Ashfall by Mike Mullen
pages: 446
released: September 2011
publisher: Tanglewood Press
cover love: ♥♥♥
Many visitors to Yellowstone National Park don’t realize that the boiling hot springs and spraying geysers are caused by an underlying super-volcano, so large that the caldera can only be seen by plane or satellite. And by some scientific measurements, it could be overdue for an eruption. For Alex, being left alone for the weekend means having the freedom to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then the Yellowstone super-volcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek to search for his family and finds help in Darla, a travel partner he meets along the way. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster. (from goodreads)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON 3/1/2013 ON BOOKSLIKESTARS.NET
Review:
Ashfall ended up surprising the hell out of me. At first I didn’t think I was going to like it. The premise was right up my alley. I tend to be drawn to dystopians that have the possibility of becoming a sad, scary and disturbing reality for us. Which is exactly what’s portrayed in this book.
The super-volcano that erupts and wrecks environmental havoc across some of the United States actually exists. It’s called the Yellowstone Caldera and it’s resides in Wyoming and it’s over one million years and could blow at any time (well, probably not in our lifetime, so don’t worry about it).
But in Ashfall, this super-volcano does erupt and its force is so strong, the eruption can be heard all the way in Iowa, where our main character, Alex, lives. Automatically, the power goes down, ash is falling like snow and loud booms coming from the exploding volcano continue for several days after the explosion. Alex is with neighbors when this happens, his family away in Illinois visiting his uncle. Alex decides, against all the odds, that he’s going to travel (on skis) to reunite with his family.
Like I said, I was iffy about Ashfall. Even for a book going straight into the action, it seemed very slow and long in the beginning. I wasn’t a huge fan of Alex’s narrative voice and I hated the fact that he kept using exact numbering to describe how big or small or far something was (the drop was 56ft to the ground, the barge was 40ft away, the rope was 16 inches long, etc). But around 100 pages it started to grow on me. Alex had few moments of peace and quiet on his journey to Illinois. He encounters a number of distresses including thieving gangs and starvation. But I was impressed with his determination to stay alive and focused which leads him to shelter and his first love, Darla. I really loved the fact that the book had gritty moments, some authors will shy away or gloss over bloody scenes or children dying but I’m glad Mike Mullin didn’t, it gave his story an edge and kept it realistic.
Even though it had its dry spots, Ashfall kept me interested and was a great start for Mike Mullin. I’m sure the next installment, Ashen Winter, will bring even more excitement and turmoil into Alex’s life.
4
