"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." (Francis Bacon)

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Countdown City

TITLE: Countdown City (The Last Policeman Book II)
AUTHOR: Ben H. Winters

There was no letdown from the first book in this near future trilogy. This time, Hank Palace is no longer a police detective, but he's still obsessed with solving a mystery, a missing person case. With the asteroid Maia hurtling toward Earth, the husband of Hank's long ago babysitter asks him to find her husband and bring him back home. Hank's search for Brett takes him into an increasingly chaotic and lawless landscape. He has to deal with anarchists forging their own society with their own rules, groups of hoarders, and a lack of the basics of life we all take for granted.

The mystery is almost beside the point, its main function being the thing that gives Hank's life meaning when life is slowly eroding into meaninglessness. The details feel alarmingly real as Winters weaves his simple story with big ideas. This is a future that could realistically happen and Winters covers a myriad of human reactions that are just as plausible. Given the current political climate, this series feels incredibly relevant.

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