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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.
ABookVacation
Posted October 7, 2012
Mike Mullen really knows how to spin a terrifying story that wraps the reader into its clutches and doesn’t let go until the final sentence. I am in absolute awe, once again, with this sequel to Ashfall, and cannot wait for the third installment in this riveting story.
Alex and Darla are back, stronger than ever now that they’ve had time to recuperate on Alex’s uncle’s farm. While no one would say they’re living in luxury, they have survived the volcanic eruption, figured out how to grow kale to stave of scurvy, and things are about as good as they can get when its constantly below freezing and ash and snow cover the ground, having knocked out technology as we know it. But the chance encounter with thieves, brandishing the rifle Alex’s father was last seen holding, once again stirs up Alex’s unease and determination to find his parents, and so the trek back into the wilderness begins.
I love Darla. She has a good head on her shoulders, and while life is anything but easy, her ingenuity and previous life on a farm make her one of the most valuable characters within the novel. Together, with Alex, they seem to be an unstoppable force, and I absolutely love them as a couple. Though Alex is lacking in some of the rudimentary skills needed to survive the freezing wilderness, with Darla’s help he is able to preserve, but it isn’t until things go very wrong that we begin to see just how driven Alex really is when it comes to saving those he loves. Darla is my hero, but when Mullin pulls her from the action for a hefty portion of the novel, Alex easily slides into her place, becoming a favorite for all who read.
It’s impossible not to root for these two lovers, and Mullin keeps his story packed with fast paced action and heart pounding drama, making it a must read, in my opinion. As it’s a long novel, I wasn’t able to finish it in one sitting, but putting it aside was pure torture. Alex’s plight and the peril the characters find themselves in is excruciating, and I couldn’t push them from my mind, even when other tasks were before me. My mind kept replaying the events, trying to figure out how to make things right again, even when I wasn’t reading—that’s how much the book affected me! It’s a beautiful story and is extremely captivating, and though I screamed aloud at the characters (mainly Alex) throughout the novel, I still love them all, even the newcomers Alex meets along the way.
Mullin introduces his readers to even more terrifying possibilities throughout this second novel—from unfrozen waterfalls and barricaded towns, to cannibalistic leaders set on trading slaves, Alex and Darla must trudge through the wilderness in hopes of surviving long enough to cross paths with Alex’s parents, if they’re still alive. And I just can’t get enough.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.If you thought Ashfall was a thrill ride you ain’t seen nothing yet! This one will grab you from page one and won’t let you go. I couldn’t put this book down, every time I thought it would slow down so I could go to bed it hits another rush and sucked me right back in! Mike Mullins sure knows how to write a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat! I know I sound like the blurbs on the cover of a book but I just can’t help it, if you haven’t started this series yet now is the time to do so! This is such a different dystopian because it is something that could truly happen in our lifetime and feels so real. In Ashfall the super volcano at Yellowstone has erupted and thrown the world as we know it into chaos Ashen Winter starts 10 months after this event and our world is in turmoil. The ashfall has caused an ashen winter it is June but it has been below zero for months and the sun has yet to show itself through the ash. Wow what an adventure this was and an emotional rollercoaster ride. Alex goes through hell again when he sets out to find his parents but things go horribly wrong and Alex is once again in a fight for his life and the lives of others. We see some familiar characters and some new ones not sure yet how I feel about Alyssa but her brother Ben is great I look forward to more of him! This is a great series, Mike Mullins writes a book that keeps you reading from page one and keeps you enthralled till the last page, which I must warn you is a cliffhanger, the main storyline of this book is wrapped up well but there is big things in the future and it sounds like the next book will be just as thrilling. This book really makes me feel afraid because of the realness of the situation, and sadness when thinking our government would act like it does in this book in response to a natural disaster in the US. The worst part of getting an early review copy is that it is an even longer wait for the next one!! I can’t wait for more in this series! 5 Stars I received an early review copy from netgalley
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 29, 2013
Bought a signed copy of book one on ebay :) How about a book 3??!!!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.MyFictionNook
Posted March 12, 2013
I think I finally have the words to do justice to this book. Five big fat stars, first of all.
