Heroes of New Vegas Series, Book 6 Night Resurrected / Colleen Gleason / 389 pages

Five men emerge from a cave fifty years after an apocalyptic event.  Now with extraordinary new powers, they must learn how to survive in this new dark, ravaged world. They are determined to help the resistance that is fighting against the immortal Strangers that caused the destruction, and now repress the human race.  The Strangers, once human and the rich elite of society, part of the Cult of Atlantis, worked to cause the destruction of the world in exchange for crystals from Atlantis that give them immortality. The world they knew is in ashes, and what remains is in peril and these five extraordinary survivors are humankind's last, best hope. One of the men that emerges from the cave is Wyatt,  he lost his family forever during The Change, and has nothing left to lose. But just when he thought he'd never feel anything again, Remington Truth comes into his life. The beauty faces unimaginable dangers on her quest to safeguard the mysterious crystal in her possession as the Strangers hunt her, he joins her on her journey-never expecting her to find a way past the wall he's built. Remy's a woman with everything at stake. While protecting the powerful crystal that her grandfather and name’s sake gave her, she dares trust no one with her life and family secret. Yet once she recognizes the ravished heart beneath Wyatt's stony facade, she's willing to risk it all. Together they battle the force of darkness-their very survival at stake.  Narrated by Sebastian Fields 11h 46 min.

Heroes of New Vegas Series, Book 5 Night Forbidden / Colleen Gleason / 389 pages

Five men emerge from a cave fifty years after an apocalyptic event.  Now with extraordinary new powers, they must learn how to survive in this new dark, ravaged world. They are determined to help the resistance that is fighting against the immortal Strangers that caused the destruction, and now repress the human race.  The Strangers, once human and the rich elite of society, part of the Cult of Atlantis, worked to cause the destruction of the world in exchange for crystals from Atlantis that give them immortality. The world they knew is in ashes, and what remains is in peril and these five extraordinary survivors are humankind's last, best hope. Bruno "Fence" Washington survived the apocalypse - emerging from a Sedona cave into a strange and terrible new world... 50 years later. Now, scouring for answers about the malevolent Strangers, the former extreme sportsman encounters a woman who calls to his every desire he just has to work through some of the traumas from his past. While try as she might, Ana can't resist the man who tempts her in ways she never knew possible... if she could just trust him with some of the dark secrets from her own past.  But they must work together to face a new evil rising up from the rolling ocean. Narrated by Sebastian Fields 11h 8min.

Heroes of New Vegas Series, Book 4 Night Beckons / Colleen Gleason / 357 pages

Five men emerge from a cave fifty years after an apocalyptic event.  Now with extraordinary new powers, they must learn how to survive in this new dark, ravaged world. They are determined to help the resistance that is fighting against the immortal Strangers that caused the destruction, and now repress the human race.  The Strangers, once human and the rich elite of society, part of the Cult of Atlantis, worked to cause the destruction of the world in exchange for crystals from Atlantis that give them immortality. The world they knew is in ashes, and what remains is in peril and these five extraordinary survivors are humankind's last, best hope. The Change that devastated the earth did not destroy Theo Waxnick, one of the founding members of the resistance.  However during the Change he was altered, made into something more than human he’s eternally young and beautiful, but not immortal. He dies on a mission against the Strangers, and is lost to the darkness, until a miracle lady brings him back. Born during the apocalyptic storms and earthquakes that left the world in ruins, Selena has dedicated her life to easing the pain of others. But Theo is the first in her care to survive. Responding to Selena's tender touch, Theo starts to live again, to feel and desire again. But they both have secrets they can’t share that make them targets for others.   Narrated by Sebastian Fields 12h 42min.

