Sunrise by Mike Mullin

Sunrise (Ashfall, #3)

by Mike Mullin

The Yellowstone supervolcano nearly wiped out the human race. Now, almost a year after the eruption, the survivors seem determined to finish the job. Communities wage war on each other, gangs of cannibals roam the countryside, and what little government survived the eruption has collapsed completely. The ham radio has gone silent. Sickness, cold, and starvation are the survivors' constant companions. When it becomes apparent that their home is no longer safe and adults are not facing the stark realities, Alex and Darla must create a community that can survive the ongoing disaster, an almost impossible task requiring even more guts and more smarts than ever--and unthinkable sacrifice. If they fail . . . they, their loved ones, and the few remaining survivors will perish. This epic finale has the heart of Ashfall, the action of Ashen Winter, and a depth all its own, examining questions of responsibility and bravery, civilization and society, illuminated by the story of an unshakable love that transcends a post-apocalyptic world and even life itself.

Reviewed by inlibrisveritas on

4 of 5 stars

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*cries*

*looks at cover and realizes what it symbolizes, cries some more*

Why do book series have to end?! UGH! Okay…review time….

Sunrise is the last book in the Ashfall series so if you haven’t read the previous two…there may be spoilers.

ANYWAY, it’s finally over and I’m really upset. We finally get our conclusion and it’s a damn good one. As the books progress the time skips become more frequent, which is a good thing because living in this sort of world where you are farming and building things nonstop things would get boring on the page quickly. We also get to see how well (or badly) things are progressing over the time and how bleak it sort of seems because winter is lasting so long. There are some pretty epic confrontations and some really nice private moments as well, and the last 3rd of the book had me scrambling to continue reading even though it’s really hard to read and get dressed/make food/skateboard.

Alex and Darla are the best duo I’ve seen in this type of novel. They are not perfect of course but they have each other’s backs, they don’t mince words (most of the time), and they make up for whatever the other lacks. I loved that Darla is the more hardened of the two, but I also love seeing those softer moments from her. One thing Sunrise does give you is plenty of people to hate, and even better it ties up all of those pesky loose ends and we get to see some reconciliation. I’m more than a little impressed with how well thought out and detailed this series is, and I think it shines the most in Sunrise. There are things most novels like this don’t seem to think of like military, political, justice systems, farming, etc. In fact I think I learned far more than I ever expected to when I went into this series. I honestly had no idea that filtered and distilled urine could be used to help crop yield, I’m not sure I’ll ever need that tidbit of info but if I do I’ll have this series to thank for it. There were a few moments where it lulled a bit, but it wasn’t too bad.

If you notice that I’m reviewing the series as a whole instead of just this book it’s because I don’t like reviewing the last book in a series. There tends to be so much that should be kept ‘secret’ so that you can fully experience it and I don’t want to ruin anything for you. So trust me when I say that this is the perfect conclusion to an amazing series.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 28 May, 2014: Finished reading
  • 28 May, 2014: Reviewed