The reveal in a novel can make or break an excellent premise, especially in thrillers. The Calculations of Rational Men doesn’t disappoint. As established with The Synapse Sequence, Daniel Godfrey has a talent for writing believable characters with questionable points of view. The Calculations of Rational Men leaves you with plenty to think about.
In The Calculations of Rational Men, Godfrey presents us with an alternative historical thriller set inside a prison immediately after the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1962 we follow prisoner Dr Joesph Marr, found guilty of murdering a woman, as he deals with the trappings of his past while reacting to a nuclear attack on the UK. The ‘What If’ premise of a hydrogen bomb attack ties to a subject that influenced a lot of my young adult reads, with the cloud of the Cold War hanging over our futures.
The book is rooted in some frightening facts. It inspired me to explore the truth behind the fiction. In doing so made the world Godfrey creates all the more fierce because of it.
THE UNITED KINGDOM AND HER ALLIES HAVE BEEN TARGETED IN A WIDESPREAD NUCLEAR ATTACK
December, 1962. Just months after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the five hundred men of HMP Queen’s Bench have found themselves in the midst of a new thermonuclear nightmare.
WE DO NOT KNOW THE STATUS OF OUR TOWNS AND CITIES. WE SHALL NOT KNOW THEIR FATE FOR SEVERAL DAYS
Prisoners, wardens and soldiers must now work together to forge a new future, even if some inside the shelter can only think of how to turn the situation to their personal advantage.
RADIOACTIVE FALLOUT WILL PRESENT THE GREATEST RISK TO HEALTH. MEDICAL STAFF AND SUPPLIES ARE AVAILABLE.
Caught in the very centre of the power struggles is Dr Joseph Marr. Just days into serving a life sentence for murder, he is given the responsibility for the health of all the men of HMP Queen’s Bench. But the question for him now is: how does he ensure those in the shelter survive?
The prison, HMS Queens Bench, is one of the few in the UK with its own nuclear fallout bunker. As radiation readings spike outside tension builds inside. We discover the backgrounds of not just the trapped inmates, but that of their wardens, and the army officials sent in to ensure the prisoners survives long enough to retaliate. Marr is held to the medical knowledge of the period, and what the prison facilities had in stock at the time of the strike. There are no quick fixes for infections, but the doctor has questionable ways of dealing with those who may cause problems for the status quo.
It’s dark and in places brutal, exploring the vicious social dynamics of isolated prison life. Trust is in short supply just as much as food and water is. Having cigarettes to trade is the least of their problems. Opportunistic criminals struggle to plot against the system due to the dwindling breathable air. Law-abiding men, and power drunk wardens struggle to outthink them. Mental Health becomes the major issue, depression and anxiety play havoc with procedure and blackmail attempts. It leads to suicide attempts. Communication with the outside world fizzles away. With resources diminishing and new female arrivals, Godfrey uses the Big Freeze of 1963 to exasperate matters further.
Woven between all this we’re introduced to another perspective in Enola. She seems a paranoid, over cautious young lady. Enola allows us to witness the future. It’s one with mobile phones, cars and career goals. And so we’re presented with more to puzzle through. At her mother’s funeral Enola unwittingly stumbles into a cover up that someone is willing to kill for.
Both Enola and Marr are well developed characters. Marr presents the reader with the tropes of an unreliable perspective. Enola the naive and distrusting one. Both are fighting events that try to shape their lives against their will. The subject of mental health and suicide are approached in the strong handed way the novel’s circumstances and the perspective require. Marr’s beliefs and understanding as a professional provides balance.
Though this is self published, it stands well amongst its traditional friends. Lucy Powell’s editorial touch hones a frightening exploration of what humans will do to one another to survive.
Highly Recommended
Available from August 15 Ebook and Paperback
Author Site: https://www.daniel-godfrey.com/
Self Published
ISBN 9798829313500
Review copy courtesy of the author.
© 2022 Shellie Horst
