Sunday, November 25, 2012

It's the End of the World As We Know It

Black Earth: End of the Innocence by David N. Alderman

Summary: When the stars fall, few will stand...

On the evening of his high school graduation, Nathan Pierce collapses on stage. Plagued with visions of a strange girl intent on killing herself, he wonders if his mental instability is a consequence of the deadly car accident he was in days earlier.

Heather Rhodes, wracked with guilt because of the fatal wreck, finds she is unable to forgive herself and begins to question her own beliefs. While the death of a newborn weighs on her heart, on her mind is the strange gift she was able to use to protect her and Nathan in the accident…a gift that Heather wonders may have just been a figment of her imagination.

Cynthia Ruin, aka The Pink Rabbit, decides that her high school graduation night should be used for partying, not traveling down the football field. At a nightclub in Scottsdale, Cynthia finds more than she bargains for when a stranger from her past decides to exact his revenge on her for a prior rejection.

Nathan, Heather, and Cynthia come to realize that their current problems are nothing compared to the stars falling from the sky. During the global crisis, the President of the United States makes it her personal mission to keep the country on the right track to becoming a world superpower, while a hostile entity known only as Absolute threatens her administration.

Meanwhile, word starts to spread that the falling stars may not be stars at all...


Review: Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review. 

An enjoyable end of the world novel mixed with Christian mythology and real, emotional characters. 

What I liked best about this book were the characters. Everyone felt quite real and had their own personalities. Tough situations either brought out the best or the worst in people. You can really tell a lot about a person by how they react to a traumatic or dangerous experience. I really disliked Ryan. I hated how he treated Heather and how he acted later in the book. I downright hated Silver and I hope he gets what is coming to him. I really got caught up in the story and found myself cheering on the good guys and cursing the bad guys. 

This book does a brilliant job of combining a science fiction end of the world story with the traditional Christian version of end of the world. The Christian end of the world does fit surprisingly well with aliens attacking from outer space. In addition, I liked the idea of alien species and other races have fallen victim to the alien attackers. The time travel aspect adds a whole new level. Not as many questions were answered as I would have liked, but I am eager to read the next book to see how everything turns out and to hopefully have more questions answered.

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy end of the world fiction or alien invasion fiction. 

2 comments: