Dad wanted Anoïse and Edgar ready to take the country after he died. Edgar was the failsafe in case anything happened to Anoïse. Meanwhile they taught Desmon the work of ambassadors and administrators, and they taught me just enough to keep me out of their way.

If I gotta say something about this book is that it contains the largest count of “fuck” I’ve ever read.

The depiction of turbulent familial relationships makes it soon clear why Petre has stayed away from his family and rather spend his days fighting trauma-powered zombies.

I found the conversations hard to follow as dialogues were repetitive and most of the time went nowhere. They might be more “realistic”, but could’ve been edited for a better-flowing narrative.

The similes and metaphors were unlike anything I’ve read before and they paint a picture of the author’s mind. Here are some examples:

• “his lips as thin as a wire coat hanger”
• “the dusty air tasted like gray film on my tongue”
• “[the latch] was already poised up, like a reared horse”
• “embroidered in yellow thread as dark as dehydrated piss”

The protagonist is such a disaster that it makes his escapades all the more entertaining.

My favourite character was a “mysterious man” who first appears at the beginning of Part 2, whose identity I guessed from the start because of course, that would make things messier. He brings chaos to another level since he’s young and trying to adjust to new life circumstances. I’m eager to know this character’s role in the rest of the series.

This funny series starter novel sets the upcoming adventure. With cyborg horses, infecting “ghostfog”, muscle programming injections, and more bizarre stuff, The Fall Is All There Is is anything but ordinary.