Horizon

"Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves!"

Title: The Return
Author: Richard Maynard
Year Published: 1989
Rating: 1 Severed Head (of 5)

Summary: British astronauts return from a near light speed journey to find humans have reverted to hunter-gatherer culture. They try to fit in, spending the entire book fighting savages for their women and hunting grounds. The apocalypse is just an excuse for the author to spend 240 pages relishing the brutality of primitive life through his first-person narrator.

Setting: Our smelly little band travels from Bordeaux to Normandy via a rusty barge full of rotting pumpkins, then flees from a cannibal tribe through the Channel Tunnel. They spend some time in Kent, but the reversion of the locals to marauding sheep-theives drives them west to Windsor Castle. Eventually our narrator dies on a hilltop near Bromley, bitter and forsaken by the tribe he'd led.

Catastrophe: As best our astronauts can figure, a popular contraceptive cosmetic killed off all the adults in the world, leaving the children to fend for themselves. Some effort is spent trying to figure this out, but the evidence is contradictory and eventually the author loses interest in favor of another spear impalement.

Representative Sample:

"It's Terry!" I cried. "That must be John on the ground. Oh God!" And I ran from the room in a crazed and implacable fury. John began to scream, animal screams of pain beyond endurance that came to me high on the still morning air as I reached the roof. I cannot now recall actually descending the fire escape and running towards the sound of John's screams, but in my haste I had forgotten to bring my weapons. I had only my knife at my belt and the urge to kill overwhelming me as I ran.

They heard me coming and turned to fight. The leader already had John's head in his hands. I was oblivious of the others, he was the man I wanted. but there was one in my way. I lunged at him, my knife in hand and striking upwards. I had his beard entangled in my fingers and his guts spilling down over my other hand. Spears were driving at me. I forced onwards over the crumpling body of my first kill and straight for the leader's throat. There were noises from behind me. Reports. They meant nothing to me then. the leader was smiling strangely as his spear drove upwards for my stomach. There was a crash and an axe cleaved the spear in half. Barry stood between us. "He's mine!" I called, and Barry stepped aside. The tall man was still smiling as he came to meet me almost with an eagerness. He had no chance really, for he knew nothing of the techniques of unarmed combat. I grabbed him and tossed him flat onto the bloody surface of the street. It was absurdly easy. Then I knelt down and cut his throat with a satisfaction close to pleasure. In that instant I was as primitive as they were, intent only on revenge. In so short a time had I reverted to the basic nature of man. Then something struck my head and I fell forward into his still gushing blood.