Review: First of trilogy, but can stand alone
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 7, 2012
I received this book for free from BookRooster.com. That did not affect my review.Lightning of Her Own is a post-apocalyptic story, taking place about 70 years after an alien invasion that resulted in electricity no longer functioning on earth, and the subsequent chaos that caused. Teenage Amarylla travels with her father, an engineer, and two guards out of the Republic of New York in search of a man her father has heard of who has made electricity work again.I enjoy a good post-apocalyptic story, as I like to see the world the author creates. This was a very interesting world. People don't really know what the aliens (which they call "bugs") are, though there's much speculation, including that Earth was treated as a penal colony, and the electricity was destroyed to prevent the bugs from leaving.Amarylla and her party leave the relative glamor and riches of the Republic of New York to head into the wilds outside their walls. During the trip, Amarylla grows into a strong woman, one who abandons her frilly dresses and stuffed animals for practical pants and shirts, and learns how to shoot, stand guard, and drive a wagon.This is told from a third-person omniscient point-of-view, which is a little disconcerting at first, but I ultimately liked it, because it lets you see the thoughts and feelings of characters without convoluted POV changes or annoying repetition of events.As mentioned in the review title, this is part of a trilogy, but, unlike many books in series, I didn't feel like anything was missing from this book that could only be solved by reading the next. It's complete in itself, but reading the others would probably give one a more complete view of the world.