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Stranger
The small town of Sullivan has barricaded itself against the outside world. It is one of the last enclaves of civilization and the residents are determined that their town remain free from the strange and terrifying plague that is sweeping the land—a plague that transforms ordinary people into murderous, bloodthirsty madmen. But the transformation is only the beginning. With the shocking realization that mankind is evolving into something different, something horrifying, the struggle for survival becomes a battle to save humanity.
426 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 26, 2003
About the author
Simon Clark
200 books292 followersBorn, 20th April, 1958, Simon Clark is the author of such highly regarded horror novels as Nailed By The Heart, Blood Crazy, Darker, Vampyrrhic and The Fall, while his short stories have been collected in Blood & Grit and Salt Snake & Other Bloody Cuts. He has also written prose material for the internationally famous rock band U2.
Raised in a family of storytellers – family legend told of a stolen human skull buried beneath the Clark garage – he sold his first ghost story to a radio station in his teens. Before becoming a full-time writer he held a variety of day jobs, that have involved strawberry picking, supermarket shelf stacking, office work, and scripting video promos.
He lives with his wife and two children in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.
Raised in a family of storytellers – family legend told of a stolen human skull buried beneath the Clark garage – he sold his first ghost story to a radio station in his teens. Before becoming a full-time writer he held a variety of day jobs, that have involved strawberry picking, supermarket shelf stacking, office work, and scripting video promos.
He lives with his wife and two children in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
August 19, 2014
back in 1995, Simon Clark wrote a nifty post-apocalyptic novel called Blood Crazy, featuring the adventures of a young man in England as he meets other survivors and evades groups of murderous not-quite-zombies. I loved it. seven years later, Clark wrote Stranger, an irritating post-apocalyptic novel featuring the adventures of a young man in America as he meets other survivors and evades groups of murderous not-quite-zombies. well I suppose it is true that every writer revisits the themes and stories that define them as a writer, so I wasn't particularly annoyed at seeing the old story given new clothes. nor did I mind its lack of focus; that worked perfectly fine in Blood Crazy and I don't think its presence in Stranger is all that problematic. there's an excitement in randomness and not quite knowing where a story will be going, even if that unpredictability is due to lack of focus. what frustrated me about the novel was that it felt like it was written during one long weekend. a clumsy novel.
perhaps the switch to America served Clark badly. he has no grasp of how Americans talk. for example, few 10-year olds casually use the word "lovely" and use of the word "niggardly" is fairly rare (for obvious reasons). but I don't think it was just the problems with American vernacular because there was so much that was off throughout the entire novel in how the characters thought, spoke, and related to each other. people laughing at jokes that made no sense. a monstrous villain's oddly-timed rant about how he was bullied as a teen. the hero wondering about "mating" with a romantic interest and later flirting with her by saying she has to live so she can give him children. huh? an execution about a third of the way through the book bothered me not just because of its ridiculous brutality but because it was a genuinely ridiculous way to kill a person.
fortunately the novel wasn't a waste of time. I did like the oddly erratic approach to storytelling and Clark knows a thing or two about pacing. a book that features a youthful hero who flies into an uncontrollable murderous haze whenever someone infected is near him made for some surprising scenes. and Clark still has some creative juices. I would say that a room-sized jell-o mold apparently made of blood and other fluids and that contains malevolent floating body parts is certainly creative.
perhaps the switch to America served Clark badly. he has no grasp of how Americans talk. for example, few 10-year olds casually use the word "lovely" and use of the word "niggardly" is fairly rare (for obvious reasons). but I don't think it was just the problems with American vernacular because there was so much that was off throughout the entire novel in how the characters thought, spoke, and related to each other. people laughing at jokes that made no sense. a monstrous villain's oddly-timed rant about how he was bullied as a teen. the hero wondering about "mating" with a romantic interest and later flirting with her by saying she has to live so she can give him children. huh? an execution about a third of the way through the book bothered me not just because of its ridiculous brutality but because it was a genuinely ridiculous way to kill a person.
fortunately the novel wasn't a waste of time. I did like the oddly erratic approach to storytelling and Clark knows a thing or two about pacing. a book that features a youthful hero who flies into an uncontrollable murderous haze whenever someone infected is near him made for some surprising scenes. and Clark still has some creative juices. I would say that a room-sized jell-o mold apparently made of blood and other fluids and that contains malevolent floating body parts is certainly creative.
March 11, 2021
This was my second book by Clark and I am still a little mixed on him-- great ideas, vivid prose, but something still felt missing in the story. Maybe I need to explore more of his work as I can see him hitting a home run, but this one is simply a double. Our main protagonist, Greg, is living in a post apocalyptic world, but one that came quite suddenly and recently. It (e.g., the 'end') started as a strange disease in South America; first people got a bad case of the trots, but then seemed to recover. Nonetheless, the disease planted something in their brain and the victims became onset with irrational fears, eventually leading them to become homicidal maniacs. Soon, this spread to the US, and while it was assumed at first that the disease only impacted people of 'native' decent, it quickly spread. The infected, or 'hornets' patrolled the countryside, destroying food and shelter, leaving the surviving humans struggling for existence.
