“Thirst” is an ambitious novel, out to add a fresh take on the apocalyptic genre. Envision a world where all the worlds fresh water sources are poisoned overnight. It’s said the human body can’t survive more than a few days without water, so how fast will society survive without the most basic human necessity? This is the entire plot line for “Thirst”, by Jill Williamson.
Jill Williamson is a recent favorite author of mine, so I came into “Thirst” with some high expectations. It doesn’t take long for the plot to unfold, a group of teens on a camping trip notice a comet streaking through the sky. No one thinks much of it. Not until they return from their trip and suddenly notice the world has quickly changed. There’s dead bodies littering the roads, and new signs posted everywhere from the CDC warning of water contamination. What follows is a fast paced race to survive as society has crumbled.
“The CDC has been alerted of a HydroFlu outbreak in your area. A new bacterium has been found in fresh water sources in various parts of the country. People who visit these affected areas and do not take preventive measures are likely to suffer infection and spread the disease to other areas. It is imperative that everyone practice personal and environmental hygiene at all times. Do not consume or bathe in any city, well, ground, lake, or river water until further notice. Drink only bottled or canned beverages. If you think you have been infected, visit your nearest medical clinic or health facility immediately.” – Thirst
The story is told from the first person perspective of Eli McShane. Eli at first doesn’t come across as much, he is simply enjoying his camping trip and is trying to work up the nerve to talk to the pretty girl he likes, Jaylee. But as he on his way back home, Eli is the first to start putting things together, and it falls to him to keep his friends together, and alive.
“Thirst” is primarily a thriller novel. Jill Williamson does a great job of keeping the story from becoming stagnant by constantly throwing her characters into one bad situation after the other. There were several times where I would read longer than I intended just because I wanted to find out how Eli and his friends got out of this latest situation. Needless to say, there is plenty of action in this novel, the scenes are fast paced and are never drawn out.
Characterization is one of the novels weak points. This is a big surprise for me as this is usually where Jill Williamson shines brightest. Eli McShane is never given any real depth. I guess the adage to ‘show not tell’ could apply here, but other than protecting his friends, Eli never has any real motivations. On the other hand there are the other side characters that Eli travels with. Nearly every other character has the depth of a saltine cracker. There’s some banter and whatnot, but none of the other characters really stood out on their own. For example, from the very outset Eli is smitten with Jaylee, yet for the life of me I can’t see why. Jaylee comes across as naive, and has the awareness level that, well could use some work. I’m convinced the roof could fall on her and she would wonder what the noise was. The point is, I wanted to like the characters I was just never given reasons to.
“Leadership isn’t about control. It isn’t about bossing people around and having them jump to obey. It’s about working hard and being an example in words and deeds. It’s about empowering others to be the best they can be. It’s about knowing your people well, their strengths and weaknesses and motivations and the lies they believe about themselves. It’s speaking truth and encouragement to your people. It’s coaching them. It’s getting out of the way and encouraging them to be creative and contribute ideas. It’s wisdom and patience and empathy and trust and kindness and whole lot of grace.” – Thirst
Thankfully Jill Williamson keeps “Thirst” form becoming an empty apocalyptic thriller novel. Eli and his friends are faced with difficult decisions all the time. Do I help this poor child and risk our dwindling supply of water? Or keep moving and conserve our supply? Does this insane man trying to kill us all really deserve to die? Themes of the value of life pervade the novel setting it apart from the usual bleak and nihilistic themes from other apocalypse novels.
“But life was sacred. It was worth protecting. That was what my parents had taught me, anyhow.” – Thirst
Another major theme is finding hope in the darkest of times. Every day is a struggle to survive. Every day Eli and his friends wake up, wondering if they will see another sunrise. Is there any hope in such times? Right at the worst moments, Eli is able to look around and remembers there is still so much to live for. His friends, his family, and music. (Music shows up a lot in the novel, there’s even a fun playlist at the end)
“There were real blessings all around me. I just had to remind myself because they were continually being overshadowed by so much darkness and despair.” – Thirst
Overall I thought “Thirst” was good, if not great. The plot is fantastic, I just wish I cared more about the characters. I’d give this a 6/10. Good points, it just needed more meat to really drive the story home.
