Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Midnight-Ellen Connor

Midnight
Ellen Connor
Berkley, Sep 6 2011, $15.00
ISBN: 9780425242995

Near Valle de Bravo, La Jefa Rosa Cortez leads her Bravos on an attack of a truck. They succeed in hijacking needed supplies for their town where males greatly outnumber females. Rosa thinks of before the Change when she fed her brother by selling her body. Now she runs a small town. Watching the action is Dr. Chris Welsh who has traveled since he lost the mother of his child just after the Change. He offers medicine and medical care to the Bravos in exchange for food and a few days of sleep in the first community Chris has seen in over two years.

As town leader Rosa says they should test Christo see if he is a skinwalker as none are allowed. He is left alone in the dark for eight hours as skinwalkers cannot deal with this type of stress. Chris dreams of Rosa as he knows the test is inane superstition. The next morning Chris says he slept through her test. When Hellhounds arrive, Chris helps kill the monsters. He explains to her not all skinwalkers are evil, but she saw what they did to her brother. Though not a medical doctor, Chris agrees to help pregnant Tilly while Falco who wants to take charge does not trust the newcomer.

The second Dark Age of Dawning (see Nightfall) is an excellent futuristic post-apocalyptic fantasy with an intelligent introduction followed by an action-packed story line. The town and its residents seem genuine and is enhanced by good people dying while the romance stays somewhat abated as the danger remains front and center. Although a radical change in the heroine’s bias seems unlikely, readers will enjoy the bleak 24/7 Midnight world of Ellen Connor.

Harriet Klausner

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