Death Is A Welcome Guest by Louise WelshAuthor Website Amazon (UK) Amazon.com John Murray (hardback), 2015
384 Pages
What It's About
Magnus McFall was a comic on the brink of his big break when the world came to an end. Now, he is a man on the run and there is nothing to laugh about.
Thrown into unwilling partnership with an escaped convict, Magnus flees the desolation of London to make the long journey north, clinging to his hope that the sickness has not reached his family on their remote Scottish island.
He finds himself in a landscape fraught with danger, fighting for his place in a world ruled by men, like his fellow traveller Jeb - practical men who do not let pain or emotions interfere with getting the job done.
This is a world with its own justice, and new rules.
Where people, guns and food are currency.
Where survival is everything.
Opening Sentence
London was hotter than Mumbai that summer, hotter then Beirut, hotter than hell, or so people said.
What I Thought
I loved Death Is a Welcome Guest, the second book in Welsh's Plague Times trilogy. I loved the first book, A Lovely Way to Burn as well.
This novel reminds me of the TV series, The Walking Dead. I'm a huge fan of the programme so this is meant as a complement. While there are no walkers in this novel, certain elements such as groups of survivors forming a community remind me of the show.
Death Is a Welcome Guest isn't connected to A Lovely Way to Burn. The books and presumably the final book are linked by the plague but the stories are self-contained. I find this really interesting for a trilogy. Welsh makes this work really well.7
I enjoyed Death Is a Welcome Guest from start to finish. The characters are really good. I thought Marcus and Jeb were great characters. I liked the fact they're so different from Stevie in A Lovely Way to Burn. I found the second half much stronger when things go a little crazy.
I'd highly recommend Death Is a Welcome Guest and can't wait to see what Welsh produces in the final book in the trilogy.
