Review: Fallout, Wil Mara
Although Wil Mara’s Fallout appears to be quite well-researched with regards to previous nuclear disasters, it seems almost too packed with detail.
There’s no right or wrong length for a novel. Short ones can end up being the most devastating, while longer works may feel as though they paid their writers by the word. Wil Mara’s Fallout feels like it is simultaneously too long and not long enough.
The story goes something like this: Silver Lake, Pennsylvania, has a nuclear power plant nearby, one that has some safety issues. When a massive storm hits the plant, the safety issues make themselves apparent on the unsuspecting small town. Mara follows several different characters as they attempt to survive the, well, fallout.
Overall, the book receives a 2.5/5 stars from me. While I liked the concept, the research, and the multiple perspectives, the book ends up feeling oddly paced in places and almost too detailed. Let’s explain.
The Good
When writing about a potential nuclear power plant disaster, it seems inevitable that someone somewhere will drop references to Chernobyl and the Fukushima disasters, perhaps with nods to Three Mile Island as well. Mara doesn’t shy away from any of these. Indeed, he takes the time to explain how some of these disasters came about. Nor does he avoid talking about the effects of radiation overexposure on the human body. In those respects, it’s actually quite informative for also being a novel.
Additionally, it’s nice that the two biggest characters are women. Mara makes Marla Hollis and Sarah Redmond very distinct, and gives them two of the biggest roles. Marla gets to dig into the power plant’s secrets, while Sarah focuses on saving Silver Lake. They’re the two most interesting characters here as well, and their sections do especially well. Granted, there aren’t particular weak links in the different perspectives Mara employs.
The Not-So-Good
So, Fallout has lots of detail about nuclear disasters, right? It also has a lot of odd details about its characters. When there are less than 300 pages in the novel, it means that we’re getting a lot of details about characters and their lives. This isn’t to say that detail is a bad thing. It usually contributes to making a world feel richer. However, the choices Mara makes in what to share and when not only make the pacing seem a little off, it also comes at some strange moments. One particular interlude informs us of a nickname that a character has … that doesn’t end up playing much of a part in the story.
Additionally, though it seems like a relatively minor detail, Mara makes another choice to mostly use surnames in the narration. Primary characters have their first names used, but even in Sarah’s portions, she’ll use last names referring to fellow citizens of Silver Lake. It’s particularly jarring in Sarah’s case, since the whole point is that she takes this all quite personally and wants to help every single citizen evacuate.
The Recommendation
Fallout will end up teaching you something about how nuclear power works … or, at least, how dangerous it can be. It reads quickly — as we mentioned, it’s less than 300 pages — but at the same time, some of the narration may slow things down for a reader.
Next: The New Books Roundup for April 25
Ultimately, it’s a good read (pun not intended with regards to the name of that popular site used to keep track of what you’re reading), but it’s not much more than that in this reviewer’s eyes.