The Witch of Hebron by James Howard Kunstler (Audiobook Review)

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Title: The Witch of Hebron
Series: World Made By Hand, Book 2
Author: James Howard Kunstler
Narrator: Jim Meskimen
Duration: 10 hours, 16 minutes
Copyright: 2010, Blackstone Audio
Genres: science fiction, dystopia, post apocolypse
Filed in: Audiobook Reviews
Review copy provided by Blackstone Audio.

In the sequel to World Made By Hand, James Howard Kunstler further develops his dark image of an America plagued by terrorism, and terrorized by plague. When terrorists smuggled a nuclear bomb into the country and detonated it in Washington DC, the nation was effectively decapitated and cut off from its trade partners. Supplies of oil quickly ran out, and soon after the electricity blinks out for the last time. It’s infrastructure crippled, America is ill-equipped to deal with a particularly virulent strain of flu, and millions died. In the small town of Union Grove, in what used to beNew York, the bedraggled people are desperately trying to survive in a world that has suddenly reverted to a pre-industrial state.
After readingThe Witch of Hebron, I didn’t quite know what to make of it. I enjoyed the story, don’t get me wrong, post-apocolypse is one of my favorite genres to read, and I liked Kunstler’s vision of an America suddenly finding itself without oil. I was just a little confused because the title character of the audiobook played a relatively small role in the story.
Rather, The Witch of Hebron focused more on Jordan Copeland, the eleven-year-old son of Union Grove’s resident doctor. Jordan’s dog was stomped to death by the stallion of Brother Jobe, head of the New Faith movement which moved into Union Grove in the first World Made By Hand book. Jordan was so distraught over the death of his dog, that he used some of his father’s opium to poison the stallion. Then, overcome by grief and guilt, Jordan left town, deciding that he had learned enough from his father to start up his own doctoring business in another town. This is just the beginning in a series of adventures and trials in what really amounts to a coming-of-age story.
On the road out of town, Jordan encounters Billy Bones, who proclaims himself to be “a rambler and a gambler.” What Billy really is, is a small time stick-up-artist who is about to move up to the big time. Billy Bones takes a liking to Jordan, and decides to make the boy his Protégé, not really giving him any choice in the matter. Over the nex three or four days, Billy Bones goes on a killing spree across the county, dragging Jordan along every inch of the way. I really enjoyed the character that Kunstler created in Billy Bones. There is a certain humour behind him that somehow makes him all the more terrifying. He likes to make up songs about himself and sing them to his victims before robbing or killing them.
Meanwhile, back at Union Grove, Doc Copeland begrudgingly asks Brother Jobe if he and some of his men, a few of whom are ex-military, if they would try to track Jordan down. I say begrudgingly because Copeland and Brother Jobe don’t like or trust each other. Brother Jobe agrees however, because he knows it was Jordan that killed his horse. So they spend the next several days following in the wake of Billy Bones’ carnage.
Are we having fun yet? Kunstler also wrote in a couple of minor sub-plots while all this was going on, most notably one involving an old drunk who lives on the edge of Union Grove, and who goes out hunting a catamount that has been in the area, tracking the beast for several days. The witch of Hebron herself makes a few cameo appearances, as the various involved parties run across her. It is finally at the climax of the story when she plays a larger part, as all of the threads seem to come together at her house, some miles distant from Union Grove. It is here that Jordan’s conflic with Billy Bones is resolved, the old drunk finally catches up with the catamount, and Brother Jobe and his men finally catch up to Jordan, now sans Billy.
If that all sounds a little confusing, it is only because I am not the writer that James Howard Kunstler is. He really handled the many threads of this story very well, tying up every loose end just as neatly as any episode of Seinfeld you ever saw. The witch became something of a magnet, drawing the other characters to her. A point that the author briefly touched on in World Made by Hand, and a little more so in The Witch of Hebron, is that with all of the clutter gone from the airwaves, television, radio, cell phones, etcetera, certain latent human abilities seem to be manifesting themselves. In addition to acting as some sort of psychic magnet, the witch of Hebron sometimes receives visions about the people she comes into contact with, many of which end up coming true.
At any rate, I like how Kunstler managed all of the plots and sub-plots, wrapping up the various conflicts in a favorable, and believable, manner. The story takes place in the fall, and the author used the approaching Halloween holiday, “when the dead walk the earth”, to add some additional tension and urgency. This was really a well put-together novel.
Narrator Jim Meskimen did a good job once again. He narrated both of the World Made By Hand books, and I like the consistency of a single narrator. Meskimen has a natural sounding style that is easy to listen to.
On a final note, even though The witch of Hebron is a sequel, I don’t really get the impression that you would have a hard time following the story if you haven’t read the first audiobook. The one thing you might gain by reading them in order, is Kunstler’s explanation of how his world came to be in the condition it’s in. Give this audiobook a try, I think you’ll like it.

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler (Audiobook Review)
The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Audiobook Review)
Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear (Audiobook review)

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This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt
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