Heroes of New Vegas Series, Book 3 Abandon the Night/ Colleen Gleason / 382 pages

Five men emerge from a cave system fifty years after something destroys human life as they knew it.  Now with extraordinary new powers, they must learn how to survive in this new dark, ravaged world. They are determined to help the resistance movement fighting against the immortal Strangers that caused the destruction, and now repress the human race.  The Strangers, once human and the rich elite of society, part of the Cult of Atlantis, worked to cause the destruction of the world in exchange for crystals from Atlantis that give them immortality. Quent Fielding had it all money, power, women, good looks...until he and his friends were frozen in time for fifty years. Now he finds himself lost and alone in a new world of overgrown urban jungles, feeling useless and that he has nothing useful to offer the resistance besides his strange ability to touch objects and know their past.  However his ability comes as a double edged sword and he can sometimes fall into a deep black whole when he touches something and receives too much information. To feel useful he is determined to find and kill his father, one of the leaders of the Strangers and the Cult of Atlantis, he had a chance to do so when he was younger and his father was trying to beat him to death but didn’t take it and now feels slightly responsible for what his father has done. To find his father Quent’s going to need the help of Zoe Kapoor, the sharp-tongued zombie hunter to kill and avoid the zombies and wild animals, But she’s as sexy as she is elusive and has a dark past of her own, trying to hunt down and kill the man responsible for murdering her family and town. Narrated by Sebastian Fields 10h 30min.

Heroes of New Vegas Series, Book 2 Embrace the Night / Colleen Gleason / 325 pages

Five men emerge from a cave system fifty years after something destroys human life as they knew it.  Now with extraordinary new powers, they must learn how to survive in this new dark, ravaged world. Simon Japp one of the five men has a violent past that will haunt him forever. But when he somehow travels through time to a dark future where civilization is all but destroyed, he sees it as an opportunity for redemption, a second chance. As he becomes familiar with this new, overgrown world of jungle-like cities and overgrown shopping malls, Simon is determined to help the Resistance movement against the immortal Strangers-the repressive, controlling race that has taken over civilization and the ones that caused the destruction. He can't afford to be distracted by the beautiful, soft-spoken woman who haunts his thoughts. Sage Corrigan is the product of a rigid cult that’s goal is to repopulate the world in order to rebuild civilization. She fled when she was a teen to avoid marriage to a man 30 years her senior, who already had several wives and children.  She's learned not to trust anyone, but there's something about Simon and his empty, haunted eyes that tug at her heart. Then there is her friend Theo who also has feelings for her, she not sure what to think. But then Simon and Sage are forced together when they have to pose as husband and wife to infiltrate the cult she once fled. Narrated by Sebastian Fields 10h 43min.

Heroes of New Vegas Series, Book 1 Beyond the Night / Colleen Gleason / 324 pages

Everything they knew and loved was gone.  Five men emerge from a cave to find the world that they knew is gone, they have extraordinary new powers, and they must learn and survive in this new world.  When Dr. Elliot Drake and his friends went on an expedition in a system of caves, he and his companions did not expect to awake from a sleep and emerge fifty years later. Cities are now desolate - lacking technology and infrastructure, civilization is controlled by deadly immortals called the Strangers, and there are zombie like creatures that roam stealing blond people for the Strangers and tearing all others apart.  Elliott has an extraordinary new gift, he has the power to heal, but it comes with fatal consequences, although he can take the injury away from a patient by touching them if he doesn’t touch another person or animal and pass the injury onto them, then he takes on the injury himself, only more fatal.  Jade Kapiza was imprisoned by the immortals for years and escaped and has now been in hiding for years.  She is determined to help the human race fight back against her old captors but doesn’t trust anyone…. Until she meets Elliott.  Narrated by Sebastian Fields 10h 33min

Jericho Season 4 / Kalinda Vazquez / 120 pgs

Aw man! This thing ended on a cliffhanger and there's no Season 5 published yet! What am I going to do? Why does this series keep me dangling even ten years later? If you noticed, I did post a review on Season 4 yesterday, and my thoughts are pretty much the same. The only changes I would say from that review is that there was an artist who did one of the chapters' graphics, who decided to make the heads look way too big for the bodies, and I wasn't too keen on that. However, the story was very well done. We learned more about the reasons for the original nuclear attacks, got some great action in there, and even a possible death. I was pleased with the direction the story is going, and very invested in the characters, especially Jake and Robert, who are on par with other great action duos like Sherlock and Watson, Starsky and Hutch, and Murtaugh and Riggs. Recommended for fans of the original TV series.

