Peninsula

Drew, Ken Johnson’s Protagonist in his superbly crafted novel, Peninsula, is a successful artist on the verge of prostituting his talent to commercialism and material gain
Drew is saved as a mysterious Apocalypse descends on the world. He wakes from a drunken binge to find everything vastly changed challenging every aspect of his being.
Ken Johnson does not court the usual grotesques of Apocalyptic Literature, no staggering menacing zombies, no mass destruction of infrastructure, no sickening stench of death. The catastrophe’s colour is red, and its texture is gritty. Life is somnolent.
Initially, Drew follows his instincts fortified by avarice and gathers things representing self-privileged wealthy elites: money, flash cars, and expensive accommodation, all worthless in a vanished society and economy. Drew sacrifices the mainstay of his moral principles in his quest to find another living soul. He indulges his desires because there is no legal authority to forbid it. He commits crime because there is no one to prevent it.
Drew plays out his fantasies to no avail. His intellect triumphs over intuition and innate hedonism convincing him his best chance lies with science and finding other survivors. He continues his search at the Peninsula Tower. Drew’s turn to science is neither as a polymath nor a dilettante, making his quest believable.
A young woman doctor, Joanna’s story of survival runs parallel to Drew’s except her concern for her medical scientist father who may have a remedy for the problems created by the catastrophe. By chance fate or divine will they are brought together. Several twists in the tale makes the novel more edifying.
The novel ultimately comes to a competition between two irreconcilable models; Resurrection-Redemption wherein humanity has an opportunity to redefine its values, embrace a reformed morality, and proceed towards Paradise Regained. The competing model, Resuscitation assumes simply awakening humanity without change to values or moral paradigms. Over all this looms the dilemma of freedom of choice. Who says who lives? Who says who dies?
Peninsula is thought provoking and does not pander to popular conceptions ergo it does not have universal appeal. For those who enjoy an intellectual challenge Ken Johnson invests in ideas that keeps the reader’s attention throughout.

Weaving a personal philosophy into an exciting story, the author has ridiculed modern art and value while appreciating the need for it. He attempts to justify art when science becomes the only solution to the crazy circumstances of an apocalyptic world. Accolades he receives for his art only make him question its value even more when faced with the reality of life threatening events over which he has only superficial influence. In the course of a psychological personality change from the pursuit of beauty to the rigors of scientific Investigation, he delves into his own morality and relationships to discover what really matters to humanity. This book made me question my own ethics and understanding of what makes society tick.
I recommend it as an essential read.

More than a good story, ‘Penninsula’ is innovative, intriguing and deep and very elegantly written. Intricate details on many subjects broadened my knowledge of art, science and metaphysics and what a great learning environment an exciting story makes!
The vivid (occasionally horrific) imagery meant I sometimes had to stop to fetch a glass of water to calm my racing pulse but I did love the page turning, suspenseful chapter endings
The story engendered strong emotions and had mine swinging between hope and fear, anxiety and relief and I appreciated the unexpected twists and surprises. I also enjoyed references to Classic literature juxtaposed with quantum physics.
The strange events so eloquently described and their possible causes seem like science fiction but even elementary research on my part, revealed that this is not just fiction, but, according to scientists, could indeed happen, making this a chillingly, thrilling read.
Don’t rush through this book; there is so much to savour and appreciate from the eloquent and elegant language through the exploration of relationships and moral dilemmas to leading you to question mass acceptance of our way of life. A must read.