Synopsis: (from publisher)
It’s been over six months since the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano. Alex and Darla have been staying with Alex’s relatives, trying to cope with the new reality of the primitive world so vividly portrayed in Ashfall, the first book in this series. It’s also been six months of waiting for Alex’s parents to return from Iowa. Alex and Darla decide they can wait no longer and must retrace their journey into Iowa to find and bring back Alex’s parents to the tenuous safety of Illinois. But the landscape they cross is even more perilous than before, with life-and-death battles for food and power between the remaining communities. When the unthinkable happens, Alex must find new reserves of strength and determination to survive.
I felt like I was early in "discovering" Mike Mullin's debut YA novel, ASHFALL (review HERE), and it has been a pleasure to cheer it on and see how the buzz has picked up steam. So, the big question: does the sequel live up to the first? You bet your ass it does!
I gasped for the first time at page 6 - SIX! - and the action Did. Not. Stop.
As Alex and Darla head back out into the post-supervolcano world, the panic they saw before has given way to the need for survival at any cost. Unfortunately, there were bad people before the ash, and after the ash they became strong and banded together to prey upon the weak. Among the rival cannibal gangs, corrupt government officials and slave traders, there are a few communities fighting to maintain a relatively normal way of life.
I flew through this book, just as I did the first. (550 pages in two days - sleep is for the weak) The action is so heart-pounding, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Here's the thing, though, I never felt like there was a twist or turn that didn't have purpose. Each conflict had a reason, aiding in the world-building, answering questions about the rest of the country, and supporting the characters physically moving forward in their mission, as well as keeping the character development moving.
Readers will be pleasantly surprised by some characters from the first book who make another appearance, like our lovable librarian, Rita Mae.
We are also introduced to a few new characters as well - in particular we have two new members of Alex's group, Ben and Alyssa, a brother and sister pair that have had a particularly horrific time since the Ashfall. Alyssa is crazy, in my opinion, but Ben? I wanted to wrap him up and bring him home with me. I adore this new character!
This book is far from pretty. It will make you think. It will entertain you. It will frighten you. It will suck you in and not let you go until long after you've turned the last page.
There was so much action in this book, I felt like I barely had time to catch my breath before Mike Mullin had my heart pounding again!
Highly recommended!
Book Extras:
Goodreads
Mike Mullin author website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Blog, Google+, Pinterest
About the Book:
Mike Mullin first discovered he could make money writing in sixth
grade. His teacher, Mrs. Brannon, occasionally paid students for using unusual
words. Mullin’s first sale as a writer earned ten cents for one word:
tenacious.
Since then, Mullin has always been involved with literature. One of his early jobs was shelving books at Central Library in Indianapolis. Later, he paid his way through graduate school in part by serving as a reference assistant. He has worked in his mother’s business, Kids Ink Children’s Bookstore, for more than twenty years, serving at various times as a store manager, buyer, school and library salesperson, and marketing consultant.
Mullin wrote his first novel in elementary school — Captain Poopy’s Sewer Adventures. He’s been writing more or less nonstop ever since, but fortunately for his readers, Ashfall will be his first published novel.
Mullin holds a black belt in Songahm Taekwondo. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and her three cats. Visit www.mikemullinauthor.com for more info about the author and Ashfall and its sequel, Ashen Winter.
Since then, Mullin has always been involved with literature. One of his early jobs was shelving books at Central Library in Indianapolis. Later, he paid his way through graduate school in part by serving as a reference assistant. He has worked in his mother’s business, Kids Ink Children’s Bookstore, for more than twenty years, serving at various times as a store manager, buyer, school and library salesperson, and marketing consultant.
Mullin wrote his first novel in elementary school — Captain Poopy’s Sewer Adventures. He’s been writing more or less nonstop ever since, but fortunately for his readers, Ashfall will be his first published novel.
Mullin holds a black belt in Songahm Taekwondo. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and her three cats. Visit www.mikemullinauthor.com for more info about the author and Ashfall and its sequel, Ashen Winter.
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