*I was provided a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion on the book.*
(No spoilers)
The Dust of Dawn was (as the title says) surprisingly good. I am not normally a fan of apocalypse survival books, but this was an exception for me. I found the story very interesting and the author Eloise J. Knapp did an incredible job creating a believable world. The events leading to the aforementioned “Dust” led to a panicked world in which a large part of society collapses and the characters have to survive the aftermath. While this is not a new concept, Eloise managed to use it in a way that seemed fresh and natural. The reason for this (and my favorite part of the book) is that every person in this book felt real. Their motivations, their thoughts, and how they act were believable and nothing seemed noticeable forced or out of place. That is what really made this book so interesting for me, and it made me want to know what was happening to the people and the world around them.
I wanted to mention the writing. I have read many books that flipped between multiple character perspectives; in all of them, the style of writing stayed basically the same, with really the only difference being the new perspective and internal dialogue. In this book, the style of writing changed noticeably with each perspective. It might sound weird, but I loved it. It is most noticeable with the characters Dan, Jack, and Craig. The author changes more than just the internal dialogue with each perspective. How everything is explained to the reader is changed to be interpreted the same way as the perspective character. Its not a unique concept by any means but it is done extremely well in this book. Props to the author the clear talent.
The narration for this book was really good. I enjoyed it a lot, but it should be said that it isn’t for everyone. Andrew has a steady tone and does a limited amount of voices. This should not deter anyone from trying this book however. His voice fit nicely with the tone of the story and he preformed each of the characters very well.
As some of the other reviewers have said that there is some reliance on a sequel. And the many connections to Jack and his daughter were a little convenient. But it didn’t stop me from enjoying the book and I am looking forward to the sequel when it comes out.