Mercury Striking (The Scorpius Syndrome, #1)

by Rebecca Zanetti

“Thrilling post-apocalyptic romance at its dark, sizzling best!”—Lara Adrian

"Nothing is easy or black or white in Zanetti's grim new reality, but hope is key, and I hope she writes faster!” —New York Times bestselling author Larissa Ione
 
With nothing but rumors to lead her, Lynne Harmony has trekked across a nightmare landscape to find one man—a mysterious, damaged legend who protects the weak and leads the strong. He’s more than muscle and firepower—and in post-plague L.A., he’s her only hope. As the one woman who could cure the disease, Lynne is the single most volatile—and vulnerable—creature in this new and ruthless world. But face to face with Jax Mercury…
 
Danger has never looked quite so delicious…

• ISBN10: 1420137948
• ISBN13: 9781420137941
• Publish Date: 26 January 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 19 April 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Zebra Books
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9781420137941

Reviews

[Melanie]

Review originally posted at RabidReads.com.

I’ve wanted to try this series since I saw it come out. I was hoping that it would be available on audio, but that hasn’t happened yet. I decided to bite the bullet and read the books. I just couldn’t wait anymore. I keep hearing such amazing things about this series. After reading this story, I’m really glad that I didn’t wait any longer.

This is a post-apocalyptic story. There is a bacteria that is unleashed upon the world. Not everyone dies from this bacteria. Some struggle through the fever and seem to be pretty normal. Others, on the other hand, are anything but. These people are known as Rippers. Some Rippers may seem normal, but are serial killers. Others don’t even act human. Some people don’t survive the bacteria.

Millions of Americans died of this bacteria. As a whole, we aren’t really sure if there is a functioning government or military. We are also not 100% sure what is going on in the rest of the world. Were they able to fight off this bacteria or not?

Lynne Harmony is a scientist at the CDC when the world went all to hell. There are many that feel that she is the cause of the bacteria getting released into the wild. She did contract the bacteria and survived it, but because of an experiment that was done to try to save her life, she now has a glowing blue heart. She escapes the clutches of the CDC and is trying to find a safe place to find a cure. She heads towards LA where she’s heard about this guy named Mercury.

Jax Mercury is a soldier who came home about the time of the bacteria. He starts to take in people and set up a stronghold in LA to try to protect people. The number of people in his little group continued to grow. Most aren’t soldiers. Most probably wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for Jax. He does have a few people in his inner circle who have either some experience or have trained really well.

There are several things that you would expect from a dystopian novel. You have people looting and gangs that will take advantage of the weak. In Jax’s group, he sends people out to scavenge for food, medicine and fuel. He has a guy with some medical background that is doing the work of doctors, just trying to keep people alive. There’s no power or technology (outside of cars).

I really enjoyed this story. It is a new look on the dystopian story. I’m used to zombies and stuff like solar flares, but this is something completely new, to me at least. I really enjoyed this new take on things. The story has some really fun characters. Not just Jax and Lynne, but many of the side characters.

While this story is a romance, it is really the world, characters and story that pulled me in. Don’t get me wrong, Jax and Lynne’s romance is a good one. It is slow, as would be expected with distrust of others set to 11. There is a lot of protectiveness, especially on Jax’s end. He really wants to protect his people, but he also has a pull towards Lynne.

I’m really excited to get to the next book. I haven’t looked yet to see who the next hero or heroine is. I know I have my hopes for a particular pair.

[Linda]

*I received a free copy of Mercury Striking from Zebra via Netgalley in exchange of an honest and unbiased review*

Mercury Striking is a very powerful dystopia suspense novel, where most technology is down, and what is left of humanity is fighting against a horrible bacteria for survival.

[EBookObsessed]

This is definitely Rebecca’s best series and it has just started. I am a fan of her Dark Protectors as well as her Sin Brothers series. This one has just enough of a dark edge to keep you worrying where she will go and will your favorite characters make it to the end.

In the anthology, On the Hunt, Rebecca give us a novella which narrates how the bacteria comes to Earth and how the CDC attempts to control the bacteria before it becomes a pandemic. (This was a great anthology and this story in particular left me primed for this first novel.) The kill rate for the bacteria is nearly 100 percent and most of those who survive the fever are left with damage to their frontal lobe, creating survivors who no longer have a sense of right and wrong. They become psychotic, ranging from mindless, crazed beings to cunning and lethal serial killers with no remorse. There are a very few who survive Scorpius with their minds not only intact, and even fewer who seem to have some slight mental boost. They feel a little more focused, etc.

In Mercury Striking, Rebecca drops the bomb. Several months have passed since we finished Scorpius Rising and only about one percent of the population has survived the initial epidemic. One of the survivors is Dr. Lynne Harmony, the head scientist at the CDC who was attempting to find a cure for Scorpius. She needs to find a hidden facility which she believes was in the Los Angeles area. Before everything crashed, the CDC were making some strides with Vitamin E, which the body does not create but it was helping those infected have a better chance of surviving with the brain intact. The hidden facility was making strides in getting the body to create it’s own Vitamin E which is important since factories have stopped and no one is creating more of what might be the only thing to save those still alive.

