40 Days: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller (Atomic Fall Book 1) by A.J. Flowers Writing As Eva Storm

Genre: Dystopian | Post Apocalyptic

Published: May 3, 2021

Series: Atomic Fall

Kindle Unlimited: Yes

Audiobook: No

Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited

Blurb

In an instant, the world stopped. No electronics. No cell phones. No hope.


An asteroid cluster has been sighted, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, it’s comprised of radioactive material.

As the Fall begins, atomic debris scatters the globe, pelting civilization until only ruins and anarchy is left.


40 Days.

That’s how long it’ll take for the Atomic Fall to stop… and that’s when the big one hits.

The world will never be the same, including Liam and his pregnant wife who are fighting against the clock. They have five hundred miles to cover full of anarchists, bandits, and radioactive storms.

Their final hope? Liam’s crazy prepper brother turns out to have been right all along. They’ll have to make it to the bunker that can withstand asteroid 2E’s impact and pray they have enough resources to survive the impact winter.

Start running, because the countdown starts now.

40 Days is Book One in the Atomic Fall Survival Post Apocalyptic Thriller Series. There is mild language, violence, and a race for shelter that'll have you on the edge of your seat.

Review

An asteroid cluster clears Earth's atmosphere, pelting the Earth with meteorites comprised of a radioactive substance. Experts worldwide warn the inhabitants of Earth that these meteorite showers and atomic storms are a prelude to an even bigger asteroid, an asteroid that is an extinction-level threat that will collide with the Earth in 40 days. Liam and his pregnant wife, Joy, are racing against the clock to make it to his prepper brother's bunker while avoiding citizen-created militias and bandits.

The premise of the book is realistic, Earth has had several asteroid impacts and there have been several close calls with extinction-level asteroids. It's a solid premise that I appreciated. The plot itself is enjoyable, it's fast-moving and often suspenseful peppered with several action sequences. It's easy to get caught up in it to see if Liam and Joy make it to his brother's bunker in time.

Like all good post-apocalyptic novels, the devil is in the character creation. An author has to create characters with some morals and ethics that readers can relate to and can root for, and create unethical and immoral characters that counter what the "good guys" are doing. I think this book has struck the right balance between the two. Liam and Joy face ethical and moral challenges and make some morally ambiguous, and realistic, decisions in the face of the threats that are presented throughout the plot.

I enjoyed this book. I know some reviewers have criticized it for poor editing but, other than a couple of misspelled words, I didn't see any glaring issues. I read this book in a day and wish that I could read the next book in the series; however, even though its publication date was earlier this year, it is sadly unavailable. 

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