Author: Matthew Mather
Year of Publication: 2013
Plot: What would happen if things suddenly change? Internet
and cell phones stop. The power goes out. A huge winter storm blast New York
and strange events happen across the nation. New York is cut off from the
world. Soon a mystery deepens. At first no big deal, a basic black out. But not
all is what it seems. Days and then weeks pass. New York has no contact with
the outside world. Enter your main characters, one family trying to survive a catastrophe.
My Review and Thoughts:
An intense, dramatic, book about just what could happen in
all it’s horrible realities. Normal life altered. Everything we rely on
changes. Power, Phones, Internet and basic human skills must form to create a
living reality. This is a jam-packed awesome what could happen if life as we
know it all changed overnight. A woven mystery of survival in all its intense
glory. I was thoroughly hooked. I felt the intensity of the situation and most
of all the human instinct of survival rushed through my blood as I turned each
page.
This is what I call a perfect WHAT IF storyline. An exploration
of the What If’s of life. The way this book is written, in a way like an
unfolding moment in today’s world on just what could happen and just what might
be the most real written and displayed society and its actions. This has all
the trademarks of a survival setting that seems like the end of the world run
crazy. I am a sucker for huge winter storms in stories. There are many scary
things in life, but losing every ability to communicate, or find out
information on what is going on and not being able to, then a huge storm,
darkness, and the idea of safety. This plays out like a claustrophobic mind
screw of emotions. There is something scary about not being able to know what
is happening or what has taken place or what is going on. There is a human side
of all of us that need to know the now, but what if you have no means of
knowing the now of what is happening, that’s scary.
This book brings a tight dreading fear that lingers in your
bones. The winter storm causes you to be chilled the way the intensity of the
characters are written and displayed in vivid interactions with the surrounding
reality. Mather knows how to write a real-life setting. Mather knows how to
place fear in his characters. Mather knows how to display perfect survival
reality. Mather creates a doomsday reality around modern life. We as a society
are so lost inside our technology and machines that in honesty if technology
was to vanish, if power was to stop, and worse yet a storm of magnitude, sadly
to say the majority of society would die because we are so hung up on
technology and power, that so many humans would not know how to survive and
take charge of their lives. Mathers creates a perfect setting of situations
that are believable and downright humanly scary.
What makes this book so strong is the human side that Mather
places into the story. Most of the book is the personal struggles of a group of
persons in one apartment building. The survival is displayed in a dramatic way
that lingers with emotional realities. The personas are intense and real as
they struggle for knowledge, medical, food and so on. There is an intensity of
personalities woven into the story. Your main players all come together to
create a personal side of society that mixes with the will to live through any
means. That bond of human, mix with the destruction of society creates a believable
plot. Mather holds tightly to the reader.
The book is thick with character development. You get to
know each player over the many chapters of the book. The destruction of power,
internet and machines and all the basic things that make our life function into
today’s world is really a back thought to the story, because the characters are
the main point and that is what displays itself in all it’s imaginative glory.
Mather creates a small community of people and all the dramatic moments of
survival and life. As you read along you can’t help but want to know what
happens next, or what really is going on. There is a lot of fear and talk about
what has transpired in the world making it a more logical setting because rumor
and fear can lead society into a bitter reality.
What makes this book so awesome is, it has all the
trademarks of what could happen right now in this world. It’s logical. Its believable.
Its reality based. FEAR, PLAGUE, LACK OF KNOWLEDGE can take its power and force
society into a spiraling catastrophe. A very thoughtful read. A book that makes
you think and makes you linger on just what could take place.
If I had to pick out one negative reality to the book, I did
not care much for the ending. I would have not done the ending the way that
unfolded. I am not going to give anything away, but I would have left the
doomsday style setting and not created what transpired. I was somewhat let down
after reading the whole book of catastrophe and was thoroughly set in that
stage of the story and would figure the outcome that basis. If you read the
book you will see what I am saying. I just felt like it was a bummer. But with
that said, still a solid wonderful, descriptive, scary reality style book. It
makes you think, it makes you question and most of all it makes you thoroughly
entertained.
Would I Return to it Again? This author has just become a
new favorite of mine. This is the first time I have ever read anything by the
author, and I am floored at how brilliant and perfected this author is. I will
return to this book sometime down the lane of time, because it’s one of those
books that demand a second or third reading. It’s one of those books you can
return to repeatedly. And after reading it I found out there is a Part 2 and a
part 3 to the characters which is kind of cool. But this is a stand-alone and
you don’t have to read Part 2 or 3 to get the full story. This books end, so
don’t worry when I say there are others. But if you want to adventure into the
characters then head on over and read part 2 and 3.
Would I Recommend: Absolutely. This is one of those books I
think should be read and explored with all it’s wonderful direction in plot,
action and character.
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (I would have given it a 4 but the
ending kind of let me down a little so I had to take away a half a point).
Four Final Words: Brutally honest. Fantastically Mastered.