Snowpiercer – The Prequel Part 2: Apocalypse
Year: 2020
Author: Matz & Jean-Marc Rochette
Length: 104 pages
After the somewhat disappointing Part 1 prequel to Snowpiercer, Part 2 was only slightly better. While the previous book in this prequel series was fairly generic with its apocalyptic scenarios, the Apocalypse portion of this trilogy gave personality to the story. Now that there are characters the reader is following, it’s easier to relate to the plight of humanity. This still doesn’t negate the fact that I know how things will eventually end up since I’ve already seen the Snowpiercer (2013) movie.
What makes this volume more interesting than its predecessor is that we get to see how humanity would really act in an Apocalypse situation. Once the end of the world finally comes, all bets are off. For the “doomsday cult,” their plan hinges on unhinged individuals. For the Snowpiercer project, it’s not so easy to control tickets when everyone wants to board. And for humanity, we see exactly what lengths people will go to for survival—even if they might not be considered the best our species has to offer. So, you know, business as usual for an Apocalypse.
While I’m getting more used to the art style for this series, the one thing still nagging me in the back of my head is the Snowpiercer project. Even knowing that the world is ending via a climate catastrophe, the fact that the train was just ready to go precisely when everything went wrong seems unbelievable. Sure, I get the parallels to the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark. However, the convenience of being prepared at the exact right time instead of well before or (more likely) shortly after the Apocalypse starts seems highly suspect.
A slight improvement on Part 1 with some still unanswered questions, I give Snowpiercer – The Prequel Part 2: Apocalypse 3.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
