Jackson Aims forgot everything. Where he was, what he was doing, and just about everything else.
He found himself in a destroyed metropolis with thousands of others with the same condition.
In the years to come truths have been unfolding: No one is over the age of twenty-six. There is an invisible yet impassible barrier located Downtown where others have disappeared. And a building-sized timer had appeared suddenly, and is tied directly to Jackson’s fate.
Jackson must uncover his past to correct a broken future, and must soon, less he becomes one that wholly vanishes.
Intriguing from the start. Suspenseful. And even shocking at times.
Put in Jackson’s shoes, we are taken on a journey of discovery of the new world around him, from which he has no recollection whatsoever. Chaos and survival rule. I had no expectation as to the reason behind all that had happened (was happening), so the end managed to be a surprise; still, it felt somewhat lacking (or maybe rushed).
A chore to finish. I found myself confused at many points, as if the story took a leap that I missed. Some missing words in sentences. Some incorrect words. The uniqueness of the story kept me slogging through it. The ending was a total disappointment. I was hoping it was actually going somewhere.
The main character, Jackson Aims, wakes up in a city that has been totally decimated, and he has no memory of his past or what has happened around him. None of the survivors are above the age of twenty six since, at that age, they until a mysterious transformation and vanish inside an equally mysterious barrier that surrounds the downtown portion of the city. In time, he will also discover a large timer downtown. It is counting down, but towards what he doesn't know. The novel focuses on Jackson's attempts to unravel these mysteries.
I thought the premise was a little bit unique within the post apocalyptic genre, and I like the "race against time" aspect that the timer provided. The storytelling, at times, was compelling. There were times, though, when the authors description of scenes were hard to picture and the characters' sequence of movements through the landscape didn't make sense, as if the author changed his mind but didn't realign the characters' completed actions to the author's new train of thought.
Also, the author attempted to keep a lot of things a mystery until the very end, but from the reader's perspective, it came across as if important elements of the story were glossed over. For instance, there was a group that felt hatred for Jackson, but it was never explained why he was so hated. The period of time where this hatred developed was not covered in the book, nor did the story can back to that time. As a reader, we were supposed to just roll with it, but it just didn't play well.
Overall, it was interesting reading and I never felt bored with the story at any point, even though I wouldn't describe it as fast paced or action packed. It was a comfortable, easy going reading experience. I would recommend it as a worthwhile reading provided expectations are meeting in check.