At the start of Martin’s compelling postapocalyptic novel, which reads like The Road
as told by the crusty old woman from Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
, Mary and her husband, John, perch precariously in a tree while a huge, corpse-eating pig waits below. Flashback a few decades: Mary and John are starving in suburban Maryland outside Washington, D.C., after a disaster known as “the calamity” destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure. The top .1% of America’s richest citizens have bought up all the commodities and withdrawn to enclaves guarded by hired thugs. After a man known as Tazza emerges as a strong local leader, John declares him king. Martin (The Crying Heart Tattoo
) charts Tazza’s self-sustaining kingdom from its early bucolic beginnings to its final bloody battles against rapacious Canadians hired by a resurgent American government bent on subduing this upstart leader. Filled with action, romance and terrific characters, this intelligent cautionary tale deserves a wide readership. (Sept.)
