The End of the World Running Club: The ultimate race against time post-apocalyptic thriller

Product Information

Du weißt nicht, was das heißt, jemanden zu beschützen [...] was es heißt, nicht beschützt zu werden. Du hast keine Ahnung, wie wichtig das ist. Einfach für jemanden da zu sein. [...] weil du nur für dich selbst da bist. [...] Weil du nie Vater werden wirst. Vielleicht hast du recht, und dich braucht niemand zu beschützen. Vielleicht bist du es einfach nicht wert." (S. 150) Ich war kein Jäger, kein Handwerker, kein Krieger. Ich wusste nichts und ich konnte nichts und garantiert nicht für meine Familie sorgen." (S. 58) We laughed. Nobody really bought it. It was summer; it was hot. This had to be a joke, some kind of reality TV prank. That’s what people said: “It’s a joke.” I think the supermarkets had a brief surge of cheery panic buyers, but hardly anyone really grasped what was happening. We’re idiots. Creatures of denial who have learned not to be afraid of our closets. We need to see the monster in the room before we scream. In most running clubs you, you know, run. While a small part of this book is certainly about running (and it's clear our author has experienced a runners wall, high and all the emotions and pains that come with it); the reality is it's really just your average the world went to hell the moment we lost amenities book. The attempted scary, philosophical mini side stories fall flat. It's so sad to me that Walker created a world where so many things could be done and instead there is no depth to these events.

The End of the World Running Club by Adrian Walker The End of the World Running Club by Adrian Walker

I waffled a bit on my rating for this book. I definitely had some grumbles while reading it, but then I got to that ending, one of the most perfect endings I've ever read, and my earlier protests felt petty. A good friend of mine has grumbled, "There's no happy endings with you, is there?" about my writing and my taste in books, shows, and films, and it's all too true. I thought this ending was bittersweet perfection. Tragic, but hopeful, and I love that. I pulled out and the car stalled. A BMW X5 screeched to a halt by our hood and the pinched-faced,platinum-blond horror of a woman behind the wheel began shouting and banging her hands on the dashboard. Her husband wagged a loose, open fist at me, sneering with a mouth full of greasy dead animal matter. More car horns, more screams. I raised a hand in apology and pulled away. Loud, rattling footsteps on wooden stairs. Another bang, then silence again. A police siren whooped twice, far in the distance, possibly in Edinburgh itself. Faces at the window trying to get in, trying to get to us. One of the square panes of glass in the door broke and a fist came through it. What recurring symbols or themes did you see throughout the book, and how do you feel they support Edgar’s journey or development?

These early starts had been going on since Christmas. We had tried all the advice in the books, from friends and family. An Aussie who claimed to have once run the breadth of Australia. Needless to say, the big guy didn't believe a word of it. However it is a real thriller of a book which doesn't disappoint, and oh-my-goodness what a beginning it has. It hooks you in right from the start, and after that resistance is futile, as you can barely put it down.

The End of the World Survivors Club - Goodreads The End of the World Survivors Club - Goodreads

I'm actually not sure why I kept reading The End of the World Running Club to the end. So let's look at what was good and what was bad. Edgar Hill is a very flawed human being, but he achieves something remarkable. Would you call him a hero and why/why not?

I think this does a good job of contemplating the differences between living and surviving, and how what seems muddled in one state is crystal clear in another. Along the way they encounter some very difficult circumstances. Being at the army base they have been pretty shielded from the worst of it. Once they leave they see what has really become of the country, and its citizens. They have all had to do things to survive. Bad things. Violent things. Selfish things. None of them have lasted this long without acquiring some taint on their souls. Don’t get me wrong—I loved my wife and I loved my kids, but that doesn’t mean to say I had to be happy about it. For me, then at least, being a husband and father meant being simultaneously exhausted and terrified. I was like a man on a cliff edge, nodding off. Love my wife. Love my kids. You have to take care with your tenses when the world ends. I heard my name called. Once, twice, then a third time louder. I jerked awake. I was sitting down; my arms were folded, stiff with inaction. The air was full of noise and movement. Screams, colors flashing by, something tugging at my trouser leg. I tried to focus. A red, urgent face was looking down on me, shouting. The world is scorched, people die, horribleness ensues, and through it all our annoying, whiny lead character (an overweight, disengaged father of 2) leads us on his painfully boring trek.

The End of the World Running Club - Goodreads The End of the World Running Club - Goodreads

I enjoyed reading this one but it was nothing spectacular.The story was entertaining but had a few holes in it due to badly explained moments. Grimes was my favourite character but her death was ridiculous to me because she was a skilled soldier but managed to be the only one killed by some strongmen with guns.Most of the characters annoyed me especially the protagonist which I think was the point because he had a loving family and his health but he still managed to be the biggest crybaby in the book.However, I think he was the most realistic character because many of us will find faults in everything,even after the end of the world.Nope, that's not it at all. Ed is just being Ed; complaining and whining about exercise because he hates to do it. While the post-apocalyptic novel has been done many, many times, Walker’s take on it is a good one. As well as the tensions within the group, there are the encounters with other survivors. Of course, the extremes of human behaviour are exhibited: the group do their best to maintain decency, but there are those whose focus on their own survival leads them just one tiny step short of cannibalism. Gross cruelty, selfishness, cowardice and a hunger for power are countered with valour, incredible kindness, amazing generosity and altruism. The words actually caught in my throat. Ridiculous. I felt dizzy, the way you do when you’re a child about to call out for your parents in the night.