When NYU student Asher Caine’s uncle calls to warn him something big is coming, he has no idea it will be so devastating. Not even years of training can prepare him for what he's about to face. The only plan he has is to get his sister and nephew across country to safety, whatever it takes.
The darkness is full of potential. For good or evil, only time will tell.
Elliot Davenport isn’t about to let his Chemistry lab partner leave him behind, though he’s never done a spontaneous thing in his life. Ash is mysterious, aloof, and so damned sexy, Elliot can’t get the guy out of his head. But his crush takes a backseat as the gravity of the situation becomes clear: the eastern two-thirds of the United States has gone dark.
What happens when all the rules change in a split second?
200 million people are without access to sustainable food and water, let alone coffee and the Internet. Facing the worst humanitarian crisis the western world has ever seen, the government calls the military to step in. The entire military.
The soldiers of Team Shockwave are tasked with evacuating civilians to the safety of refugee camps, and then patrolling the new border between the East and West. Shockwave are on the front lines and the fate of an entire nation rests on them.
Welcome to the long fall of night…
Guest Reviewer: Fantasy Living
When half of the US is suddenly plunged into darkness, Ash is forewarned enough to have a few things prepared. All he needs is a car to get him to his sister’s house in upstate New York, and from there, to Seattle to his conspiracy theorist/prepper Uncle Marvin. Lucky for him, his college lab partner, and friends with benefits, Elliot has a ride, and since Elliot feels a little more than friends towards Ash he can’t think of any reason not to go with him. Unfortunately their adventures start off badly, and don’t seem to be getting better. Coupled with their budding relationship, Elliot’s health problems, and some homophobic stragglers, and their survival becomes more and more difficult as they get closer to the border between dark and light.
This prepper stuff really revs my engine. A colleague and I discuss all sorts of survival tech stuff we should have, on a bi-weekly basis. I think we’re jokingly (maybe?) compiling a list of all the things we would need in preparation for “The Day” when the world turns to crap. His list consists of some neat solar charging stuff, a rifle (yeah good luck getting your hands on one of those in Australia) and a decent tent. My list is something a lot more fluid. I want all. the. things. There’s no way I could carry all the stuff I want in a backpack and hike across the country. But Ash seems to have a much better plan than I do. Stealing! Steal. All. The. Things!! It’s not looting because y’know, this stuff is useful and not a TV. It’s part of his survival prep. Sure, he would have paid for it if the stores had been open, and taking business, but with no power, those slackers stayed home.
I really enjoyed the description of all the stuff he had ready, and the plan to acquire things along the way. I don’t know how it would really go, but it was believable enough for me to not laugh, and I found myself thinking “Oh yeah, don’t forget hats!” (He did forget hats). I enjoyed the relationship development between Ash and Elliot. There was this sweetness and intensity to the relationship after the initial roadbump they encountered, that could only come from being in survival mode. I found myself wanting them to be forever just based on how cohesive a unit they became in their travels. Through all the external drama of trying to hike across the country, they got stronger, even when their internal dialogue was wary. That’s the sort of romance I love. Sort stuff out in your head, freak out a bit - alone, and then come to each other decisive and calm(ish).
The shift in point of view from Ash and Elliot to the Military team, Shockwave, was somewhat jarring, but I found that it gave that added element of seeing something coming but not knowing exactly how it would pan out. It was unexpected but a welcome surprise (Maybe I should read blurbs more thoroughly, but where’s the fun in that?)
Donnie and Chris were a great addition to the story, and I can see them playing a bigger role in the next book (I really hope that’s where this is going anyway).
This was a solid read, and I didn’t notice any glaring issues with the plot or the delivery. The story excited me and kept me entertained, and that’s what I expected from AJ Rose.
There were no Zombies, which was a relief. This truly was a “what-if” story. And now I’m trying to figure out how I would hook up my solar panels to some sort of battery that could keep my power going in the likely event that some crazy person turns off all the power one day.
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