Started: 22nd August 2023
Ended: 27th August 2023
Rating: 5/5
One thing that has stuck with me since the Covid-pandemic is how humanity handled such a crisis. On one side, we had the men and women who worked long hours, trying to do their public duty. On the other, we had the fear mongers and liars driven by selfish means, only a few who have been named and shamed in the media. Whether a vaxer or an anti-vaxer, the pandemic shaped all of our worlds and influenced the way we have become.
So it wouldn’t surprise some readers that such a dark moment in history became a source of inspiration for writers. It certainly did for author, C.J. Tudor’s The Drift (2023), a horror thriller whose moral grey characters bring forth the very outcomes experienced in Covid in suspenseful fashion.
Honestly, it is nice to see my interests in the thriller genre expand to authors that are not Jo Nesbo, Catriona Ward or Stieg Larsson.
And C.J. Tudor has certainly earned a spot on my expanding shelf.
Set in a world being ravaged by a virus, The Drift follows three narrators; Hannah, the daughter of the head professor seeking a solution to all the madness, Meg, a former police officer still haunted by the death of her daughter and Carter, a disfigured member of a group of survivors, who are ‘farming’ vaccines for the rich and powerful. Each find themselves in precarious situations; Hannah in an overturned couch buried in snow, Meg in a cable car stuck thousands of feet above ground and Carter in The Retreat, a place of scientific study that is slowly losing power and resources. Asides from the never-relenting snowstorm, the characters must not only contend with their current situations but also feral wildlife, institutional corruption, a terrorist-organization (REM) and the deranged infected known as The Whistlers. However, perhaps the most deadly is themselves, leading to an important question; how far will they go to survive.
If my list hasn’t already made it clear, the world C. J. Tudor presents to readers is an unforgiving one. It is dark and, if the snowstorm isn’t symbolic enough, claustrophobic, where time is of the essence and the suspense and dread is all too real. Normally I’m put off by apocalyptic-themed stories. Especially ones inspired by real-life pandemics. Covid was depressing enough thank you very much. However, C.J. Tudor’s characters are so complicit, readers can’t help but be drawn to them and their dilemmas. As mentioned already, the characters in The Drift are morally grey. There are no good or bad guys, a point even stated by Carter; the story’s anti-hero. While both Meg and Hannah did convince me of their struggle and grief, it was Carter I found myself neither liking nor disliking, ultimately choosing to pity him by the story’s conclusion. Life during a pandemic is no sunshine and roses. However whichever character readers are drawn to they will agree The Drift provides a non-bias perspective, something I don’t often see in theme-inspired stories.
The events and characters in The Drift painted a picture of what could have been. Which is a scary thought, so don’t dwell on it. Especially with all this talk about the ‘Eris’ variant coming out of the woodwork. Still if readers are looking for a story to prepare themselves for the inevitable, C.J.Tudor’s story will be a great ‘what if’ guide into the world of tomorrow. Though fingers-crossed that it never does.
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