Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
390 pages / 11 hrs, 6 mins

"The drought, or the Tap-Out as everyone calls it, has been going on for a while now. Everyone's lives have become an endless list of don'ts: don't water the lawn, don't fill up your pool, don't take long showers.

"Until the taps run dry.

"Suddenly, Alyssa's quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbors and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. And when her parents don't return and her life, and the life of her brother, is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she's going to survive."  --from the publisher

Good story with some interesting characters.  I'm not sure Alyssa's final thoughts fit her character.  It seems like she is immediately able to overcome the ordeal and move on.  I liked the others' endings, but her trauma was quite personal.  I probably wouldn't have noticed except it stood in contrast to the great writing up to that point.  Regardless, I really enjoyed it...and now I'm thirsty!  :)

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett --- 412 pages including Foreword, Afterword and two Authors' Essays.

Good Omens, originally published in 1990, represents the only collaboration we have by two giants of 20th/21st century comic fantasy: the late great Sir Terry Pratchett and the amazing multi-talented Neil Gaiman. The two British authors met in the early days of their careers and formed an immediate and lasting friendship, ended only by Sir Terry's too-early death on March 12, 2015.

The two had tried on several occasions over the years to write a sequel or bring the original book to the screen as a film or television show. Shortly before his death, Gaiman says, Pratchett urged him to try again.  This time Gaiman succeeded; he is overseeing the production of a six-part television series, a joint venture by the BBC and Amazon Prime due to premiere in early 2019.

To summarize the plot (briefly): In 1655, before she was burned as a witch, Agnes Nutter produced the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies right down to the End of the World. Which will occur on Saturday, just before dinner. As the Armies of Good and Evil are massing, everything appears to be going to plan: Atlantis is rising, the seas are on fire, fish are raining down. and the four Bikers of the Apocalypse on on their way to a rendezvous with the eleven-year-old Antichrist.

But a fastidious Angel and part-time rare book dealer named Aziraphale, and his opposite number Crawley, a Fallen Angel (who did not so much fall as saunter vaguely downwards), have spent the last 6,000 years assigned to Humanity. And find they've grown rather fond of their unpredictable charges. Also they are harboring a guilty secret: they managed to misplace the Antichrist at his birth and never got around to informing Heaven and Hell. So they're not really looking forward to the Rapture and the involved and tedious explanations bound to ensue.

The forthcoming series will feature Michael Sheen as Aziraphale and David Tennant as Crowley.  Jon Hamm will play the Angel Gabriel, and Frances McDormand will be God. Click HERE to see the First Look trailer.  Click HERE to read an interview with Neil Gaiman at the recent Comic-Con in San Diego.

Here's two reviews written when the book was first published in 1990.  Click HERE for the review from Publishers Weekly (which got it right) and HERE for the sanctimonious reviewer from the New York Times (who got it SO wrong).

And here's two reviews issued when the cult best seller was re-issued again (and again): Click HERE for a review from tor.com, and HERE for a review from Kirkus.

Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan

Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan - 352 pages

"Forget the cud.  They want blood..." 

Logan turns the traditional zombie novel on its head by having livestock as the undead craving human flesh when a biotoxin is released in the UK.  At times hilarious and at times horrifying, this book takes up the flag carried by films such as Shawn of the Dead and authors like Terry Pratchett.  This is a zombie apocalypse that is laugh out loud funny.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman --- 412 pages

Anyone who reads fantasy today will recognize the names Pratchett and Gaiman as two bestselling grand masters of the genre. But in 1985 when the two met, they were both just starting out; and fame and fortune were still some years ahead. This collaboration, the result of that chance encounter, helped get the ball rolling.

The world is ending next Saturday. The armies of good and evil are massing for the Big Event. Everything seems to be on schedule and all according to the Ineffable Plan. Except for a little mix-up involving the Antichrist. Then there's the angel and the demon who have spent so may eons living among mortals they aren't all that keen to give up their comfortable lifestyle. A witchfinder has fallen head over heels for a witch. And the Four Motorcyclists of the Apocalypse prove to be directionally challenged.

Pratchett and Gaiman's take on Armageddon is an epic of snarky satire, laced with irreverent historical and literary digressions. Highly recommended for those who like their fantasy salty. P.S. A film or television series based on the book has been rumored for several years.