My addiction to Smith’s works continues. I tore through his Hell Divers series (which I totally loved) and then jumped into this series. Finally, I’m writing reviews.

This post-apocalyptic series is set in modern times, mostly set in Estes Park, Colorado (which is an easy day’s drive north of me). In this scenario, EMPs are set off in key points of the USA, shutting down our electric grid and wreaking havoc. The North Koreans have nearly paralyzed the US government! Even as people start to grasp what has happened, the hits keep coming for Washington DC.

I became attached the Estes Park characters much quicker than I did with the Washington DC characters. I did like the alternating view points. Sam ‘Raven’ Spears (retired Marine) and his dog Creek are my favorite characters hands down. Sam has been a bit of a loaf in Estes Park but now with this nationwide emergency he has a chance to really make a difference. Also, this is a murder mystery story and Raven gets caught up in that too since he and Creek are excellent trackers. Raven’s sister Sandra, who works as a nurse at the hospital, and her daughter (Allie) become caught up in this mystery too.

The reaction of the average citizen was very realistic. Sure, a lot of stuff has stopped working, there looks to have been a bomb off on the horizon (maybe a nuclear bomb), but some things still work and surely the government will be by any time to set things right, right? Some people were more skeptical, some caught on quicker, some didn’t wait to find out one way or another, etc. It was a great mix of believable responses.

I was a little surprised by the ladies. I’m coming to this series from Hell Divers where the ladies do everything the men do; gender equality is a given not a ‘check the box’ thing. So here we have several well made female characters that are competent in their given jobs and yet none of them are in the thick of it. They generally don’t handle weapons and they certainly don’t go out on missions to scout, track, or rescue. I was left wanting more from the ladies.

While Raven works with police chief Colton on tracking down a killer, Nathan Sardetti goes on a rescue mission near Estes Park. His handicapped nephew, Ty, was at a special camp when all hell broke lose. Nathan’s sister, Senator Charlize Montgomery (who’s a retired fighter pilot), was in DC when things headed south. She’s recovering from serious injuries and can’t join in the search herself. Her body guard, Big Al Randall, do their best to rejoin the remnants of the US government.

Unfortunately, there’s a group of white supremacists (Sons of Liberty) in the area near Estes Park and they would be quite happy to have some important captives. I loved hating on their leader, Fenix. He was so hate worthy but also calm, collected, smart. He makes a worthy foe for both Nathan and Raven.

The murder mystery, the believability of the EMP attack and response, and the bits of Sioux & Cherokee believes all worked well for me. The tame ladies left me wanting a bit more. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Bronson Pinchot gave a pretty good performance. There was this side character that was written as very loud and a bit rude and Pinchot did that voice well but sometimes I had to turn the volume down a little. I liked his voice for Raven and he also made a great Colton. His voice for Charlize Montgomery was feminine and carried her strength as well. His voice for President Diego was a little too much Texas politician for me, but that also made it distinct. 4.5/5 stars.

In this sequel, Ty really stood out for me. He’s a kid in a wheelchair being held captive by the leader of white supremacist group lead by General Fenix. His mom, who is somewhere on the east coast, is a Senator and Fenix wants to use Ty to get much needed supplies plus weapons. Ty shows great courage in this book and he’s the character that stands out to me.

Of course Raven Spears and his dog Creek still steal the show. In Book 1, there was a serial killer to hunt down. Having helped out with that, Nathan Sardetti can now rely on Raven to help him rescue Ty and possibly kill Fenix. They make a really good team.

Martha is one of the many refugees that end up in Estes Park. She’s a doctor but she’s also pretty banged up herself. I really liked this minor story line because it brought up a lot of great points about such a calamity. Can Estes Park afford to take in refugees? They have very limited medical supplies and food. Winter is coming. If the refugees don’t bring valuable skills or supplies, should Estes Park take them in? Very realistic to have these tough questions come up.

Meanwhile, over on the east coast, President Diego and what’s left of the government have come to terms with the fact that much of the chain of command is gone. Now Senator Charlize Montgomery, Ty’s mom, has been made Secretary of Defense. Her body guard, Big Al, continues to be a pillar of strength as she gets further along in recovering from her severe injuries sustained in Book 1.

The ladies still have rather limited roles in this series and that surprises me. Having enjoyed the Hell Divers series, I really hoped the ladies would break out of their shells here in Book 2 of this series. Charlize can be excused because of her injuries. I did hope that Raven’s sister Sandra, who is a competent nurse at the Estes Park hospital, would have something bigger to do. Mayor Andrews of Estes Park doesn’t seem to fully grasp how tough their situation is. Police chief Colton has one female officer on staff, Lindsey Plymouth, but she doesn’t get much page time in this story.