Lynne knows that her medical knowledge is not going to help her survive in the wilds of this new world. She is trying to reach Jax Mercury. Former military, Jax started gathering people, food and weapons and creating a safe haven just before the world went black. Lynne is hoping he and his people are still in LA and that she can gain his help to find the facility and continue her research.

Everyone know who Lynne Harmony is and most are afraid of her. It could be the bulletins that went out before the power was lost, the ones advising that Lynn is carrying a more dangerous strain of the bacteria. Those still in power wants Lynn back to continue her work for them and will do anything to get her dragged back to them.

While Jax agrees to take Lynn in, he isn’t exactly ready to trust her. There are many, including the government, that want what food and weapons Jax and his people have managed to find. There are also several in Jax’s camp that would willing trade Lynn for the promise of food, medicine and safety that the government is promising.

Jax and his people have survived the epidemic, but what’s next? What comes next after basic survival has been met?

THOUGHTS:
One of my all time favorite books is Stephen King’s The Stand. I’m am also a fan of The Walking Dead. It’s the only show I take time away from my reading pile to catch. I don’t want to fixate on the idea that Rebecca’s series in any way copies The Stand or TWD. Like any dystopian story, there is a catalyst for the end of the world (Scorpius Bacteria) and the aftereffect of the mass extinction of the human race, which is the fight for survival and the question of what the future holds for those left alive.

What I like best of this series and why I think it will top her others, is the slight edginess. Her Dark Protectors and Wicked Edge and her Sin Brothers series all had action and romance and a continuing threat, but you kind of always knew that your main characters were gonna make it through the series. Maybe get a superficial wound. The only seriously wounded character in DP was mostly decapitated and still survived.

In this series, there is no safety (at least not yet): first, Scorpius is still around and can infect those who haven’t yet been infected and then the infected and the scavengers are as much a danger to the survivors as the bacteria. With this level of danger, we are going to lose characters. Anyone and everyone is at risk and just when you think they survived to live another day, there is a loss where you least expect it. That vulnerability adds a level of excitement which was missing from her previous stories. Yes, this is a romance series but with a dystopian background, you can’t keep a bubble around all your favorite characters all the time. Just ask TWD fans.

I am looking forward to seeing how Rebecca will be breaking our hearts in future stories and if and where our survivors can create a new world out of the ashes of the old.

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Breakdown of Mercury Striking

• World: An outbreak caused by bacteria has killed most of the population. Survivors come in all forms and not all of them are good for the future of humanity.  The US is in shambles, and folks have no idea if the government still stands. Jax Mercury is a troubled solider who sets up a stronghold in L.A. protecting the weak. Lynn Harmony is a wanted woman who risks everything to ask Jax for help. Lynn may hold the key to a cure. L.A. is broken up into territories ruled by groups who do not have the kind of honor code Jax’s holds himself and his people too. The climate is brutal, and the need for supplies high. It created an intense world with page-turning, heart-stopping action.


• The characters: We spend most of our time in and around the compound Jax has created. He, his soldiers and civilians work together to survive for another day. Zanetti did a wonderful job of introducing the characters. Key characters were fleshed out and secondary characters were given enough depth to allow us to feel a part of the unit. She created villains you will love to hate; some in warring territories and other are far-reaching and powerful enemies. Jax is confident, strong, and intelligent. He is one hundred percent alpha. Small talk is not his foray, but when he does, it is powerful. I really enjoyed Lynn. She has been through some shit, but is tough-as-nails, with a brilliant mind. She does not whine and she is not afraid to stand up for herself or say, “I am in over my head.” A little orphan was unique and I am anxious to see what role she plays in the overall arc. We also meet the next hero and heroine and already I am dying for their story.


• The plot: In Mercury Striking Lynn needs Jax Mercury’s help with two things. First finding a site that may hold the key to the cure and second she needs him to kill someone. Being witness to these two feel each other out, learn to trust and become comrades was intense and satisfying. The romance was slow building and started with primal need before blossoming into something deeper. The overall arc is established and I can already tell the road ahead will have obstacles, danger and excitement.


• The romance: With two head strong characters and lives at stake the chemistry between these two was intense. It may have started off sexually, but moved onto something with more depth. Jax is definitely all alpha, and rules his unit with a firm hand. Thankfully, Lynn was more than able to handle him and actually softened him a little. Which made him a better leader.
  
  
  Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[thebookdisciple]

DNF...I was so lost. I must have said "Wait, what?" at least 40 times. And then there is a weird scene where he beats her with a belt. Then they have sex... It was just strange. I felt like every other page was missing or something. Surely she wouldn't jump into bed with the guy who beat her early right? But even beyond that, I felt that I was missing information. About her, about the disease... everything really! It was a bit like Elle Kennedy's Claimed which was NOT for me. I think had I know this book was like that one, I wouldn't have started it. A lot of it was just personal preference so maybe some of thing things I mentioned won't bother others; Maybe I am just not smart enough to keep up with what was happening and y'all will think "What was that crazy girl talking about not understanding?"! Its totally possible. Maybe I gave up trying too soon? Who knows!