Jericho Season 3 / Dan Shotz, et al. / 140 pgs

While mentioning the old TV show Jericho to a librarian friend a couple of weeks ago, she informed me that two graphic novels have been published in the last couple of years. Both continue the story of the show, and are very well done. I was very pleased to see that the characters are nicely drawn. The story moves along at a good pace and the politics between the three countries that now take up the lower 48 states are as interesting as ever.

For a refresher, since a group of nuclear bombs destroyed many of America's major cities, the country is now divided with the government of the United States in Columbus, Ohio, and the government of the Allied States in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The dividing line between both countries is the Mississippi River. In the middle is the newly independent Republic of Texas. Jake Green and Robert Hawkins are still on mission to take what they know about the origination of the nuclear attacks to Texas in an effort to get them to fight for the right side. I recommend Jericho Season 3, but only to those who have already watched and enjoyed the two televised seasons.

All Our Wrong Todays / Elan Mastai / 384 pgs

All Our Wrong Todays won't be published until February, but I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader copy and devoured it in two days. I have a lot of feelings about this book, not all negative, not all positive. It's like one of those pieces of art that is supposed to evoke a lot of emotion from you, and that's the whole point of it. It matters not if the feelings are 100% positive or 100% negative, or somewhere in between, so long as you FEEL SOMETHING. 

The book tells the story of Tom, a man in his early 30's who lives in 2016. He has a total "failure to launch" vibe about him. He's the kind of guy who uses his grief over the death of his beloved mom to score with three ex-girlfriends and one of his closest female friends. His inventor dad treats him like a kid (maybe rightly so). In short, he's not your typical protagonist. However, his world is something like all the futuristic sci-fi movies you ever saw or books you ever read. Moving sidewalks, flying cars, clothes that can be recycled overnight into a completely different outfit the next day, big tall buildings in huge cities, food that is automatically made once you made your meal wish known to the machine that makes it. It's pretty cool, but for Tom, it's lonely. 

But Tom's dad has made a time machine and wants to send six people back to the day, July 11, 1965, when the invention that made this futuristic world possible was first turned on. Hijinks ensue, mistakes are made by Tom, and next thing you know, he has woken up in a world where his name is John, his mom is still alive, he has a sister, and it's the 2016 you and I both know. For Tom/John, however, it's a total dystopia. How can Tom make it right, and will he want to after he discovers his family isn't dysfunctional, and the love of his life loves him back?

The world-building in the first third of the book was a lot of fun to read, but it did get bogged down in the middle a bit, enough to start to bore me. Then the last third of the book really ramps up and gets good again. My other complaint is that it did get pretty confusing with all of the time lines converging and diverging. Lots of time-wimey stuff that was pretty hard to keep up with at times, but I still recommend it as a fun read for those who love time travel and paradoxes.

The Last One / Alexandra Oliva / 304 pgs

Wow! I devoured this book in less than 48 hours, it was so good. I really enjoyed this debut novel by Alexandra Oliva, just published this past month, and thought she did a tremedous job with a very original concept.

A married lady who has had a lot of adventures in travel before setting down to get married decides to do one last crazy thing before trying to get pregnant with her husband. She is cast on a reality survival  type show with 11 others and put in a wilderness to do all kinds of crazy, strenuous challenges. Two weeks into filming, she and the contestants who are left are sent on a solo challenge, but the fatique and hunger has altered her judgment abilities and what she thinks is fake might be real. All of the contestants have nicknames based on their occupation (sometimes even their race). So, the married lady is named Zoo because she works with animals

I don't want to give too much away, but the book does shift between Zoo's present and when the reality show first began, giving you an idea just why Zoo may think that everything she sees around her isn't real despite the overwhelming evidence. My only complaint is that when the book mentions the 12 contestants, they are always referred to by their nickname, but when Zoo is thinking specifically about them, she refers to them by their first name, which can be really confusing. Otherwise, the book is spectacular, definitely a thriller, slightly dystopian, and all around a fun read.

Morning Star/Pierce Brown/524 pgs.

