The End - Book Review

Mark Golding’s The End opens with the anticipated arrival of Bohr’s comet, illuminating the night sky with a mesmerizing aurora. The story follows an engaged couple leading seemingly ordinary lives.Martin, a somewhat complacent teacher, navigates his days with a quiet routine, while Katie, his fiancée, is a shy but fiercely dedicated criminal barrister, deeply engrossed in her professional pursuits. Their existence, once marked by a comfortable predictability, is violently upended when Katie undergoes a sudden and bewildering transformation, shedding her reserved persona to become a bold, "sexy" party girl, before inexplicably disappearing, rumored to be in Australia. As the baffling personal changes in Katie and others become increasingly apparent, they are soon linked to widespread and unnerving disruptions in technology—failures in communication systems, power grids, and digital networks—all seemingly influenced by the ominous, comet.

Under the influence of the lingering comet, a deadly illness begins to decimate the country. Chaos and madness take root as the foundations of society crumble, leading to widespread crime and disparaging turmoil that engulfs the world. The strange somatic narcissism and erratic behavior displayed by Katie and a significant portion of the population are eventually attributed to a parasitic organism delivered to Earth by the comet.

Remarkably, Martin finds he is not affected by the parasite's influence. He joins forces with a small group of government agents who are also immune, and together they race against time to track the pandemic's spread and find a solution. The stakes are impossibly high, as they discover the parasite is causing infected humans to transform into alien creatures. Their terrifying mission becomes clear: stop the pandemic before these creatures can fulfill their plan to end humanity and take over Earth.

Katie and Martin find themselves at opposing extremes of this unfolding catastrophe. She has transformed into a terrifying, alien-influenced being, her humanity twisted and corrupted by the parasitic entity. Meanwhile, Martin, untouched by the parasite, emerges as a resilient post-apocalypse survivor, grappling not only with the collapse of society but also with the profound betrayal embodied by Katie's horrifying transformation. This unpredictable tale, rich with its complex characters and intricate plotting, is meticulously crafted to keep the reader utterly transfixed, leading them through a journey of suspense and dread until its gripping and ultimate conclusion.