“Six months have passed since the end of the world, leaving a handful of survivors holed up in a Welsh manor with little to do but survive. They’ve made the best of things, planting food, drinking their way through the cellar’s wine and ale, and reminiscing about the way life used to be. But with supplies running thin, everything is about to change…
The arrival of a stranger named Michael sheds new light on their circumstances. If the survivors can reach Cornwall, a few days’ journey south, they will find a safe haven, called Bar None, quite possibly the last bar on earth.
As they make their way across the Briitish countryside, the survivors will experience a world gone strange, where frightening beings fly high overhead, where flora and fauna press in to fill the void left by the fall of man, and, in the wreckage of civilization, where less fortunate survivors, twisted by plagues, hunger, and fear, stalk human prey.
From Tim Lebbon, author of Berserk, Dusk, and Dawn comes Bar None, a novel of chilling suspense, apocalyptic beauty, and fine ales.”
I am always a bit nervous when I find out someone has written an end of the world story. I think to myself what can be added to this storyline after so many great ones. The Stand, Swan Song, I Am Legend, The Children of Men, The Road, The Rising, to name just a few.
When I read that Tim Lebbon had written one I was at once excited and cautious. Don’t get me wrong, I love Tim Lebbon’s work. He is a phenomenal writer. No worry, my small concerns were quickly put aside.
Bar None is an exceptional end of the world story told through the eyes and beer of one of the few survivors.
At it’s heart I think it is more a story of a man’s love for his wife first and beer second, and how he copes with her loss set against the loss of all humanity.
It is at the same time touching and horrific. But not horrific in terms of explicit gore and bloodshed.
Each chapter is named after a beer and it is the beer that evokes the past memories of the few left in an empty world. The beer is the link to the past.
One day a stranger appears at the manor and tells them of a place called Bar None, “The Last Bar on Earth”.
They then make the decision to travel through the ravaged countryside in search of this seemingly mythical oasis.
On the way they encounter many strange people, creatures and sights. Mr. Lebbon shows beautiful restraint in giving us a glimpse of what the new world is like, without interrupting the flow of the story with over the top violence and gore. He gives us glimpses of what has happened and what will be, but he allows the story to develop within our own imagination, thus leaving more of an impact, at least to me.
The characters and their memories while dealing with the end of the world is what drives the book. The characters are beautifully developed. The detail, feelings and reactions to their memories are as exquisite as the fine ales that are tied to them.
This book is beautifully written, it is scary, thought provoking, fun and different.
Mr. Lebbon’s Bar None definitely deserves to be put up on the end of the world shelf with the great classics previously mentioned.
I will definitely be visiting Bar None again as I think there will be more to take from this book than in one read alone.
[...] Bar None by Tim [...]