Greg, however, stumbled onto some luck in finding the town of Sullivan. In what I presume to be up-state NY, Sullivan is on an island in a lake connected to the mainland via a narrow causeway, and still has working infrastructure and a population of about 5000. They also have amble supplies of food, gas, and ammo to boot! Greg is a little different from the average person as he can 'sense' the infected even before they start showing symptoms and when he does sense them, becomes overwhelmed with a desire to kill them. In Sullivan, Greg serves as something of an official greeter for strangers, shaking hands with an ax behind his back just in case...
Greg becomes frustrated with Sullivan, however, as the town's population becomes increasingly insular and, at least Greg fears, insane, so he flees, only to team up with a small band of survivors. Here, the story assumes a classic zombie trope-- a small band of plucky survivors trying to eek out an existence surrounded by teaming mobs of 'hornets'...
For gore fans, Clark serves up occasional treats, but primarily, the book concerns the interpersonal relationships among the survivors. Clark throws some really interesting twists, such as the 'hives'-- a strange new 'life form' that the hornets guard with their lives, but never really develops this in any detail. Why he introduces this simply to leave lots of open questions I have no idea. That is one of my issues with Clark in general-- great ideas, but a lack of really developing them. Another concerns his endings, which in this case made me roll my eyes. 3 zombie stars.
Greg, however, stumbled onto some luck in finding the town of Sullivan. In what I presume to be up-state NY, Sullivan is on an island in a lake connected to the mainland via a narrow causeway, and still has working infrastructure and a population of about 5000. They also have amble supplies of food, gas, and ammo to boot! Greg is a little different from the average person as he can 'sense' the infected even before they start showing symptoms and when he does sense them, becomes overwhelmed with a desire to kill them. In Sullivan, Greg serves as something of an official greeter for strangers, shaking hands with an ax behind his back just in case...
Greg becomes frustrated with Sullivan, however, as the town's population becomes increasingly insular and, at least Greg fears, insane, so he flees, only to team up with a small band of survivors. Here, the story assumes a classic zombie trope-- a small band of plucky survivors trying to eek out an existence surrounded by teaming mobs of 'hornets'...
For gore fans, Clark serves up occasional treats, but primarily, the book concerns the interpersonal relationships among the survivors. Clark throws some really interesting twists, such as the 'hives'-- a strange new 'life form' that the hornets guard with their lives, but never really develops this in any detail. Why he introduces this simply to leave lots of open questions I have no idea. That is one of my issues with Clark in general-- great ideas, but a lack of really developing them. Another concerns his endings, which in this case made me roll my eyes. 3 zombie stars.
January 27, 2016
4.5 stars
Surprised how varied the reviews are on this one. Personally loved it. Found it intriguing and the end a surprise.
This apocalyptic type tale involves a young man, Valdiva, who has the extraordinary talent of noticing if someone is infected with the ‘Gantose plague’. It originated in South America and originally people thought that the bug would stay there, since it never seemed to be infecting others. Eventually, of course, it spreads across the world. At first people are terrifying afraid of illness in general (Clark uses the emphasism for rabies and the fear of water to drive this home), but eventually they turn insanely angry, unhuman in a sense, determined to do only one thing: kill all other humans.
Valdiva resides in the town of Sullivan, where is barely tolerated by the other townfolk. Sullivan has isolated itself from the world, keeping it a ‘clean’ area, but eventually begin turning on each other. Their assassin, Valdiva, disgusted with what’s happening but also afraid for his own future, sets out on his own until he encounters a group of survivors, constantly dodging infected people, called ‘hornets.’ There he finds an even worse nightmare, called a ‘hornet’s nest’, which is a blob like substance that sucks people in and drains them dry viva-la-vampire-from-hell.
The plot itself in unique in many ways. It obviously borrows some thoughts from other apocalyptic movies, but hey, the events that unfold are probably what really would happen if the world started turning on each other, so perhaps this is why using that formula is a good idea. Clark injects many surprises and twists along the way; the reader is kept on the edge of their seat as Valdiva and group encounters one mob of angry infected after another. Mysteries are brought up on Valdiva himself, the people surrounding him, the general state of the world, and what will come up next. Things are never as they seem, and Clark does a commendable job weaving up a tale of magic, full of power and dread from page one.
Any flaws that exist are some minor holes. Such as the convenient ending, not knowing the truth for sure about the protagonist himself, among other things. The way it wraps up feels suitable, though, for leaving things open ended can be the best way to do things sometimes. It worked well here.
The inconsistencies also fell on why he was never infected, and why he didn’t have to keep killing when confronted with a group of them vs. just a singular one. Also, why does he get the urge to kill them at all? You’d have to ask this question as you read the book to see what I’m driving at.
