Burn Out (Burn Out, #1)

by Kristi Helvig

[lizarodz]

What a wild ride Burn Out turned out to be! I don’t usually read books set in space, but I’m glad that this one called out to me.

I think the synopsis does an awesome job as stating the basic facts, so I won’t go over those again. Instead, let’s concentrate on the characters. Tora has been taught how to survive since age ten and it is drilled into her skull. She doesn’t trust anyone and has a vague plan as to how to survive Earth’s last days. She is full of sarcasm and a tough cookie. She is also very lonely and with small hopes for survival. However, Tora’s survival instincts are really strong and not only does she manages to do so, but to help others as well.

James, I’m reserving my judgment until the next book in the series, but I hope you can see me shaking my head at you. Anyway, the budding romance between James and Tora seems to be too fast (although nothing really happened!) and it is not the focus of the story, rather a promise of things to come.

I’m not sure what to think of Alex. I mean, Tora is so distrustful of everyone and then, like magic, she’s charging of to rescue a complete stranger. It’s really out of character and I hope there is an ulterior motive to the addition of Alex to this highly messed up group.

Markus is as ambivalent as the wind, but I have high hopes for his and him and I hope he learned his lesson after all that happened. Tora’s family is dead when we meet her, but they are ever present in her thoughts and in most decisions she makes. The other character in the group is Britta, another survivor, but with a healthy dose of annoying thrown in. About Kale, the group’s leader, let me just say that Helvig’s phycology degree shines through him and how devious and manipulative he is. Just sayin’.

Holy cliffhangers! This ending was beyond cruel. I’m not sure what will happen next, but I hope that Tora finds a way out of the mess she got herself into; in one piece, I mean. The plot is a full of twists and turns and ever changing alliances. It really made me dizzy how people seem to change their minds by the hour (that’s what it felt like). The writing is descriptive and straight forward enough that even I understood the science behind Earth’s destruction (no small feat, let me assure you!), and the new gadgets and doohickeys that about in the future.

Overall, Burn Out it’s a solid first book in what I’m sure will be a great series. Can I have the next book pretty please?