Publisher: Del Rey
Date: July 30, 2013
Format: paperback
Source: TLC Book Tours
Read: for review (disclaimer: I received my copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.)
Pages: 480
Reading time: three days
From GoodReads: In the mid-23rd century, Darwin, Australia, stands as the last human city on Earth. The world has succumbed to an alien plague, with most of the population transformed into mindless, savage creatures. The planet’s refugees flock to Darwin, where a space elevator—created by the architects of this apocalypse, the Builders—emits a plague-suppressing aura. Skyler Luiken has a rare immunity to the plague. Backed by an international crew of fellow “immunes,” he leads missions into the dangerous wasteland beyond the aura’s edge to find the resources Darwin needs to stave off collapse. But when the Elevator starts to malfunction, Skyler is tapped—along with the brilliant scientist, Dr. Tania Sharma—to solve the mystery of the failing alien technology and save the ragged remnants of humanity.
My review: I'm not a huge fan sci-fi involving aliens, but Hough pulls off a combination of post-apocalyptic scenario, alien influence, and a touch of dystopia and zombies quite well. There's lots of action to drive the plot along, plus an unfolding mystery (to be continued throughout the series) of who built the Elevator and what their ultimate intentions are. There was a bit too much political and military scheming for my taste, especially given that I did not always completely understand everything that was going on, but it added to the complexity of the setting. The characters were well-developed enough, given that this is primarily an action-y novel, though I did want their backgrounds to be explored a little bit more so I could get a better feel for where they were coming from. Overall, this proved to be a good, solid read, both exciting and interesting, that leaves the door wide open for the upcoming sequel.
Reminds me of: Icons by Margaret Stohl, but with less malevolent aliens (as far as we know right now).
Giveaway: Thanks to TLC Book Tours, I have one extra copy of The Darwin Elevator to give away! Open to US/Canada mailing addresses only; ends September 2, 2013.
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Sounds like a great start to a new series!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour.