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What Light Remained: Final Extinction 2:
Having barely survived the destruction of Umbra, Sarah and Emma travel to a relative's house in hopes of securing equipment necessary for survival. Meanwhile, Rick and Duncan continue through Montana and run into strangers who are more complicated than they seem in Book 2 of Final Extinction.
From 4-million-copy bestselling author Mike Kraus and the acclaimed Justin Bell comes a new thrilling tale of survival.
Without warning, a brand-new satellite system misfires and unleashes focused solar energy that ignites cities, wipes out power grids, and kills billions in mere hours.
In the quiet suburbs of Pennsylvania, Sarah Kent and her daughter Emma barely escape the destruction as everything around them is turned to ash. Huddled in their basement and with nowhere safe to turn, they begin a desperate journey to create their own shelter as the world unravels around them.
Deep beneath the Rocky Mountains, Rick Kent is hard at work on a mining job, only realizing that something has gone terribly wrong when he emerges late at night and discovers that the world has fallen apart during his absence. Now he faces the ultimate one where civilization is gone, survival is brutal, and reaching his family might be impossible.
Meanwhile, at NASA's headquarters in Maryland, the surviving members of the team that helped launch the doomed Umbra program must decide whether to run or stay and try to fix Umbra before it can destroy the scattered pieces of civilization that still remain.
From 4-million-copy bestselling author Mike Kraus and the acclaimed Justin Bell comes a new thrilling tale of survival.
Without warning, a brand-new satellite system misfires and unleashes focused solar energy that ignites cities, wipes out power grids, and kills billions in mere hours.
In the quiet suburbs of Pennsylvania, Sarah Kent and her daughter Emma barely escape the destruction as everything around them is turned to ash. Huddled in their basement and with nowhere safe to turn, they begin a desperate journey to create their own shelter as the world unravels around them.
Deep beneath the Rocky Mountains, Rick Kent is hard at work on a mining job, only realizing that something has gone terribly wrong when he emerges late at night and discovers that the world has fallen apart during his absence. Now he faces the ultimate one where civilization is gone, survival is brutal, and reaching his family might be impossible.
Meanwhile, at NASA's headquarters in Maryland, the surviving members of the team that helped launch the doomed Umbra program must decide whether to run or stay and try to fix Umbra before it can destroy the scattered pieces of civilization that still remain.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 11, 2025
212 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 24, 2025
I wasn't as keen on this one as I was on the first one, mostly because this one contained A LOT of "tensions" between groups of survivors which I don't particularly care for. The dialogues felt a lot more rushed and fluffed than they did in the first one too so that was fun.
July 11, 2025
Things get darker in What Light Remained...
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2025
What Light Remained, the second book in the Final Extinction series, picks up right where book 1 left off with Rick and Duncan held at gunpoint, Sarah and Emma hiding in the root cellar, waiting for the temperature to drop again, andpreparing for a high stakes trip to check on a loved one and the remnants of the Umbra team, plus a few surprising individuals, trying mightily to regain control of the system of satellites that are malfunctioning and causing the devastating "flashes. The writing, especially the characters, are so likeable and so well written that it really causes the reader to become invested in their survival. Duncan, in particular, is an amazing character. The authors treat Duncan well without handling him with kid gloves, and having him prove to be an asset is refreshing in apocalyptic fiction, though every character Bell and Kraus write is treated respectfully regardless of any demographic breakdown, so this isn't as big a surprise as it might be by many other authors in apocalyptic fiction. The rest of the writing is spot on, with individual challenges faced by the protagonists interspersed with imagery that gives a goid feel for the devastation in the wider world. The pacing perfectly matches the plot and up the book feels dialed in for the wider audience. This is a book you don't want to miss, regardless of what genre(s) you might normally prefer! 5/5 stars! Apocalyptic fiction doesn't get much better than this!!!
Note: read originally as an ARC reader
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2025
What Light Remained, the second book in the Final Extinction series, picks up right where book 1 left off with Rick and Duncan held at gunpoint, Sarah and Emma hiding in the root cellar, waiting for the temperature to drop again, andpreparing for a high stakes trip to check on a loved one and the remnants of the Umbra team, plus a few surprising individuals, trying mightily to regain control of the system of satellites that are malfunctioning and causing the devastating "flashes. The writing, especially the characters, are so likeable and so well written that it really causes the reader to become invested in their survival. Duncan, in particular, is an amazing character. The authors treat Duncan well without handling him with kid gloves, and having him prove to be an asset is refreshing in apocalyptic fiction, though every character Bell and Kraus write is treated respectfully regardless of any demographic breakdown, so this isn't as big a surprise as it might be by many other authors in apocalyptic fiction. The rest of the writing is spot on, with individual challenges faced by the protagonists interspersed with imagery that gives a goid feel for the devastation in the wider world. The pacing perfectly matches the plot and up the book feels dialed in for the wider audience. This is a book you don't want to miss, regardless of what genre(s) you might normally prefer! 5/5 stars! Apocalyptic fiction doesn't get much better than this!!!
