Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
Raid
K.S. Merbeth
Published: Jul. 25, 2017 (Orbit)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
Reviewed by: Margaret
Rating (out of 5): 3 stars
Clementine is a bounty hunter in the post-apocalyptic land known as the wastes. It’s a desert landscape dotted with small, ramshackle villages that survive on scavenged bottled water and canned beans from the time before. In the eastern wastes, the towns are “protected” by a tyrant named Jedediah Johnson who demands a portion of their supplies as a tax. It’s the members of Johnson’s crew that make up most of Clementine’s bounties.
One day Clementine receives a tip about the location of Johnson himself, who is never seen in public, and the name of a man who might pay for his capture. But her plan soon goes horribly wrong and she and her prisoner find themselves on the run from a horde of cannibalistic raiders.
It took me a while to get into Raid. I found the first quarter of the book far too easy to put down. It was only once Clementine and Jed started working together that I was drawn into the plot. Part of the problem was that I knew they were going to start working together. I had an idea of how the story would play out from the very beginning and for the most part I was right. I didn’t get my enemies-to-lovers romance, but that was more wishful thinking than actual expectation. I just love them so much!
Even though the story was predictable, the Mad Max/Western hybrid world was interesting. There’s lots of action—everything from car chases to gunfights. And there’s lots of blood—this is probably not the book for those uncomfortable with violence. But in the end, it was just okay for me. I’m not completely on board with where Clementine ends up, even though it was the obvious choice.
Raid is related to Merbeth’s debut novel Bite, but is not a direct sequel. I didn’t have any trouble reading Raid first, even though the characters from the earlier book do make an appearance. I could see Clementine returning in a similar way in another book. After reading the preview of Bite, I wonder if she is the author’s idea of who its main character Kid might be in ten years. The two seem to have a lot in common.
Sexual content: none
