2240

In this SF novel, astronauts wake from cryosleep to find an almost depopulated Earth.

Following an onboard spaceship accident, only four Space Force crew members—pilot and aerospace engineer Mia Bennet; her best friend and fellow aerospace engineer, Eliza Scott; physician Robert Eichmann; and software engineer Gabriela Rodriguez—make it to the cryosleep pods that save their lives. The damage is so extensive that it takes the ship’s artificial intelligence more than 24 years to return to Earth. It’s now 2240, and some kind of radiation has nearly wiped out humanity. The crew opens a cryochamber on Earth holding 53 Space Force members who entered it in 2220, including Mia’s boyfriend, Marcus Carson. Together, they find sanctuary in Los Angeles, where a 200-story smart building called The Tower is home to 313 survivors. As the newcomers settle into the community, they face interpersonal tensions and attractions. For example, Blake—nephew of The Tower’s suspiciously monarchical leader—is smitten with Mia, who must accept that Marcus (assuming she was dead) found a new girlfriend. More significantly, various circumstances make Mia suspect several conspiracies. A search for Mia’s mother and any other survivors leads to Venezuela, where secrets are revealed. In her novel, Morassutti presents an unusually functional post-apocalyptic world, a fresh take that’s enlivened by romance, mystery, and thriller elements. That said, the premise can be flimsy, as in failing to explain why radiation deadly enough to nearly extinguish the human race has left plants and animals alive. Characterization falters as well, with 20-something professionals behaving more like high school students, as in this exchange involving Mia: “You should tell Eliza how you almost kissed Blake,” Gabriela said happily. “That’s truly the most important story today.”

A dystopian tale with appealing elements but a shaky foundation and overly juvenile characters.