Peter R Stone

A brilliant Australia-set post-apocalyptic tale for YA!

World War III decimated Earth and society; the surviving members of the human race clustered together in settlements on the Australian continent in the former state of Victoria. Eighteen-year-old Ethan Jones has grown up in one of these city-settlements, Newhome, on the outskirts of what is left of Melbourne. He leads a successful team of five friends that forage for metals and other useful items amongst its ruins. Ethan, however, has a show more secret. Ethan is a mutant with enhanced hearing and echolocation abilities that would earn him a death sentence if the powers-that-be found out.

The success of this team (far outstripping that of the other forager teams) attracts the attention of the “Custodians”: the militaristic overseers of the city and the guardians of the status quo. Under the pretext of protecting Ethan’s team from the horrific marauders known as the “Skels” that haunt the Melbourne ruins, a team of Custodians accompany them out of the city for a day of foraging.

While working, the two teams must come to the rescue of a trading party from the distant city-settlement of Hamamachi that the Skels have attacked. The party’s only survivors are Counsillor Okada and his young female translator, Nanako. For Ethan, life as he knows it is fixing to change forever - again.

The author has given us a fully developed, post-apocalyptic world and populated it with great characters. The plot is imaginative, and I was immediately absorbed in the story. The society of Newhome, highly structured with rigid and unforgiving laws and traditions, sets the stage for the variety of characters and their hopeless lives (although the ambitious can aspire to entry into the privileged and mysterious part of the city known as “North Gate.”)

The mix of actually existing items like the Custodians’ Bushmaster vehicles and Austeyr assault rifles add a touch of our present to Ethan’s reality, and I found that fun. I also liked that the characters used actual Melbourne streets and place names on the foraging trips. I imagine that if the reader actually lived in Melbourne, that would be pretty cool.

The action was tense and tight, with a number of twists that I never saw coming. As I read, I did not want to put the book down, respect the clock, or get on with what needed doing (sleep, work, etc.) in my day-to-day. I just needed to read “one more chapter.” Bravo to the author for a great start to his trilogy. show less

I must first state that I love when I get receive pictures of the covers of books that are kind of 3D. I think it is just the coolest thing.

Moving on.

When I decided to read and review this particular book, I honestly wasn't sure if I would like it. I mean, I love dystopian and post-apocalyptic novels, it is interesting to see humans fighting for survival in a world of devastation, but I didn't know what this book bring. Of course I had read the blurb, and normally I can tell by a blurb that show more I will like the book, and sometimes even love it, but this one was an enigma to me. It was a blank slate. And because of this reason, I decided to give it a try.

From the first page, I was pleasantly surprised. This story is wonderful. The world itself is written so very well, to the point where I could envisage every single part of it. And the characters...I love that everyone in Ethan's home is one way, while the Japanese girl he saves is almost the exact opposite. Woman are to be seen and not heard, but this girl has guts like you wouldn't believe. I think that is why she was basically my favorite out of them all. And believe you me, there were a few contenders.

I need to admit that when the connection between Ethan and the girl was revealed, and they ended up happy as clams, I was disappointed. I felt like something was missing. But then I turned the page and BOOM!...drama. It was like the author wanted us to feel a kind of false sense of security, a kind of "okay, they are together...now what?" type of thing. I LOVE THAT! I love being shown that, as a reader, I do not know what direction an author will go. I love being 180'd. It just takes the cake when an author can bring me from a calm state one minute to one of action and excitement the next.

The second book in this series is definitely on my to-read list. I just can't get enough. It was interesting and flowed amazingly well and I just so floored by how much this book surprised me with it's quality. It was truly an outstanding story. show less

I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

The year is 2120, in a post apocalyptic world after World War 3. Ethan Jones lives in Newhome; a town rebuilt in Melbourne, Australia. Their town is filled with rules, which are suppose to keep the citizens safe, but to many, feels like a prison. Ethan’s only escape is with his group of foragers. They leave Newhome and gut the nearby abandoned homes for metals. Ethan’s group seems to yield the most metals. But that’s show more because he has a secret that not even his family knows. When he and his team save visitors from Hamamachi, he meets the very intriguing Nanako.

I enjoy a good dystopian novel and this one doesn’t disappoint. The story kept me engrossed as I was immediately drawn into this post apocalyptic life. There’s lots of betrayal and mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. It was a great story through and through, and the chemistry between Ethan and Nanako is amazing. show less

I was pulled into this dystopian society. I found it as intriguing but yet a very scary society. I was rooting for the MC as he remembered his past and started to realize the true reality of things around him. I think the reader has barely skimmed the surface of the treachery and lies that have befallen this society. Overall, a great start to a new series that I feel can only get better. I can't wait to continue this reading journey.