But small issues aside, the novel is knuckle-grinding. Scenes are packed full of action and useful information; I never grew bored. Characterization was rich and exciting, there were moments of pure suspense, and the situation itself was both bleak and grim.
Valdiva is a 19 year old male who seems a bit mature for his age. His sudden blackouts and anger strikes are interesting to say the least. The way he senses the hornets, through a stomach twitch and then muscle tightening, is also a good story tool. He works well with the other characters involved. All do their jobs well and serve the plot well.
Although I had a bit of trouble getting into the beginning at times due to flashbacks and confusion on not knowing what was going down, I kept reading because I wanted to know why. Something is always happening, it all works well, even scenes where the character is considering/learning/growing have enough movement to keep the story running along at top speed.
Clark has a way with words. His writing all flows together well, nothing stood out as awkward or stiff. He uses short sentences at times, particularly incomplete ones, to get the job done the best it could be. He doesn’t rely heavily on unique phrasing, but somehow it seems to come together as if he did. The dialogue is convincing and the exchanges between characters didn’t come out flat in the least.
I love apocalyptic stories. This one didn’t disappoint. Strangers is chocked full of action, mystery, intrigue, creepy as hell moments, strong-willed characters with concrete goals, and a few moving, emotional moments. The ending was a bit too convenient, as I stated before, but in a way it was ironic and there was a sense of social commentary in there. I went back from four to five stars, finally settling on 4. It wasn’t a perfect read but it was damn good, something I would recommend, with enthusiasm, to any horror fan.
Surprised how varied the reviews are on this one. Personally loved it. Found it intriguing and the end a surprise.
This apocalyptic type tale involves a young man, Valdiva, who has the extraordinary talent of noticing if someone is infected with the ‘Gantose plague’. It originated in South America and originally people thought that the bug would stay there, since it never seemed to be infecting others. Eventually, of course, it spreads across the world. At first people are terrifying afraid of illness in general (Clark uses the emphasism for rabies and the fear of water to drive this home), but eventually they turn insanely angry, unhuman in a sense, determined to do only one thing: kill all other humans.
Valdiva resides in the town of Sullivan, where is barely tolerated by the other townfolk. Sullivan has isolated itself from the world, keeping it a ‘clean’ area, but eventually begin turning on each other. Their assassin, Valdiva, disgusted with what’s happening but also afraid for his own future, sets out on his own until he encounters a group of survivors, constantly dodging infected people, called ‘hornets.’ There he finds an even worse nightmare, called a ‘hornet’s nest’, which is a blob like substance that sucks people in and drains them dry viva-la-vampire-from-hell.
The plot itself in unique in many ways. It obviously borrows some thoughts from other apocalyptic movies, but hey, the events that unfold are probably what really would happen if the world started turning on each other, so perhaps this is why using that formula is a good idea. Clark injects many surprises and twists along the way; the reader is kept on the edge of their seat as Valdiva and group encounters one mob of angry infected after another. Mysteries are brought up on Valdiva himself, the people surrounding him, the general state of the world, and what will come up next. Things are never as they seem, and Clark does a commendable job weaving up a tale of magic, full of power and dread from page one.
Any flaws that exist are some minor holes. Such as the convenient ending, not knowing the truth for sure about the protagonist himself, among other things. The way it wraps up feels suitable, though, for leaving things open ended can be the best way to do things sometimes. It worked well here.
The inconsistencies also fell on why he was never infected, and why he didn’t have to keep killing when confronted with a group of them vs. just a singular one. Also, why does he get the urge to kill them at all? You’d have to ask this question as you read the book to see what I’m driving at.
But small issues aside, the novel is knuckle-grinding. Scenes are packed full of action and useful information; I never grew bored. Characterization was rich and exciting, there were moments of pure suspense, and the situation itself was both bleak and grim.
Valdiva is a 19 year old male who seems a bit mature for his age. His sudden blackouts and anger strikes are interesting to say the least. The way he senses the hornets, through a stomach twitch and then muscle tightening, is also a good story tool. He works well with the other characters involved. All do their jobs well and serve the plot well.
Although I had a bit of trouble getting into the beginning at times due to flashbacks and confusion on not knowing what was going down, I kept reading because I wanted to know why. Something is always happening, it all works well, even scenes where the character is considering/learning/growing have enough movement to keep the story running along at top speed.
Clark has a way with words. His writing all flows together well, nothing stood out as awkward or stiff. He uses short sentences at times, particularly incomplete ones, to get the job done the best it could be. He doesn’t rely heavily on unique phrasing, but somehow it seems to come together as if he did. The dialogue is convincing and the exchanges between characters didn’t come out flat in the least.
I love apocalyptic stories. This one didn’t disappoint. Strangers is chocked full of action, mystery, intrigue, creepy as hell moments, strong-willed characters with concrete goals, and a few moving, emotional moments. The ending was a bit too convenient, as I stated before, but in a way it was ironic and there was a sense of social commentary in there. I went back from four to five stars, finally settling on 4. It wasn’t a perfect read but it was damn good, something I would recommend, with enthusiasm, to any horror fan.
