As above, so below, except when referring to the underground Refuge Inc. compound.
A century after an asteroid impact and merely fifteen years after a second collision that turned the world into a noxious wasteland, Cadet Connor Nichols and other Refuge facility residents are making the most of their spherical underground utopia they call home.
But when a breach threatens to poison the occupants with toxic air, Connor is forced to make life-altering decisions in an attempt to save lives and his only home. With help from best friend and training partner, Vince Moore, he's reminded that good leadership requires responsibility.
His struggle intensifies as everything he knows about the facility, the leaders, and himself becomes twisted, distorted, and turned into the unimaginable when his efforts exposes shocking secrets that threaten their future.
Assessment:
Sanders's Refuge Inc. series standalone is an entertaining sci-fi love story that centers around Connor Nichols and Vince Moore, friends who hover on the brink of romance in a post-apocalyptic world where homosexuality is illegal. While the world the author creates is fully realized and fascinating, she is often heavy handed in depicting the characters unrequited love/lust. Still, the characters are fairly well developed and the story flows smoothly, despite some plot points that are wrapped up a little to neatly.
Date Submitted: August 11, 2016
I have to say I didn’t even realize this story was in a series until I sat down to write my review. It was a very good stand alone story that didn’t feel like anything was left out without having read the other books in the series.
This is a world that is after Earth as we know it has been destroyed. I absolutely loved the world that the author created. It was believable and intriguing.
The relationship between the two main characters was touching. They had a romance that was exploitative in their youth, but stopped however, their friendship was able to continue to thrive until Connor can’t hold it in anymore. While I normally don’t care for the tease of two characters never actually getting down to the dirty.. this actually worked and I liked that they were so tentative with each other and taking each step deeper into their relationship.
The drama that we get from the story come from the facility itself and the leadership within. While I wouldn’t have minded more information about how things came to be the way they were, it wasn’t hard to go with the story as it was written. I thought it was extremely creative the way the ‘bad guys’ were handled.
In the end I want to go back and start with the first book since this story was so well written."
