BY THE FEET OF MEN by Grant Price @MekongLights

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Dystopian, post climate change

I was really impressed by this book, set during an unspecified time in the future when all that has been predicted about our destruction of the planet's ecosystem has come to pass.  Across Europe, meagre supplies of fresh water, medical supplies and other essential cargoes are delivered between settlements by 'Runners' - the drivers of huge trucks.  The stars of this book are two of these Runners, Ghazi and Cassady - who are called on to make a delivery to deep in the Italian desert, where scientists are working on a way of reversing the 'change'.

'Standing in their way are starving nomads, crumbling cities, hostile weather and a rogue state hell-bent on the convoy's destruction'

I read the paperback version of this book, unusual for me as I prefer to read on Kindle, but I'd just like to say how well-presented it is, and I am pleased that I now own it.  

As for the story itself, the world-building is terrific, totally believable, inventive and clearly well-researched, with details building up gradually to present a full picture of this fantasy world that may or may not be a taste of what lies ahead for humanity.  The atmosphere is just as it should be for a story about a dying planet; it's raw, dark, sinister, and there is also a certain strength, cameraderie and resignation of their circumstances between the characters that keeps you rooting for them.  Aside from anything else, they know only the world they now inhabit; they refer to the actions of the ancestors who destroyed the world within which they now have to scratch an existence.

This is only this author's second published novel, and he clearly has a lot of talent.  Definite recommendation for anyone who is interested in this genre, or loves reading about resolute men and women overcoming adverse circumstances in a hostile landscape.