4.5 out of 5 stars
Originally published as three novellas partially based (set in the same world) as Steven Konkoly’s Perseid Collapse series – Pilgrimage (which I can’t spell to save my life) takes a normal family and throws them into extraordinary situations. Will they survive or will they perish? Will this new world be too much for them?
Coined as the everyday family surviving type of a book – I wasn’t sure where Abrahams was going to go with it (but if you’re familiar with me, you know that I love his work). Pilgrimage starts in Maine (one of my all time favorite places and we meet a family who is out on vacation trying to relax a bit from their crazy lives (and getting over a death from the pandemic also based on a Konkoly story). We meet the Rockwell family and are introduced to the father a high school teacher.
James Rockwell (Rock) was one of those unforgettable types of characters. He’s not quite to the level of Marcus Battle but was memorable in different ways. The high school teacher was a nice touch – he was able to talk about science and some of the what was happening more than the average post-apocalyptic character can (and I enjoyed that thoroughly).
They are very quickly thrown into the muck when things on their remote island start to go off the rails. They are forced to survive by any means necessary and find out more about themselves and each other as things get harder and harder. I loved watching the family get by and the interaction between the kids, wife, and Rock. It was interesting to see them concerned for each other but also to play off each other’s strengths.
I can’t go much more into what this family endured, but the ending (and last third of the book or so) was a total roller coaster of emotions and action. I wasn’t sure just what was going to happen. I want to quote the ending but it would give too much away.
The changing from book to book wasn’t as harsh as I was expecting it to be and they really worked well together. Couple that together with Pierce’s narration and you have another wonderfully written and performed post-apocalyptic books. I requested a copy of this audiobook and it has not affected my review in any way.