor are they static in their development.
No review of a creature feature would be complete without a few words on the creature. This subject is a bit touchy though, because I take a firm stance of zero-tolerance against spoilers in my reviews. With that in mind, I’ll keep it vague. Van Dongen has dreamt up a pretty horrific monster. It is dangerous and scary, but not necessarily too unique or innovative. Overall, it is about what you would expect from a nuclear apocalypse monster, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Savage Days is a fun read, with great world building and enjoyable characters. The story is fast paced and not likely to leave you bored. Though the real action doesn’t kick off until the final quarter of the book or so, I definitely wouldn’t call this a slow burn. While there is a fair amount of blood and violence, if you’re looking for a horrific bloodsoaked gorefest, this might not be extreme enough for your tastes. If you’re a fan of creature features or apocalypse tales, this is one you won’t want to miss.
Home Grown Horror 