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Caleb and Lukas Lincoln are brothers and longtime summer campers. They are at camp when an apocalyptic event happens. The survivors flee the camp to find out who is alive and what the nation is facing. Furies are everywhere, but so far, they have been stopped at the border. Can the campers get to Mexico and save themselves?
At first, readers can simply enjoy reading about silly teenage camp antics, which are often relatable. But as the story moves along, the themes unfold as each horrendous experience takes place. For example, do people become more team-oriented when faced with adversity, or do they devolve into less civilized versions of themselves as depicted in the classic novel Lord of the Flies? Which is the natural tendency? Also, is blood thicker than water? Will the brothers stay bound together?
This science fiction story for young adults is riveting, frightening, mysterious, and clever. It reminds one in some ways of a fictional and souped-up version of Richard Preston’s The Hot Zone. Beyond the story’s originality and high-quality character development, Lyons sculpts a well-written story with artful turns of phrase: "They looked like living lava, spilling into the river in one endless wave, hard to discern as individuals."
Contemporary sci-fi can sometimes be more frightening, graphic, and stunning than dystopian work. This book is all of those things and more. Lyons is a talented and gutsy writer. To title a novel as “Book One” is to bet on the likelihood that readers will be okay with a cliffhanger ending and ready for the sequel. In this case, the risk pays off, and readers will be waiting impatiently for the next book in the series.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review