Rule of Three by Eric Walters: REVIEW

[jtmttm]

With a significant portion of Young Adult fiction books being taken over by werewolves and vampires, it's refreshing to see a series of books about good-old fashioned apocalypse. In this book, the author never actually says what happened. His characters don't seem to know. They theorize that there was a virus that wiped out all electronics and thus transported the entire continent back into the Industrial Revolution days as nothing that runs on the electrical grid is functional. Those that have an interest in science in regards to "doomsday" know that what actually happened was an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) attack, most likely by an nuclear detonation in America's upper atmosphere.

Our hero, Adam, is a 16 year old high school student with plans on becoming a pilot like his father, who is in Chicago when it all goes dark. The story is about Adam and his abrupt and rushed growth into manhood as he is, again and again, asked to do things that no 16 year old boy I know would be able to do. Through it all, Adam is faced with moral decisions that effect his entire neighborhood and family, sometimes with deadly consequences.

Mr. Walters also used Adam's life to illustrate how fragile our entire world is. From the electrical grid, to transportation, to food and water, all the way to the evil that society is capable of when all our comforts are removed in one fell swoop. His insight into humanity is spot on, despite what eternal optimists would say, as hordes of the local population become either refugees, bandits, farmers, or militia. Or just plain survivors.

Unlike the para-normal teen books, this book deals in reality, while at the same time being able to connect with what young adults are going through here in the real world. It puts things in perspective and makes the reader think, "What would I do in that situation?" All this while keeping the action going in a non-stop action-adventure that keeps the reader up instead of going to bed on time.