Melt Down

By Edward W. Robertson

In upstate Idaho, Ness Hook is run out of his mom's house by his bullying brother Shawn. In Redding, California, Tristan Carter is graduating college, but with no job and no prospects, she'll have to move back in with her parents.

Then the world ends.

After Ness discovers his best friend dead of disease, Shawn takes their family to the mountains to wait out the plague. As Tristan's parents fall sick, she's left to care for her younger brother Alden. Both sets of siblings dig in for the long haul. Humanity is reduced to splinters. And then the creatures who sent the virus appear in the sky.

Flushed from the mountains, Shawn and Ness join a tribe at a nuclear power plant, where they plan to launch a guerrilla war against the invaders. In California, Tristan and Alden are taken prisoner. Separated from her brother, Tristan crosses the ruins of America to track him down. She will stop at nothing to get Alden back--but her fellow survivors prove even more dangerous than the monsters who broke the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edward W. Robertson
• Release date: Oct 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301571048

Book preview

Reviews for Melt Down

[wifilibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Meltdown is the second book in Robertson's Breakers series. So ensure you read Breakers first, a funny, scary, thoughtful sci-fi take on the apocalypse, and answers the question, what would ordinary people do to survive, how would they change. What really makes us happy, is it T.V, Netflix, good job; or if those were gone would we be happier with time with loved ones?Meltdown's timeline runs parallel to Breakers, so we get to meet two more characters trying to deal with their normal problems until a mysterious plague starts making people sick and everything changes.I really enjoyed this sequel. It was't quite as funny as the first simply because the characters were more flawed, damaged and had less to laugh about, but they still did come up with some good lines. Take what Tristan, thinks of Jack, a character from New Zealand:"Jack may not be your skin wearing crazy but she worried he spoke a form of English only he could understand."There needs to be a word, maybe German as they are so good at those words, for the small thrill one receives from hearing their tiny country mentioned in an American book.Ultimately, Meltdown deals with the themes of family, specifically what would you do for your sibling during the apocalypse. How would a toxic relationship change when you don't have modern life distracting you from what's important.Tristan, the main character must go on a long journey, both to discover how hard she can become to rescue her younger brother. Ness, the second main character in his own intertwined story, must discover his own mettle, and realize his own abilities to both save him and his older brother.

[cmwilson101 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Breakers Series by Edward W. Robertson is an absolutely captivating, original, character-filled, compelling post-apocalyptic tale. The world building is detailed, so believable as to be completely transparent and absorbing. The logic of what has happened to end the world (a plague) fits together nicely, with no wrong steps or weird missing facts. It is chillingly realistic. Then, each book in the series introduces a new set of characters and follows them as they navigate through the apocalyptic world. Mr Robertson has a knack for showing his characters as deeply flawed people, but leading the reader to come to understand and respect (if not like) them -- even the most socially retarded and selfish ones. Each book concentrates upon several of these characters, but is filled with interesting secondary characters who are also well drawn out and multi-dimensional. And, in what I considered a bonus gift, characters from the earlier novels appear or are referenced in later books. This constant weaving together threads from different novels reinforces the overall story (of a world collapsed, with survivors fighting for their lives) and somehow makes it more believable and real. I hope that Mr. Robertson will continue writing these books forever and ever. If you haven't discovered this series yet you are in for a treat. Start at the beginning so you can experience the complete story fully. Then join me in asking for more books in the series!Book 2, Meltdown, introduces us to Tristan & her little brother as well as Ness and his big brother. Tristan and Ness shared the common trait of being completely unlikely pre-apocalypse, and both matured and came into their own once they were faced with events. Excellent continuation of the story.

[verkruissen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was the 2nd book in the Breakers series. It's told from new characters points of view in another area of the country. Just as good as the first book and there is a brief scene where we see scenes from the first book where characters cross paths. We also find out a little more about why the aliens came. All in all anther good book in the series.