The Exodus Towers (Dire Earth Cycle #2) by Jason M. Hough

Science Fiction

From Goodreads:

"The Exodus Towers features all the high-octane action and richly imagined characters of The Darwin Elevator—but the stakes have never been higher.
 
The sudden appearance of a second space elevator in Brazil only deepens the mystery about the aliens who provided it: the Builders. Scavenger crew captain Skyler Luiken and brilliant scientist Dr. Tania Sharma have formed a colony around the new Elevator’s base, utilizing mobile towers to protect humans from the Builders’ plague. But they are soon under attack from a roving band of plague-immune soldiers. Cut off from the colony, Skyler must wage a one-man war against the new threat as well as murderous subhumans and thugs from Darwin—all while trying to solve the puzzle of the Builders’ master plan . . . before it’s too late for the last vestiges of humanity."

Important:  Before you read The Exodus Towers you need to read The Darwin Elevator. 

World Building:  Much of this was done in The Darwin Elevator.  Additional facts are added in The Exodus Towers but much of the story assumes that you know all about the world this is set in. 

Backstory:  Again most of that was developed in The Darwin Elevator and while there are hints about relationships and past actions they are just that hints.  You could be very lost if you read this first.

Plot:  There are several different plot lines in The Exodus Towers.  The book moves to three different places.  Darwin, Brazil and Space all have their own cast of characters and their actions.  They are intertwined in some ways and separate in others.  Those are the human parts of the plot.  The Builders are a separate entity and while they drive much of the plot we really do not know what they want or who they are.  This middle book moves the action and sets the stage for book three. 

Characters:  The main characters are already well developed.   They still play a major role in the story.  There is some additional characters development.  I did find that they stayed true to form here and they moved in a way that aided the plot.  Some new and important characters are added and each is important to the story line.  There are a number of interesting and important side characters that keep appearing.  They are not just thrown into the story but are also well developed.

Tension:  Most of the tension is still from the arrival of the builders and the need to survive.  There is some added internal tension between some of the characters but that is secondary to the story.   Look for additional danger as the different human elements in the story continue to clash. 

Writing:  Even through the story jumped between the different groups it was smoothly done.  The writing kept the tension up.  I could feel the action and the danger.  Everything moved in a manner that kept me reading. 

Look for a cliff hanger ending. 

Del Ray published The Exodus Towers by Jason M. Hough in 2013.

I received an ARC of The Exodus Towers from Netgalley.

The Darwin Elevator (The Dire Earth Cycle #1) by Jason M. Hough

Science Fiction

What Goodreads Says:

"Jason M. Hough’s pulse-pounding debut combines the drama, swagger, and vivid characters of Joss Whedon’s Firefly with the talent of sci-fi author John Scalzi.

In the mid-23rd century, Darwin, Australia, stands as the last human city on Earth. The world has succumbed to an alien plague, with most of the population transformed into mindless, savage creatures. The planet’s refugees flock to Darwin, where a space elevator—created by the architects of this apocalypse, the Builders—emits a plague-suppressing aura.

Skyler Luiken has a rare immunity to the plague. Backed by an international crew of fellow “immunes,” he leads missions into the dangerous wasteland beyond the aura’s edge to find the resources Darwin needs to stave off collapse. But when the Elevator starts to malfunction, Skyler is tapped—along with the brilliant scientist, Dr. Tania Sharma—to solve the mystery of the failing alien technology and save the ragged remnants of humanity."

My Goodreads rating on The Darwin Elevator would be 5 stars for the first half and 3 stars for the second.  Since I can’t do that the book will get 4 stars.

The Darwin Elevator captured and held my attention for the first half of the book.  The plot was very exciting and the characters were well developed.  There was great world building, danger and tension.  So what happened after the first half to change my rating?  To me it looked like the author had those well developed characters acting out of character to keep the plot moving in the direction he wanted.  I found that their action were a distraction that took my attention away from the plot.   On a personal level some of the characters I really liked were killed off.  And then the book ended!  It did not finish, it ended!

Did all of that make this a bad book?  No!  Even though in the second half I found the character’s actions distracting I still finished in record time.  This is book one in a three book series so a cliffhanger ending is not unusual.  It does make me want to read book two as soon as possible. 

Even though I found some things that I thought took away from the story I still recommend the book. This is a great new series for Science Fiction fans.  

Del Rey will release The DarwinElevator by Jason M. Hough on July 30, 2013.  There is still time to pre-order.

I received an eARC of The Darwin Elevator from Netgalley.