I was persuaded to read Pestilence after I saw @phantomrin artwork for it on Instagram. The concept of it intrigued me and I wondered how the author would handle such a novel topic. Pestilence is set in our world after the arrival of the four horsemen, they have sent out an EMP causing humans to be living without as many of their modern comforts. The horsemen disappeared and then Pestilence returned. The book kicks off with our heroine Sara as she attempts to take the horseman’s life. However, he can’t be killed, and she becomes his prisoner.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I originally thought it would be really weird, but it was actually wonderfully done. Throughout the course of the book there is a really natural relationship development between Sara and Pestilence. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to them – I literally started the book and finished it within one afternoon. The book is told from Sara’s perspective and I loved how it let you see how her feelings towards the horseman change gradually.
I found some of the more ‘romantic’ scenes to be particularly enjoyable, but I don’t want to give too much away. Suffice to say they were probably some of my favourite scenes in the book – those and when Pestilence gets attacked. The change in how Sara reacts to them and how she feels felt very believable.
This book did make me cry, only once, at a scene where Pestilence and Sara come across an old couple.
The epilogue literally destroyed me, and I cannot wait until the next book ‘War’ comes out in the spring. I am interested in how it will be done, I’m wondering whether it will focus more on War himself or on how it affects Sara and Pestilence.
The only thing I found difficult in the book was the confusion about how the horseman had actually affected the world. Like some houses have electricity and others don’t. There still is TV and a concept of media but no internet. I found some of that a bit hard to follow.
Overall, I would recommend this book to any adult readers, I gave it a 5/5 which I’ve found to be pretty rare coming from me!
The London Faerie 