n 1962, a miscalculation by the USSR provokes a strong response from the USA. But in this world, the world that Major Harrison Mowbray, USAF lives in, the Cuban Missile Crisis does not end peacefully. His B-52 gets the "go-code," unleashing nine years of war that erases human life from the surface and forces men to live like rats, underground, in giant caverns called "cathedrals."In 1971, Mowbray, a survivor of Soviet POW camps, commands a "Warwagon" train, launching ICBMs against the Soviets. His only bastion against despair is the hope that he will one day see his missing daughter again. Mowbray receives a curious summons to examine a Soviet probe, that has landed in Canada with a message of peace, addressed only to him.Thus begins a cross-country journey across a divided continent, on the brink of revolution, with a culmination in the most unimaginable place. Along the way, Mowbray will meet historical figures whose lives have taken very different paths in this strange turn of history.Traitor or patriot? Maybe both? Harrison Mowbray will find out which he is, and if he really is the only man who can put out the flames.
What if the Cuban missile crisis went hot and the nukes flew... and never stopped? This book was a frighteningly plausible glimpse into that dystopia.
The author pulls no punches - the ugly, gritty, horrifying results of constant nuclear war, and its effect on the characters and country, is brutally honest. This raw tone is necessary and no small part of the book's appeal.
The politics and players are very creative and plausible, the writing is tight and compelling, and the plot and ending quite satisfying.
I am honored to be the first to review this book! Really enjoyed it.
