I have read a ton of apocalyptic novels. This has convinced me that I could definitely survive. When in all honesty, and according to literally everyone that knows me, I would probably not even last a week.

A lot of these types of stories center around characters that, in a non-fiction reality, would probably also not make it. Have you ever tried to start a fire? Not as easy as one would think. This story is completely different.

Our main character, Evan, and his partner, Nicole, live on a reserve in Northern Canada- a predominantly Anishinaabe community. Due to a lot of the issues that explored in This Place (click the link to see that review), many of the community members have been trying to get back in touch with their native culture. With this , several of them are accomplished hunters, fishermen, and overall survivalists. There are, however, a lot of people who have not done so and rely heavily on modern conveniences. Which turns out to be a huge problem when phones, tv, internet, electricity, etc. all completely go out.

Somehow this author manages to make this an absolute, edge of your seat, page-turner reminiscent of horror’s early days. What I mean by that is that nothing absolutely terrifying happens for about 85% of the book. While there are not any significant scares, the tension is built so beautifully. You feel a sense of unease, slowly growing and making it impossible to put the book down.

Waubgeshig Rice is a genius. Instead of taking the big city route with lots of craziness and people hitting each other with two-by-fours to get the last can of beans from the supermarket, the intimate setting conveys the story in a way that feels completely original. It examines the catastrophe through the small town lens. Not only that but the explanation given by Aileen as to why she is not worried is one of the best monologues I’ve ever read. It so expertly conveys the themes of the novel. I wish I could quote it in its entirety, but since we are a spoiler-free blog, you will just have to read it yourself.