Author: Justin Cronin
Release Date: June 8th, 2010
4 Stars...liked it would recommend 

"It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born."

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

I will admit that when I finished this book I was pissed.  How could it end that way?  Why would he not finish the story?  After tweeting about it, another book blogger brought it to my attention that it is a trilogy.  At this point I had to take a step back and revise my thoughts about this book.  

First, the characters.  Cronin's ability to put you into the heads and hearts of his characters is simply amazing.  I cared for these people, felt their fears and cried tears for them.  The young girl Amy just about breaks my heart.  She is so alone in the world.  Her journey through the demolished world must have been horrible.  Carrying the burden of all the souls with her the whole time.  

The story itself is sad, creepy, and downright morbid in some spots.  I have been reading a lot of "end of the world" books lately and this one takes the cake in depressing!  The thought that our entire civilization could be destroyed by some ignorant Army personnel who use murders as science experiments just freaks me out!  It is definitely not a sugar coated story.  Everyone dies, and vampires do not sparkle!  The vampires in this story, are ruthless blood sucking murderous monsters who kill everything in sight.  

I liked the fact that this book kept me reading.  It was extremely long, but the rhythm of the story was good and it flowed well.  There is some down time that divulges deeper into the characters themselves, but I think its what made me care.  

This book is not for the faint of heart.  If you are looking for a light-hearted quick read, you better skip this.  It is a long, dark, disturbing, epic novel.  I eagerly await the second book, although I think it is about two years away.  

photo and synopsis courtesy of Goodreads