A BookViral Review Of Seven Days By G. Michael Hopf

SUMMARY: First came the plague, then came the war.

When the guns went silent and the last bombs were dropped, billions were lost and the world had become unrecognizable.

The BookViral Review: Soundly executed, smart and fast-paced, Seven Days proves a powerful and evocative read as Hopf neatly sidesteps the curse of apocalyptic cliché. There’s an unfortunate tendency to turn post-apocalyptic stories into rousing action/adventures centring on protagonists who are overly masochistic, but here Hopf breaks the mould with an intelligent lead and well-wrought dialogue as events evolve in tightly focused chapters. This isn’t to say that Seven Days doesn’t deliver on the action front. It does, but it’s measured and in the kind of gritty thought-provoking sequences that places readers alongside the main protagonists to create real visceral impact. 

With Reid, Hannah, Brienne and Michael, Hopf doesn’t tamp down the resulting sentimentality the way many authors in the apocalyptic genre seem to do; nor does he undercut it with irony which has become far too common in apocalyptic fiction. What he does do is to evoke a strong sense of place, moral choices, immoral certainties, human nature and the vagrancies of fate with Hannah’s life teetering on the edge. On this level, not only does it make for absorbing entertainment but dig a little deeper and he leaves us with something to think about beyond what proves to be a cracking ending and the promise of more to come.

As good as the genre gets with a refreshingly unpredictable story and a great cast of characters. Seven Days is one to add to your must-read list and unreservedly recommended.