Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (3 stars)

One of the most unusual post-apocalyptic novels I've read, which is saying something, because I have pretty good coverage of the genre :) But unfortunately it's not unusual in a good way.

If you're hoping to geek out on the best ways to defend against zombies/vampires/cannibals, fantasize about food and water collection ideas, foraging strategies, communications, travel etc. Forget about it. There's essentially none of that in this novel, and what is there doesn't hold up to critical scrutiny.

The novel actually spends a lot of time analysing the current-day activities and relationships of an actor, and then tracks the experiences of people who interacted with him as they live through the apocalypse. It uses a lot of different points of view, which dilutes most of the meaningful character development. I found the premise of a troupe of Shakespearean actors travelling the country "because survival is insufficient" intriguing, but it didn't really go anywhere interesting.

The author is a talented writer, but the novel meanders around without really getting anywhere plot-wise. Plenty of starkly beautiful scenes are created: an airport serving as a last human outpost, a technology museum created to show future generations marvels that were lost, people united by an obscure collection of art in a comic book across time and space. While I found all of that mildly interesting, and reasonably enjoyable to read, there was no spark.

I feel sorry for all the future English students that will be working on unpicking all the metaphors and weighty questions this novel poses in the absence of a compelling story.

3 stars.