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260:: Danny and Kim bury his body in the garden of an empty house. Inside the house, Danny finds a ledger, and starts writing an account of his experiences after the war. He ends by saying that he plans to leave his account behind for future generations to read, hoping it will warn them not to go down the path which led to nuclear war. Finally, Danny dedicates his story to Ben, his "brother in the land".
278:, Adam Brown wrote that "every page is filled with the horrors of trying to live after such an cataclysmic event ... the story does not hold back in its portrayal of the ailments and the hardships faced by the children ... absorbing and heartbreaking, this novel will stay with you forever". Anne Connor wrote in the
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The local
Commissioner issues an order that the injured and infirm are to be taken out of the town and placed at the roadside so they can be taken to hospital: this turns out to be front for his secret plan to kill off those who will be a burden. After a while, the Commissioner implements a system of
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In 1994, the book was reprinted with an additional, final chapter. In this revised ending, Ben still dies, but, rather than leave his account behind, Danny takes the ledger with him to Holy Island. Kim is expecting a baby, the fourth of Holy Island, with Danny being the father. If the baby survives,
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has been erected on a farm outside of
Skipley, with the remaining able-bodied population being used as slave labour under the Commissioner's rule. Members of Masada decide to step up their campaign of resistance, and launch a night raid on the camp. After a battle, the Commissioner is overthrown and
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town of
Skipley. Arriving there, Danny finds the town in ruins, and learns that his family's shop has collapsed, killing his mother. His brother Ben and their father have survived, as they were in the cellar, which is used as a stockroom. With so much food in their stockroom, the Lodges have plenty
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Presently, the
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During the journey to Holy Island, they encounter a group on motorbikes, including Rhodes. Kim shoots Rhodes and another biker as they are about to shoot Danny in order to steal his food. Ben gradually becomes ill and dies of
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that
Swindells "narration has immediacy and great impact ... while grim and painful to read, it is not preachy or heavy-handed, an improvement over most doomsday science fiction".
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to live on, but as the weeks pass, other people begin fighting over food. Shortly after the war, Danny meets a girl named Kim.
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Branwell is established as the new leader. In the months after the raid, all the newly planted crops fail due to
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The narrative begins on a hillside, where the protagonist, Danny Lodge, encounters a man in a
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Brown, Adam (March–April 2023). "Brother in the Land". Fantasy, Historical
Fiction and More.
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Foreign troops arrive by helicopter, revealing there to be survivor communities all over
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