Worlds Apart

by Anamika Mukherjee

Sresha, an expert in nuclear safety, has just joined a broad team of professionals. Their task is to analyze the environmental impact of the Catastrophe - a cataclysmic nuclear power plant accident that occurred in Delhi almost five decades ago. As Sresha works with others on the team to analyze data from the site, she makes a startling discovery. One small patch on a high resolution photograph appears to show an area under cultivation. Sresha is intrigued. Have people from nearby areas recently settled in the Dead Zone? Or could this possibly be evidence of survivors from the Catastrophe itself?

Sresha is desperate to investigate further. But not everyone is equally interested in unearthing the truth. Lalitha seems to be more interested in her nail polish and Arun clearly only has one thing on his mind. Sresha does have one ally in Ashok... but the official route to investigating her discovery is embroiled in politics and Sresha realizes she must do something more drastic if the world is ever to find out about the survivors.

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 15, 2017

Reviews

[Susan Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really glad that I went on to read the second book in this series. The first book was just okay to me. The characters didn't really grab me, the story was just okay and I was left not really enjoying it as a whole. I did keep going though and the second book grabbed me, the characters were memorable and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The first book was about the nuclear disaster and the after effects of those that survived. There were two characters out of the first book, Ved and Natasha, that are the only ones I had any sort of connection to and that wasn't really much. The story revolved on the survivors surviving right after the explosion to years later still fighting to survive. It definitely laid the groundwork and looking back it was a good foundation for the book to come.

The second book, Worlds Apart, takes place fifty years in the future. They are taking a look at the devastation from the nuclear disaster that had taken place and researching the area and what it is like now. They have no idea there are survivors still in this closed off area.

Again, the character development probably could have been better, but Sresha and Ashok are well defined and I really love these characters. There are a couple of characters that are detestable as well. Overall, the characters are not terrible and it is great to see Natasha back and little bits of Ved. Natasha grows a bit in this story and I do love her character even more fifty years in the future.

The story develops well as Sresha notices fields that look as if they have been cultivated. This starts off the excitement and dread of the possibility of survivors from the disaster that struck. These survivors have been living in this area and no one has known. They have low life expectancy and very high rates of miscarriages and birth defects due to the conditions in an area of radiation.

It was interesting to see the government response and how leaked files force them to act; to help the survivors. You see the differences in life in the hot zone and those living outside and how life is so simple, but survival key in one area while the outside is pampered and doesn't really want for much. The people in the Zone are content and don't really want to live outside with the rest.

All in all, I really enjoyed this second book very much. I think Anamika Mukherjee did such a great job bringing it all together. I loved Sresha, Ashok and Natasha. It was an interesting ending, but not really surprising; yet pleasing. It was a great read and I'm really happy I kept with it.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

Friends are transferred to study a nuclear accident that occurred 50 years ago in India, and finds...survivors.

Not bad, but very shallow.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received this book through a giveaway. Very interesting & also scary topic. I did not read the first book, but this book can easily be read alone without the storyline from the previous book. I loved how independent the main character is, but she definitely seems so naive with men. The future here is also very interesting & has a nice way of making you think what it could really be like 50+ years from now. I have to say that i did enjoy this book. It was a good read.

[Craig Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I finished this book I was continually waiting for some excitement to show up. The premise of a horrific nuclear accident is a good one but the author skirted around what really happened. She also did not fully explain how the survivors managed to survive for decades after the accident. The characters seemed very shallow and poorly developed. The relationships were strangely not given any opportunity for bonding. It seems the military and civil responce to the accident were glossed over when they obviously could not have been.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting story about survivors of a nuclear explosion who were left on their own for decades in a Dead Zone and how they were discovered. The first part of the book was slow for my taste, but once it got into the thick of things, my interest peaked. It's a good book! I recommend it.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a captivating book about survivors of a nuclear explosion. A great read.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This storyline captivated my attention from the first page to the last