Once again, I loved hating on Fenix. He’s crafty and has the luck of the devil himself! He poses a big threat to Estes Park but he’s not going to be taken down easy!

I was pretty sad to have to say goodbye to one of my favorite characters. The action was well mixed with quieter moments. I love seeing how Raven’s character is growing, becoming more confident and trusted by the people of Estes Park. 4.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Bronson Pinchot continues to do well for this series. His female voices are feminine and he has pretty good little kid voices. I really liked his voice for Ty. His voice for President Diego is still a touch over done for me but I can live with it. Pinchot’s pacing is good and there’s no technical issues with this recording. 4.75/5 stars.

I have just flown through these first 3 books in this series. For the characters, these events all take place in the space of a few weeks. Ty is now safely with his mom, Secretary of Defense Charlize Montgomery, in a secure facility in Florida where there’s still electricity and communications with the outside world. Raven Spears continues to work with police chief Colton in Estes Park, Colorado. The white supremacist leader, Fenix, is still out there and still a threat.

One of my favorite story lines in this book is where Big Al, Charlize’s body guard, is given the chance to go find and rescue his sister. She’s his twin and his last remaining family. Al lost his wife and kids in the initial strikes and he can’t let his sister go. Turns out she’s got a drug problem and that opens a little can of worms; how to justify the man power & supplies & risk to locate her and bring her back to the secure facility? All sorts of great questions came up as we followed Big Al on his personal mission. They go through gang-controlled streets, bump into an abandoned kid with a LotR complex, and then have to see about a drugged out sister. Who is worthy of the very limited help available? People like Charlize and President Diego have to the make those calls on a big picture level. Big Al has to make those decisions in the moment on the ground on a smaller scale.

Meanwhile, in Estes Park, roving bands of violent looters become an issue. Some of these looters are drug addicted. Redford’s gang is the most troublesome of these looters because they are organized. The body count rises and police chief Marcus Colton is pulling his hair out trying to keep Estes Park safe. Mayor Andrews and her lackeys aren’t helping matters. A schism has developed between these two groups, but both want the best for Estes Park. I was very pleased to see that police detective Lindsey Plymouth had a bigger role in this book. Raven’s attempts at flirtation were a secondary thing but provided some much needed humor for the story.

Colton knows that Estes Park needs allies. Between Niles Redford’s gang, General Dan Felix (leader of the white supremacist group Sons of Liberty), and the influx of refugees, Estes Park could easily be over run. Lindsey and Raven are sent to Storm Mountain to meet with the local preppers group led by John Kirkus. Colton believes he can make a good alliance with Sheriff Thompson of Fort Collins. There is more than one betrayal and I was shocked and a little distraught over how things turned out for some of my favorite characters. Estes Park is in so much trouble!

I’ve really gotten attached to this story despite the ladies having a backseat to the men. Charlize, a retired fighter pilot, hasn’t gotten into the pilot’s seat yet. Lindsey shows promise but hasn’t gone out hunting or scouting or tracking solo like the men do. Raven’s sister Sandra is still a competent nurse at the hospital but doesn’t do much other than patch Raven up. Martha, a minor character from Book 2, is a doctor but hasn’t done much other than bleed a lot. I just need a bit more from the ladies to make this series rock. After all, Colorado is known for it’s hardy, independent, capable women. 4.75/5 stars.

The Narration: Bronson Pinchot continues to give a great voice for Raven and for Colton. His voice for President Diego continues to grate a bit. Pinchot’s female voices are feminine and his kid voices work well too. His calm creepy voices also work really well for our multiple bad guys. 4.75/5 stars.

Raven and his dog Creek continue to be the heroes of this story. So man big things happen in this book! I can’t believe it’s the end of the series!

Book 3 left us with several betrayals fresh on our hearts, Creek injured, police chief Colton held captive, and Estes Park in dire straights. Colton was very sad to be betrayed by Sheriff Thompson over in Fort Collins. Storm Mountain with Kikus’s preppers turned out to be a wash as well. Then there’s the internal strife of Estes Park that could end the town. Dan Fenix, the white supremacist, is still out there too.

Meanwhile, the US government has a big offer to consider: China will provide all sorts of assistance but that means thousands of Chinese on USA soil, including Chinese troops to protect the Chinese work forces that will be rebuilding the electric grid. President Diego takes in advice from his cabinet, but most have mixed feelings on the matter. Of course, it will be tough to get the entire population of the USA informed and keep Chinese work forces from being attacked.

