BOOK REVIEW: CATHEDRAL BY DAVE JEFFERY

A welcome return to the world of ‘A Quiet Apocalypse’
​

Dave Jeffery makes a triumphant, but subtly lowkey, return to the world of A Quiet Apocalypse (2019) with Cathedral which might be regarded as both a companion novella and a sequel of sorts. This continuation is set entirely in the town of ‘Cathedral’ which although did not feature directly in the predecessor was mentioned numerous times. Readers who remember the town will be keen to find out what exactly goes on there, with the warning bells suggesting nothing good. But that might be open to debate, depending on which side of the fence (or wall) you sit, or more importantly, your ability to hear, or not as the case might be…..

If you are interested in reading my full Ginger Nuts review to A Quiet Apocalypse, then follow the link:

https://gingernutsofhorror.com/fiction-reviews/book-review-a-quiet-apocalypse-by-dave-jeffery

Although reading A Quiet Apocalypse before Cathedral is not truly necessary, this new story could be enjoyed as a standalone piece, I would suggest you will be rewarded with a richer reading experience by approaching them in the order in which they were written. Both are relatively short, in fact, one of the weaknesses of Cathedral was its brevity, I read it over a single evening and wished there were more of it. As all the action takes place in the single location, one might suggest Jeffrey might have been more ambitious in delivering a more complex story, taking in more than one POV. However, I have a feeling there is considerable more life in the series and that the next instalment will probably focus upon a different aspect of this post-apocalyptic society, and if I was a betting man I would guess it is the turn of ‘The Samaritans’ who are the hunters and policemen of Cathedral.

By way of brief recap, A Quiet Apocalypse is set some years after a mutant strain of meningitis (MNG-U) has wiped out most of mankind, the majority died horribly with symptoms which began with pneumonia before developing into bacterial meningitis and eventual death with catastrophic brain damage. The few who survived the epidemic were left deaf, an even smaller percentage retained their hearing, and the focus of the book concerns the horrible relationship which develops between those with hearing and those deprived of it. Not to mention the biggest scapegoats: those who were always deaf. The story takes place in the midlands of England, with Cathedral being located on the remnants of Birmingham. Although Cathedral is a completely new story, there is fascinating character overlap with A Quiet Apocalypse, but for the sake of spoilers I am not going to provide any details, but fans will be pleased with the overlap.

Like its predecessor, Cathedral throws out the window most of the Mad Max type stereotypes you might expect in a post-apocalyptic novel and concentrates on characterisation, developing location and presenting a very convincing but brutal system of law and order which the inhabitants of the town follow in order to exist and survive. This is the core of the novella: how main character Sarah, who narrates the entire story in the first person, exists on a day-to-day basis. This element has a serious Handmaid’s Tale vibe to it and even features similar ritualistic torture and execution which all inhabitants have to watch by law, however, what makes Cathedral different from the Margaret Atwood classic is that the women are not subjugated and this cleverly changes the dynamics of the plot moving away from the well-trodden route of women being oppressed in dystopian fiction.

A Quiet Apocalypse hinted at the emergence of a new society in the town of Cathedral and this new novella opens the door wide open and allows the reader a fascinating insider peak at a bunch of people who exist to follow ‘Chapter 9 of The Testimony’ and a psychological principle which allows for partner swopping every month. ‘Mate Month’ was a fascinating key element of the story, there is no marriage, and it recognises that everybody has physical needs, so companions (or sexual partners) change in what is one of the core principles of the way Cathedral runs. As the novella is entirely seen from Sarah’s point of view, we have an inside track of how she deals with this emotionally.

The success of Cathedral lies squarely on Sarah’s shoulders. The ‘apocalypse’ lies perhaps fifteen years in the past, which still allows for nostalgia for the ‘old life’, music, and other attachments, however, to survive in the society of Cathedral this must be discarded to the dustbin of the past. This is another similarity with The Handmaid’s Tale, all the subjugated women could clearly remember their old lives, just as Sarah could remember her previous profession as a musician, was there brainwashing or just the realisation that this type of extremism is the only way to survive? Was this life better than nothing? The novella also asks the big question of how would we deal with love and intimacy if we were to swop partners every month?

I found Cathedral to be a fascinating read and the decision to look a microscopic element of this apocalyptic world in which nobody can hear to be very clever, particularly when Sarah begins to ask questions, with the arrival of the second main character. If I were being hyper-critical, I struggled to visualise how a location as vast as Birmingham could be converted into Cathedral, with walls etc, at one point it mentions men going to work in fields. How? Surely, they would have to travel miles and miles to find a rural setting to farm?

Dave Jeffrey is a very talented and versatile writer and deserves to be much better known than he probably is. He is equally comfortable writing books for kids (Beatrice Beecham series) as he is for adults and has an impressive range, for example Cathedral is thought-provoking fiction with little action or violence, but when required he can really move through the gears with gory entertaining trash such as Tooth and Nail (werewolves) and Frostbite (Yetis). Jeffrey is an author I am always delighted to read, and Cathedral is a fine addition to his impressive back-catalogue.


Tony Jones

CATHEDRAL ... The world has changed. So have the rules.

In the silence of a quiet apocalypse, there is Cathedral. It is a city like no other, sanctuary for the survivors of a terrible plague that has deafened the world. The walls protect the small community. Rituals and laws maintain order to prevent a return to chaos.

But Cathedral is a dangerous and complex place. For citizens like Sarah and newcomer Paul it can be either home or prison.

They just have to decide where their loyalties lie…

(cover by Adrian Baldwin; central art piece by Dark Artist Roberto Segate)

---