Tuesday, November 22, 2016

5* review of Edward Aubry's Prelude to Mayhem #fantasy #sci-fi

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.

Goodreads | Amazon Audio | Coming soon!


~ 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 ~

Edward Aubry is a graduate of Wesleyan University, with a degree in music composition. Improbably, this preceded a career as a teacher of high school mathematics and creative writing.

Over the last few years, he has gradually transitioned from being a teacher who writes novels on the side to a novelist who teaches to support his family. He is also a poet, his sole published work in that form being the sixteen stanza “The History of Mathematics.”

He now lives in rural Pennsylvania with his wife and three spectacular daughters, where he fills his non-teaching hours spinning tales of time-travel, wise-cracking pixies, and an assortment of other impossible things.

 ~ Find Edward Aubry Online ~

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