Ashen Winter starts about six months after Alex and Darla arrive on Alex's uncle's farm in Illinois, after a harrowing trip from Iowa fraught with many perils. Alex's parents are still missing.
Alex decides that he needs to go back to Iowa to find them. Of course, Darla won't let him leave alone, so they back up a sled with supplies and begin the long journey back to Alex's hometown.
The landscape has changed since they've been out on the road, snow covering most of the ash and food scarcer than ever before.
Mike Mullin keeps Ashen Winter much in the same tone as the first book, and the voices of the character remain familiar. The author continues with the same strong characters to the point of making them feel real, and the reader cannot help but root for them both. He also keeps up the suspense, throwing his characters into dangerous situations, and just when you think they're safe, another challenge rises up before them.
As in Ashfall, Alex and Darla meet those challenges head on, both of them thinking on their feet and adapting to the situation at hand. Alex lets his temper get the best of him on occasion, but that is to be expected from a teenage boy who's facing nearly insurmountable obstacles. And yet, what impressed me in this character, is that he perseveres.
Alyssa, a new character introduced in this book, is a counterpart to Darla in some sense, and I was concerned that Alex would delve into fickle teenagedom. I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged when Mike Mullin didn't let that happen. Alyssa's story also felt real, and while what happened to her was one of my fears for Darla, I was impressed by the delicateness with which the author approached that subject.
I was reminded again and again that in the face of a huge crisis, humanity tends to split into two factions - those who will help a fellow human in any way possible, and those who will take advantage of those weaker than themselves. Impotent rage was one of the many emotions the author's word evoked.
I also very much enjoyed getting to know Ben. The author did a fantastic job writing about someone in the autism spectrum, and his depiction of Ben felt very real. As did Alex's reaction to the idiosyncrasies someone with autism would display.
I continue to be impressed with the amount of research this author put into his novels, which serves to enhance the plot tremendously and make the book feel exceptionally realistic.
The writing remains crisp and precise, and spot on for a teenage boy going through a traumatic experience that requires all his cunning and all his reserves to get to where he needs to be.
There are some sad events, and one plot point kept me riveted to the pages until the resolution close to the end.
I feared for Alex and Darla, I cried with them, smiled with them, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book.
Spring 2014 cannot come soon enough!!!
As a sidenote:
I read both Ashfall and Ashen Winter in one weekend, and it's a credit to the author's ability that reading these books created nightmares and a deep urge to start hoarding food and supplies for my own family, just in case such a disaster ever happens in my life time.
This book and its predecessor are some of the best books I've read in the YA genre. If you like Young Adult books and are interested in post-apocalyptic scenes, this is a series for you. Give it a chance.
I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley. A positive review was not promised in return, but in this case absolutely deserved.
Anonymous
Posted February 22, 2013
I couldn't put down Ashfall, the first book in the series, so I impatiently bought this the moment I finished book One. However, like so many sequels, this was a disappointment.
Book One leaves the reader hanging so its natural to want to read Ashen Winter. Ashen Winter also leaves the reader hanging, to wait until book three comes out in 2014.
In this book there are lots of words but not a lot of action. No doubt you will need to read it, only because Ashfall is such a page turner. But don't get your hopes up.
Anonymous
Posted February 2, 2013
Really great! First book was good and so was this one! You definately read this.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 25, 2013
Amazing follow up
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Middle_Grade_Ninja
Posted January 18, 2013
The first passage from Ashen Winter I want to share with you is actually the first paragraph of the book:
Ten months had passed since I'd last seen the sun. The rich blue of that final August sky was fading from my memory. Colors are slippery: If you cover your eyes and try to remember blue, you see black. Now we had a yellowish gray sky, dark as a heavily overcast day. Darla said Yellowstone's eruption had hurled billions of tons of fine ash and sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, and it might be years before the sky returned to normal. I said the dim light was depressing.
