I am delighted to share my review today for Blood Honor by Blake Russel. This is the first book in The Day after Never series and it is set in Texas, US, in an post-apocalyptic scenario where a superbug has wiped out huge swathes of the population.
At the time of writing this review, this title is available on Kindle Unlimited.
They said it could never happen – that the day would never come.
They were wrong.
Five years post-collapse, former Texas Ranger Lucas Shaw is surviving hardscrabble in a kill-or-be-killed wasteland. When an enigmatic young woman enters his life with a desperate plea, Lucas must face impossible odds and battle an adversary who will stop at nothing to destroy them. Lightning-paced and gritty, Blood Honor, the debut novel in The Day After Never trilogy, is a non-stop adrenaline rush set in a chillingly plausible dystopian future.
Fans of Jack Reacher, The Hunger Games, and Road Warrior are sure to enjoy this post-collapse epic.
From The NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of the JET, Assassin, BLACK, and Fatal series, and co-author with Clive Cussler of The Eye of Heaven and The Solomon Curse.
MY REVIEW
This is the first book in The Day After Never series. It is an apocalyptic novel that is based in the US. It takes place after super flu has swept across the world and wiped out the vast majority of people. There are small groups still alive
The story focuses on ex-Texas Ranger Luke Shaw. He is a loner who drifts between the trading posts and the ranch he lives at with his grandfather, Hal. Horses provide the main transport as there is no fuel for machines or vehicles, there are solar panels and batteries that give some basic power for lighting, radios and some very low-powered items.
The Texas border has always been in contention and it still is in this author’s story, some main gangs and crews have forged out bases. The larger cities are violent and brutal places where only the most hardened or brutal can take and remain in charge. There is no government, no law, no anything.
I really enjoyed this book and it is a great intro to the series, it is also a great intro for me to this author.
The author has laid out the basics of his landscape, the people, what happened and the way they live now. There is a sense of loneliness as basically, everyone does look out for themselves, but there is still a sense of those who want to do the right thing. Unfortunately, these are few and far between. Luke is respected as is Hal, they do what they can to help people and this shows when Luke comes across a badly injured woman who he decides to help. A good turn soon turns into a much larger and the story takes a more suspense-filled thriller style of story.
I like the way the author has brought the bleakness to the landscape and explains how people have lived as well as relating the way a superbug all but wiped out the human population. This was first published in 2016 and as we have lived through a pandemic, I think it changes the way we now read apocalyptic and dystopian novels, well for me I think it has. It makes things more believable and possible.
The author creates a slightly slower pace a the beginning and this gradually builds up as tensions and tempers rise. There is quite a lot going on in this story considering it is 251 pages and it is laid out well to keep the story and the plot moving. Some good characters and some interesting twists and I am looking forward to continuing this series.
This is a good book for those who are looking to start a series, there are 11 books in the series and having a quick glance at the ratings, they are well received. This is ideal for those who like end-of-days style stories and one I would be very happy to recommend.
Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx
