Title: Enduring Anarchy
Series: Dark Nation
Author: Grace Hamilton
Publisher: Relay Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi, Post Apocalyptic, EMP
Release Date: 9th March 2022
BLURB from Goodreads
They survived annihilation. But the real danger has only just begun…
When Molly, Colton, and their group of high school students narrowly escape a field trip gone wrong, they return home to find their town in shambles. An EMP has devastated the world. And life has been reduced to a daily battle for survival….
After a derailed train throws what’s left of the town into chaos, Diego, the father of one of Molly's students, quickly takes charge. At first, he seems determined to help the survivors and clean up the train's wreckage. But it soon becomes clear that he has a sinister motive of his own for taking over. And Molly is certain he can’t be trusted…
Things become much worse after a failed attempt by the local police has Diego seizing control and drawing a line in the sand. It isn’t safe for anyone and Molly is ready to head to the woods, but not without all her students. Colton might be the Marine, but she isn’t leaving anyone behind.
Molly will do anything to protect her students. But can she lead them to safety when the entire world has fallen into chaos?
PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon US
Amazon UK
REVIEW
Once again the cover of this book has a great cover that is a scene from in the book. It would certainly make me pick it up from the book store shelf to read the blurb!
As the blurb describes and the cover backs up, that things are getting even worse in the world due to the EMP. A train has crashed, fires are erupting everywhere, along with more violent episodes. Sadly, it seems the world has become survival of the fittest, and it feels like every man/woman for him/her self
Just when our “Scared Straight” group is beginning to feel safer after their escape from Fairfield Prison, it soon becomes apparent that their fight for survival isn’t over yet. The group decide to stick together as there’s strength/safety in numbers. That and to get back to their homes they are all heading in the same general direction too. The group panics when they see the flames in the distance that is in the general direction of their homes. They cannot discern which side of the railway tracks the fire and flames are on, either way some of the Scared Straight gang are going to be affected. Despite Erik protesting, his father, Alex insists they stick together as both Tommy and himself have seen how bad things were turning when they were on their way to the prison. All the adults know things are going to have got a lot worse and more panicked in the time since the EMP and them escaping the prison.
When this book begins it really is straight back into the action. The group end up relying of Jenna to guide them towards the railway tracks via a shortcut through the woods. They end up resting at a hideout in the woods that Jenna had made and regularly escaped to away from her father Diego. The group does splinter somewhat with Alex, Erik and Scarlett heading to their home and finding the fallen tree and a note from Laura informing them she has headed to the school as it is the designated emergency centre.
Tommy and Zack go in search of their drug addict mother, not really thinking she will be at home but they just can’t abandon her despite her faults. When Colton see’s the Police and Fire Brigade fighting fires he stops and gets stuck in helping them, promising Molly he will meet them at the school later.
The others, Molly, Jenna, Lucky come across, Jenna’s father, Diego ordering people to make a chain and pass buckets of water back and forth to try and fight the flames away from the homes they are destroying. He is determined to save his home despite everyone telling him it will not work. Jenna is immediately put to work by her father with not even a hug or him asking how she is. It is apparent to Molly that the relationship between father and daughter is not a particularly healthy one.
Later back at the school, Diego soon muscles his way in and puts himself in charge telling people what to do. He instructs the survivors that they need to collect supplies from homes and bring them back to the school. He insists everyone must give supplies or whatever is needed to the “community.” Many homes have burnt down, people have died inside them, or escaped with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Anyone that starts any sort of initiative that works no matter how large or small, Diego is quick to announce he thought of it, such as Laura taking names and photographs of those still missing.
The atmosphere becomes progressively stifling with Diego in charge, ruling how he see’s fit. It’s slowly revealed that medication is in short supply when Laura is helping the Doctors & Nurses at the school give medication to those that need it. When Laura’s neighbour Barb, needs her tablets, its discovered there is just one bottle left to split between Barb and another lady that needs them too. Laura talks to the Doctor and Nurses and finds out that there were lots of supplies earlier and the realisation that Diego is creating his own secret supply is revealed. Diego is also giving out “jobs” to people and he soon begins to get rid of those who are not well or fit enough to do as he tells them. Whilst trying not to give away spoilers, I feel I have to add that I think what happens to Diego is the perfect irony.
This book was so easy to read, despite there being so much going on. From the first page, the reader is thrown straight back into the action. I adore how we as the reader, get to see the different affects the EMP is having on the individual Scared Straight group members and the extended group with the family additions. I enjoyed hating Jenna’s father Diego for how rough and abusively he treats her. I adored Molly who has a heart of gold that she wears on her sleeve especially when it comes to her little group, they have become more than kids to watch on a school trip, to Molly they have become family. I love Molly as a character, there is a really emotional, poignant scene between her and Lucky about the possibilities of where his parents may be and what could have happened. Then another strand of the plot is what Laura had to do in order to survive in book one, which she ends up confessing to her family. It proves even the more well-off kids on the scared straight trip were not without family issues. There are also hints at a murderer killing people in the woods, in the area around Jenna’s hideout. These hints have me intrigued who is it, (I have an inkling of a possibility), why they are killing etc.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were that this book is as action packed as bk1 was though dealing with different dangers. They split up from the tight knit group they became to survive in Fairfield prison, yet always seem to feel a pull to the group and their friends. All the scared straight group kids have shown maturity and ingenuity in bk 1 and continue to do so in this second book.
Summing up, some of the Scared Straight group find themselves reunited with their parents, others stay with their teacher Molly, who took the matriarchal role in the group in the first book. At one section it looks like the group will never reform, in fact there are certain points in the book you wonder if some of the characters will even survive. Without revealing the ending or being too spoilery, a group is heading out to Molly’s cabin in the woods away from the still fracturing society, I can’t help but wonder is this cabin could perhaps either be the same or be in the same area as the cabin Tommy had been given a map to find his way back to the cabin belonging to his ex-cell mate Luck and his family. I’m really looking forward to the next book, whilst at the same time thinking what more can this poor group face and survive!
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