BY THE FEET OF MEN BY GRANT PRICE - BOOK REVIEW

There are always important lessons to be learned in this world and one that I try to hold on to as best I can is that you should never discount anything because of what you think has come before. You come across a book and you think to yourself something along the lines of, "Well this post-apocalyptic thing has pretty much out-distanced its own legs, hasn't it? Haven't we had enough of these stories?"

The reality is one that I think is demonstrated by Grant Price's book, By the Feet of Men. In other words, it's entirely possible to take a well-traveled and maybe overused genre and make it into something special. Just like it's possible to take the most original premise you can think of and make it bland and uninteresting.

Because some things, when done with a certain degree of skill, are always going to be enjoyable. Isn't that the reason why I can continue to eat steak, over and over again?

What I like about the core drive of this book is that it has the courage to plunge the reader into the heart of the story without an easy road map to guide people along. There isn't an intricately drawn out backstory or prologue to set the mood. You are simply placed into this universe and the story begins to run.

Better keep up.

And as you read, it quickly becomes clear (or it should anyway) that most of the details you might be wishing had been present aren't really germane to the story. We are reading about these characters and the weight of their journey. That's what you should be focusing on as the reader. Not the ins and outs or the specifics about how this particular world came into being. I know there are readers out there who want the book to be a full ten-course meal with as much laid out as possible. And I'm not disparaging that point of view. But for me, I appreciate the notion that while something might spark my intellectual curiosity, it isn't necessarily something I "need" to know. I think it shows a certain amount of respect for me, and gives me a more participatory role by handing over some details and with that the freedom to fill other gaps on my own.

I'm not always a fan of stories that are largely plot-driven. It's not like the  notion is an automatic death sentence for me as a reader, but I do tend to be more on guard or maybe more skeptical when I approach such narratives.

The relevance here is that I think the strength of the plot hangs on the world and the story. For me, while the characters are interesting, they do tend to blend together a little bit. And that's a challenging hurdle to cross, as Price introduces a large number of characters in a short period of time. You get some nice insights here and there and Price weaves some interesting debates between the characters as it pertains to their mission and what drives them on this barren landscape.

And it's the landscape of the story that I think draws me in the most. The descriptions are vivid and the reality of these lives feel honest and authentic. You have to be willing to do some of the work yourself but the narrative room this creates really allows the story a chance to blossom into something special and entertaining to read.

There are books that are entertaining but you don't really feel the drive or desire to go back and read them again. This book is one of those rare examples where you enjoy it and at the same time feel excited about the notion of reading it again, to see how the story flows when you know where everything is going.

This is a fun story and while you can feel the darkness lurking underneath everything, there also isn't an overabundance of gore, if that's something that concerns you. It's a story that manages to be disturbing without being graphic, a balance I appreciate. I don't have a problem with graphic content, but I also like stories that disturb with ideas, rather than just the brutality of their words. This is a book that makes emphasis on story telling and it's a great story that it manages to tell. This is a book that would be worth your time.

BY THE FEET OF MEN BY GRANT PRICE