ASHFALL BY MIKE MULLIN

There is a Super volcano, it is under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone Nation Park. Most people don't really realise or know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, the aftermath makes Alex think the world is going mad. Alex is determined he must reach his parents and sister and know for sure that they escaped this volcano eruption. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape drastically transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known. Alex must travel through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and the very worst in people who are desperate for food, water, and warmth. Ashfall is an amazing combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, science that could actually happen in our world today! This is a story that is incresingly difficult to stop reading and even more strangely difficult to forget.

At the beginning of the book Alex is a typical moody kind of teenager, into his computer and games console far more than spending time with his family. he resents hi mum telling him what to do and thinks he is far too old for a hug. As for his ..in his opinion bratty little sister, well, the least he came into contact with her the better and he would say she felt the same way about him too. His family go off to visit his uncle and they allow him to stay at home, I mean what can happen in a weekend? It turns out a lot can happen when the volcano erupts and covers everything with a thick blanket of ash. of course Alex has neighbours he can turn to....but does he really know them. Everyone reacts so differently in this crisis. Alex decides to travel to his uncles farm to be with his family. The book covers that journey, the danger he faces, the kindness he receives, the fights he gets into and the people he meets. 

The book is so well written you feel what Alex is feeling the apprehension, the total fear, the urgency to get to his parents. You see the world through his eyes the world he knows that has gone mad with looters, where it really does come down to the survival of the fittest. Alex has many chances to stay put, in a safer environment but he still pushes ahead in his quest. He realises how much he loves and misses his family even his bratty sister!.Alex basically goes from stroppy moody teenager to become strong, reliable, caring man. He isn't alone for the whole length of his journey, after a tragic murder he witness he ends up with a travelling companion and together they keep each other motivated and strong enough to keep going. I don't want to give away spoilers at all as it would spoil the book, but how things conclude at the end of the book leaves you hungry to read the second book of the series as Alex may have completed part of his quest but other quests and trials are being thrust at him all the time. This book in my opinion falls into the dystopian category, but it has love, longing,tragedy, murder, suspense and even a little humour thrown in. I certainly recommend this book as a must read , and I am looking forward eagerly to book two!

This book is published  14th October 2011, it is available to preorder from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk £10.79,  am sure it will be available in other places too.


If you live in the UK and would love to win the gorgeous hardback copy of Ashfall that arrived through my letterbox today check out the interview  HERE  I did with Mike Mullin and enter your name and email address there to be in with a chance!