Simon Morden – Equations of Life

It’s twenty years after Armageddon. Samuil Petrovitch is a Russian immigrant living in the London Metrozone and researching at the university. He tries to keep to himself to avoid any unwanted attention but when he intervenes to prevent a kidnapping he puts himself onto the radar of the police and two separate gangs which causes big problems.

I’ve had this book in my to read pile for a little while. My Dad lent it to me as he said it was really good but the cover blurb wasn’t really grabbing my attention. My Dad started to badger me for it back so I bumped it up the to read pile and I’m really glad I did.

One of the big things that I loved about this book was the imagery of a post Armageddon London. Clapham Common and Regents park piled high with shipping containers acting as housing for the millions of people crammed into the metrozone, the area within the boundary of the M25 and the only habitable city in the country.

The story itself was interesting and engaging and I was hooked almost immediately. The pacing is fast throughout and the characters are varied and well written. Samuil is a flawed but likeable protagonist with an interesting back story that is lightly touched upon. Sister Madeline is a rebellious nun. In the post-armageddon world the job of a nun is to protect her priest so Madeline is good with guns. The other supporting characters are also interesting.

I’m really pleased I read this book and am very much looking forward to reading the following two books in the trilogy (they are currently in my to read pile awaiting my attention).