The Engineer and the Apocalypse by Gerry Gainford

A Science Fiction, 2024 by yodacat Books, 331 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

Content Warning: Rape, violence, talk of drug abuse
The mentions of multiple careers where “no one survived” was a bit annoying. The implication here is that people in these careers are too soft to have survived the apocalypse and only now is society realizing they need them. I didn’t love that. I would’ve liked to see it purposely proven wrong.
The ending felt a bit rushed. We spent a long time getting this far with the main characters so it felt like we were cheated by a rush ending. I would’ve preferred a second book to let them have time to finish the journey with the same detail they started it with.

The different groups behave the way you’d expect in this post-apocalyptic world. There are tight groups that basically hide, groups that are in the open but violent, and groups that try to balance those two. The realism in this is what makes the book a good post apocalyptic novel!
Haley and Addy are solid characters. Their banter works, their relationship makes sense, and I liked them as a pair. I’d read a second book with these two in it in a heartbeat.
The side plot here dealing with religion and its corrupt formats is well done. It’s exploring the right and wrongs of some beliefs without explicitly calling it out.

Fans of post-apocalyptic worlds where humans are restarting society and doing anything to survive.