I mean, it’s going to happen, right? There will be a dystopian deconstruction of society as a result of some virulent outbreak and subsequent marauding zombies. Right?
We’ve all watched the movies, seen the series and, heck, some of us have gone as far as to read a book on it. And then there are the graphic novels. The market is saturated in predicting what will happen in this eventuality. Why another one? Why begin to write the Survival of the Fittest series?
I’m a philosopher by trade, and usually write highly entertaining books on high-fallutin topics. I love a bit of debate on religion. I love being skeptical about morality. I love questioning things that most people take for granted, or don’t even consider. Applying this kind of thinking to writing about the future is something I have been wanting to do for years.
Truth be told, post-apocalypse stuff is prime real estate for developing and challenging ideas, talking philosophy and getting to the nitty-gritty about what makes us, as humans, tick.
One of the goals of the project, in writing Survival of the Fittest: Metamorphosis, was to capture what would happen to “normal” people during the crash of society. Normal people in suburban Britain, to be precise. We don’t see what is going on at the decision-making levels, and as such, the reader is in the dark as much as the characters. I also like the idea that the authorities (Armed Forces, police etc.) are made up of normal people, and that normal people have standard desires: self-protection and family. So if an outbreak of some description took place, and it was quick, and society was unprepared, what would such people do? Would the sense of duty outweigh dedication to family and self-preservation? If you were in a police force that itself was decimated by a virus, would you hang around for the good of society, or would you get back home and make sure your family were okay? Indeed, if they were ill, what would you do?
I think the London riots a few years back, and ones around the world, such as in LA, are good evidence that we aren’t all that far from chaos at any moment in time. It wouldn’t take that much to send us over the edge.
There is a satisfying variety of characters in the milieu of suburban normality that gives the reader ample to identify with. Indeed, with my guinea pig reader friends, each has identified with different characters, which I have found interesting. Building them up isn’t a rush job. This is a series, after all, and all good things come to those who wait. Ibn point-of-view narrative, the challenge of the writer is to present each character’s voice, mind, personality, without slipping into omniscience. You only know, as a reader, what that character knows. And they only know what they can glean off the media.
And when that stops…radio silence.
There is violence, yes; it is woven into the narrative to build tension. Hopefully, there are edge of the seat moments, interspersed with thoughtful sections. I want this series to make the reader think as much as gasp!
Early reviews are great:
“A frightening and credible zombie apocalypse. This is the way the world would end―not with a bang or a whimper, but with a snarl and the gnashing of teeth…” Rebecca Bradley, author of Cadon, Hunter and From Hades With Love
“Pearce’s rollicking suburban adventure begs to be consumed and it won’t let go until life is sucked from the final pages.” Glenn Andrew Barr, author of Skin of Them
I am looking forward to playing with ideas of evolution, some cracking moral dilemmas, and some clash of worldviews, in the next instalment. In the meantime, let Survival of the Fittest: Metamorphosis take you along for a ride. And pack that cellar with food and water.
It will happen.
The book is presently available on ebook, with paperback available later this month.
