Review: The most lyrical and brutal book about the horrors of nuclear war I've ever read.  10 Stars if I could!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 3, 2014
Magnificent.  Beautiful.  Heart-rending.  I cannot say enough good about this series.  Kent David Kelly is a master, an absolute master.  Long before the novel mentioned T.S. Eliot's "Wasteland," I was getting that vibe from the writing.  It's very nearly poetry all the way through, especially Silas' Accounts.  There's no political intrigue here and very little behind the scenes as to what caused the war--some, not much.  The war occurs early on, but we don't start en medias res.The beginning is a bit tough to get through, as far as reading goes---Sophie keeps "rebooting" mentally.  At first, she's brittle and in several forms of shock.  Bear with the opening sections.  As soon as Silas arrives, things pick up fast.  It's utterly amazing how sad this book is.  It's a quiet, weeping sadness, very well done, no bathos, no gore for gore's sake, although again---it's brutal because an total, no-holds barred global nuclear war would indeed BE brutal beyond belief.  The author pulled me so deeply into this book, I finished it in one long setting, and then couldn't sleep because I was...moved.  There are losses, and there are triumphs, too.  As dark as this book is, it's not as horribly unredeemably bleak as it could have been.Just...read it.  The sample doesn't do it any justice.  If you're after more traditional fare---mutants, political intrigue, or a war story, this isn't it.  This is about survival in a world where even the soil and bedrock has been pulverized and cast into the skies, a world of never ending storms.  It's Hell, but these amazing characters endure.Warning:  The author is incredibly talented at creating images that are deeply vivid.  I have several of them stuck in my head today.  If you're extremely sensitive or deeply empathic---if you cry over roadkill----this book might be too painful to read.  The world dies.  It's rough but worth it.