This novel is a Post-Apocalyptic story stripped to its basics. The world has fallen apart, and it has really crashed. There are no enclaves of rescued tech and remembered ethical behaviour. Technology has been pushed back to the 1950s, politics and morality into the early Dark Ages. Feudalism would be a definite improvement. As stories in this genre run, this author has a pretty grim opinion of the human race. A note at the opening prepares us for scenes of violence and sexual assault.

The plotline follows a Hero’s Journey across this malevolent landscape, as she tries to get back to her country and her lover.

This is the simplest and most straightforward style of Apocalypse novels. The main character may carry her mechanical wizardry over from her former life, but the author spares us the interminable descriptions of technical fixes and gadgets that are typical of the genre.

The story is about people: the heroine and those who help or hinder her. Haley is an outlier for several reasons: social, sexual, and moral, and we can’t help but fear for her in this new society that is especially unkind to anyone who is different. This makes for a constant stream of suspenseful moments, as her life and journey spiral downwards, and only her grit and her dreams keep her afloat.

The implausibility of a single girl crossing a post-apocalyptic continent is mostly ameliorated by the careful thought and attention to detail that make each step of the journey, each success and pitfall, seem completely possible.

One minor distraction is the use of flashbacks to fill in the details of the previous months. This slows down the present-day action and sometimes leads to disorientation on the part of the reader. However, this is a minor distraction, and the details of the past are only given to us when we want them, so it works pretty well.

In general, a well-written basic Post-Apocalyptic novel. Highly recommended to fans of the genre.

Five stars.