Pestilence by Laura Thalassa (The Four Horsemen #1)
They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all. When Pestilence comes for Sara Burn’s town, one thing is certain: everyone she knows and loves is marked for death. Unless, of course, the angelic-looking horseman is stopped, which is exactly what Sara has in mind when she shoots the unholy beast off his steed. Too bad no one told her Pestilence can’t be killed. Now the horseman, very much alive and very pissed off, has taken her prisoner, and he’s eager to make her suffer. Only, the longer she’s with him, the more uncertain she is about his true feelings towards her … and hers towards him. And now, well, Sara might still be able to save the world, but in order to do so, she'll have to sacrifice her heart in the process.
I read this book last year but I’m so anxious about the second volume finally coming out at the end of this month...
...that I decided to reread it and review it.
So this is a romance set during the Apocalypse where a woman is kidnapped by Pestilence after trying to kill him...and I still liked him. But first things first.
One of the things I loved the most about this book was that it didn’t start when the Horsemen first arrived but more than a year after that when millions of people had already died thanks to Pestilence, the world as we knew it had disappeared. Also when we meet Sara, we meet a grown woman, not a precious little girl that couldn’t possibly defend herself. This is a world where millions have died, normal life was interrupted, technology stopped working and we are back to being hunters and gatherers. The situation might not be believable but the reaction of the characters in the story are. Survivors turn into tribes and militias that distribute jobs, find alternative ways to organize themselves and communicate, cults and religious organizations becoming what most people turn to in the face of desperation.
I liked that more than starting the story in media res, Thalassa knew that the story needed time to breathe and develop, it wouldn’t do to fall in love in three days, instead, we have a very real sense of time passing.
The world building itself was amazing. The author doesn’t simply awaken mythological figures in a whim, she gives us a very good reason for why they appeared at last with allusions political unrest and environmental problems that resonate with all of us.
As for Sara and Pestilence, even though there is romance in this book, their relationship did not start immediately and it took me a while to want them to even be a couple. When this book starts Sara is desperate and resigned to do something that she is sure won’t survive and Pestilence alternates between cruel and bloody, two very human characteristics from someone that refuses any accusation of humanity. Sara spends a lot of the book being tortured by him and when I say tortured, I mean blood, guts, and tears not mean words.
Pestilence is easily perceived as monstrous, a divine entity sent to punish us for the way we have been behaving but he starts to pick up human traits and even enjoy some of them. It is in part, his innocence that makes him redeemable (for mass murder, let’s not forget just because he is pretty).
The only thing I didn’t really like in this book was the last chapter, too mushy compared to the rest of the story but I loved the very last few sentences that welcomed War.
Judging by the covers and fanart that the author has been sharing, these books are going to be not only diverse but spread all over the world, which I really love. I’m so done with the USA being the only place in the world worth destroying. We’ve been here longer!
Oh, and...
...bow to War, you puny humans!
6.5/10
