Hell Divers

With Hell Divers, Nicholas births a fascinating, fully textured, dark dystopia that serves as the backdrop for a riveting tale of high-stakes heroism and sacrifice with nothing less than humanity’s very existence on the line. A page-burning must-read that’ll having you ordering book two and preordering the coming third installment. I think you’ll love them.

Years after World War III poisoned the planet, the remaining humans all live in air ships floating above the ground. They relentlessly search the globe for somewhere they can inhabit and rebuild but the world as we knew it is gone. There is only a wasteland there that is radioactive and uninhabitable. Hundreds of years later and humanity is barely hanging on. The 2 remaining airships, Ares and The Hive, are outdated and held together with items that they scavenge. A team of people known as Hell Divers, are the only ones who can scavenge things from earth. They dive down and retrieve power cells to keep the ships afloat. When The Hive receive an SOS call from Ares, they have no choice but to go to the coordinates they sent. Only things is, the place Ares is is called Hades! It’s a place that many Hell Divers have dived into but none have returned. Can the team, led by Xavier Rodriguez, known as X, survive?

This book rocked!! What a start to the series!! The idea that the last remnants of humanity are in air ships circling the globe was unique (for me anyway). Usually in Post Apoc books, it’s about the preppers and how they survive, here it’s people from all walks of life, living in a ship because the earth is poisonous. The only way the ships stay afloat is the fact that men and women dive down to retrieve the necessary resources. It was a fresh and unique look to the PA genre.

I’ve read quite a few of this authors books and am always amazed with his descriptive writing and how he can pull you in right from the start. The action starts pretty much straight away and never lets up. This author can sure right some intense and exciting action scenes!!! I had no problem, whatsoever, in picturing the harrowing scenes of the wastelands, nor picturing the Hell Divers themselves and what it would feel like to dive towards death! Because that’s what it is… very few Hell Divers make it past their 15th (or 19th, can’t remember the exact number!) jump and the author is able to portray the way the divers feel perfectly. My heart was in my mouth the whole time!!

Another thing this author has a knack for is writing amazing characters. Xavier Rodriguez is damaged. He lost the love of his life and is just basically going through the motions. He is the head Hell Diver and is very very good at his job. The last dive he was on, he lost someone close to him and became responsible for Tin (Michael). He tries with Tin but X doesn’t know how to look after someone else. He is a drunk and only lives so he can dive. I loved X right away. He may be gruff but he is loyal to his fellow divers and does what he can so the ship stays a float. He doesn’t hesitate to dive, even when he finds out it Hades!! He is a worthy hero!

Then we have Tin. He loses his father and moves in with X. Tin was awesome!! Such a smart little cookie and not afraid to do whats needed. He wants to be an engineer when he gets older and is interested in fixing everything and anything. He was inquisitive and I loved his character. I really hope we see more of him in the next book. Smith also writes strong females. Captain Ash’s cancer is back but she knows she has to stay strong so the ship can stay in the air. She isn’t afraid to take chances and make difficult choices, but she is also compassionate. The author knows how to write characters that you will immediately connect to.

In all, this was a book that left me breathless many times! It is non stop and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!!! I don’t know how many times I gasped out loud, but can only imagine it was a lot because so much happens, both on and off the ship! I listened to this in a day because I couldn’t stop!! Bring on book 2!!!!

R.C Bray is a master story teller. He brought not only the characters, but the atmosphere to life. I really felt like there was more than one person reading this! He is exceptional and I highly recommend you check his work out.

Great series!

There are some things you just have to accept in order to really lose yourself to this book, but if you can get past them, it becomes an really entertaining ride. Fun worldspace, great characters. They aren’t super nuanced, but they don’t need to be. The sense of loss and living on the edge is well done.

If you prefer books about those that serve no matter the cost, this is the perfect series for you. In this book, the background is set along with what the Hell Divers expect to accomplish.

…..aaaaand the suspense, thrills and chills just keep on coming! Never losing a step in now the 8th in the series, Mr. Smith continues thrilling and entertaining us. I can’t wait for Book 9! Thank you for always keeping me on the edge of my seat, Mr. Smith!

Was very interesting to read. Depicted a very dark, post-apocalyptical world where Hell itself resides on the Earth’s nuclear ravaged surface. I loved the whole concept of the Hell Divers. It seemed pretty original to me. Definitely has me wanting to read the next one!

The first book was an obvious lead into a long series tgat is still not finished. Many things go unexplained, some things are just to fantastical to even believe. I did not dive so that humanity could survive until after the third book.

i didn’t think this story had much of a chance, but i ended up enjoying the premise

Good story, disappointing ending.