If you are familiar with Game of Thrones, “winter is coming”
is something you've undoubtedly heard. In Snowpiercer it can be said that, “winter
is here and it is terrible”.
A post-apocalyptic tale where Earth has become similar to
the planet Hoth, and the last remains of humanity is aboard a train, a thousand
and one carriages long named the Snowpiercer. On this train you will find no
shortage of oppression, class struggle, militaristic strong-arming, genetically
engineered mice meat, and a religion centered on the train itself (Saint Loco
may you roll on forever). This however does not stop a man by the name of
Proloff from breaking out of his place in the tail of the train to try and
attain a better living situation.
Throughout the entire book, the reader is teased with what
the conditions are like in the tail car of the train, and I will not spoil it
for you here, (but I will say be prepared). When Proloff arrives in the third
class cabins, he is detained by the military and questioned. Only rumors about
the living conditions in the tail are around, and they are disgusting and for
this reason the doctor in that area wants to quarantine. There is so much that happens in this book, and so many twists and turns that it is foolish for me to attempt to tell you all about it.
I do really enjoy a great post-apocalyptic tale and this one really delivers. As someone who really prefers train rides to car and plane travel, I liked the idea of that as a means for survival in a setting like this and now I am not so sure. This book will make you think, question, and re-evaluate your end of the world strategy in the best way possible.
Leave it to the French team of writer Jacques Lob and artists Jean-Marc Rochette to create a realistic end of the world story.
