In this post-apocalyptic tale, a fierce woman sets out to rescue her kidnapped sister and exact revenge.

Deirdre Buford lives in a ravaged world, one destroyed by the Breakdown, a global collapse that included the spread of the Great Virus. Instead of order, there’s now tribal warfare—Deirdre is a Hussar, part of a group of “ruthless raiders,” who are as bellicose as they are philosophical, a strangely bookish people in a now largely illiterate world. Her teenage sister, Mindy, is kidnapped by Tom Carlyle, a mercenary who supplies kids to a powerful group known as the Bees, who subjects them to an experimental genetics program. A faction of the Bees, including its leader Commandant Walker, believe both Deirdre and Mindy might be evolutionarily special, and therefore of use in trying to create a “resurgence” of humanity. Stewart constructs a chilling, barren world and suspensefully chronicles Deirdre’s mission to rescue Mindy. While Deirdre’s character can be cartoonish—at one point, she’s described as a “Superwoman”—she’s a fascinating lead. Despite her penchant for brutality, she embarks upon a surprisingly tender love affair with Jube, a soft-spoken photographer. Deirdre becomes known by the tribal nations that loathe her and all Hussars as “Crazy Hawk,” a moniker that reflects their contempt and respect. The cultural commentary that undergirds the plot is unremarkable, even silly—the world, according to Deirdre, suffers a “collapse of the spirit, some kind of worldwide emotional crisis” after the “Cloud of Knowledge” disappears, a catastrophe for a people who replaced “soul searching” with Google searching. This ersatz philosophizing doesn’t ultimately undermine the novel’s considerable dramatic power, though. This is a thoroughly absorbing book, one filled with thrilling action and psychologically subtle character portrayal.

A riveting futuristic tale of global ruin and rescue.