First, I always enjoy post-apocalyptic novels. They fascinate and creep me out at the same time.

Second, I felt as if this were a look into a different culture. Everyone carries a gun (or two), the government officials were bad guys who were actively putting people into camps and taking their possessions, and the families were extremely patriarchal. People who had not seen the EMP coming were presented as stupid or, at best, fool hardy. Preppers and local militias were presented in a favorable light. There were some comments about the best times having been during the Reagan era. The good guys were Protestant peppers with military or militia background and fortified cabins in the woods.

This sort of ideology is a bit foreign — and a little repellant — to a feminist socialist anti-assault weapon reader! I had to keep mentally talking myself down over some of the conservative rhetoric, and the frequent descriptions of guns and their handling, and reminding myself that I LIKE books that show me different cultures and ideologies.

Nonetheless, despite the clash of cultures, I liked the book. I enjoyed following the main character, a young woman, through treks and gun battles and difficulties. I enjoyed her family. I wasn’t offended by the violence or language, as some have mentioned; yes the violence was awful, but it was necessary for the response that it generated. I enjoyed the narrator.

I received this book for free in exchange for writing a review.