Review: SW GA nanobot?
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 9, 2013
This book is fairly typical of the post-apocolypse genre, other than the nanobot aspect, which is a bit out there.  As a lifetime resident of SW GA, the geographic location was of great interest to me, but I doubt that the majority of other readers care.  It's nice to be able to say that if there were any glaring geographic errors, I missed them.  This journey takes place after much of the world's population has been decimated by various plagues and nukes and the fallout is over.  Now anarchy and cannibalism are big threats.  The length of time it took for so many to perish provides a fairly good explanation of why this band of survivors is able to find so many hidden stashes of MREs, weapons, toilet paper and other necessities - the ones who didn't die from the illness had time to stockpile before the other catastrophes hit.The character development is a bit facile and budding relationships are telegraphed well in advance.  Everyone seems to be quick learners, regardless of how long they were isolated from society's changes.  We can thank the nanobots for that, which certainly makes the survivors' battles easier to  . . . well, survive.  SPOILER:  after all, if having half of one's head and brain blown off but one is "infested" with healing nanobots that not only regenerate said brain but recover all memories and skills along with reverse aging, why worry about being injured?  And having a rape victim return to a virgin state as well as apparently recover from all psychological trauma requires the reader to suspend all amazement.  Ditto for a 9 year old girl to develop preternatural hearing and vision and be able to bust up a high school football bully.The author does offer what must be a somewhat plausible "scientific" explanation for the nanobots, but since that's not my area of expertise, I don't know if it's logical or not.  I just raised my eyebrows and focused on the other parts that I enjoyed.  The author is a bit heavy-handed in his utopian outlook for the future:  no bigots, racists, homophobes or other prejudices are allowed in Haven (aka "Heaven").  The central character does have good reason for his rejection of anyone who doesn't believe as he does and I admire his steadfast support of what were considered minorities in the old society, but the repetition gets a little on the preachy side.The bad guys are dealt a crippling blow, but the leader (named "Saint") escapes with his life, so we know he'll be coming back around eventually.Fairly typical violence, some graphic, language wasn't bad, the sex isn't overly descriptive.  In reflecting on this further, it's almost as though a pastor wanted to write a book about an apocolypse and chose violence as the only sin he could justify.  I don't mean that as an insult to pastors or anyone else - it's just the way the moral compass of the main character is defined.  Basically, his mind-set is "These people are evil and I can dispose of them without feeling deep qualms (except when torturing a bad guy for information), but otherwise, I'm the good, moral leader and will maintain my other standards of behavior."  Not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely pronounced.Overall, I enjoyed it enough to look for the sequel, which, rest assured, is blatantly called for at the end.