Note: this review was first posted on Reedsy Discovery, an awesome website that pairs independent authors and readers. To see the post there click here.

SYNOPSIS

Welcome to the New Wild West.

After a devastating power outage wipes out most of Tucson, survivors Liam, Noah, and Ellie have more than the hot summers to worry about. In the absence of modern technology, ancient spirits awaken and the Sun God and Rain Goddess resume their timeless war over the elements. Friendships are tested and lines between good and evil are blurred as the humans are thrust into a strange and dangerous journey that reveals the mysterious forces ruling the desert. When the Rain Goddess is injured and the temperatures rise, Liam, Noah, and Ellie must find a way to restore power to the city before they all burn.

REVIEW

5/5 Stars

It’s been a couple of years since the Grid, a modern technology powering the world fell. While survivors are trying to do the best they can in Tucson, Arizona, three people have their lives and beliefs changed forever. Liam, Noah and Ellie meet a strange woman named, Talisa, who seems to have powers beyond human understanding. She’s on the run from a man that seems to be even more powerful than she is. While Liam and Ellie work to protect her, Noah works to restore power to the Grid. The future looks uncertain for everyone unless they can succeed.

Captivating from the very beginning, this book kept me guessing the entire time. The threats are vivid and well developed. The journey the main characters take is difficult and engaging. The theme of how technology and nature interplay with each other was a constant and welcome presence in the story. While I have never been to Tucson, the descriptions made me feel like I was there and you can feel the author’s love of the city and surrounding areas in the writing.

If you’ve read The Stand by Stephen King and American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and enjoyed those, this book is for you. I felt like this took some of the best elements of those books and put them together in an extremely effective manner. The characters are believable even when unbelievable things happen to them and around them. The odds are overwhelming against the characters in the book yet they keep fighting in their own way.

This was a welcome fresh take on a post apocalypse book and I couldn’t put it down until I had read it through. It’s cinematic in scope and I am hoping that this will be the first in a long series of books as I kept wanting to know what would happen next. I highly recommend it.

Praisingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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