Two teens discover the government is staging terrorist attacks to exploit and control the public in Tracy Lawson’s eerily believable YA debut novel.
In an alternate reality version of 2034, terrorist attacks on American soil continue after the events of 9/11. The Office of Civilian Safety and Defense, created in 2019 to oversee domestic security, rises to unprecedented heights of power by exploiting the people’s overriding fear of terrorism.
When Tommy Bailey and Careen Catecher meet during one of the bogus terrorist attacks, they discover the OCSD’s darkest secret: an antidote distributed by the government to “protect” people from the effects of imaginary toxins in the air is really being used to lull them into a state of submission.
Tommy and Careen face a difficult choice: stay quiet about what they know—or risk their safety and anonymity to join an underground rebel group that’s determined to break the OCSD’s grip on the nation.
Counteract explores the nature of power and the consequences and difficulties created when government attempts to control minute details of citizens’ daily existence.

I have taken a bit of time out to consider my review of Counteract as I found it truly was a book of 2 halves.  The first half I honestly really struggled with and the second half utterly blew me away.  I have had to weigh up a lot as to whether the second half pulls it into a 4* review.

Starting with the first half. When I first read the blurb I immediately thought that Counteract would be my kind of book. The story itself was strong; the ever present threat of toxin’s in the air which could be weaponized by the enemy at any moment mean a counteractive antidote must be taken every day.  The government run the public by fear and take extensive measures to ensure that the public don’t miss their dose. The antidote however isn’t as it seems and CSD is actually little more than tweaked LSD. So far so good right? So a snappy start which is sadly followed up with pages and pages and pages of how our main characters Careen and Tommy react to the antidote by way of various trippy waking dreams until they are eventually shaken out of their stupor and finally begin to realise that perhaps they have not been getting the whole truth. I found this section really repetitive, almost like the author wanted to prove their research into the way LSD effects perception.  There are also some points where you really have to pay attention to the day and time stamp as occasionally your find yourself going back to different times and places in the same day.

Once we get to the second half though the narrative improves greatly and I sped through the pages.  The characters finally get the chance to find their voice and do something about the situation they find themselves in. The different threads finally weave together and you realise the true depths that the government is going to to control the population under the guise of their own safety.  There is a little bit of romance in there and it is done exceptionally well I have to say – hand fans were out and the writing definitely shows that less can be more. The book is actually really insightful, set not too far into our future, with a storyline which could actually be fairly plausible in a society in a perpetual state of fear.  Is it also so far fetched that in the advent of fake news and constant obsession with social media that less agile minds could easily succumb to this kind of fear mongering? I think this is what really sets the book apart in the closing stages, the fact that it feels like it really could happen.

The main problem I have however with the book of two halves situation is that there is a ton of information piled into the last half, it’s like a non-stop whirlwind.  It’s a clever juxtapose of the time our characters spend taking the antidote and then the clarity of mind after, but it all could have happened a lot sooner to really let the finer points of the twists and turns settle in.

Ultimately I have settled on a 4* for this review as the second half did in my view make up in spades for the first and if the rest of the series continues in this fashion I get the feeling it’s going to be one that I really enjoy.

Ten years after a pandemic swept the globe, survivors were forced into factions and camps in order to survive…
Jade and Sera are two orphans who have found refuge in a government camp. It is there where Jade falls in love with a young soldier, Anyon. But Anyon has his own secrets, carefully guarding a past that involves Sera. But before Jade and Anyon admit their feelings to each other the camp is attacked and they’re separated. 
Jade knows to lead Sera to Albany, the last free camp in the east, but the road is dangerous.
Not only must they dodge pockets of infection, but they are threatened by drifters and gangs. When they arrive in Albany, they find it deserted. 
Anyon and his friend Malachi are close on their heels, but not close enough. The Provisional Government is on a mission, and no one is quite prepared for what lies ahead…

Andromeda is a book which made me feel at home – I know that sounds weird but when I started blogging it was because of the impact a single book had on me and Andromeda gave me those same feels with an all consuming post apocalyptic world.

It is a fast paced book which covers so much within it’s pages, getting to the end and looking back at where we started was a bit of a “woah” moment I have to say. I loved how we were straight into the action, on the move without a chance to catch our breath. I find that too many books spend time setting the story or just give a massive infodump but with Andromeda this feels like a natural place to start and we are given enough detail to get by with. I loved the parallel timelines in the different POV’s as well, just willing the 2 groups to catch up with each other, but then where would the story be?

There are some really great characters shining through and the relationship dynamics work so well together, Sera’s blind faith against Jades’s utter cynicism is a stand out and President Vise is beyond creepy, he brings to mind images of President Snow from the Hunger Games, utterly ruthless and utterly deluded – a dangerous and as far as bad guys go he gave me the chills.

Sera to me felt like a Luna Lovegood type character, despite floating around in her own “have faith” bubble she was actually one of the most together of all of them.  I’m really looking forward to finding out more about her in future books, she has tons more going on I think especially with her almost 6th sense about things.

It’s a really atmospheric book as well, from hiding in an abandoned mall to them being in the belly of the beast, I found myself holding my breath a number of times, reading so quickly to find out what happens next I was scared I would miss something important.

There are so many unanswered questions still though despite everything that we have already learnt, what’s with the house? Why are the giant wolves so giant? Is there significance with the stars?  These don’t impact on the enjoyment of the book at all but pull me into wanting to read the rest of the series, which I hope I get an opportunity to do soon.

5*

Andromeda is currently available via Amazon here and is free to KU subscribers!

Melbourne, Australia, 2052, two years since The Fall.
A wave of infection, the Jackson Virus, has swept the world, leaving in its wake a terrifying apocalyptic wasteland populated by wild cleanskin survivor groups and the ravenous, infected night predators – the jacks. In this nightmare landscape, one of the last remaining sanctuaries is Kulin Wallcom, a community enclosed by a 10-metre wall patrolled by what’s left of the military. The wallcoms are the last remaining bastions of defence and security in a world gone over the edge.
But the people of Kulin can’t stay behind their wall forever.
Recovery expert, John Bradley, is part of a major operation into the wasteland looking to not only ensure the survival of Kulin by bringing back critical supplies from the abandoned Southstone Supermall, but, more crucially, to also locate and extract the only person left who may be able to reverse the tide of infection.
However, the mission faces danger at every turn. It seems to be compromised from the inside, Southstone is thought to be an impossible target overrun with infected, and wasteland survivor bands, led by the psychopathic wasteland leader, the Headhunter, are bent on making sure the operation has to fight each step of the way to get back to the wallcom before nightfall.
Because that’s when the jacks come out.
And they will find you.
Welcome to the world of The Fall.

I know that a lot of people don’t understand the fascination with reading/watching Post-apocalyptic stories. I think that this quote from the book gives a little insight: “Where there is life, there is hope.”

The year is 2052 in the desolation of Melbourne, Australia. A virus has infected much of the human population with a zombie-like disease, so the survivors are living in walcoms (walled communities). These walcoms offer protection, but of course, it’s impossible to stay inside the walls forever. Technology still exists, which helps the survivors communicate while on treks into the surrounding areas in search of supplies.

Of course, there are bad guys, there are relationships, and there are deaths, even of some characters that the reader feels like they know. But, we have come to expect that in the Post-apoc genre. The characters are well-developed and the story moves at a fast pace. You do have to pay attention to the headers for the chapters in order to know where the action is occurring and I appreciate that the author added this information.

The writing is well-done and I found myself becoming totally involved in the story. Mr. Campitelli does a great job and I will definitely be looking for the next book in this series.

4*

The Fall is Currently available via Amazon and is free for KU subscribers here