"The sky was ablaze. Many reasons had been put forth on television, tales of war, catastrophes, enemies, allies. Names, many names were being exchanged with little connection between them. Then suddenly people were out on the streets, all looking at the fire in the sky. The great fire. Havoc. Night-time was brighter than broad daylight. There was no need for streetlamps. The sky lit up on the 23rd January, at 10.30 pm on the dot. And if, at that moment, nobody really understood what was happening, it had to be accepted a week later that night would never fall again".
Night has disappeared. The earth is drying up and human beings are avoiding each other.
A cop, Thomas, and a teenager, Sophie, set off south together. Where to? Who cares, they are alive and they are on the move, in this blinding world where night has disappeared and the never ending daylight drives you crazy. Meanwhile, Thomas leaves a grave on a road junction and a house burnt to the ground behind him and gets to the border... In this spellbinding novel, part road movie and part post-apocalyptic experience, violence competes with black humour.
A novel with a strange atmosphere, Camille Leboulanger's book has revelations right to the end. Because the reader has no idea where he is going, he continues reading. Denunciation of civilisation? Post-apocalyptic genre ridicule? Many questions yet not many answers for a book that remains spellbinding for the reader.
Hervé Beilvaire, Temps des livres
There are some absolutely super passages which really get to us; it's not badly written at all. Sentences and short dialogues that [...] embellish the story and especially the atmosphere that reigns. There has been a great catastrophe and there is no way of knowing how it happened. One might imagine that the characters would think up a myriad of hypotheses about the light pervading the sky day and night. And yet, paradoxically, the survivors don't even try to find out what has happened.
[...]
Consequently the main theme of the book isn't really the catastrophe and the different ways of surviving, but rather the different means that the characters employ in order not to descend into folly.
[...]
I found this approach on the part of the author very original, and really well executed. Instead of being full of regrets and nostalgia, the characters are quite simply empty and in waiting.
Julien Fouilhé, Overbooked
Enfin la nuit is a chronicle of encounters and the narrative of interrelating stories and of cruel deaths where irony on occasion raises its ugly head. Since in the Apocalypse it seems that the world and destiny are becoming a bit sadistic, Enfin la nuit is consequently a novel where we travel aimlessly along roads, not trying to achieve anything, but just trying to reach somewhere so that we can roam around in a world without night.
Accordingly this is an atmospheric novel, with a rather lugubrious ambience, despite the initial situation. In no way light-hearted and with death omnipresent, this novel has a very particular sense of humour. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" said Dante in the Divine Comedy and you could definitely point this out to the characters in this first novella by Camille Leboulanger whose narrative style is sparing. Yet he is capable of employing heavy methods when the story gets vicious.
Stegg, Psychovision
This first novel, which has definite potential, shows evidence of an unexpected degree of accomplishment for an author in his twenties.
Alaric, Mythologica
In writing this cold novel recounting his version of the end of the world, Camille Leboulanger isn't bothered about technical-scientific-sociological explanations. Light appears and society collapses into a kind of implacable logic, which also applies to his heroes that decide to take to the road, for the most part without rhyme or reason.
[...]
It is worth noting that Camille Leboulanger is completely in control of his story and style. A very promising author, worth keeping track of.
Jérôme Vincent, ActuSF
Amongst the latest publications, Enfin la nuit can be singled out in the way it purports to be general literature yet at the same time skilfully uses post-apocalyptic ingredients. It's a good recipe, with a short and efficient narrative, correctly measured and never leaving the reader trailing behind.
Guillaume, Traqueur Stellaire
We can smell an unmistakable end of the world whiff here. It is easy to imagine our towns, villages and countryside deserted and bathed in yellowish orange sunlight as our heroes travel through them.
[...]
Enfin la nuit is an excellent novel; its only imperfection is that it is too short - 192 pages. I just loved it.
If is dead
We are spellbound by this apocalyptic road movie: a genre that seems currently ubiquitous, after the zombie vogue. Here, the mesmerising writing hooks the reader right from the start. There are a few weaknesses in the story but the stylistic and narrative maturity is surprising considering the author is only just in his twenties. [...]
An author worth keeping track of.
Claude Ecken, L'écran fantastique