Wasteland Saga - Book review.

Welcome back to my blog. I have recently returned from holiday in Spain. Whilst there I hammered through a few post apocalyptic novels. I will review them here and do my best not to drop any spoilers into the review. As this is a wargaming blog I will try to point out what ideas can be used for the table top.

I have read novels by Nick Cole @NickColeBooks and Benjamin Wallace @BenMWallace . In this blog post I will be reviewing the books by Nick Cole.

I read three novels by Nick Cole which are a series. The novels are The Old Man and the Wasteland, The Savage Boy and The Road is a River (also available as a single book called The Wasteland Saga).

The Old Man and the Wasteland:

For me this was the second read of this novel. I picked it up as I had little to read just before going on Holiday. It was only then a dim and distant light in the back of my skull blinked on and I remembered Nick Cole tweeting me some time back saying that he had written sequels. I immediately had to download them.

The novel is set some 40 years after a nuclear war. It focuses on a Old Man who leaves his village to go on a epic salvage exhibition in the cursed wastelands.

The novel is well written and at the exciting bits it is a real page turner. There are plenty of plot twists and interesting characters and encounters. I recommend this novel to any fan of the Post Apocalyptic genre.

For the Post Apocalyptic role player or table top gamer there is plenty to inspire. Small skirmishes and escapes the Old Man gets into. There is the Old Man's village (old industrial complex with the usual fallout style shacks), a few places along the Old Man's journey, a tribe and at least two major battles. This would keep any gamer going for a while.

The Savage Boy:

The Savage Boy is the second book in the series. It is set in the same setting but it is a different story. The novel follows a Boy and the pre war Army Sergeant who took the him in. The Sergeant is trying to finish a mission he was given in the countries dying years. The tale takes you through many events and emotions. Life after the end of the world isn't easy!

Like the first book there is many encounters and great characters. This book explores the world in more detail. You get to see what had happened and how the world has changed (or in some cases devolved!). It is a great read and a real page turner.

I really liked this novel as it packed with great ideas for you to use. Many tribes and lots of great characters. Lots of adventure and battles to repeat on the tabletop. There is a Chinese remnant/enclave in the novel and I can clearly picture using Copplestone 19^th Century Chinese for these forces. I have added this to my ever increasing hobby to do list.

The Road is a River:

The Road is a River is the third installment in the series. The Old Man is back and Nick Cole cleverly mixes to two tales together. It is a mix that works well.

In this novel the Old Man's people receive a strange message pinned on a dead man in a old times dune buggy. As a result the Old Man heads out across the wasteland in desperate rescue mission. This tale visits many places and there is a crazy warlord (aren't they all?) out there.

The Old Man makes a few friends and a few enemies a long the road. Again it has a few hidden twists and plenty of excitement.

For the table top has plenty of things to inspire. There are plenty of battles and lots of tribes to emulate.

In short these books are great post apocalyptic adventures which have given me lots of ideas. They are highly detailed. There is lots of excitement, lots of fantastic factions and tribes. There is a couple of reoccurring themes in the novels which are key to main characters however these do not detract from tales. The novels left me with a serious book hangover. I would love to read more adventures in this setting with some of the other characters (hint hint!). One measure for me of any book is would I read it again? Yes I would re-read all three again (and again). I recommend these books to any fan of the post apocalyptic genre.

Go grab a read and enjoy! Thank you for reading.