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allingoodtime's review
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It’s interesting to me to get these peeks into how everything started with Scorpius. Little side stories that don’t involve the full on shit-storm the main storyline characters are dealing with now that Scorpius has taken root and decimated the country and possibly the world. We hear quite a bit about the Brigade, but as of yet have not seen them in the “after times”. This is another novella giving the reader more information on where they may be and what they may be doing. My hope, of course, is that the groups in California will eventually have contact with the Brigade so friends can be reunited and lives can be saved.
This story takes place after Scorpius has started to spread and things are dire, but before the country’s power systems have been knocked offline. Before the president has succumbed to the disease and the power hungry, Scorpius infected, megalomaniac took over as president. Ellie is working for the government and, although isn’t super trusting, is still not as cynical as Hugh. Ellie and Hugh were great friends in college and this is a second-chance romance for them. And boy does their chemistry burn! (pun intended) Hugh is a bit of a mystery. Is he really an everyday blue-collar middle-class guy, or is he hiding something? Is he friend or foe? Ellie trusts Hugh even though they haven’t seen each other in a very long time. She just knows he’s the man for the job they need doing and that he’ll help. The question is, is Ellie right to put so much faith in someone she hasn’t seen in years?
This is a short, hot, and intense story. There is a lot of back and forth on the trust issue that the couple is trying to sort while also racing against time to stop a nuclear meltdown. All while the world is crumbling around them. Until I finish this series I won’t know if it’s a necessary cog in the overall story, most likely not. But it’s a lot of fun and, like I said, an interesting peek at the beginning.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence