Book Review: Fight For Survival by Jay J Falconer (Redfall #1)

Very soon, when the government is bankrupt and battling civil unrest . . .A ruthless, global conspiracy will rise from the shadows to seize control of everything. But that’s only the start. They’ll soon unleash a mysterious red rain, grounding all travelers, knocking out communications, and taking down the grid.

As civilization tumbles into chaos, those clinging to power turn to one man, Simon Redfall. A desperate loner who’s hunted by angry mobs and his own past. Simon may be an outcast, but his unique skills are the last, best hope for survival. With time running out, Simon will need to hurry. Once the red rain ends, it will be too late to stop what’s coming next.

My Review: 
We are introduced to a new world in this book. StarBright Networks have partnered with the government to show the live executions of criminals for crowd entertainment and Simon finds it horrific to be there, listening to Tessa plead that she is innocent before dying in front of a baying crowd. She was accused of the mass murder of scientists and their families and even Simon believed the evidence presented as he himself went into hiding from the media and authorities. As he leaves the arena, he is recognised by the media and it leads to a hate mob giving chase to him to gain revenge for what his wife did. Rescue comes when a strange red rain begins and distracts the mob long enough to allow Tally and G to rescue him and take him back to their safe compound where they need his help in their investigation into the activities of RaineTech, and they think Tessa is innocent.

Jeffrey Hansen, founder and CEO of RaineTech created and unleashed the red rain around the world, blowing up his underwater complex to destroy evidence before escaping in his mini sub. When he is attacked by an unknown enemy, he is determined to find out who is trying to kill him and decides he needs to find Simon, a previous contact, and get him to find out who did it and destroy them. It is going to be a difficult task as he has washed up on an island run by a notorious criminal so Jeffrey has to get diplomatic in his negotiations with the criminals if he has any hope of surviving his imprisonment. Vito runs Indigo Technologies and warns his trusted employee Zeke to stay safe inside a specially prepared compound while the rain is on. Vito also tells President Cooper who was responsible for the red rain and offers his assistance. General Rawlings wants to find Simon and get him to track down Hansen.   

Tessa has set up a prepper property with the people she trusts, a base where they can work on their investigation. Her people are very much divided about having Simon with them as they find it hard to trust adults. Simon himself is unsure if he actually wants to get involved with Tessa's group. Her brother has set up his own compound nearby as the siblings disagree on pretty much everything. So when his group are sent a weapon delivery that was intended for a shadowy government mercenary group, his people become an instant target.

This book was a decent enough read but I didn't find myself greatly excited by it. I think part of the problem was the red rain. I found that and the conspiracy surrounding it interesting but the rain just seemed to keep falling and not actually doing anything. I was expecting it to be toxic or turn people mad or something, but it just seemed to keep raining and nothing was really happening with it other than it being strange and people staying indoors. It seems to just be disrupting things like communications but I struggled to get excited about it through the book.  

I didn't feel greatly connected to the characters, especially Simon. We get told about how his life fell apart after his wife was arrested but I just don't really get him. He was a bit of a cardboard cutout and I was never greatly invested in his story or why everyone and their dog in this crisis seemed to require his personal help. He never exactly strikes you as the go-to guy that they keep making him out to be. Tessa and G were mildly interesting and with a bit of development could become interesting but I just felt that there were too many shadowy people with half discussed agendas and little development taking up a lot of the story, rather than just dealing with the main event of the rain and what is coming next. There is also that teaser of 'we think your wife was innocent' but nothing comes from that and Simon doesn't seem to want the answers, which is weird.

It just didn't grab me and pull me into the story the way I want an apocalypse book to do. I never really felt invested in either the characters or plot and while there wasn't anything really wrong with it, I never got excited by it. It lacked tension until very close to the end and it was more like setting up a story than really telling one. The book was ok to read but I don't feel interested enough to continue with the series.

Read January 2019
3 stars.