Book 55 of My 2012 Goal

Meltdown by C.A.S Novel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Meltdown by Christopher Albert Summerfield (C.A.S) Novel is one of the most gripping and terrifying stories I have read yet. It is a story following eight survivors of a chemical attack which in a way sounded a little dull to me but I assure you there is nothing dull about this story at all. It kept me glued to the pages from the beginning to the end.

I loved how the book started with a scene and not a character. It is set in London near the downtown area on the streets where there was some sort of explosions and then this green smoke filled the air and then the people started going mad. Sure there was the normal looting and all that seem to go on during any emergency but this was something more. Some of the people were killing others with their bare hands or whatever weapon they had for no reason. They had a crazed look about them and they just slaughtered other people. The author really knows how to describe a scene so the reader can visualize it. One of the scenes that sticks with me is when the bus crashes and the horror that followed. The bus crashed and the driver's head "exploded" on the windshield. It goes on about the thick, red blood running down the shattered glass. The part that gets me most is when the crazed mob charges the bus and attacks the passengers. No one does it better than the author so here is what he wrote: "And as the mob boarded. the passengers began screaming, unsure what to do but expecting the worst. Continuing to hold onto their loved ones and belongings, crouching and hoping they would be shown mercy, the mob showed no mercy as they entered the bus, biting, gauging, stabbing and squeezing the life out of men, women and children, just hell-bent on slaughter, no one to be left alive."

That is when Mary is introduced as she finds herself standing on one of the streets clutching onto her son witnessing this insanity that is all around her as she tries to get to the place of her husband's work where she thinks they will be safe. She ends up going down the tube station (which I assume is a what I know as a subway station) but naturally the trains are not working. In fact, nothing works, no trains, no cell phones, no wired phones, no electricity, nothing. It is down in this station where she and her son, Mathew are 'rescued' by a tube worker, Ron. I use that word 'rescued' lightly as they are not truly rescued but they are simply rescued from the dangerous situation they found themselves in at that moment down in the tube station. Ron leads them into one of the staff rooms that he had locked himself up in when all this insanity started. They would be safe there for now but naturally they couldn't stay there forever and eventually Ron leaves to scout out the tube when he comes across others.

There are eight in all and the story follows them through not only what they say and do survive but what they think. The reader is not only getting to know what is on the outside but the deepest, darkest thoughts. It really lets the reader get to know each person more intimately which was a huge benefit in being able to connect or at least understand where they were coming from. You remember that old saying, don't judge a book by its cover? And, I may add that this doesn't stop the story in any way. The story is forever moving forward and taking the twist and turns of what to do next and where to go as well as who can be trusted and who can't all the way to the end. What a ending too! I didn't see that coming. All I could say is, "Wow". "Excellent!"

The other thing I thought of is how believable the whole story is. Not only were the characters believable for the most part as we all handle stress and emergencies differently but the whole story was believable. There are the capabilities of this or something like it happening right in our own back yards. Maybe we all shouldn't judge our safety by who we think our enemies are.

Because of the scenes and nature of the story I would recommend it to young adults and adults.


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