August 17, 2012
The Stranger is an odd book that I actually enjoyed by the time I got to the end. Unfortunately, the beginning seems to meander about the place and then about a third of the way through, the book kick starts to something resembling a zombie novel, though this is not a zombie novel.
As the book begins, you are faced with a load of dialogue for the first chapter then by the second chapter we are introduced to the narrator who is a bit odd and kind of hard to identify with. As the book gets moving, and I had to push myself in the beginning as I almost gave up on a couple of occasions, a turning point happens. The narrator's personality changes and the book starts gathering momentum. By the end of the book, I actually liked the narrator and enjoyed the characters. It does turn into an exciting read by the end and a real page turner.
I quite liked the setting and the situations that occurred and the cast of characters are very interesting. I have to say that characters are often forgotten about and left dangling even though they are still part of the story. In the group there are at least five to seven characters that have a chapter or two and then become part of the survivors but are never mentioned. I assume they are still around because there is no mention of death or movement at all.
The problems with the book seems to be the dropping off of existing characters as mentioned above, the suggestion of situations but lack of carry through and most of all, there is an over all disjointed story telling taking place that almost feels somewhat lazy by the author. I do not know if something got lost in editing or Simon Clark just kind of lost focus but this book does have a disjointed feeling to it.
I also have to say that the fourth of July fireworks are a bit naff and kind of up there with the film Independence Day speech by Bill Pullman. I would have to say that if this was done by a first time author, I would probably be less critical but since I am a fan of Simon Clark's work, I felt that he could have done a whole lot better.
This started out being a two star book but thanks to the pick up in the middle to the end, it earned its extra star. It is not horrible by any means, it is just not good enough to live up to the standards of other Simon Clark books.
As the book begins, you are faced with a load of dialogue for the first chapter then by the second chapter we are introduced to the narrator who is a bit odd and kind of hard to identify with. As the book gets moving, and I had to push myself in the beginning as I almost gave up on a couple of occasions, a turning point happens. The narrator's personality changes and the book starts gathering momentum. By the end of the book, I actually liked the narrator and enjoyed the characters. It does turn into an exciting read by the end and a real page turner.
I quite liked the setting and the situations that occurred and the cast of characters are very interesting. I have to say that characters are often forgotten about and left dangling even though they are still part of the story. In the group there are at least five to seven characters that have a chapter or two and then become part of the survivors but are never mentioned. I assume they are still around because there is no mention of death or movement at all.
The problems with the book seems to be the dropping off of existing characters as mentioned above, the suggestion of situations but lack of carry through and most of all, there is an over all disjointed story telling taking place that almost feels somewhat lazy by the author. I do not know if something got lost in editing or Simon Clark just kind of lost focus but this book does have a disjointed feeling to it.
I also have to say that the fourth of July fireworks are a bit naff and kind of up there with the film Independence Day speech by Bill Pullman. I would have to say that if this was done by a first time author, I would probably be less critical but since I am a fan of Simon Clark's work, I felt that he could have done a whole lot better.
This started out being a two star book but thanks to the pick up in the middle to the end, it earned its extra star. It is not horrible by any means, it is just not good enough to live up to the standards of other Simon Clark books.
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April 15, 2009Loved it! Loved the pacing of this book, the characters aren't perfect and they have real problems, and there are some threads left open to let you use your own imagination... and I am a total sucker for Apocalyptic stories, especially when the author uses something other than shambling/running zombies as the enemy.
Armand Rosamilia
Armand Rosamilia
January 9, 2019
A story about the collapse of civilization because of a disease that infects people and turns them into frenzied killers. A young man arrives at an isolated community which is relatively safe, but he feels uncomfortable with the way he is treated, still an outsider after 6 months there. After a painful incident that grieves him, he dares to explore the dangerous world outside the community. A very good (sort of) "zombie" story.
September 4, 2013
Like "Blood Crazy," the other Simon Clark book I've read, this has an interesting premise ruined by lame execution and writing. In brief: America (and the world) are invaded by a horde of immigrants from South America, who (surprise!) are infected by a sort of time-delay plague which causes them to become crazed murderers, which (surprise!) then turns out to be just Phase One of an even weirder and grosser transformation.
It sounds cool, but when you actually read it, it's a drag and doesn't make much sense. Like "Blood Crazy", in terms of mood, this isn't so much a horror novel as a postapocalyptic survival novel. (In other words, it's more about survival and heroism than about being scary.) Also as in "Blood Crazy", cruelly cynical scenes of human-on-human violence (particularly in the first 1/3rd in the paranoid survivalist town of Sullivan) outnumber scenes of human-vs-the-infected, or zombies or hornets or whatever they're called. The main character's 'condition' (his ability to detect the infected, followed by the uncontrollable urge to kill them) is an interesting antiheroic superpower, but ultimately the author doesn't use it very much. The dialogue and the first-person narration is frequently cheesy and/or overexplains what the characters are thinking and feeling; it's dumb writing. (Incidentally, Clark also mostly ignores, or is uninterested in, the racial implications of an army of crazed Latino immigrants invading & massacring North America. In one paragraph he offhandedly mentions "There was a race issue to all this"; no shit, Sherlock. But after that paragraph it's never mentioned again, nor are there any non-insane Latino characters, unless the hero with his vaguely Latino name counts, but "Greg Valdiva"'s ethnicity is never specified.)
