The Dead City

Plot

A series of dramatic, science fiction/horror verse/epic poems, broken into 35 parts, each part continues the story of a man who awakens to find himself in a desolate city. As he travels, he discovers what has happened, although part of it he is already aware of, but can’t access it. On his journey, he meets other survivors, as well as a group of people who have decided to take the new order of life into their own hands.

As he travels around this dead city, he has to cope with being alone in a new world, where breaking into shops or houses is the only way to get food or find a place to sleep. The world is his oyster, but not all is as it seems, as whatever has caused the extermination of most of mankind has had other effects in the form of biological changes as well as physiological.

He meets a number of people: Jenny, who he travels with, as well as the Overgates, a pair of lovers, but also some nasty people such as Dr. Valentine, the Matron and Harkin, the man responsible for the experiment that went wrong causing the fog, which is, in fact, a gene altering chemical weapon, which has killed most of mankind, and the rest are going to die or mutate into mindless creatures.

Setting

Set in England, between Portsmouth, on the south coast, and London. He travels around, visiting different places, to find rest, food and answers from abandoned houses, hospitals, schools, wreckage of a fallen plane, a cinema, a cave and central London.

Characters

James the main character awakens in the fog to find he is alone. In his memory is what happened, but he doesn’t know it yet. He travels to find other survivors and to discover what has happened to the world and its people. James is a dreamer, a thinker.

Jenny Jenny saves James’ life from some tramps that try to kill him early on, and they travel together. Jenny is a strong woman.

Dr. Valentine he is no doctor, but he uses this title as he has decided to experiment on human subjects to find what he claims is a cure, but as James finds out, this might not be so true.

Harkin the man responsible for the fog and the end of the mankind…

The Overgates a couple of lovers who exemplify love, they befriend James and Jenny until they all meet up with Dr. Valentine and things change forever.

The Scrags people who have set up their own city after the devastation and have adopted a new order, which includes cannibalism and a dictatorship rule.

Jason a small boy found alone by James, who looks after him while he tries to find his dad.

Themes

The poem has many different elements which discuss themes such as politics, the way of the world, relationships, love, possible futures, loneliness, dreams, the media, corruption, religion, morality and family.