Thursday, August 10, 2023

The Never-Ending End of the World

The Never-Ending End of the World by Ann Christy
8/8/23; 488 pages
Campfire Publishing

The Never-Ending End of the World by Ann Christy is a very highly recommended literary post-apocalyptic sci-fi epic. 

Love it. Absolutely one of the best books of the year. The Never-Ending End of the World is a spectacular, un-put-downable speculative sci-fi, post-apocalyptic dystopian, and scientific mystery all rolled together in a wonderfully written novel. I love everything about this novel.

When the looping started, Coco was twelve-years-old. All the people she sees now are on a continuous loop that last various different lengths of time before they repeat - endlessly. She somehow managed to survive for years in  Manhattan by mapping loops and keeping quiet. She has to map them to avoid their paths in search of food. The loopers ignore her/don't see her as long as she is silent but if she breaks a loop or makes a noise, the results can be deadly. After years of being alone, she meets another un-looped person and this sends her out of the city looking for more and a better way to survive in this strange world.

Coco is a fully realized character and you will meet some more survivors. The novel opens in year 39 of the loop and then jumps back in time to the beginning, covering the years in chunks of time - five years, 13 years, etc. until decades have passed. The narrative is written in five parts with an epilogue. Parts one, three, and five are from Coco's point-of-view and her journal entries , with parts two and four from the perspective of another character, Forrest. I was sobbing through the ending.

The Never-Ending End of the World is compelling and engaging throughout and really stands out as a totally original novel. This is an excellent choice for those who like literary novels as well as speculative sci-fi. Did I mention I love it?

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of via Campfire Publishing via Edelweiss.

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