Midnight City: A Conquered Earth Novel
Eight years after an alien invasion has taken all of the adults and brought the human race to the brink of destruction, Holt Hawkins is a survivor and bounty hunter. Wandering a world full of lost children, petty rivalries, roving gangs, and the ever-present alien patrols, he prides himself on his calculated loner existence. He crosses paths with Mira, a skilled Freebooter (one who works with artifacts of the Strange Lands to create what seems like magic machines), and Zoey, a mysterious little girl who seems to know an awful lot about the mechanical invaders. Together they navigate wide expanses of a postapocalyptic United States, dodging aliens, gangs, and their own haunted pasts. Comic-book author Barton’s first prose novel offers a bold narrative style, strong characters, and fast-paced action that will appeal to genre fans. Readers may feel disoriented at being dropped into a larger story already in progress, but the cinematic experience is enjoyable enough to convince them to just hold on during the wild ride. Grades 9-12. --Tina Coleman