The Baugh Contagion swept across the planet. Its victims were left twitching, adrenalized cannibals that quickly became known as Junkies. Civilization crumbled as people created isolated safe havens to hide from the infected... and the possibly-infected.
Now, as society nears a tipping point, lives will intersect and intertwine across two days in a desolate city. THE JUNKIE QUATRAIN is four tales of survival, and four types of post-apocalypse story. Because the end of the world means different things for different people. Loss. Opportunity. Hope. Or maybe just another day on the job.
The Junkie Quatrain by Peter Clines proves the author is a master of post-apocalyptic fiction. Not only does he know how to create thrilling suspense situations, Clines also has an impressive talent for manipulating POVs, carefully crafting detailed pieces of a four-dimensional puzzle. Make sure you read the intro because it provides some fabulous insight into the stories.
One story features a woman who prefers to travel alone & yet she envies the pack mentality of the infected. Her description of the Junkies made me think of cannibals on crack, suffering from a disease like rabies. Another story follows a group of "outsiders," who leave their sanctuary on a supply run; they cross paths with something more deadly than the Junkies. (Clines had me guessing until the very end.) A third story centers on a doctor, revealing the source of the Junkie infection & a dark secret at the sanctuary that serves as a home base for the outsiders. The final story is a thought-narrative by a lone survivor who doesn't like to share...but I was surprised that he didn't recognize another survivor from a pre-apocalypse encounter...I think if he had, it would had added more depth to that particular moment in the story.
The Junkies Quatrain will leave readers begging for another fix. I will definitely "roll the dice" the next time I revisit this unique collection.
As always,
AstraDaemon
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