Most annoyingly, unlike "Blood Crazy", where Clark overexplains the apocalypse and eventually makes it ridiculous, here he errs in the opposite direction and never explains what's going on -- for instance It feels like Clark was leaving room for a sequel where things would actually get explained. The paranoid, misanthropic feel of the first 1/3rd of the book, which could have been interesting (if super-grim) if Clark had run with it, is also ditched for a more conventional survival narrative when the hero leaves Sullivan. Basically, Clark expends way too many pages on the most boring aspects of this story, such as the half-baked survivalist theme, and not nearly enough pages on the slimy, creepy zombie-esque stuff that, if you're like me, you're reading this book for.
It sounds cool, but when you actually read it, it's a drag and doesn't make much sense. Like "Blood Crazy", in terms of mood, this isn't so much a horror novel as a postapocalyptic survival novel. (In other words, it's more about survival and heroism than about being scary.) Also as in "Blood Crazy", cruelly cynical scenes of human-on-human violence (particularly in the first 1/3rd in the paranoid survivalist town of Sullivan) outnumber scenes of human-vs-the-infected, or zombies or hornets or whatever they're called. The main character's 'condition' (his ability to detect the infected, followed by the uncontrollable urge to kill them) is an interesting antiheroic superpower, but ultimately the author doesn't use it very much. The dialogue and the first-person narration is frequently cheesy and/or overexplains what the characters are thinking and feeling; it's dumb writing. (Incidentally, Clark also mostly ignores, or is uninterested in, the racial implications of an army of crazed Latino immigrants invading & massacring North America. In one paragraph he offhandedly mentions "There was a race issue to all this"; no shit, Sherlock. But after that paragraph it's never mentioned again, nor are there any non-insane Latino characters, unless the hero with his vaguely Latino name counts, but "Greg Valdiva"'s ethnicity is never specified.)
Most annoyingly, unlike "Blood Crazy", where Clark overexplains the apocalypse and eventually makes it ridiculous, here he errs in the opposite direction and never explains what's going on -- for instance It feels like Clark was leaving room for a sequel where things would actually get explained. The paranoid, misanthropic feel of the first 1/3rd of the book, which could have been interesting (if super-grim) if Clark had run with it, is also ditched for a more conventional survival narrative when the hero leaves Sullivan. Basically, Clark expends way too many pages on the most boring aspects of this story, such as the half-baked survivalist theme, and not nearly enough pages on the slimy, creepy zombie-esque stuff that, if you're like me, you're reading this book for.
September 28, 2009
At first I was like meh. It took me a minute to get past some parts in the beginning--occasionally this author tends to be a tad too obvious at times.
I guess I'll get my criticisms out of the way first
1) One of my pet peeves with apocalyptic books is that they ALWAYS start off like 6 months to a year after everything goes to hell. I'm always wildly curious to find out how things start from the moment zombies rise up, or in this case, the entire population of South & Central America flood the United States and go on killing rampage. (Points for that being different there). I know flashbacks and newspaper clips and talks around the campfire are good fodder, but I wish more varied it up and went with Day One or something (The Cell did, which is why I like that book so much)
2) It would be not a good thing if an entire continent went completely insane and rampaged through America...however, I read some crazy statistic recently that we have so many bullets in the US that the entire population would have to shoot a round a second all year long before we ran out of just what was purchased in 2009. So I really don't think the nation would totally crumple and cease to exist in 4 days. This annoys me in almost every book (except for Brian Keene's books, and in his books all the ammo in the world wouldn't help).
3) I have a problem also in these kind of books how EVERYONE is evil. I think if you managed to make it out of say a situation where prions infect everyone's brains and make them into monsters and you have hives and creepy stuff floating in rooms filled with goo, that would be a bonding experiece. Thankfully the hero of the story meets up with good folks midway through and I know it's stock in horror books--who is the real monster, them or us deal? Maybe if the book was longer and devoted more time to the town that managed to quarantine itself from the prion/bread bandits/hornets I would have accepted it better. Book could have been longer and I wouldn't have complained (so that's a point in its favor).
But once I got past the first 30 pages or so, I was completely engrossed in this book. I don't think anyone does suspense quite like this author. Just when you think it can't get any worse, they suddenly spy thousands of zombies coming at them, or a woman with a new born baby wandering the wrong way towards the monsters, or someone breaks their leg, or the room starts running out of air, etc. But it never got ridiculous to me, so giant points to the author for that.