Not only is that first line a heck of a hook, this paragraph delivers most of the exposition you're going to need to enjoy the book. Presumably, most readers have already had the pleasure of reading Ashfall, but a writer can't count on that. So here in a single paragraph Mike has filled us in on all the essential details. Sure, we're still going to need to become reacquainted with Alex and Darla and everybody else and the events of the story serve to expand Mike's vision of the apocalypse. But if for some reason the reader skipped Ashfall, the stage is set for them to still enjoy the new story.
Ashen Winter is all of my favorite things about Ashfall expanded. There are more desperate people struggling to survive, more rape, and most important, more cannibals:) There is, in fact, a gang of roaming rapist cannibals for Alex and Darla to tangle with. If you thought Alex got beat up and punished the last go round, you haven't seen anything yet. Mike never seems to be happier than when he's hurting poor Alex.
Yet, for all of that, Ashen Winter, like Ashfall before it, is a love story. Alex and Darla aren't just horny teenagers staying warm in the ashen apocalypse, they're soul mates destined to find each other--too bad so many people had to die to make that happen:) Mike knows the heart and soul of the Ashfall series is their relationship and so he wisely uses this second volume of the trilogy (I know how it all ends) to test that relationship and flush it out--which is as much as I can say without spoiling.
Ashen Winter is the rare sequel that's better than the original and you're going to love the third book in the series (I know its title, but I'm not sure that's public information yet). Rest assured I'll be reviewing that one here (and I hope to be thanked in the back) as Mike Mullin is one of my favorite authors and the Ashfall series is one of the best series of books I've ever read.
Anonymous
Posted January 15, 2013
Love the charecters! The love and endurance between Alex and Darla is overwellming. The strength of both combined, pushes them to survival. A wonderful story cor adults and teens.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 5, 2013
Violence: 8 This book was full of violents, with fists, and guns. Writing: 7 A well writin book, with a very intresting idea. A good way to mix love, violence, sex, and teamwork togethe in one book. Blood and gore: 9 very bloody, alot of death, and enough cannobilizm to make you throw up. People are so desperate to live, that they form gangs that go out and kill people, steal they're crops and food, and then (I'm sorry, but its true) eat them Sexuality/Love: 8 They are maddly in love, and say a lot of innappropriate jokes. They have sex a few times, and make-out a lot Over-all: 9 (for how good the book was) Reccommended age: 14 or older.(DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT FLASH IS!!!)
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged. I was eager to read this. Ashfall really struck a cord with me and there was never any doubt that I would read this as well. This did not disappoint.
I didn't think Alex could last for long without knowing exactly what had happened to his parents. If there is anything this journey has taught him is that family is precious, but it won't be easy to find them. Darla is just the person to back him up along this journey. While, Alex did a lot of growing up in the first novel, I think he backtracked a little bit in this novel. I think he was so dead set on finding his parents that he didn't stop to think about what might happen along the way. I don't think he thought it would be easy in anyway. But, it sometimes felt like he thought he could just go get them. It does not take him long to realize that the consequences are steep.
I admired that the story held nothing back. It took all that could be dark, gritty, and horrific in this type of catastrophic situation and played it out. It didn't take much to imagine that any of these things could happen. When faced with our own survival, we have no idea what we might do just to achieve that right to live one more day. While no of these things I really wanted to read about it any graphic detail, I think the author does a fantastic job of bringing them to our attention without dwelling on them.
Overall, I find this series fascinating. Of all the books I've read that deal with post apocalyptic events, this one feels real. It's not a stretch of the imagination in anyway. I think it deals with the very essence of human nature. I think it focuses on the basic idea of hope, but there is evil out there and it can consume people.
Anonymous
Posted December 25, 2012
Awesome
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 14, 2012
I enjoyed this book but the consistantly go from making the main character more grown up with street smarts one minute to a naive boy with no common sense who gets everyone into bad situations the next. That inconsistancy in his character drives me nuts and becomes exhausting.
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Posted December 1, 2012
This is an even better novel than the first. The story had wonderful twists and turns which will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time.
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Posted March 29, 2013
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Posted January 10, 2013
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Overview
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 ...