I just finished reading this, and I have to say, I thought it was excellent. The story continues to develop, all the main characters remain, and there is a fair amount of action. The book reads really fast; I got this on Monday and finished it yesterday, mostly reading on the train.
The main focus of the story is that as Alpha and Meraton rebuild and 'thrive', they see more and more refugees from surrounding areas. The people running other towns react in different ways to both the egress of their citizens and to the rumors of food, electricity, and prosperity in Alpha and Meraton. The story is about rebuilding, the threats associated with that, and human nature. There are some interesting discussions about the role of government, freedom and responsibility, and greed. I like that Joe Nobody covers these issues without beating you over the head with it. He also deals with the friction associated with how some people expect everything to return to the way it was, and how the leaders have to balance putting food on the table with some fairly ridiculous demands from citizens.
The intro to the book talks about the Old West, the range wars, and so on, and in certain ways, this book reads like that. I'm sure it isn't an accident: I have long believed that everything is about economics. It's clear at the end of this book that this is true.
Since Bishop is out of action, we see a lot more of Nick, Deke, and his 'operators' working, and these parts are a pleasure to read. Terri takes on a much bigger role; her character development is impressive. Let's just say she's changed for her experience.
At the end, the story starts to develop in a direction that leads to the next book, which is supposed to be the last. Based on what is in here; It should be epic.
My complaints: 1. The price seems very high compared with other books, especially given that he is churning out 2-4 books a year at this point and they read very quickly. 2. It seems unlikely that so many core characters would remain alive through all this action, but I am okay with it, since many of them are real to me.
I really enjoyed this book; if you liked the others, you will too.
The main focus of the story is that as Alpha and Meraton rebuild and 'thrive', they see more and more refugees from surrounding areas. The people running other towns react in different ways to both the egress of their citizens and to the rumors of food, electricity, and prosperity in Alpha and Meraton. The story is about rebuilding, the threats associated with that, and human nature. There are some interesting discussions about the role of government, freedom and responsibility, and greed. I like that Joe Nobody covers these issues without beating you over the head with it. He also deals with the friction associated with how some people expect everything to return to the way it was, and how the leaders have to balance putting food on the table with some fairly ridiculous demands from citizens.
The intro to the book talks about the Old West, the range wars, and so on, and in certain ways, this book reads like that. I'm sure it isn't an accident: I have long believed that everything is about economics. It's clear at the end of this book that this is true.
Since Bishop is out of action, we see a lot more of Nick, Deke, and his 'operators' working, and these parts are a pleasure to read. Terri takes on a much bigger role; her character development is impressive. Let's just say she's changed for her experience.
At the end, the story starts to develop in a direction that leads to the next book, which is supposed to be the last. Based on what is in here; It should be epic.
My complaints: 1. The price seems very high compared with other books, especially given that he is churning out 2-4 books a year at this point and they read very quickly. 2. It seems unlikely that so many core characters would remain alive through all this action, but I am okay with it, since many of them are real to me.
I really enjoyed this book; if you liked the others, you will too.
