• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

West Kill Creek: History Meets Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

July 5, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

wkcfrontcoverWest Kill Creek by Shawn Purcell (Troy Book Makers, 2014) is a contemplative work of post-apocalyptic fiction set in upstate New York and shot-through with local history.

A particularly lethal virus has rapidly wiped out most of civilization. A hardy band of survivors does what it takes to stay alive, but the novel also reverberates with the echoes of local history and deep time, the beauty and terror of nature, the power and glory of books, current environmental and political issues, and actual events and places.

“This is a yarn about the potential demise of civilization that in quieter moments draws heavily on the rich history of the locale where these survivors happen to have ended up, which is Schoharie County, from Native American habitation to the pre-apocalyptic present,” Shawn Purcell recently told The New York History Blog. “Would that we had learned better from certain chapters of that history, like the Anti-Rent troubles, the drowning of Gilboa, and the 1990 North Blenheim gas pipeline explosion. It gets into all kinds of other timeless things too, like farming, and the wonder of water.”

A Senior Librarian with the New York State Library in Albany, specializing in history and genealogy, Purcell draws heavily on New York’s history. “Although I lean heavily toward non-fiction, one of my goals is to expose new types of readers to a deeper appreciation of what history is all about,” he said.

Purcell also created a simple website for the book, which includes photos and links and the first chapter is offered as a sample for readers. West Kill Creek is available at local independent bookstores and gift shops in the Capital District and in Schoharie County, as well as through Amazon and the publisher.

Note: Books noticed on The New York History Blog have been provided by their publishers. Purchases made through this Amazon link help support this site.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: New York State Library, Schoharie County

About Editorial Staff

Stories written under the Editorial Staff byline are drawn from press releases and other notices. Submit your news to New York Almanack here.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Help Us Reach Our Fundraising Goal

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Emmett Foster on Esopus: Wiltwyck School For Boys Lecture
  • Ed Zahniser on Salons: American Rebels, French Etiquette and Lesbian History
  • Ed Zahniser on Poetry: Ausable
  • pat013 on Patriot Then Traitor: Saratoga County’s Joe Bettys
  • anne butts on Threats to the Long-Lived Bald Eagle
  • Phillip Lemay on House of Hanfstaengl: Munich and Manhattan
  • Michael DeBonis on Culper Spies: Curse of the Black Letter
  • robert w. burke on Hiram Burke, Noted Adirondack Guide of Twitchell Lake
  • Nancy Bachana on Nathaniel Sackett: Godfather of American Intelligence
  • Editorial Staff on Patriot Then Traitor: Saratoga County’s Joe Bettys

Recent New York Books

Saving Stuyvesant Town
The Banished Children of Eve A Novel of Civil War New York
An Unfinished Revolution
Smalltime A Story of My Family and the Mob
laughing_rain_and_awakens_corn_03 (2) cover
Manufacturing Advantage
The Red Badge to Gettysburg
Prohibition in the Hudson Valley book
Long Island Migrant Labor Camps Dust for Blood
Valcour The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty

Secondary Sidebar

New York State Historic Markers
Kearns_New York Almanack