There’s quite a bit to choose from in the Post Apocalyptic genre, some really solid work out there: The Stand, Book of Koli Series, Earth Abides, Earthseed, World Made by Hand series, Alas Babylon, On the Beach, etc. etc. It’s so very frustrating when an author clearly drops the all the protagonists’ IQs by 50 or 60 points for the sake of a false action narrative. “I know, let’s do dumb things that put us in harm’s way, over and over again.” The first book in the Scourge series was good, not great with our group of heroes making a close shave retreat to a cabin cruiser. So for book 2, with the world in flames and 2/3 of the population succumbed to an airborne version of the bubonic plague, why not come in from the coastal waters, return to our burned out neighborhood, fire up the whole house generator and flip on on the lights. Maybe we should set up a loudspeaker playing Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration.” Not much more to say, unbelievable stupidity, forced narrative combined with the usual assortment of mustache twirling dirt bags. Nope.