Xpresso Reads

Ashfall - one of my favourite books of all time - could not have had a better sequel in Ashen Winter. Picking up 6 months after Ashfall's ending, we are thrown into a deep desolation; the dark, cold aftermath of a Supervolcano eruption.Alex and Darla, the fabulous couple who met in Ashfall are leaving the routine and relative safety of the farm to go find Alex's parents. What we have here, friends, is a non stop--and I mean, zero freaking breaks!--action packed thrill ride that will leave you so exhausted with excitement that you might literally just find yourself breathless. Every single page of this novel is filled with intense suspense. Not the type of suspense that leaves characters as little more than words on a page, this series is suspenseful and will make your heart literally backflip because of its characters. You care about them, you want them to live and find their loved ones. Darla and Alex are the perfect team who are both amazingly competent and determined. Their strength makes me feel incompetent! The emotional investment in these people is so poignant that I found myself mimicking their state of minds; Their pain was my pain, their fatigue was my own. I honestly felt their unrelenting weariness from being thrown into their shoes while reading this novel. A Supervolcano eruption is no unrealistic event. Sure, if it even erupts at all, it probably wouldn't happen for decades--or maybe it will. Ultimately, mother nature does as she pleases. The aftermath of such a disaster that has been created in this book and it's predecessor is unlike anything I've ever read. Sure we have dystopians and zombie novels, but nothing makes a story more compelling than one that could happen at any moment. One that makes you truly fear the possibility of this world invading our reality. Mullin doesn't sugar coat it either. It's gory, it's raw, it's violent to no end; it made me squirm and grimace. Ashen Winter is not for the faint of heart. Blood will be the least of your worries. It's the end of the world, ladies and gentleman, get ready for it! What this unhindered reality gives us is an in depth, realistic look into humanity. Some people, after a disaster to such degree, after having seen their friends and families die without being able to do a thing about it, after living with a hunger so deep that it affects your mind, will become nothing more than savages. Cannibals. It definitely makes you think on what people will do to survive. In a world where everyone is struggling to see the next day, the worst side of human kind will show its face. And it's not pretty, people. It sickens me, and the worst part: I completely believe it. This series is one you simply Can. Not. Miss! It's completely, unbelievable fantastic. Even the author's notes left me a little unsettled. The only thing missing, is a number for a much needed psychologist. Bravo, Mike Mullin, you are a genius at life!--An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads