Review: In the multiple plot lines tradition of Tolkien
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 29, 2013
The impetus for the plot was unoriginal as was the 90% of the human population dying off in a week or so, but after that the stories were intriguing.  I could not entirely relate to the characters (for example, I cannot imagine not knowing how to build a fire but I know that many folks do not), and I did not really like them--but I cared about them.  In several spots, I was suspicious about another character when the main characters were oblivious, but I was surprised when I found out the cause of my suspicion.  The descriptions were effective--enough detail to imagine the settings but not so much that I started skimming to get back to the plot.One important thing to note is that all three of these books covered roughly the same time period (getting a bit further with each story) with different characters, but picking up characters and events from the previous books and each book followed two separate characters, moving back and forth between them.  If you like that approach (and I do), the books are great, but I have heard complaints about the method.  It would probably be confusing for slower readers.