Prelude
to Mayhem (The Mayhem Wave, Book I)
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult, New
Adult
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Date
of Release: November 28,
2016
~ Description ~
On May
30, 2004, the world transformed. Nearly all signs of civilization vanished,
leaving in their wake a bizarre landscape of wilderness, advanced technology
and magic, and leaving Harrison Cody very much alone. After weeks of surviving
in solitude, he hears a voice on the radio, beckoning him to cross a thousand
miles of terrifyingly random terrain to meet her, and other survivors, in
Chicago. Eager to find any remnants of humanity, he sets forth, joined by an
unexpected—and inhuman—companion.
For
Dorothy O’Neill, the end of the world means she will never finish ninth grade.
On her own, she builds a home in the ruins of a strip mall, relying on her
ingenuity and hard work to maintain some semblance of creature comforts. When
another survivor arrives, he brings futuristic technology and stories of
monsters he has encountered. Armed with this information, she takes a new
interest in exploring her world, but she is not prepared for what awaits her,
and the new arrival has brought his own set of problems.
On their
separate journeys, Harrison and Dorothy begin to piece together what has
happened to their world. Their questions have answers to be found in what
remains of Chicago, and from the mysterious voice on the radio offering the
hope that civilization can be rebuilt.
~ My Review ~
There are two sections to my review, first for people who’ve
never read Static Mayhem and second, for those who have and why they should
also read Prelude to Mayhem.
If you haven’t read Static Mayhem, then you should
definitely read Prelude to Mayhem now! This is a awesome story in which most of
Earth’s population has disappeared, leaving behind an odd scattering of magical
devices and creatures as well as futuristic human technology.
What would you do in such a world? Have fun, panic, search
for other humans? Probably some combination of all these. Harrison takes the
crazy event in stride, but as soon as he finds out there are other humans left
(from a radio transmission in Chicago) he’s on a mission to find them. Even
though it means a dangerous trek from the northeast US where roads suddenly end
in cliffs.
Along the way, he meets other humans and also magical
creatures along with finding out that something/someone wants him dead. He
meets Dorothy, a brilliant teenager surviving quite capably on her own and a
young boy who’s terrified of something, along with my favorite character,
Glimmer, a pixie.
What awaits them in Chicago? Of course not everything in
this tumbled world can be loving and beneficial. And even Harrison finds out
he’s been affected by magic in a completely unexpected way. Prelude to Mayhem
shows the reader how these characters will be capable of handling a lot.
Hopefully enough.
I thoroughly recommend this book. It’s a fun read with
extremely well developed characters in an unexpected world.
Now, for those who’ve already read Static Mayhem - no major
spoilers if you haven’t - I still recommend reading Prelude to Mayhem. While
it’s basically the first part of Static Mayhem, it has been updated and
explores more details of Harrison and Dorothy’s personalities. The chapters are
more balanced between the two POVs.
I think this will set the reader up even better for the
remainder of the story in the new version of Static Mayhem which is the final
part of the first story. But even better, I thought the development of Dorothy
was much deeper and made me appreciate her even more as a main character. I’ve
also read an early version of the sequel, Mayhem’s Children, and this version
of the start of the story sets up that book even better.
Aubry’s writing is awesome, the editing is quite good.
Definitely one of my top reads for the last couple years. 5 stars, highly
recommended.
~ About The Author ~
No comments:
Post a Comment