I guess I'll get my criticisms out of the way first
1) One of my pet peeves with apocalyptic books is that they ALWAYS start off like 6 months to a year after everything goes to hell. I'm always wildly curious to find out how things start from the moment zombies rise up, or in this case, the entire population of South & Central America flood the United States and go on killing rampage. (Points for that being different there). I know flashbacks and newspaper clips and talks around the campfire are good fodder, but I wish more varied it up and went with Day One or something (The Cell did, which is why I like that book so much)
2) It would be not a good thing if an entire continent went completely insane and rampaged through America...however, I read some crazy statistic recently that we have so many bullets in the US that the entire population would have to shoot a round a second all year long before we ran out of just what was purchased in 2009. So I really don't think the nation would totally crumple and cease to exist in 4 days. This annoys me in almost every book (except for Brian Keene's books, and in his books all the ammo in the world wouldn't help).
3) I have a problem also in these kind of books how EVERYONE is evil. I think if you managed to make it out of say a situation where prions infect everyone's brains and make them into monsters and you have hives and creepy stuff floating in rooms filled with goo, that would be a bonding experiece. Thankfully the hero of the story meets up with good folks midway through and I know it's stock in horror books--who is the real monster, them or us deal? Maybe if the book was longer and devoted more time to the town that managed to quarantine itself from the prion/bread bandits/hornets I would have accepted it better. Book could have been longer and I wouldn't have complained (so that's a point in its favor).
But once I got past the first 30 pages or so, I was completely engrossed in this book. I don't think anyone does suspense quite like this author. Just when you think it can't get any worse, they suddenly spy thousands of zombies coming at them, or a woman with a new born baby wandering the wrong way towards the monsters, or someone breaks their leg, or the room starts running out of air, etc. But it never got ridiculous to me, so giant points to the author for that.
February 27, 2009
This is somewhat similar to one of Clark's other novels, Blood Crazy. A plague turns humans into murderers, forcing survivors to live behind walls, or always be on the move, avoiding the killing hordes. In one town of survivors, a man named Greg has the ability to sense the disease within infected people. His position as screener/executioner allows him to live comfortably until the day he wrongly decides to venture beyond the town's perimeter.
May 25, 2014
I actually quite enjoyed this book though a few questions plagued my mind throughout the course of it. If hives needed to feed on live humans then why was the first stage of the disease filled with the killing of uninfected humans??? Also if Greg was truly a result of the hive completing its metamorphosis then why did he want to or why was he prone to have this need to kill those that were infected?
Even with all those questions I truly did enjoy the book
Even with all those questions I truly did enjoy the book
July 19, 2014
New twist on the apocalypse
New twist on the apocalypse
Good read. Contains a unique twist to what could be zombies and the end of the world. The main character Greg is easy to chat for and to be hopeful with. Ending is fulfilling but leaves open the chance for a follow-up. Thanks Mr. Clark for a good summer read
New twist on the apocalypse
Good read. Contains a unique twist to what could be zombies and the end of the world. The main character Greg is easy to chat for and to be hopeful with. Ending is fulfilling but leaves open the chance for a follow-up. Thanks Mr. Clark for a good summer read
August 4, 2007
So much more than I expected. Gruesome but powerful...I did not want it to end. Unfortunately, none of his other books have been as good.
September 3, 2012
very well done
October 29, 2022
This is set in a post-apocalyptic world, in which a virus has run through the world. At first it's just like a common cold or stomach bug, but it eventually turns you into a homicidal maniac. Greg Valdiva lives in the community of Sullivan, seemingly one of the last safe places from the disease. He also has a special ability to detect if someone is infected, so the town use him to stay isolated and safe.
However, paranoia sees the townsfolk become increasingly unbalanced to the point where they're no better than the infected, and circumstances see Greg forced to flee Sullivan with his friend, Ben. They encounter a ragtag group of survivors and join up with them. Greg discovers that some of the infected are becoming what's known as a "hive", an act of evolution that could prove to be devastating.
I never got into the TV show "The Walking Dead", because it all seemed a bit hopeless. (To be honest, I can't believe the show is still going. However, I don't mind the odd zombie movie! This book actually reminded me a bit of "The Crazies" (I've only seen the remake). That too involved infected people being vicious and murderous.
After a bit of a clunky start, this settled into a nice groove and was never boring. It has everything you would expect from a good end-of-the-world zombie type thriller with bouts of action and encounters with the infected. It is told in first person narration, and only sticks with about six core characters, so you don't need to worry about a new character being introduced every chapter! I would have liked to have known more about the "hives" and what would have eventuated from them.
If you're a fan of this sort of end-of-the-world zombie/plague thriller, it's fast-paced and entertaining.
However, paranoia sees the townsfolk become increasingly unbalanced to the point where they're no better than the infected, and circumstances see Greg forced to flee Sullivan with his friend, Ben. They encounter a ragtag group of survivors and join up with them. Greg discovers that some of the infected are becoming what's known as a "hive", an act of evolution that could prove to be devastating.
