Roger Zelazny – Damnation Alley
An old but topical Science Fiction delight.
It’s sometime in the near-ish future, and the world has been devastated by nuclear war, with only small pockets of people left alive dotted here and there. The last Hell’s Angel, Hell Tanner, has been offered a pardon for his many crimes if he drives through ‘Damnation Alley’ with a serum to stop the plague that has claimed hundreds of lives in Boston. So without much choice, he sets out from California on a drive that no-one has survived through since the war.
I can’t really comment on the ‘hero’ of the story, since Damnation Alley’s protagonist is – rather unsurprisingly, considering it’s set after nuclear fallout – much more of an Anti-Hero. Having said that however, Hell Tanner consistently comes across as a very human character. Despite his rough and somewhat violent behaviour, he has his moments of simple humanity, and you find yourself beginning to root for him, wanting him to make it through and come out of it alive. The rest of the cast are somewhat formulaic. You have the kind old couple, the upstart ‘rookies’ and the arrogant government figures. Despite this, they’re all portrayed well, with their motivations known and touched upon.
The pace of the story flows rather well, with the majority of time spent on the contemplations of the main character, instead of the action which is unfolding. Due to the nature of the story, quite a few descriptions seem to become routine, and there are occasions where the reader feels as though they’re wading through water in order to get through them. The writing itself however, although mechanical, works very well with the overall story. You won’t find much purple prose in this book, just straightforward storytelling at its best.
As one of my first forays into a Science Fiction novel that wasn’t written by Anne McCaffrey, I have to say that I enjoyed this story. The writing was sharp and to the point, with the book taking me in total about four to five hours to read. With all the news about global warming and nuclear weapons being built, it’s surprisingly as topical now as it was back in the 1970’s when it was written.
Damnation Alley is certainly a book to keep your eyes out for, especially if you’re new to the SF genre and don’t want to be thrown into the deep end with space exploration and lasers set on stun.
Recommended Audience: Older Teenagers +
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