The Savage Boy by Nick Cole

Published by Harper Voyager on February 26, 2013

The Savage Boy is set in the same post-apocalyptic future as The Old Man and the Wasteland. We learn a bit more about the cause of the apocalypse than the first novel reveals, but that's secondary to the very personal stories that occupy the heart of these novels.

Before he died from radiation poisoning, Staff Sergeant Presley told Boy to go west, to find the Army, to tell them there's nothing left. But it's been more than twenty years since Presley set out from Oakland to search for the remnants of a government in Washington, D.C. Boy carries Presley's map, the word "Gone" written next to many cities, others marked with "slavers" and "plague" and "white supremacists." San Francisco and Reno belong to the Chinese. As Boy makes his way west, he hears Presley's advising voice as if accompanied by a ghost. Presley was his teacher, his mentor, the closest thing he had to a father.

During his journey, Boy meets a gang led by Rock Star and an army of salvagers led by MacRaven. Both leaders want Boy to help them fight the Chinese. Boy's own agenda is to carry out Presley's mission, although he wonders whether anything could be left of the American Army.

Boy's past, his life before Presley, is cloudy. The journey he takes is largely a search for his own identity, a search for meaning. The war that destroyed the country is long over and Presley is gone. It's time for Boy to pick his own battles, to choose his own allies, to make a life that is his own. It might even be time for Boy to think for himself, to reject some of Presley's teachings.

Although The Savage Boy lacks the degree of pathos that makes The Old Man and the Wasteland so compelling, in part because it is easier to relate to the Old Man than to the mostly silent Boy, the story is not without emotion. The last third of the novel develops an odd love story that isn't entirely convincing (although after an apocalypse, an exchange of glances might be all it takes to fall in love). I did, however, like the theme: to find his identity, the disabled Boy needs to find someone who makes him complete. The last several chapters send the story in an entirely different direction as Boy's life again changes course. Although I didn't feel the same affection for Boy that I felt for the Old Man, the unpredictable plot consistently held my attention.

The Savage Boy is written in the same stark, straightforward, fast moving style that characterizes The Old Man and the Wasteland. Like the first novel, this one blends action and philosophy. I think the first novel delivers a stronger message, but The Savage Boy has enough depth to set it apart from most post-apocalyptic fiction. Although it works nicely as a stand-alone story, the ending ties the second novel in with the first. The last few paragraphs will therefore be more meaningful to readers who are familiar with the first novel.

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