Ashen Winter (Ashfall, #2)

by Mike Mullin

It's been over six months since the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano. Alex and Darla have been staying with Alex’s relatives, trying to cope with the new reality of the primitive world so vividly portrayed in Ashfall, the first book in this series. It's also been six months of waiting for Alex's parents to return from Iowa. Alex and Darla decide they can wait no longer and must retrace their journey into Iowa to find and bring back Alex's parents to the tenuous safety of Illinois. But the landscape they cross is even more perilous than before, with life-and-death battles for food and power between the remaining communities. When the unthinkable happens, Alex must find new reserves of strength and determination to survive.

• ISBN10: 1933718757
• ISBN13: 9781933718750
• Publish Date: 1 November 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 16 August 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tanglewood Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 594
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

I was excited going into Ashen Winter, because I wanted to know what new problems Alex would face in the months after the eruption. Well, I was sorely disappointed. There is a permanent winter occurring and it's much worse than anyone could have prepared for, but other than that, this is almost the same book as Ashfall but with different details. Early on, Alex decides that it's time for him to go find his parents or learn if they're even still living. Instead of skis, he's got a makeshift snowmobile and a sleigh of supplies. At least he's better prepared this time.

Ashen Winter is very repetitive for the first two-thirds. I had to skim a few chapters here and there, or else I felt like I wasn't making any progress. Alex is essentially making the same journey in reverse. He starts off with Darla and plenty of supplies, then ends up alone with no supplies before finally reaching his destination. Finally, in the last third was when things got interesting for me. The plot shifts and I was more invested, but still, it was dragged out in places. Also, I felt like Alex was the same, more heart than brain. A lot of hardships could have been avoided if he thought more before acting.

Ashen Winter does have a cliffhanger ending, which makes me eager to start the last book. It sounds like it's finally going to delve deeper into the larger problems that the country is facing, rather than just Alex setting out to find someone who he doesn't even know is alive or not. Alex is getting involved in the bigger picture, instead of his own little bubble.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

About a year ago, my friend and author, Jade Eby, introduced me to the Ashfall series by Mike Mullin. The trilogy takes place in eastern Iowa and northern Illinois after the super volcano that sits under Yellowstone Park explodes burying the Midwest in ash and triggering an extreme winter. For me, this series is gut-wrenchingly realistic.

Read the rest of my review of the series on my blog, Second Run Reviews.

[Ashley]

booknook — Young Adult book reviews

Right off the bat, it's obvious that I'm not rating Ashen Winter as high as Ashfall. Ashen Winter was a fascinating story that once again really dives into disaster and humanity (or lack thereof), but at the end of the day, I don't feel like the book was much different from Ashfall.

In Ashfall we have Alex trekking across the country to find his family. There's devastation, brutality, gangs, and strange "refugee" camps. In Ashen Winter we have Alex trekking across the country to find his family. There's devastation, brutality, gangs, and strange "refugee" camps. I hope you noticed the repetition there. :P Although it was still an interesting book, I just don't feel like Ashen Winter brought much new content to the table. I didn't really learn any more about how the weather is doing or what's going on with the government. We do learn a bit more about the gangs and see them in more detail, but those are really just interesting filler bits. Ashen Winter lacks a strong, overarching plot progression.

Furthermore, I felt like in some ways, the book was a little anti-climactic. It's hard to go into detail without spoiling the story. Basically the book revolves around Alex searching for his parents. But when he finally finds them, I feel like they weren't what I was expecting.

Alex went through all this trouble to find his parents, and then they just annoyed me. They treated Alex like such a child and I was so annoyed at how his parents refused to leave with him. His parents risked their lives to go find Alex, Alex risked his life to go find them, and then when they finally meet, they're just like, "Hi son. We're staying here!" As a reader, I just felt let down. All that work, all that anticipation.. we finally meet the parents, and they're annoying characters? That wasn't very satisfying!

Although I wasn't totally crazy about Ashen Winter, it did have its high points. We have some really interesting new characters including Ben, an insanely intelligent—but autistic—character. His sister, Alyssa, was less interesting. In fact, her complete disrespect for Alex's relationship really put me off. Where Ashen Winter really shines is in how it portrays the loss of humanity. Obviously this was a big point in Ashfall as well, but it's even more significant in Ashen Winter. We get a wider look at gangs, slavery, and even cannibalism.

Ashen Winter didn't quite live up to my expectations, and it was an insanely long book (which made it a little difficult for me to get through), but it was still an interesting read. It's clear just how much research Mike Mullin has put into this series and I applaud him for that!

