An apocalyptic thriller that is unusal and unique. John Shirley took every apocalyptic theme and threw them out, centering this one in Charleston, South Carolina where the tropical storms that would ocassionally rock this coast are now a daily occurence. When most people would abandon hope and leave this forsaken area, we find survivors that refuse to be driven out by something as trivial as Mother Nature's worst. The setting alone is so unique, you really need to read this book. Add in some thick skinned characters who refuse to lose and the cyberpunk elements mixed into the doomsday settings, and you've got your next book picked for you.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. Think of 'Mad Max' only wetter. The story is very narrow as a dective story set in a dystopian future. The details of how the world got this way are less important than the who-dun-it. Not great but worth the time.

With the entire east coast affected by climate change, it is basically an inhospitable, storm ravaged area with 365 days a year hurricanes. Living in South Carolina, many people are stranded and attacked by thugs and predators. An overall good post-apocalyptic read!

4.25 stars--STORMLAND by John Shirley is a near-future, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk detective thriller set in the year 2039.

Told from third person perspective following several intersecting paths STORMLAND focuses on what was once Charleston, South Carolina and the eastern seaboard of the USA. An environmental apocalypse has rendered the eastern seaboard inhospitable and mostly under water as daily hurricanes and storms ravage the shores and the remaining few who are willing to fight but those who remain behind are caught up in a game controlled by the rich and powerful, leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake. Enter former US Marshall Darryl Webb, who has been tasked with returning an escaped serial killer, a killer who is unlike anyone Darryl has ever met. As the number of bodies increase, Webb and his Stormland counterpart Gerald, begin to notice a pattern, including a physical injury between the victims.

STORMLAND is a story of power and control; of manipulation and murder; of nano-technology and mind control. John Shirley pulls the reader into a dark, edgy world of constant storms, and haunting virtual realities. The tragic few who remain struggle to survive against the odds, odds that worsen as technology, designer synthetic drugs, and the collapse of the city begin to take its’ toll. The character driven premise thought provoking, gritty and edgy; the characters are tragic, desperate and wounded.



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I rather enjoyed several of the authors other books. This one had a very different feel to it.

Charleston, South Carolina, and the rest of the Southeast, has been decimated by never ending hurricanes and storms. Yet people still live there; refugees from the rest of the world. The streets are flooded, the buildings are compromised and moldy, the rats and crabs eat the debris and the dead and life is generally miserable.

Into this vividly described setting, a billionaire and his son crash their hurricane surfing jet and a bounty hunter and his guide arrive in search of a missing murderer. In their own ways, they all become important to the folks living there; who are under attack from a billionaire and his desire for the ultimate experience.

It takes a while to get into the book as the characters keep arriving from every corner. Things are not clear for a long time in regards to the plot but they do come together quite satisfactorily at the end. Not an enjoyable novel in some respects but quite interesting in others. Worth a read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley.

Usually I enjoy a good sci-fi, dystopian book but I'm not sure this book was for me. I was a little lost in the beginning with all the different POVs and the storylines were a bit unclear. The second half was better and answered some questions but I wasn't really invested in the characters by that point.

I will say that the title of the book says it all though. If you're into storms, the descriptions were outstanding.

Overall I gave this a two star rating because I don't think it was for me. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book!

I love a good post-apocalyptic story, and I completely got one in Stormland! I loved that the story made me feel the danger from the weather, from the travel, and from the people. It created a heart racing, edge-of-your-seat roller-coaster ride that I didn't want to get off of.

I really enjoyed the characters. They fill the story out. The storm is always there, it might get quiet for a bit, but it always comes back, and I felt like I could rely on that throughout the story. The characters though, there was so much surprise, change, and growth, it complimented the steadiness of the roaring weather really well.

I think that readers that enjoy a sci-fi post-apocalyptic story will really enjoy this one!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I have never read a book by this author, so I really didn’t know what to expect. It was only about a third of the way into this that I found who this author was and his accomplishments. Anyway, this book was a storm-filled, atmospheric-loaded thriller of how the spirit of humanity lives on even when in the worst of situations. Webb starts out his job of finding a killer and ends up realizing that people kill for many reasons when put in a no-win situation. I am not a huge fan of post-apocalyptic books, but this one was very good. The author was a master at making the reader feel everything that was going on around the characters even if sometimes I didn’t know the characters as well as I would have liked. This is a standalone well-worth a read. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

thanks to netgalley for providing me with the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

the story was fun, though the plot was kind of vague and not clear in the first half of the book. we spend a large amount of time getting to be introduced to the characters. then the second half answers some of the questions posed in the first half and is much more action oriented. well-written but i expected more for the characters to be interwoven in the story rather than telling and not showing.

Stormland by John Shirley is a superb and engrossing read which will keep you reading until the end. Well worth the read!

Stormland by John Shirley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Without spoiling it for anyone, I'll just go ahead and confirm that the blurb on this book is right on target for what you should expect.

Storms, storms, storms.

What you should also expect is chaos. Lots of floating bodies. A technothriller with cyberpunk aspects perfectly in line with John Shirley's earlier novels, but rather than taking a revolutionary tack, this feels more like a survival/mystery/thriller. The chaos is much more than the storms, although they also feature very prominently.

I will say, right off the bat, that if you like the complicated and deeply detailed styles of Sean Stewart's Galveston or the feel of some of Tim Power's darker, modern-placed novels, then I can promise you that you'll probably enjoy this very much.

As for the story's conclusion, leaving aside spoilers, I'm not entirely sure I believe the kind of partnership, but there are plenty of internal reasons why it ought to work, so I'm not complaining that much. I prefer good cyberpunk chaos anyway. Nothing says that unlikely friendships CAN'T happen.

It certainly happens here.

This book is set in a future in which climate change has decimated most of the world. Great strides have been made in technology which allow certain people to control others and as usual the rich are the evil ones. Instead of using the nano techniques to benefit mankind, they insert themselves into the minds of others and control all their actions.
The story line is not at all clear in the first half of the book while characters and different POV are introduced. The descriptions of their environment are great, but you spend your time waiting to find out why all these people are doing what they are doing. The second half answers some of these questions and is much more action oriented. Well written and edited but I never connected with the characters.
This book was obtained from Netgalley. Thank you to the author and publisher.