EDGE OF COLLAPSE

In Stone’s speculative thriller, two strangers who meet by chance must help each other survive in a post-apocalyptic landscape.

Rather than opening with typical fare for after-the-end fiction—such as buildings collapsing or crowds fleeing explosions—this novel opens on a quieter but more chilling note, as a pregnant woman named Hannah Sheridan realizes that the power’s gone out in her cell. She’s been held captive for five years by sadistic rapist Gavin Pike; now, in his absence, her prison’s electric door unlocks and swings open. Hannah escapes and flees into the harsh Michigan winter, knowing that time is short before her tormentor begins hunting her down. Her plight is part of a larger, puzzling catastrophe, as the entire United States has been hit by an electromagnetic pulse: “Some people thought an EMP would destroy every electronic device in the country, no matter how small. Other people believed an EMP would only take out the electrical grid, and maybe only regionally. In reality, not even nuclear physicists and scientific experts knew what would happen for sure.” Hannah becomes aware of the extent of the destruction when she accepts help from Liam, a veteran of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, who explains that “No power means no heat. Few working vehicles means no food deliveries, no medical supply deliveries, no gas tanker deliveries.” He’s grieving his brother and sister-in-law’s deaths in the aftermath of the EMP, but he provides Hannah with protection on two fronts—by helping her elude Pike and by keeping her safe from other threats as society descends into chaos. Stone delivers a thriller that’s well-paced throughout, and it’s especially effective at evoking Hannah’s near-constant fear: “She desperately wanted to curl into a ball and cover her head with her hands like a child shrouding her face with a blanket.” Parts of the story strain plausibility, and because this volume is the first in a series, the ending is frustratingly inconclusive. However, the story maintains a level of excitement that will keep many readers engaged enough that they won’t quibble over such details.

A page-turner that tackles its genre in offbeat and compelling ways.