[Amber]

Awesome, although I'm not impressed by some of Alex's choices. So many vile things happen in this book O_O

Full review here: http://www.booksofamber.com/2012/10/ashen-winter-by-mike-mullin.html

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It's hard to pull off a sequel when the first book is so brilliant, but Mike Mullin pretty much did it. I didn't enjoy Ashen Winter quite as much as Ashfall, but I definitely still loved it.

The main draw for this book is the post apocalyptic setting. Everyone is still struggling to survive after the super volcano has erupted, and food is getting scarce in some places. Alex, the main character, finally leaves the farm to search for his parents, who left to look for him in the previous book. Alex and Darla travel around the state, and that means that the reader gets to read about how other towns are coping, and also what gangs have formed.

Darla isn't in this book as much, which was a little disappointing. She was my favourite character in Ashfall, so it's a shame we don't get to see more of her in this. I'm kind of hoping for a novella so that I can read about what she got up to when she wasn't with Alex, and how she managed to survive.

I must applaud Mike Mullin on his ability to make me feel extremely uncomfortable. There are not many writers that can do that, and still have me love their work. I mentioned in my review of Ashfall that some scenes were hard to read, but they were nothing compared with the scenes in this book. There is a lot of talk of prostitution and sex slaves that made a great story and provided some really great scenes (which sounds totally weird now I've put it like that, but I didn't mean it that way, I promise!) but like I said some parts made me very uneasy.

The ending was absolutely epic. Action packed, fast paced and gripping. I may have shed some tears for certain characters, who I won't name, despite seeing their fate coming from a mile away. It was so sad. And then there was the VERY end, which I also won't spoil (obviously), but it's left me wanting more. I cannot wait for book three!

[inlibrisveritas]

If someone asked me to recommend a ‘post apocalyptic’ series I would definitely have to go with the Ashfall trilogy. The third book isn’t even out yet but this is already one of the best in that genre I’ve read. It has everything I want from a post apocalyptic story and more. When I read about the aftermath of a catastrophic event I want to feel that terror and the anguish that comes with loosing everything you knew. I realize that’s a bit morbid, but it’s a vital part of the story and if you don’t feel it then the story didn’t impact you the way it should. I also want to feel the hope that comes with trying to start over and trying to better your life, and furthermore I want to feel that connection the characters have with each other. Mike Mullin does that perfectly with Ashfall and Ashen Winter, he makes you truly feel the story that’s in front of you.

Ashen Winter starts off quickly and gets you right back into the action, it also quickly let’s you know that this story isn’t going to be an easy ride for Alex and Darla. It also keeps it’s pace throughout the whole story with very few slow moments because there is always a reason to keep moving forward and to keep turning the pages, be it a good reason or a bad one. It’s just a gritty and emotional as the first book, and it really had me hanging on to every word. I was practically Alex’s cheerleader, even for the smallest things that he accomplished and if he ever failed it left me feeling a bit defeated as well. This one is about cherishing relationships just as much as it is about survival, because sometimes the two become so intermingled that it’s nearly impossible to separate the two.

Alex and Darla are still the perfect team, with strengths and weaknesses that compliment each other. I love how strong of a character Darla is and how different she is from other female YA characters. She does what she needs to do to survive and she’s not afraid to put herself on the line if something or someone needs to be protected. Though she does end up being a bit too cautious at times and that’s where Alex comes in. He’s a brave but he’s also the one that sees the emotional aspect everything occurring, and it leads him to some rash actions. If he sees someone else in need he’ll do what he can to help them even if it’s not in his best interest, Darla keeps him from going overboard. They balance each other perfectly. You also finally get to meet Alex’s parents, which was both a relief and an irritation. It’s long been noted that I tend to hate parents in YA fiction, and his parents are really no exception. That being said I understand exactly where they are coming from when it comes to being over protective, I just don’t like when parents overlook their child’s strengths because they still see them as vulnerable. We are also introduced to Alyssa and Ben, who are brother and sister and quite the odd pair.

So what’s the final verdict on Ashen Winter? If you’ve read Ashfall and loved it, then I think both know you need to read this. If you haven’t read Ashfall then I completely recommend that you do. Of course if you can’t handle things like: cannibals, detailed injuries, and some violence…then it’s probably best you don’t read it or if you do just be ready for it. I have no choice now but to wait for the third book, though I’ll be rather impatient about it.

I received this from Tanglewood and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.