After devouring Redaction: Extinction Level Event in mere hours, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequel...and oh boy, I stayed up till 4am reading this!
We follow the crew of survivors we met in book 1, the kick-ass WMD specialist Mavis Spanner and her strong, devoted soldier love David, as well as young Mannie, wheelchair veteran Herny and the kids, as they rush to the safety of the mines to avoid the nuclear meltdown, resulting from the fact that the people manning the nuclear plants dying of the Anthrax attack in book 1.
We also get introduced to a second kick-ass heroin, school teacher preppy Audra, and follow her and the school buses with survivors as they cross the wasteland of Arizona to reach the soldiers led by Mavis Spanner. She also has a love affair blooming in the midst of the apocalypse, which adds something special to the grim storyline. There is some comic relief as we watch the Principal and other teachers carry guns and try to escape evil gangs and survive, but still maintain their middle class, schoolteachers personas and humor.
The villain Trent, the bloodthirsty killer posing as a priest is gaining support amongst civilians in Mavis' group, spreading discord and distrust of the military, which can end in a coup. While soldiers keep on dying of anthrax and the sane people diminish, the 'wolves' find the opportunity to get control of some of the convoy and attack the soldiers trying to gain power.
Mavis and her group of faithful followers battle not only the elements, the anthrax in the atmosphere and the race against time before the nuclear plant goes bust and the earth becomes lethal for humans, animals and plants alike, but have to find the right way to manage the discord before Trent becomes a separatist force and the civilians attack the military few who try to get them to safety.
Storylines and subplots merge and meet each other in the end, as the different groups of people we follow converge in Colorado, in the safety of the mountains, where the book leaves you, with maybe the promise of another sequel. I am curious to see what happens when the nuclear plant errupts, and how life is going to be for the community of survivors in the mines, who seem to be one of the few groups that survive a total life on earth wipe out.
The story is so complex and the storytelling convincingly takes you through the charred, hopeless place where the survivors battle to make it to safety. Our heroes face numerous trials, scares and dangers, like gang rapes, shootings and sickness, but they hold on to their humanity, solidarity and hope.
It is a truly inspiring tale of survival, courage, wit, loyalty and determination. I laughed, I cried, I became one with the protagonists, really felling the anxiety of survival seep into my bones.
I absolutely loved it and any fans of dystopian fiction, war fiction and even romantic suspense fiction, would love it too.