DISSOLUTION

Ranchers and university students fight to survive after an economic crisis turns American citizens against one another in this thriller.

Sam Delgado and other college students head to an archaeological project in Wyoming just as a cyberattack hits American banks. Businesses start refusing credit cards, generating quite a stir, yet Sam and the others are sure everything will be back to normal in a few days. But then the president declares martial law. With travel restricted, most of the students opt to stay in the relatively isolated spot, bunking at the Tappan family’s ranch. Meanwhile, countrywide unrest escalates as cities lose electrical power and a nation reputedly invades America. Sam and his fellow students face a domestic threat; Homeland Security Director Kevin Edgewater abuses his authority and, with his cronies, menaces Wyoming residents. The Tappans teach the students how to shoot, but that doesn’t prepare anyone at the ranch for Edgewater’s lethal assaults. Revenge-minded Sam ultimately pursues the director. He finds an ally in Breeze Tappan, who returns to the ranch after traveling through Colorado, currently a much harsher place than Wyoming. She and Sam have the determination—and guns—to face Edgewater and his armed men. Gear’s novel teems with well-developed characters of varying backgrounds. For example, Sam is a Mexican whose father disapproves of his anthropology major, and someone else’s harrowing past includes torture at the hands of the Islamic State group. At the same time, the story wisely zeroes in on Sam’s perspective while Breeze’s periodic journal entries provide a glimpse of the nation’s alarming troubles. The author enriches the plausible narrative with ties to real-world events, like Covid-19, as well as analogies with ancient civilizations collapsing. The work’s latter half is noticeably violent, with an unexpected turn and several deaths making the most impact. Despite a thorough ending, this engrossing book launches a series.

An absorbing, realistic dystopian tale with a superb cast.