Barricade

Name: Barricade
Brand: Hachette UK
Availability: InStock
Author: Jon Wallace
ISBN: 9781409156291

Author: Jon Wallace

Narrator: Rupert Degas

Unabridged: 8 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Gollancz

Published: 06/19/2014

Categories: Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Epic, Action & Adventure

Synopsis

Kenstibec was genetically engineered to build a new world, but the apocalypse forced a career change. These days he drives a taxi instead.

A fast-paced, droll and disturbing novel, BARRICADE is a savage road trip across the dystopian landscape of post-apocalypse Britain; narrated by the cold-blooded yet magnetic antihero, Kenstibec.

Kenstibec is a member of the 'Ficial' race, a breed of merciless super-humans. Their war on humanity has left Britain a wasteland, where Ficials hide in barricaded cities, besieged by tribes of human survivors. Originally optimised for construction, Kenstibec earns his keep as a taxi driver, running any Ficial who will pay from one surrounded city to another.

The trips are always eventful, but this will be his toughest yet. His fare is a narcissistic journalist who's touchy about her luggage. His human guide is constantly plotting to kill him. And that's just the start of his troubles.

On his journey he encounters ten-foot killer rats, a mutant king with a TV fixation, a drug-crazed army, and even the creator of the Ficial race. He also finds time to uncover a terrible plot to destroy his species for good - and humanity too.

Read by Rupert Degas

(p) 2014 Orion Publishing Group

About Jon Wallace

Jon Wallace is an author based in London, England. He has been a barman, postman, till jockey, actor, help-liner, pollster and charity comms bloke. His hobbies include walking pooches and listening to his wife sing her way around the flat. His debut novel, 'Barricade', is out now from Gollancz - Part 1 in the Kenstibec Trilogy. Part 2, 'Steeple', is published in 2015http://jonwallace.co/

About Rupert Degas

Rupert Degas has narrated over a hundred audiobooks. He has recorded a diverse range of authors, from Andy McNab, James Patterson, Wilbur Smith and Chris Ryan to children's authors such as Derek Landy, Darren Shan, Jamie Rix and Philip Pullman. He has narrated books by Patrick Rothfuss, Haruki Murakami, Mervyn Peake, Rose Tremain and Cormac McCarthy as well as recording classics from Kafka, Conan-Doyle, Lovecraft and Wilde. Rupert has lent his voice to numerous cartoons, including Mr Bean, Robotboy, Gumball, Thomas & Friends and Bob the Builder and has performed in over fifty radio productions for BBC Radio 4, including The Brightonomicon and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He spent eighteen months in the West End performing in Stones in his Pockets and was in the original London cast of the smash-hit comedy The 39 Steps.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Arnis on February 08, 2020

[URL not allowed]......more

Goodreads review by Siobhan on March 13, 2016

I’m always excited when I win a book in a Goodreads giveaway (I’m sure everyone is) and it was the same with Barricade. I should probably start out by saying I’m not the biggest of sci-fi fans. I generally enjoy a good sci-fi read and I’ve been meaning to read more, yet the list of sci-fi books I ha......more

Goodreads review by Giles on May 08, 2014

It's rare to read such a page-turner in this genre - Wallace keeps up such a pace from start to finish, one barely gets a moment to catch one's breath. The closest comparison I can think of is Neal Stephenson, with Barricade's dark setting, constant action beats and wry humour. However Wallace stands......more

Goodreads review by Jasper on October 23, 2014

originally posted at:[URL not allowed] Barricade is another of the many debuts that Gollancz is bringer to you this year, so far they have kept on delivering some very great reads: The Boy with the Porcelain Blade, The Incorruptibles, The Seventh Miss Hatfield. These all were v......more

Goodreads review by A.M. on July 06, 2021

Barricade is a highly cinematic, top-quality SF action adventure. In a post-apocalyptic Britain, replicant-like androids called "'ficials" fight against the last surviving humans: the bunker dwelling "Reals". So far, so trope, but what makes Barricade original and interesting is the POV: the story f......more

Quotes

I found Barricade to be a fast-paced action adventure, full of dilemmas that need to be overcome. The book left me with many questions, two of which were: Why is there always fear of the unknown? Does being logical mean you always know best? Fantasy Book Review

Jon Wallace keeps the pace up, delivering inense setpieces alongside plenty of twisted humour and bone-crunching violence SFX

A superb, powerful, perfectly-paced debut that I found myself galloping through - clearly a writer we should be keeping an eye on. Hugely recommended Forbidden Planet International

Barricade is like one of those clever teachers that manages to educate through fun and amusement. More than that though its a book that can be enjoyed on many levels. You can just enjoy the ride; the crazily constructed story and crafty characters or you can enjoy the messages it subtly imparts SF Book

Compelling, fast paced and full of action, some very violent, the story moves through a series of set pieces told in the first person, cleverly from a Ficial's perspective. What makes this book a little different is the dual narrative strands: before and after the journey; a dislocation of time We Love This Book

BARRICADE is a refreshingly short and sweet addition to the genre Reader Dad

Jon Wallace presents a powerful portrait of a destroyed Britain, full of intriguing landscapes and settlements, as well as glimpses into the world and society that preceded it Forwintersnights

Jon Wallace, I warrant, is one to watch Tor.com

I'm not looking for a sanitised, clinical apocalypse. I want a writer to bring the world to an end with a BANG, not a whimper. The writing needs to revel in the anarchy and chaos, unleash a bit of mayhem. I'm glad to say BARRICADE manages to do exactly that The Eloquent Page

even a machine would find it tough not to enjoy the glee with which Jon Wallace breaks the world apart Sci-Fi Now