The night sky has stopped bleeding.Everyone has made it home safe, if not sound.The National Guard has arrived with food and water.The people of Snow Hill have an opportunity to prepare for winter, and what lies beyond.
But the desperation, violence, and fear haven't abated. Break-ins and vandalism terrify the residents. Thieves slip between houses in the thick of night.People are turning up dead.
Using his expanded powers, the Mayor creates a new local police force to bring the townspeople under his control. Not everyone appreciates the effort. It soon becomes clear that when a malevolent government tightens its grip, it is liberty that suffers.
There's a storm on the horizon, but no one sees it coming.A kind old woman will find neighbors can become enemies,an old war dog will show he still has teeth,and a monster will recover his humanity.
I confess I’ve been checking about every 6 months to see if book 3 was out yet and finally it is! This story is so scary because it could happen. It’s scary because people get crazy when they are scared or jealous. But it’s also awesome. Read it! I’m a little disappointed Ripely, Corey and Mel didn’t have big parts to play in this one but I figure they will get the spotlight back soon, this was Miss Doty’s book and her battle against bigoted tyrants. LOVED IT! Bravo for King’s tree!!
This series for me is one that gets better and better (even though I have given all three books the same rating). Unlike the last series I completed (The Wayfarers Series), each book improves and I can see growth of the author as she works out her writing muscles.
In the first book, I did not give a single crap about any of the characters. They felt fake, unrealistic and the story lacked character development. The plot however was awesome and kept me enthralled. The second book was still lacking in affection for the characters, but I saw improvement, and growth in the main character Ripley. In this third book, I actually felt some emotion for the characters, especially Preacher.
What was lacking for me in this book, was the fact that two main threats existed. First, corruption in town politics that I felt would be very accurate in a post-CME setting, and a natural disaster (hurricane) that was basically a footnote. Once the main characters knew of the hurricane, there seemed to be about a page worth of prep work, with nothing else describing the need to prepare for the storm. In fact, the house was already in a sense prepared with plywood covering the windows against attacks rather than the hurricane. To me, more time could have been spent on this aspect of the story.
Again, in this novel, the bad guys seemed to be unequivocally bad, and the good guys seemed to be too holy and pure. I would have really enjoyed to read some moral arguments between the characters and the now corrupted town leaders, rather than the surface bad guy/ good guy scenarios that were played out.
I will say that the death of Cathy, the most ridiculous neighbor (and character) was justified and I couldn't help but root for the tree (pun intended).
To sum up the series so far: I think each book teaches a lesson on what to prepare for in the event of a CME, and is worth reading to extract the vital information. I look forward to the next installment of the series and hope to see the author continue to grow in her writing as I have seen over the last three novels.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I had very much enjoyed the first two books and was pleased when this one released Christmas 2019. I found this book even better than the first two, partly because Ripley is less prominent and she was a weak link in my opinion. The newer character Preacher is a very strong and interesting man as is the plucky Dotty. It is always easy to get involved in a story of self-entitled bad guys trying to oppress the good guys and this tells that story very well. And yes...I cheered for the tree. Out loud.
Nice read. I was surprised with the turn of events so that kept me interested. And loved the new character, Preacher. Found myself liking him more and more and kept cringing that he might get killed off. Bordered on too many characters. Dialogue often came too close to being simplistic and irrelevant, along with some of the characters actions, but luckily these episodes were short. Over all, it kept my interest all the way through. Will definitely read the next story.
It was okay. I did not like that the POV changed to new characters. The bit of lightness from the first book and the banter between Riley and Marco was gone. Though i liked Preacher, I didn't care for book 3 and its main characters nearly as much.
Also not sure how the two main families plan on surviving. No way they have enough food to survive the winter!
Im not sure if I'll keep reading. Probably not as book 4 isnt out yet.