By the Feet of Men

Starred review from May 20, 2019
Disastrous climate changes and radiation have ravaged Earth, and humankind’s future depends on a convoy of supply truck drivers in Price’s unforgiving dystopia. Ghazi and Cassady are Runners, delivering supplies to settlements across Germany’s ruins in a truck named Warspite. Price maintains a good balance between reflection and thrills as Ghazi, Cassady, and three other Runner teams undertake a critical medical supply run to the Italian desert. The weather, desperate survivors, and extreme religions conspire to form a brutal world, vividly depicted through Price’s economical yet evocative prose and accentuated by the Runners’ psychology. Hostility among the Runners and Cassady’s failing nerve for his dangerous job add to the tension as the convoy approaches the biggest barrier between them and their goal: the fortified state in the Alps. Price (Static Age) employs clever, precise writing that’s evocative and atmospheric without venturing into gory horror. This truly grim version of the future will keep readers riveted.