Ashen Winter: Ashfall Series, Book 2 [Kindle Edition]

First an admission - I didn't realise when I started reading Ashen Winter that this was the second book in a trilogy, bad research on my part. That said, I was up to speed pretty quickly, and though I may have missed some of the references to book one, I don't think I suffered too much not having read part one.

The main premise of this novel is a frightening one; in fact, probably the most realistic apocalyptic event I've read this month. The Yellowstone super volcano is going to erupt eventually and there will be consequences that are going to be felt across the world. This fact alone makes this story all the more engrossing.

I like the way the author has so effectively captured the breakdown of society. The story begins some months after the eruption and communities have started to live far more insular lives. They concern themselves with trying to protect their meagre resources while violent roaming gangs attempt to take everything they can by force. The thin veneer of civilization is starting to crumble, and many people are only looking out for themselves. It's almost Darwinian, survival of the fittest and all that.

Through their travels, Alex and Darla meet many people, some are striving to keep civilisation alive while others are reverting to a more animalistic existence. The most unpleasant of these groups are the `flensers'. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise by telling you what they do, especially if you've never come across the word before. Feel free to Google the word flenser though, you'll get a good hint of what is going on. It's always fun when an author manages to make me proclaim `Eeeuuuww!' out loud.

Alex and Darla are central to the narrative but the character that really stood out for me was a young man called Ben. He is the brother of a young woman that Alex meets while on the road. Ben is pretty unique in his outlook and plays a key role in certain events. I'm not going to say any more than that, suffice to say I thought his character was great.

A word of warning - I don't think that Ashen Winter is necessarily for everyone. Some of the situations are quite harrowing, more so by the fact this is pitched young adult novel, so if you are of a nervous disposition you may want to try something else. Remember, this is the end of the world after all. Characters do suffer quite a bit, and it's not happy endings for everyone. Personally, though, I really enjoyed the story. Mullin's writing manages to put a very human face on a global tragedy.

Overall I'm left with a genuine sense of curiosity about what is going to happen next. Various factions throughout the countryside are still at one another's throats, in some cases literally, and there is no sign that things are going to improve any time soon. What there is perhaps, is just the tinniest glimmer of hope.

***This is book 2 in the series, do not read on if you've not read book 1 - there will be spoilers***

I raved and raved about Ashfall, it was an original piece of work in a crowded market, and Alex was a great lead that the reader cared about, so I was excited to read the next installment.

Ashen Winter takes place a few months after Darla and Alex have arrived at his uncles farm, only find his parents were not there. Things are going well, they have kale and are exchanging it for food from the town, but then some bandits arrive, and they are carrying Alex's Dad's gun - so its time for another journey, back to where they came from, via the FEMA camps to try and find his parents. The journey leads to the usual combat, fights for life and various encounters with flensers.

Ashen Winter should of been a book that I devoured in one sitting, it took a little longer, in fact I started it a few months ago and forgot to keep going. Thats not a good sign. It does take a long time to get going, but once it does everything that pulls you into Ashfall is there. But this time it was a little less believable, Alex is one boy yet he manages to fight gangs, military and a vast amount of other unsavory characters, on his own (yet doesn't know how to drive a truck). The obsessive relationship he has with Darla is also a little annoying, I felt less love for Alex this time, he was far less likable. But that is the way characters grow and his stubborn, selfishness certainly added to the book, even if he did need a slap from time to time.

Darla also loses something in this book, her feistiness is dampened a little, she's not as ballsy either, she has her moments, but both characters felt a little worn down, whether thats by the world their in, or due to a break in the writing I don't know. There were also a few continuity issues, primarily Darla's hair - they had their heads shaved when they arrived due to nits, but then Alex refers to Darla's long brown hair (mistaking her for another girl, based on it at one point) on several occasions, quite how Darla has hair that can grow from shaved to long in a few months, in starvation conditions is beyond me.

The addition of some new characters was welcome, but I really wish Mullin hadn't gone into the love triangle territory, its lazy writing and not needed in this series.

The good in the book, is everything that was found in Ashfall and more, the nasty, mean, selfish side of humanity, the world with a shifting power center and the effects of nature are all present here and are the stars of the show.

I've been a bit tough on the book as I expected so much, I fear that this was a filler, that the big bang will be in book three, and to get there the characters needed this little journey, I'm hoping so anyway. As a stand alone book, it'd be 4.5 stars easy, but sadly its been knocked down a little due to the amazing book one, undone by the series own success. Still the series is one that is highly recommended.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, Ashfall, when I read it in 2011. Mike Mullin's characters are likable and realistic, and the storyline is frighteningly plausible. With my own hatred for winter, snow and ice, this series pretty much reflects the most frightening of apolcayptic scenarios for me.

Ashen Winter picks up a little after Ashfall ends, with Alex and Darla working on his uncle's farm, trying to survive in an ice-entombed world, where little grows and the worst sides of humanity is showing it's ugly face. Again, I was pulled in by the characterisation of Darla and Alex, who both felt like real people, with hopes and fears for the future, as well as being perfectly matched in personality, and there were more than a few fabulously sarcastic moments. I did have the feeling in Ashfall that the romance between Alex and Darla was a little bit insta-lovey but Mike Mullin does present it in a way that makes it more realistic as people are thrown together in exceptional, difficult circumstances they form a stronger, more intense connection to other people around them.

New characters are also introduced, and one that I particularly liked was Ben, the autistic brother of one of the girls Alex meets on his journey. I loved the fact that Mike Mullin used an autistic character, and his research into creating Ben was very detailed and added an extra dimension to the story, whilst helping with some of the plausibility.

Ashen Winter is a non-stop ride from the first pages - as Alex and Darla search for clues to the locations of his parents, encounter some hideously twisted survivors and return to places visited in the first book, I tore through the pages, unable to put the book down because I just wanted to see what happened next.

My only (small) complaint is that at times the things that they were able to achieve without freezing to death or getting killed seemed a little unlikely. Sure, Alex is a Taekwondo student and Darla grew up on a farm and has an inherent knowledge of machinery, but up against some of the resources of the more organised bandits, they got lucky more than a few times.

Ashfall is a great, realistic, post-apocalyptic series, that is based on a real environmentally catastrophic possibility, without the addition of paranormal elements or technological advances, with a real focus on survival and characterisation. Ashen Winter continues the series really well, without falling into second book syndrome, and I'll definitely be reading the next book.