Big Al Randall, Senator Charlize Montgomery’s body guard, set off to find & rescue his sister in Book 3. Now he’s got to get her back to good. Charlize has a lot of mixed feelings about the Chinese. She knows the USA needs sizable assistance and the quicker electricity can be restored, the fewer US citizens will die. She’s stuck in a tough position of supporting President Diego but also remaining suspicious.

Back in Estes Park, Sandra (Raven’s sister) and Allie (Sandra’s daughter) continue to play support roles for Raven. Sandra’s still a competent nurse at the hospital and now one of the more senior medical care providers in the area. Colton spends some quality time thinking about his wife, Kelly, and their daughter, Risa, while he’s an uncooperative guest of Sheriff Thompson. Lindsey Plymouth has been promoted to captain of the police force though she’s not at all happy at how that came about.

This final installment in this series (really? final?) is full of action. There are many desperate moments where the good guys risk it all to bring home another good guy or end a bad guy permanently. I really wanted to see Sheriff Thompson ended. He was such a bad guy! Dan Fenix is a bad guy too but he has this messed up ideal (white supremacy) pushing him along (not that that’s OK). Thompson just seems to be in it for the chaos and the blood and the personal gain.

The ending had some very touching scenes and we lost another loved character. I really hope we get more about these characters eventually. I think I saw something about a possible spinoff series. I hope so! The ladies still have more to offer to this series instead of being left behind most of the time. 4.75/5 stars.

The Narration: Bronson Pinchot has does a really good job with this series including this book. His female characters are feminine. I did have a little trouble discerning the difference between Sheriff Thompson and Dan Felix; Pinchot’s voices for them were very close and I often got a little confused over who was talking. The pacing was good and there were no issues with the recording. 4.75/5 stars.

There was much I liked about this book. First, the world as we know it is no longer there with all it’s technology and governments and such. While everyone believes that a large powerful EMP is the reason, the details are left sketchy, which I found very believable in this new world of limited communications. While folks begin to explore and rely on herbal medicines, they also concede that they can’t cure everything and diagnosing without medical tests is very challenging. The stage is set well and now we just need a good plot and some interesting characters.

I liked Megan at first. She’s determined to find safety for her daughter and she stumbles upon a remote cabin. Pretty soon, she meets the family that lives there: Wyatt, his brother Chase, Chase’s wife Willow, the men’s mother Rosie, Willow’s young son, and also someone’s neighbor Albert. There’s also the guard dog, Duke. Each character brings some skill to the table and I was pleased that Megan was able to pull her weight from the beginning with her hunting and snaring skills.

Now I did get a little tired of Wyatt man-splaining so many things to Megan. Yes, he’s got skills she needs to learn and she’s a willing student, but after the first round or two, I really felt it was venturing into the ‘pat you on the head, you’re such a good student’ realm. We’re often shown, step-by-step, how Wyatt makes a water filter or a food dryer but when it comes Megan’s skills, we’re just told and it’s very brief. So I would have liked some balance there.

Meanwhile, the plot thickens as a shifty character enters the story: Kyle. He’s out for trouble and we know it from the start. Too bad these well meaning preppers want to think the best of everyone. I liked that Kyle brought so much tension and danger to the story. It’s not just about surviving the elements; it’s also about surviving other people.

Megan’s character does get a little whiny later on. She’s got big trust issues and those push her into making some silly and possibly deadly decisions. If I knew more about her background, this might have come off better but as it is, it felt mostly like drama for drama’s sake. Toss in the near insta-love and you have some cookie cutter plot mechanisms in play. Wyatt was falling for Megan by Day 2 and I felt, at that point, it was more about loneliness and perhaps lust than about love. It’s OK for characters to acknowledge that. Still, I was happy with how their friendship deepened towards the end of the book.

Setting aside my quibbles, I felt the pacing of the story was good. I was never bored and I liked that even as they solve one problem, or are planning for a future harsh winter or such, a new problem crops up. There’s also the varying personalities that everyone has to get along with. The setting/world building is what shined in this book for me. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Andrew Tell did an excellent job with this narration. At first, I was a little concerned because our primary character is Megan and I wasn’t sure Tell could pull off a female voice for the majority of the book. He did just fine as Megan. In fact, all his female voices were feminine and each was distinct from the other. I did sometimes confuse Wyatt’s and Chase’s voices, but they are brothers and needed to sound similar. Tell makes a great grumpy Albert. 4.5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Grace Hamilton. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.