I have read a huge number of excellent post-apocalyptic books over the years, sadly this wasn’t one of them. There were elements of it that were good and concepts and ideas that I like and that seemed feasible enough to not be jarring. But even so, the story was very far fetched in some areas, and just down right silly in others. It’s a pity as this could have been a great book with just a little more care and thought to some of the big themes.

I don’t want to go into too much detail of the things that I didn’t think worked as I don’t want to post any spoilers. But at a high level things such as the motivation from Denzel and Diaz to do what they end up doing towards the end is just ludicrous and goes against their characters that have been built up over the rest of the book.

The “plan” that the government has put in place for those who are going to survive is also laughable in its implausibility. Perhaps Colt had painted himself in to a corner and couldn’t come up with another option, but this one just didn’t work for me.

I did like the undercurrent of the “eighty eight” and how that might play out in future books. But I don’t think I will be reading them to find out.

The final issue I have with the whole story is the very strong anti-vax message it contains. Whether this was the intention or whether it was just a plot devise I don’t know. However it is still there and I think it’s a dangerous angle for any book to use.

Overall, I didn’t hate reading the book. I got through it despite the issues and some bad writing in places. But I won’t be rushing out to read the other books in the series.

What Happened Next