The Hub: A City Amongst the Waste

by Aaron C. Lemke

Three hundred years after the rich and powerful fled for Mars, the Earth has become a wasteland, ravaged by apocalyptic storms and swarming with mutated creatures. Yet it is not entirely abandoned—for the discontents left behind by their corporate masters continue to struggle for survival, no matter how brutal the conditions.

One of these castaways, Jack Erdman, has woken from hibernation with nothing but his wits and some meager gear to keep him alive in the face of constant terror and death. Across the sea, a group of companions are trying their best to escape what civilization is left, caught between two militias in a battle for dominance over the scrap heap. What these survivors have in common is their desperation to make a better world, even in the face of hideous odds. And other people might be their only chance—or their certain doom.

Rigorous in its depiction of the mechanics of survival, The Hub is a propulsive, defiant story of the human spirit and its endurance, even at the end of the world.

280 pages, Paperback

Published May 21, 2024

Reviews

[Reader Views · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack woke up to a nightmare. He had been in a 301-year sleep since the rich and powerful of Earth chose to slip away and begin life anew on Mars. He never understood how he had gained a berth in a pod for the journey, being neither rich nor powerful. But there he was, struggling to come to an awareness of the new reality he never saw coming. This didn’t look like the red planet. And why was he alone? Where was everyone? And perhaps most important, what’s up with that green sky and super-intense lightning?? Jack, it seemed, had plenty of questions. But no answers yet.

Welcome to Aaron C. Lemke’s “The Hub: A City Amongst the Waste.” Written when the author was 17, this post-apocalyptic tale is full of passion and imaginative possibilities. It begs the question: what would the reader do in this situation? As Jack struggles to accept facts he couldn’t even fathom previously, he realizes he has some hard decisions to make. Literally life-altering decisions.

Jack is the first of several protagonists we meet who will be facing imminent death if his decisions aren’t sound. Each of the survivors of the pods will view things differently and therefore choose their fates in disparate ways. But Jack remained my favorite of these characters. He isn’t the perfect human being, doesn’t have a good grasp on his circumstances at first, and really doesn’t want to face all this by himself. Yet he’s tough in ways he never saw coming; able to do things that take near-Herculean strength and will. He’s nearly superhuman once he sets his mind to a task, and it’s going to save his life and possibly the lives of others. He’s someone the reader can latch onto and stay with through this new wonderland of horrors.

I didn’t feel that way about all of the characters, though. They’re not all as easy to relate to. Readers meet a handful of survivors in the first half of the book and follow them as they set out to endure this harsh environment and build new lives. The second half of “The Hub” introduces us to all new characters facing the same dilemma but on a different island not too distant, yet seemingly worlds away. These unwitting colonists discover a different sort of civilization as two factions who were left behind 300 years ago are battling with each other for a better existence. Huh. Maybe people just really don’t change. Those survivors who recently woke up in their pleasant little pods in this section of the planet will need to study their surroundings, the current conflict, and what (if any) their options are.

If this sounds grim, well, it is for the most part. It’s gritty, surreal, mind-blowing at times, and absolutely heart-breaking in some moments. But the resilience of the human spirit shows through all of this, reminding us of who we are deep down. That we’re stronger than we realize, tougher than we act, and capable of completing amazing tasks when necessary. Chaos brings out the best and worst of humanity, and this story shows us how that might look.

Lemke’s world-building is great as he presents an Earth we don’t know, complete with weather systems foreign to us and animals that are absolutely new yet remind us of what once was. His characters, most especially Jack, show striking depth and appropriate growth as they develop an understanding of their outlandish situations.

I want so badly to tell you that the work of this 17-year-old young man is solid and profound. In certain ways, it is. But in all honesty, it does read like a book written by a young adult who is honing his skill by constantly writing. I have no doubt that Aaron Lemke would have been an exceptional writer if he had been given the chance. Sadly, this novel was published posthumously by his parents as the author died a few short years after this story was written.

So, what will readers find here? They’ll find themselves immersed in a harsh, strange environment where everything from the weather to the strange animals and even the other survivors want to kill them. They’ll find good people and bad, strong people and veritable idiots who seem to be disproving Darwin’s most known theory. Readers will find basically two books in one with intensely violent scenes and terrifying moments. They’ll find humanity having to fight for scraps once again yet showing that indomitable will to survive and thrive.

I recommend Aaron C. Lemke’s “The Hub” to young adult readers who enjoy sci-fi, especially dystopian or post-apocalyptic reads. I also recommend the book to those older adults who enjoy such stories and are able to suspend their sense of disbelief as they read. If you’re the type of reader who picks every detail apart, I would suggest passing on this one. Readers who take a chance on Mr. Lemke’s work will find nuggets of gold here in the spirits of survivors and the hope of humanity.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

To Come