I never got into the TV show "The Walking Dead", because it all seemed a bit hopeless. (To be honest, I can't believe the show is still going. However, I don't mind the odd zombie movie! This book actually reminded me a bit of "The Crazies" (I've only seen the remake). That too involved infected people being vicious and murderous.
After a bit of a clunky start, this settled into a nice groove and was never boring. It has everything you would expect from a good end-of-the-world zombie type thriller with bouts of action and encounters with the infected. It is told in first person narration, and only sticks with about six core characters, so you don't need to worry about a new character being introduced every chapter! I would have liked to have known more about the "hives" and what would have eventuated from them.
If you're a fan of this sort of end-of-the-world zombie/plague thriller, it's fast-paced and entertaining.
December 1, 2019
This was a REALLY great book in that I had not read anything like it before, so it was neat to have something new to eat with my eyes.
I saw some people posting about it being just like another blah blah blah-but I never read the other, I read this one. I feel like everyone has their favorite version of Cinderella, or Aschenputtel, or Cendrillon for whatever reason, and I should be able to enjoy one book without being pissy it was/wasn't enough like this OTHER book I read-come on, get out.
This is neat. Watching upscale communities devour themselves from the inside over the fear of the Stranger, the main character's automatic reaction to those exposed and how it impacts treatment from the townies. All around good, would have liked more TBH as the ending left me hungry, but sometimes adding too much can ruin an otherwise great story.
I saw some people posting about it being just like another blah blah blah-but I never read the other, I read this one. I feel like everyone has their favorite version of Cinderella, or Aschenputtel, or Cendrillon for whatever reason, and I should be able to enjoy one book without being pissy it was/wasn't enough like this OTHER book I read-come on, get out.
This is neat. Watching upscale communities devour themselves from the inside over the fear of the Stranger, the main character's automatic reaction to those exposed and how it impacts treatment from the townies. All around good, would have liked more TBH as the ending left me hungry, but sometimes adding too much can ruin an otherwise great story.
August 8, 2022
(4.5 stars) Wow this was my first Simon Clark book and it was a great read. For a 20 year old book it's seemed very fresh and modern. It deals with so many cool issues simultaneously. Virus outbreaks, rabid murderous humans who transition without warning, apocalyptic warfare, Harley riding badass gangs. Hell there's even more going on that I won't mention to keep the surprise. Overall I enjoyed the writing, the pacing, the setting and the ending. This 400+ page book felt like 200 due to the enthralling pace. I will definitely read more from this author.
June 27, 2017
Becoming a classic
I've enjoyed the story in this one a few times despite the small errors found throughout the manuscript. A good book to pass the time with.
I've enjoyed the story in this one a few times despite the small errors found throughout the manuscript. A good book to pass the time with.
March 25, 2018
Awesome book! Wasn't sure if I was going to like it in the beginning, but it just kept getting better and better.
January 5, 2022
I haven’t read many post-apocalyptic novels - mainly because they appear to be formulaic. There’s always one person (in this case , Greg) who seems to be able to evade the zombies/maniacs/epidemic that has wiped out or weaponised humanity and there’s always the group of people he or she leads to safety, sacrificing a few on the way, after a few scrapes and moments of relief. This has all that, but I did like the twist…
August 19, 2008
Simon Clark, Stranger (Leisure, 2003)
Back in the old days, when I joined Chapter-a-day (now DearReader), Stranger was one of the first books I had an excerpt of sent to me via email. I liked the premise and a friend of mine had been talking Clark up to me for a while (and this is the guy who recommended Simon Maginn, so I trust him implicitly), so I decided to give him a go. Of course, it then took me years to actually get round to reading the novel. I have a procrastination problem sometimes.
Stranger is the story of Greg Valdiva, a guy living in a post-apocalyptic world where most of the human race has been wiped out by a plague. In the first third of the book, he's living in the island community of Sullivan, which has survived untouched by the plague; Valdiva, through some sort of sixth sense, can tell if any strangers new to town are infected, and stop them before they can infect the rest of the town. Things go bad in Sullivan, however, and Valdiva sets out into the nearest city to see if there are any other survivors. The latter two-thirds of the book deals with what he finds out there.
A (different) friend of mine, when we were walking home from seeing Bill Forsyth's wonderful film Housekeeping, remarked that British writers should never try to do American slang. “It just doesn't come off right,” he said. I disagreed with him there, but I got an echo of him saying that while I was reading this book, which is written by a British writer and set in America; there are a few too many Britticisms for these characters to really stick as Americans. Also, the book seems to suffer from attention deficit disorder a number of times; Clark jst tries to work way too much in here, and the book ends up being less fast-paced than cluttered. Still, if you're in the market for a book that gives new meaning to the phrase “action-packed” and is written by a dependable (if slightly inconsistent) author, Stranger fills the bill nicely. ***
Back in the old days, when I joined Chapter-a-day (now DearReader), Stranger was one of the first books I had an excerpt of sent to me via email. I liked the premise and a friend of mine had been talking Clark up to me for a while (and this is the guy who recommended Simon Maginn, so I trust him implicitly), so I decided to give him a go. Of course, it then took me years to actually get round to reading the novel. I have a procrastination problem sometimes.