This is the conclusion to the trilogy that began with Red Rising--and what a conclusion it is! Darrow was born a "Red," was transformed into a "Gold," and is ultimately trying to take down the society that he has discovered rules all of the classes--but ultimately wants to replace it with something better. Part science fiction, part Dystopian society, this is one wild ride. I can't recommend this trilogy strongly enough. It took me about fifty pages to get into the first book in the trilogy, Red Rising, but after that, I never looked back. Highly, highly, recommended!

The Girl With All the Gifts / M.R. Carey / 407 pgs.

By far, this is the best book I've read this year. I think it outshines all of the books I read in 2015 too. I went into this unsure exactly what the book is about, but within the first couple of chapters, the big reveal occurs. Nonetheless, I think I will keep the reveal a secret and do what I can to talk about the book without giving it away.


First off, this is a dystopia. The book takes place in the near future after a cataclysmic event occurred about twenty years before. It is about a 10-year old girl, Melanie, who lives in a cell and waits to be collected every day to be taken to school. The soldiers strap her to a wheelchair while Sgt. Parks keeps a gun trained on her. Despite this odd arrangement, Dr. Caldwell calls her a genius. Melanie loves one thing very much, her teacher, Miss Justineau. What Melanie, or anyone else, doesn't know is that she, Sgt. Parks, Dr. Caldwell, and Miss Justineau will all have to band together and run for their lives.


The story is so rich and the author did an amazing job with the scientific research that was needed to complete the book. The genre he wrote in has already been done to death, but he brought something very new and unique. Very highly recommend!

Invasion of the Tearling/Johansen/515

Invasion of the Tearling is 2nd book of Queen of the Tearling trilogy by Erika Johansen. The story is set three centuries after an environmental catastrophe has pretty much destroyed everything. A small group has emerged from the "crossing" and finally the true queen has come of age and is ready to take her throne. Nineteen year old Kelsea Glynn has been hidden away and must reclaim her mother's throne. She is trying to save her kingdom from forces of corruption and  dark magic. We basically get two stories in this second book in the series as Queen Kelsea is drawn into the world of Lily, a young woman fighting for her life before the crossing. Even though the world building is confusing in these books, and at first I did not like the flashbacks to Lily's world, I found myself drawn into that story as well.

Pines / Blake Crouch / 307 pages

This is the first of Crouch's Wayward Pines trilogy which inspired the TV series.  While the TV series was mostly faithful to the text, careful readers/watchers will notice some differences.  I watched the series first and had many questions about the timeline and how Dr. Pilcher and his minions were seemingly able to move back and forth in the timeline to get people, put them in cryogenic sleep for 2000 years and then wake them up.  After reading the first book, I still have just as many questions.  If anything, the book is even darker than the TV series, with children as young as 7 years old participating in exterminating anyone who breaks Pilcher's rules about accepting life in Wayward Pines.  Ethan comes to Wayward Pines following a run-in with a Mack truck while investigating the disappearance of two secret service agents.  He can't accept the seemingly idyllic life because the residents of Wayward are just too creepy.  He escapes from the hospital where they are trying to brainwash him and defeats a trio of Abbies as he furthers his escape.  Pilcher finally decides to show him "what's really going on" while demonstrating his need to control everything and everyone in Wayward Pines.  This dystopian vision of our future is sure to keep readers up late pondering the possibilities of life inside a mountain with no way out.

Golden Son (Red Rising Bk. 2) / Pierce Brown / 446 pgs

"Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom from the overlords of a brutal elitist future built on lies. Now fully embedded among the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his work to bring down Society from within."----Provided by publisher.

I really, really wanted to like this book; and like the first book "Red Rising", I felt like I had to "work" through the first third to half way through, to get to the real good stuff.  In "Golden Son", much of the book has the main character, Darrow, navigating the elite's political system, plotting his next move.  If you are interested in reading political intrigue stories, with a lot of dealing, secrets, lies, backstabbing, and nobody reveling their actual agenda; then this book is for you.  The rest will have to suffer through as the main character's plans change over and over again as characters change sides, loyalties, agendas, or just plain die off.  I guess this is suppose to be considered as "plot twists", but I just found them frustrating and made the plot move along slower than it needed.

