MAY DAY, Book One of American Sulla, by Thom Stark.
Rated 4 out of 5 stars

On May 1 of the year 2020, terrorists detonate a nuclear device in the center of Manhattan. Immediately, people in all strata and walks of life, from the President to the prison inmate, must find new ways to survive and cope with life’s demands.

That’s the premise behind Thom Stark’s novel, May Day, which mixes the styles of Tom Clancy and Steven Konkoly to give us a second-by-second narrative of the nuclear event and its devastating short- and long-term aftermath.

The story is detailed and specific about science and technology, but it is also replete with emotional appeal. The author keeps us engrossed in the struggles of many different people in different places, facing individual, family, and political crises.

Readers will find characters to love and characters to hate, some to fear, and some to admire. May Day weaves pertinent details into the story so cleverly that the reader never gets bogged down in exposition. This is one of those books that captures the reader and keeps them up late at night wanting that “one more chapter” that somehow becomes two or ten.

There is violence, of course, but not gratuitous gore; also no explicit sexual encounters. Profane language is used occasionally. The only warning I have for readers is that this is the first in a series of books, so there is a cliffhanger ending. Nevertheless, many subplots are resolved within the covers of book one.

Recommended for sci-fi and post-apocalypse fans especially.

An ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and objective review.