Title: Tamara Hunney
Author: Kendrew Lascelles
Publisher: Blurb.com
ISBN: 9780615505183
Pages: 311, Paperback & Kindle
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Gary Sorkin, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
A genre of its own, Tamara Hunney, sarcastically subtitled, “Soon to be a major non-fiction,” Kendrew Lascelles transports the reader upon a dark trip of de-evolution, demise and destruction. The lucky ones went quickly; the rest succumbed to the violence of the id creatures that lurk inside of humanity. The grid, instantly gone with an electro-magnetic burst of energy, so went the layers of society built upon our dependence for electricity. The grid blinked out in a pulse knocking out all the trinkets of modern day life. The new goal for humanity, the sole reason for being, was survival. Life instantly resorted to gangs and mob mayhem prevailed. Survivors camped out on top of garbage landfills, layered in filth, disease and stench, looking for useful remnants of food. Clean water and a firearm were worth more than gold. Knowing when to share the water and use the gun meant the difference between life and death.Sam had those items, and knew how to use them. Tamara needed them. With her innate sensuality she could seduce any man and get what she needed, but if not careful become a victim of rape, molestation and abuse. Sam and Tamara’s world orbited each other’s like a moth around a fire; too close and it’s over, but at arm’s length sustainable.
Laden in dialogue and unforgettable in detail, Kendrew Lascelles intellectually lassoes the reader and hog ties the story around one’s mind. There is no escaping the raw, unsightly images created of a post apocalyptic world. From Los Angeles and throughout the West nothing but poisoned water, barren of food, inhabited by survivalists similar to what Mad Max brought to our visionary senses. A bond of trust evolved as Sam and Tamara traveled where the journey, not the destination defined their individuality of self. From the darkness of a Dante purgatory, a kindle of kindness ignited hope and faith as Kendrew Lascelles reveals his genius by lacing philosophy throughout his bizarre storyline. His writing skills are phenomenal, as I am in awe just how 26 letters of the alphabet can be arranged on a mere 311 pages to engulf the reader into a book that possibly foreshadows our own frail existence. A visionary, a humanist and a lover of life, Kendrew Lascelles’ characters in Tamara Hunney will never leave the minds of those who welcome them in by reading this extraordinary work of literary art.
