A compelling post-apocalyptic novella!
This book has an interesting premise -- it's set in the post-apocalypse, the apocalypse being a nuclear (chemical?) apocalypse brought about by religious extremists after a religious truce is made by the mainstream, Big Three Religion leaders. I thought this was a great premise, but I’m not sure those leaders would ever be able to come to a truce (but maybe I’m just being cynical).
In the midst of this post-apocalypse, a pocket of survivors, led by the AI Sophia and her android henchman Chiron, are located in a bunker, somewhere in the United States. These two "protect" the survivors in their bunker, and both appear to be sentient. (This becomes an important later on in the story.) I thought it was interesting that “Sophia” means wisdom and that Chiron was the mythological ferryman to the Underworld; I assume that was intentional, but of course I’m not sure.
There was a lot to like in this book. The premise and the setting caught my attention immediately, which drew me to the book in the first place. The angle with the sociopaths was...unexpected, but at the same time provided an interesting look at the mini-society curated by Sophia and Chiron. It also showcased Chiron’s own evolving -- and perhaps sociopathic -- tendencies. We also see Sophia’s evolution, as she prevents any information from the outside world from reaching the survivors in her bunker.
Also, the characters were interesting. Vazquez was a fascinating character. She had some sociopath-like moments as well, but is an empath. Perhaps the trauma of events that had happened to her (both on the page and off), and knowing what Chiron’s likely course of action would be tipped her into that direction?
Even though I liked the book and enjoyed it, there were a few things I didn’t like. Some of those things are nitpicks that may have been changed in subsequent editions of the book.
One thing I disliked was that for me, the story flow was clunky. Time jumped from present to past to further past to present. The setting, point of view, and the tense jumped around as well. I still enjoyed the book, but wading through the jumps took me out of the story at times. In addition, there were no quotation marks for dialogue, which got a bit distracting.
My biggest dislike, however, was that it was too short. There was SO much that could be explored in this book! Of course, that might make the book far too long, but I do wish it was longer.
A note: This book is very much from an atheist perspective. (The author is a vocal atheist, however, so this perspective is not surprising.) This perspective is very much part of the author’s voice, so it does weave into the story. For me, however, this perspective -- and the questions and thought processes of the characters -- were realistic (personally, if I’d lived through the apocalypse, particularly the one in this book, I’d be an atheist, too). I’m leaving this note so people are aware of that. It works for me, but it may not work for others.
About the Author:
"There is not enough love and goodness in the world to permit giving any of it away to imaginary beings." - Nietzsche
"Love has no value in the absence of truth." - C.J. Anderson
A survivor of religion, C.J. Anderson is an impassioned writer from Nevada and lover of all things Sci-Fi. Anderson's writing is inspired by the German philosopher and poet Friedrich Nietzsche. Many more books to come!
Now available: Enter Ruinland
Coming soon (2014): Survive Ruinland
Future release (2015): Exit Ruinland
Future omnibus (2015): Ruinlander