Stranger is the story of Greg Valdiva, a guy living in a post-apocalyptic world where most of the human race has been wiped out by a plague. In the first third of the book, he's living in the island community of Sullivan, which has survived untouched by the plague; Valdiva, through some sort of sixth sense, can tell if any strangers new to town are infected, and stop them before they can infect the rest of the town. Things go bad in Sullivan, however, and Valdiva sets out into the nearest city to see if there are any other survivors. The latter two-thirds of the book deals with what he finds out there.
A (different) friend of mine, when we were walking home from seeing Bill Forsyth's wonderful film Housekeeping, remarked that British writers should never try to do American slang. “It just doesn't come off right,” he said. I disagreed with him there, but I got an echo of him saying that while I was reading this book, which is written by a British writer and set in America; there are a few too many Britticisms for these characters to really stick as Americans. Also, the book seems to suffer from attention deficit disorder a number of times; Clark jst tries to work way too much in here, and the book ends up being less fast-paced than cluttered. Still, if you're in the market for a book that gives new meaning to the phrase “action-packed” and is written by a dependable (if slightly inconsistent) author, Stranger fills the bill nicely. ***
June 6, 2013
This was one wacky book. I have no other way to describe the saga that is the life of Greg Valdiva.
Starting out, I thought this would cover what happened to the little town of Sullivan, but as Greg ventures out into the world around him, things start to get really weird.
I enjoyed the way that the things that inhabit the world outside of the town are different than usual zombies. In a way as to not give anything away, I will simply say that they are not even in a humanoid form. I was highly curious about these things called "hives" and found myself racing through to the end more quickly after I first encountered them.
Right off, you can tell Greg is different than the others, and I guessed the main twist right off, but that does not bother me when it comes to books like this. Things are never exactly as they seem.
A few parts to highlight are the use of font sizes and capitals when the author is trying to convey something along the lines of seriousness, suddenness, or emphasis. This is interesting and usually bothers me, but attesting to the fact that this book is told as a first-person account, I found I enjoyed the variation.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. I especially liked how nothing was too predicable about the supporting characters. My only warning will be: Don't get too attached.
Starting out, I thought this would cover what happened to the little town of Sullivan, but as Greg ventures out into the world around him, things start to get really weird.
I enjoyed the way that the things that inhabit the world outside of the town are different than usual zombies. In a way as to not give anything away, I will simply say that they are not even in a humanoid form. I was highly curious about these things called "hives" and found myself racing through to the end more quickly after I first encountered them.
Right off, you can tell Greg is different than the others, and I guessed the main twist right off, but that does not bother me when it comes to books like this. Things are never exactly as they seem.
A few parts to highlight are the use of font sizes and capitals when the author is trying to convey something along the lines of seriousness, suddenness, or emphasis. This is interesting and usually bothers me, but attesting to the fact that this book is told as a first-person account, I found I enjoyed the variation.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. I especially liked how nothing was too predicable about the supporting characters. My only warning will be: Don't get too attached.
May 14, 2011
Stranger, as of May 2011, is probably my second-least-favorite novel of all time. It holds the silver medal and will remain forever in the shadow of Sephera Giron’s Borrowed Flesh. My least favorite book ever isn’t a novel but a collection by John Shirley, but that isn’t important. I hated Stranger. As usual, I went into it with no knowledge of what it was about. I only knew it was horror and that is what I love. This is another apocalyptic, human race on the brink of extinction, people quaranteening areas and fighting for survival and Greg Valdiva is the Stranger who will save it all. That’s my horrible take on the book anyway. I didn’t really get much of it. The clearest memory I have is of Greg and a girl (can’t even remember her name) popping popcorn together. That is the only scene that made an impression and stuck with me and I don’t even know why. Perhaps this book was a victim of outside sources ruining it for me or distracting me, but I don’t think so. I read all 418 pages and was overjoyed to finish and move onto something different, and hopefully better.
April 14, 2008
Horror
September 28, 2011
Excellent book. The author does an excellent job of bringing you into his post-apocolyptic world.
June 16, 2012
Simon Clark destroys the world again in Stranger. Greg Valdiva knows when someone has Jumpy and he can't stop himself from hacking that person to death. Solid horror with a rip roaring climax.
February 4, 2012
If they just would have ate people, it could have been a zombie book.
May 20, 2014
Strange. The title says it all couldn't get past page 37. Negative star's are required to rate this book.
May 8, 2015
Well-written, post-apocalyptic tale. Clark is an excellent writer, and I've enjoyed everything I've read by him.
Want to read
January 21, 2017This is legend and scary I like it so much I read it over and over again
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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