The Last Storm
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A gripping, terrifying road trip through the heat of the post-apocalyptic American desert from the author of Netflix’s The Silence. This action-packed and thought-provoking eco-nightmare will appeal to fans of Benjamin Percy, Christopher Golden and Josh Malerman.
With global warming out of control, large swathes of North America have been struck by famine and drought and are now known as the Desert. A young woman sets out across this dry, hostile landscape, gradually building an arcane apparatus she believes will bring rain to the parched earth.
Jesse lives alone, far from civilization. Once, he too made rain, but he stopped when his abilities caused fatalities, bringing down not just rain but scorpions, strange snakes and spiders. When his daughter Ash inherited this tainted gift, Jesse did his best to stop her. His attempt went tragically wrong, and he believes himself responsible for her death.
But now his estranged wife Karina brings news that Ash is still alive. And she’s rainmaking again. Terrified of what she might bring down upon the desperate communities of the Desert, they set out to find her. But Jesse and Karina are not the only ones looking for Ash. As the storms she conjures become more violent and deadly, some follow her seeking hope. And one is hungry for revenge.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Blending disquieting climate fiction and subtle magic, Lebbon's latest (after Eden) plumbs the possibilities of a dystopian future in which the effects of climate change forever alter North America. Skyrocketing heat and droughts have turned large stretches of the Great Plains into nearly uninhabitable desert. Reclusive Jesse has magic that can summon rain, but the one time he used it, his warped powers also brought a scourge of scorpions and venomous snakes, and he's sworn off ever trying again. He passed on his abilities to his daughter, Ash, whom he believes to have died in his efforts to teach her to control her power. But when his estranged wife, Karina, informs him that Ash is alive and attempting to conjure a storm herself, the pair set out to stop her before she rains down peril on the already struggling population of the desert. Meanwhile, Ash's efforts to understand the full extent of her powers puts some clever twists on classic coming-of-age-story arcs. Lebbon suffuses the tale with atmospheric detail to create a believable dystopian future. The taut prose and high stakes make for a powerful outing.