Western View

“Torment” by Jeremy Bishop is a post-apocalyptic thriller set after a nuclear holocaust. A few survivors, including the President of the United States, members of the Secret Service, and visitors to the White House escape the devastation in specially designed capsules that are thrust into space just as the warheads begin their descent. Miraculously, after a few days the fallout clears and the group is able to return to Earth. When they arrive, they find a very different world full of peril, danger, and relentless pursuit by the new frightening denizens of the planet.

Overall, I thought the book was a decent read. It certainly provided virtually non-stop action and the character development was very well done. The plot was often at best veiled, at worst lacking or nonexistent. I think it takes a deeper understanding of the author’s exploratory purpose of the work to get that really the whole story in its entirety was in and of itself the plot. For me personally, it helped a great deal to read the author’s afterthoughts. I have seen that a lot of reviewers have slammed the book for being overly religious. I did not find it so and I didn’t think that it was slanted in just one direction.

Although I don’t mind profanity in literature where it seems appropriate (for instance, during an emotionally charged moment), it really bothers me when there is excessive profanity that seems to be used just for the sake of using it. I am all for realism and I realize that some characters will curse more than others, but I felt on several occasions in this book that the profanity was unnecessary and in one particular instance, I found it very inappropriate. I do read Stephen King, however, and Mr. Bishop is squeaky clean compared to some of King’s books. One other thing, which is really the opposite of profanity, that at times drove me a little crazy was the constant apologizing for their actions made by a certain group of people. Maddening, but that likely just added to the effect.

“Torment” comes off initially as an easy, breezy read that doesn’t require much thought (like many zombie novels). Eventually, though, it becomes evident that “Torment” is indeed a novel that requires a great deal of thought and reflection in order to understand just what the author was trying to say with the work. Though not everything in the book gets a crystal clear explanation as to why things occurred the way that they did, sometimes the lack of an explanation serves well to allow the reader to come up with their own ideas.

Cheers!
~ Peter West