Out of the Dawn
-
-
4.1 • 7 Ratings
-
-
- $14.99
Publisher Description
In the thrilling sequel to #1 New York Times bestselling author P. C. Cast’s Into the Mist, a group of women fight for a just future in the wake of global destruction.
Practical Magic meets Station Eleven in this pulse-pounding postapocalyptic thriller about the power of women.
Mercury Rhodes and her world were utterly changed when the bombs fell, releasing the green mist. While it proved deadly to all the men who breathed it in, it gave new life to women who did the same. The green mist provided each member of her newfound family an ability: Stella’s heightened intuition, Imani’s earthly connection, Karen’s bond with Spirit, and Gemma’s healing ability. Although Mercury now has incredible physical strength—she doesn’t know if she will be strong enough for what comes next. Especially after the death of Ford, their companion through the aftermath of the mist.
The group finds respite in creating a small community in the John Day Fossil Preserve, near the Painted Hills in Oregon. Together, they hope to find a place where they can start over and rebuild a better world. But Mercury knows it won’t be that simple, not when she knows someone, or something, is hunting them. Something that wants to rule the ruins of the world and something that sees Mercury as a threat that must be eliminated.
Mercury will have to muster all her strength if she is to fight for a new dawn. The fate of her friends—and the world—depends on it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This rocky sequel to bestseller Cast's gender apocalypse Into the Mist loses a bit of its predecessor's gonzo charm while picking up an Anne Bishop vibe of nature taking violent revenge. The central question of why an earth goddess bombed humanity remains unresolved, but any reader geared up for book two isn't going to be put off by holes in the story's logic. Mercury Rhodes and her superpowered teacher crew have found a cliff to homestead on, if they can scavenge enough building materials and library books to figure out construction. Unfortunately, they're unaware of arcane loopholes in their hypothesis that the bombs' green-mist payload gives women powers and kills men. (In Cast's hands, gender is treated as a biological binary.) These quirks allow baddies from book one to reprise roles—with mutations—enabling what conflict the plot has. Largely, however, the page count is eaten up by repetitive scenes of the women sourcing and making adobe bricks, with asides on finding stashes of gasoline, coffee, and wine, all with a Thelma and Louise sheen. Is it fun? Sometimes. Still, fans of book one eager for another girl power–infused fantasy will find plenty to enjoy just in checking in with the cast.
