Take Advantage Of Lethal Seasons (A Changed World, #1) Written And Illustrated By Alice Sabo Produced In Digital Format
the apocalypse. The word may conjure up visions of a nuclear holocaust, a killer pandemic, an asteroid collision, or cyberwar so intense that it sets back civilization by a century or more.
Usually, when we ponder an apocalyptic future we think of a single, overriding causeand a change so sudden and total that it seems to occur in an instant.
But isnt a more realistic view of the apocalypse likely to result from a conjunction of several causes that unfold over time This is the conceit on which Alice Sabo has based the “Changed World” series of five science fiction novels.
And in the first of the five, Lethal Seasons, we visit the early days in the death of human civilization.
In Year Zero”seven years ago”a madman released a lethal engineered virus around the world.
Its rumored that the mans intention had been to kill off the androids called biobots that many fear threatened to enslave the human race.
But the effect was much greater, reducing global human population by at least forty percent, And every year the “flu” returns, killing millions more,
A realistic view of the apocalypse
“The downsizing of the population left a lot of resources behind, but not enough people to run the factories.
” Vaccines released on an annual basis are only marginally effective, Meanwhile, the climate crisis has reached epic proportions, with storms so fierce and persistent and heat waves so intense that much of the human race frequently shelters underground.
“There are few left alive that can remember what it was like to pump gas or see skyscrapers.
” Because all the schools have closed, “the illiteracy level was rising, ” The economy has been set back by centuries: “Money no longer stood for anything of worth, ” Among the few basic services that still operate is the Internet, known now as “the ether, ” Now, people have fled the cities and towns, and the population of the United States has descended to a level it reached in the middle of thes, an estimated thirtythree million.
Against this grim background, Sabo spins out the story of High Meadow Med Center, Its located somewhere on the East Coast of the United States, A designated vaccination site in a former high school, High Meadow has become one of the larger communities in its region, with a population of more than one hundred.
Its only experience of government is the National Train Authority, which staffs the railroad stations and manages the flow of vaccines and “train food,” two unpalatable varieties of highly nutritious packaged substances called Crunch and Stewgoo.
The future might look like this in any realistic view of the apocalypse,
The resourceful people of High Meadow Med Center
High Meadows aging founder is Angus T.
Moss, author of a work in progress titled History of a Changed World, Sabo doles out passages from this work at the head of each chapter, Angus wife Tilly manages the struggling community with great skill, making use of the diverse talents of the accidental residents, many of them highly educated in fields that have become irrelevant.
Several residents, none with any background in farming, till the fields where they attempt with limited success to grow enough food to feed them all.
And when storms approach, theyre forced to cover the fields, “Superstorms made short work of crops grown in unprotected fields, ” Train food fills the gap,
Head cook Susan and her team staff the cafeteria, where all the residents receive their meals.
A former special forces soldier named Martin leads the Watch, which protects the site from marauding bandits.
Old Dr. Rutledge manages the infirmary with a dwindling supply of drugs, bandages, and antiseptic supplies,
And a former FBI agent named Nick travels throughout the region as Angus scout, searching out data about the impact of the virus and the weather to inform the old mans history.
Barter, feral bandits, and ever fiercer storms
The action that unfolds centers on Nicks travels throughout the region.
Wherever he goes, he encounters mounting evidence that conditions are deteriorating, “Anguss settlement was a utopia compared to some of the places hed seen, ” Feral bands of menincluding one tribe of cannibals called Maneatersprey on the tiny communities that survive on barter, trading the specialized goods and services theyre able to offer.
And he is unsurprised when he comes upon the body of a murdered adolescent girl in an abandoned house.
Whats surprising is that the young woman has managed to kill the man who was presumably her murderer: a heavily armed soldier dressed in black armor.
But an even greater surprise lies in the notebooks Nick discovers in the house, which promise to explain the origins of the virus.
About the author
Alice Sabos website headlines “postapocalyptic, fantasy, science fiction, mystery” to describe the eighteen books listed as her work on Amazon.
I am unable to find any additional information about her online, This is a very good postapocalyptic thriller, No zombies here, but a world devastated by a succession of strains of a virus, It is a very plausible world, in which a skeleton government still exists, running a train service and distributing food and medicine to the isolated rebuilding communities.
The main threat comes from the breakdown in society, and from roaming gangs of bandits and paramilitaries,
The origin of the virus makes for an intriguing mashup of scifi themes: the virus was developed and released as a terrorist act, supposedly to destroy the biobots that formed a significant part of society before the event, but there is a much
more sinister eugenic explanation revealed at the end.
These biobots were androids, largely indistinguishable from humans, but often faster, stronger, smarter, hence a threat should they rebel they are very reminiscent of the biological robots in “RUR” by Karel Capek.
The virus has since mutated every year, becoming more lethal each time, Just as some humans survived, so did some more specialist biobots, who are now running free with their own agenda.
Our protagonist, Nick, is an exFBI type, He roams the country gathering intelligence for his survivors community about possible new markets, new competitors, and new threats.
He makes for a plausible and smart action guy who is compelling enough to root for, despite his rough edges.
The secondary characters are all well drawn and interesting, the dialogue is sparkling, the action pieces and descriptions are nice and clear.
Its a very pleasant and engaging read,
The story focuses on a crime scene that catches the protagonists attention, and leads step by step towards a conspiracy and a search for the virus origins and the hope of a cure.
The chase is nice and terse in the first half, making a good thriller storyline within a consistent and intricate world.
The tension does wobble a little in the second half when the focus on the “bad guys” is replaced by focus on the devastating extreme weather events, and the story comes to a very abrupt end after a few convenient reveals.
This is the norm in these series, sadly,
Nevertheless, this is one of the most sophisticated and plausible post apocalyptic novels Ive come across.
It really deserves to be better known, Ill definitely look out for the sequels, .