Note: read originally as an ARC reader
July 10, 2025
What Light Remained - a review by Rosemary Kenny
Book 2 of Justin Bell and Mike Kraus' outstanding new Final Extinction series, What Light Remained, follows the disparate fortunes of three separated generations of a family, as the now deadly sun becomes responsible for the deaths of billions.
Can they rely on outsiders or just each other, when the chips are down and survival is far from guaranteed?
It seems that Armageddon has been triggered and in true epic style this series keeps getting better and better.
Grab a copy of What Light Remained, to see what I mean!
Book 2 of Justin Bell and Mike Kraus' outstanding new Final Extinction series, What Light Remained, follows the disparate fortunes of three separated generations of a family, as the now deadly sun becomes responsible for the deaths of billions.
Can they rely on outsiders or just each other, when the chips are down and survival is far from guaranteed?
It seems that Armageddon has been triggered and in true epic style this series keeps getting better and better.
Grab a copy of What Light Remained, to see what I mean!
August 2, 2025
This continues a good series and as always, thanks for the recap of the previous book. There is a lot that happens in our various groups of Sarah/Emma/Joanie, Ericka and the NASA folks and Rick/Duncan. I was surprised when Sarah did not travel with any kind of defensive weapon. Learning curve, I guess. While bad people are now surfacing to take advantage, we do see some good people like Earl (whose name at one point is spelled Early) and his group, Sarah's neighbors etc. I look forward to the next book and really want to know how this happened.
July 11, 2025
What Light Remained, continues with an exciting and suspenseful storyline, which has our main characters struggling to survive a burning and lethal sun, all the while trying to stay away from the desperate and dangerous fellow humans. Love the different scenarios these authors come up with. Really looking forward to the next book.
November 17, 2025
Sun Rise O Heck
Beautiful sunny days turn into nightmares, or is it daymares?! Don't bother running unless you are already there, you won't make! Is the night less scarey. Maybe? Nature has turned against us. Will anyone survive! Stay dark...stay quiet...stay hidden...stay hungry...stay thirsty. Where is the help?
Beautiful sunny days turn into nightmares, or is it daymares?! Don't bother running unless you are already there, you won't make! Is the night less scarey. Maybe? Nature has turned against us. Will anyone survive! Stay dark...stay quiet...stay hidden...stay hungry...stay thirsty. Where is the help?
July 15, 2025
With destruction going on all around, how are people going to survive. There’s more danger than expected, getting to safety seems impossible. As always this book is outstanding and will have you gripped until the very last page.
July 19, 2025
A really great second part to this very enjoyable series! I find it a really frightening idea & was quickly absorbed in the story line & the characters. Great energy & good levels of tension, everything you could want from this genre! I do recommend!
August 7, 2025
Trips.toward home
I always look for books by these authors. This series is a little different but one I have to read start to finish . looking forward to the final book. Safety , recovery and a good ending await.
I always look for books by these authors. This series is a little different but one I have to read start to finish . looking forward to the final book. Safety , recovery and a good ending await.
August 11, 2025
the full sun is not always a good thing
Great read. Lots of action! Can’t wait for book 3. Like the family dynamics. Characters grow through series! First you cry then you laugh.
Great read. Lots of action! Can’t wait for book 3. Like the family dynamics. Characters grow through series! First you cry then you laugh.
August 27, 2025
Excellent drama nature vs humanity
This gets better and better with every chapter. Nice clean PG-13 well written as we cheer on the survivors in this saga. Looking forward to the next problems they encounter whether from nature or devious humans 😎
This gets better and better with every chapter. Nice clean PG-13 well written as we cheer on the survivors in this saga. Looking forward to the next problems they encounter whether from nature or devious humans 😎
July 14, 2025
WHAT LIGHT REMAINED
Loved reading this story. So intense, but that makes it more interesting. Sarah Emma and Grandma are in for another treat if that’s what you want to call it.
Loved reading this story. So intense, but that makes it more interesting. Sarah Emma and Grandma are in for another treat if that’s what you want to call it.
August 11, 2025
Just as good as the first in series and now will await the next one. Good character development, and plot.
November 29, 2025
Tough Ending
Great story throughout. Many plot twists and turns.. Almost impossible to put down. As soon as I am through with this review, I am on to number 3.
Great story throughout. Many plot twists and turns.. Almost impossible to put down. As soon as I am through with this review, I am on to number 3.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews