The Aussie Zombie

3.5 stars

If you've ever had to get up in the middle of the night to catch a flight, you'll know how disorientating it is to have to get up at 3am - you tell yourself that you need to go to bed at 8pm the night before, but the sun is still up and you can't sleep, so you stay up until 10, or 11, and then hate yourself for it when the alarm finally goes off.

In The Age of Miracles however this becomes the reality of life, with the rotation of the earth slowing, nights and days become longer and longer and everyone has to adapt to a new way of living.

As an almost obsessive apocalyptic fan, I had high hopes for The Age of Miracles, but the books is very different than I thought it would be. More of a coming-of-age story than a tale of the apocalypse, it's told through the eyes of 11 year old Julia who is also struggling friendships, boys and her parents relationship which seems to be falling apart.

Particularly interesting for me though was the theory of 'clock time' that the government institutes, and causes a direct clash between those that live by the clock, and those that live 'traditionally' - sleeping when it's dark, awake when it's light. As the days and nights become longer, the lives of the two groups become more and more distanced from each other.

I did have a few issues with the writing itself - it's very lyrical and full of quotable lines, but that doesn't ring completely true for a story with such a young protagonist, and nor did it satisfy my world-building cravings - I wanted more of what was happening in the wider world and the global effects of the change.

I think if it had been written from a different perspective, I would have enjoyed this one a lot more, but the audiobook version was particularly engaging - I'm not sure how it would translate in written form, but I fear it would be far too slow moving for me.

If you like coming-of-age stories with a unique scenario I think this could be the book for you. But if you're looking for a fast-paced post-apocalyptic romp it may be a little disappointing.

Read more of my reviews at The Aussie Zombie