When Darkness Comes

This is Swindells' first novel, written 20 years ago and only now released in paperback. It's a modern-day parable whose special irony is not apparent until its final pages. The focal point of the story is a tribe of primitive people, platform dwellers, who are split by ambition and jealousy. The community divides and crises threaten the survival of both groups. They re-unite in the face of a common threat - fierce warriors with weapons unlike any seen before. The newcomers are defeated but it's during evening storytelling around the home fire that the true significance of recent events emerges. The people are survivors of nuclear warfare who have shunned technology and reverted to ancient tribal customs. This is a sobering and absorbing book in which echoes of Brother in the Land can be clearly heard.