Still, I enjoyed the characters and some of the political maneuvering (as most are much more likable then the psychos in Game of Thrones).  However, once the actual war starts, the author's talent in writing action-packed battles and strategy scenes really comes through.

And, of course, a planned trilogy can never end Book 2 without a cliffhanger ending.
Book 3, "Morning Star" comes out Feb. 9, 2016!

The Country of Ice Cream Star/Sandra Newman/629 pages

Ice Cream Star is a young woman living somewhat innocently in a dystopian America when her older brother's epidemic illness thrusts her into the leadership role for her small band of children. What follows is a wrenching struggle for survival for herself and her people as she attempts to find a cure to her brother's disease.

Analysis - An impressive exercise in creativity, this book involved peoples from various cultural groups and is told by the narrator in a pidgin English that becomes almost comfortable by the end of the book. 

Originality is the strong suit of this novel. But that originality also makes it hard to classify. While it is dystopian, it is firmly anchored in a very real America. While some aspects of the storyline seem science fiction-ish, the content is not hard-line science fiction. Its epic length and unusual language may make this book a challenge for some. But it is worth a read. The depictions of familiar places that have been shambled by the rigors of war and disease and the emotions wrought by its main character make it a worthy read.

    

Golden Son/Pierce Brown/446 pgs.

This is the 2nd book in the Red Rising trilogy, and it is just as good, if not better than Red Rising.  In a Dystopian world where society is divided into colors, with Golds being the  highest members of society, and Reds being at the bottom, Darrow was transformed from a Red into a Gold in the hopes that he could lead a revolution which would result in a more equitable society. It sounds good in theory, but Darrow soon learns that the Golds are more than happy with the current state of the world, and do not welcome change. There is conspiracy, death, political struggles. suspense--you name, this book has it. There are some striking similarities to our world affairs--past and present. Highly recommended!

Insurgent / Veronica Roth / 525 p.

This is the second in the Divergent series; a young adult dystopian trilogy. The "faction" system is unraveling as one group, the "Erudites" set out to control the rest.  Tris and Four, members of "Dauntless," are among a group of several faction members trying to stop the attacks and learn what is behind them.

The romance between Tris and Four continues as they both repeatedly and selflessly throw themselves into the line of fire to save others. There is a lot of death and destruction--to be expected when groups are at war.  There are obvious similarities to The Hunger Games trilogy, but there are enough differences to keep it interesting.

Divided/Elsie Chapman/312 pgs.

This is the sequel to Chapman's Dualed, but the author has left herself enough room at the end of the book to continue it as a series. At the beginning of this book, life is good for West Grayer and her boyfriend, Chord. They are both "completes," i.e. their Alts (alternate persons) are dead. They can go about Kersh without fear of being killed. However, Sabian, a member of the Board that rules Kersh, has his own agenda, and it involves West's abilities as a "striker" (a paid assassin). This book is just as good as its predecessor--it has action, suspense, and a little romance--a great YA Dystopian read. Highly recommended!

A Girl Called Fearless/Catherine Linka/353 pgs.

This debut novel by Catherine Linka has me hoping she has more stories like this waiting to be written. In a Dystopian United States, 50 million women died from cancer due to ingesting a synthetic hormone in beef. As a result, young girls, old women, men, and young men are left to rebuild the United States. The book takes place 10 years after the tragedy occurs, with 16 year old Avie Reveare living a "normal" privileged life in Los Angeles. Although the death threat is past, fathers form a movement known as the Paternalists--a movement to protect their daughters, since future generations and re-population of the United States depend on them. Daughters are constantly monitored, and in the case of privileged girls like Avie, have body guards--there is no freedom or women's rights. Avie's father "contracts" her out to marry a wealthy man who has bought up stock in his biotech company. Not wanting this marriage, Avie does the only thing left to do--run. With the help of her friend, Yates, and others involved in the underground movement to free women, Avie takes off. This review isn't doing the book justice--it's one of the best YA books I've read, and grabs the reader from the first page. It's told in Avie's voice, so the reader experiences the emotions Avie is going through, and keeps the reader in suspense through the end of the book. Highly recommended!