The Fallen: The Last Days of Mankind

This tale is set in a world somewhat similar to our own, with various Sami, Nordic, and Celtic influences, at some unspecified ‘post-modern’ point in the future. Society as we know it has long since vanished and the natural world has more-or-less fully reasserted itself, leaving a few isolated pockets of human existence, all teetering on the verge of extinction. Birth rates are very low and infant mortality is very high, the cause unclear, with remaining settlements slowly withering out of existence.

This story is a prequel of sorts to Peter's first novel, The Steading, although much of the story takes place within a similar timeframe, overlapping with it towards the end. You don't need to have listened to The Steading to enjoy this novel, and feel free to listen to them in any order you like, but it is recommended you listen to this story second. This tale in the trilogy primarily sets out to explore the origins of a character who appears in the first book, while also expanding on the circumstances of the apocalypse in the wider world. The first book in the saga, The Steading, provides a somewhat idealised and best-case scenario of a post-apocalyptic world; this book is its counterpart where we finally meet the antagonists: the Fallen.

As with Peter's first novel, this book is part guide to survival, the basics of living off the land, and homesteading. Here though, the settlement is somewhat more ‘primitive’ when compared to the Steading, akin to perhaps a stone-age Sami-type settlement. The story is told almost entirely without spoken dialogue, as if being recounted around the campfire by an old friend. This style of very descriptive storytelling also reflects Peter's preferred means of communication as an autistic person, being direct, detailed, and to the point.