James Herbert's '48 is a good example of the "last-man-on-earth" theme that has been growing in creativity and gore in recent years (compare 2004's Dawn of the Dead or Resident Evil to 1978's The Omega Man for a rather graphic representation of this progression). Set in post-World-War-II London, this book is the story of a small band of survivors struggling to flee the evil, destructive "black-shirts" in a world decimated by Hitler's last-ditch, desparate, horrific attack. The "B2" bombs, warheads filled with a devastating virus called the "blood death," have wiped out nearly all of the world's population. The only survivors are those with the extremely rare AB-negative blood type and a handful of other, less fortunate souls who survived the initial attack but are slowly dying from the blood disease nonetheless.

The story starts with an immediate pulse-pounding chase scene as the protagonist, Hoch, is pursued through the London's empty streets by a gang of murderous thugs loyal to Hitler's ideals and infected with the blood death. Their only hope for long-term survival is to capture Hoch and drain him of his healthy blood, then attempt a transfusion.

We follow Hoch down into the tunnels of London's Underground, into lavish hotel halls, and eventually to the top of the Tower Bridge, where he engineers a final standoff with the black-shirts who want his blood. Along the way, Hoch encounters a few other healthy individuals. One of them, Muriel, becomes a love interest in two drawn-out and unfortunately quite graphic sex scenes. Another, a German named Wilhelm Sterne, becomes the focus of Hoch's hatred in a series of character-development scenes that add surprising depth to the otherwise action-based plot.

The body count in '48 is unknowable. Beyond the initial deaths of billions of people worldwide due to the blood death, Hoch singlehandedly kills hundreds of black-shirts during the course of the story. In one brief but nonetheless disturbing scene shown in a flashback, Hoch runs over an insane man in the street for no reason other than the fact that the man is in his way. Hoch's female companions continually entreat him to spare the lives of his enemies ("Hasn't there been enough killing?" is a common refrain from these characters); but Herbert's protagonist is unaffected by their pleas.

This is a dark story that ends without imparting much hope for the future. It is without question entertaining--the rapidity of the plot and the well-written scenes of nonstop action see to that--and the characters are multilayered and for the most part believable. The book accomplishes exactly what it sets out to accomplish. However, due to the unoriginality of the story, the graphic sexuality, and the overwhelming scenes of violence, it is not one that I feel can be recommended.
James Herbert's '48 is a good example of the "last-man-on-earth" theme that has been growing in creativity and gore in recent years (compare 2004's Dawn of the Dead or Resident Evil to 1978's The Omega Man for a rather graphic representation of this progression). Set in post-World-War-II London, this book is the story of a small band of survivors struggling to flee the evil, destructive "black-shirts" in a world decimated by Hitler's last-ditch, desparate, horrific attack. The "B2" bombs, warheads filled with a devastating virus called the "blood death," have wiped out nearly all of the world's population. The only survivors are those with the extremely rare AB-negative blood type and a handful of other, less fortunate souls who survived the initial attack but are slowly dying from the blood disease nonetheless. The story starts with an immediate pulse-pounding chase scene as the protagonist, Hoch, is pursued through the London's empty streets by a gang of murderous thugs loyal to Hitler's ideals and infected with the blood death. Their only hope for long-term survival is to capture Hoch and drain him of his healthy blood, then attempt a transfusion. We follow Hoch down into the tunnels of London's Underground, into lavish hotel halls, and eventually to the top of the Tower Bridge, where he engineers a final standoff with the black-shirts who want his blood. Along the way, Hoch encounters a few other healthy individuals. One of them, Muriel, becomes a love interest in two drawn-out and unfortunately quite graphic sex scenes. Another, a German named Wilhelm Sterne, becomes the focus of Hoch's hatred in a series of character-development scenes that add surprising depth to the otherwise action-based plot. The body count in '48 is unknowable. Beyond the initial deaths of billions of people worldwide due to the blood death, Hoch singlehandedly kills hundreds of black-shirts during the course of the story. In one brief but nonetheless disturbing scene shown in a flashback, Hoch runs over an insane man in the street for no reason other than the fact that the man is in his way. Hoch's female companions continually entreat him to spare the lives of his enemies ("Hasn't there been enough killing? " is a common refrain from these characters); but Herbert's protagonist is unaffected by their pleas. This is a dark story that ends without imparting much hope for the future. It is without question entertaining--the rapidity of the plot and the well-written scenes of nonstop action see to that--and the characters are multilayered and for the most part believable. The book accomplishes exactly what it sets out to accomplish. However, due to the unoriginality of the story, the graphic sexuality, and the overwhelming scenes of violence, it is not one that I feel can be recommended.