A giant cosmic dust cloud is first noticed in 1962, its discovery kept a secret so as not to cause worldwide panic, finally hits the Earth fifty-five years later with catastrophic devastation that wipes life from the face of the planet. One man, Colton Lee Steele, miraculously survives whilst stationed in Antarctica and thus starts his struggle to at first comprehend the enormity of his … predicament and then plans and travels to the Northwest Territories to finally find a place he can call home. It is a harsh environment he finds himself in but through perseverance and true grit, he discovers an inner strength that will guide him through his final years, and along the way discover that life will always find a way.
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A Lesson in Survival
Have you ever wondered what you would do if the world as we know it ends? Suppose you are the only survivor and everyone else died? Would you give up, lay down and die too? Would you even wish to live alone for the rest of your life? Would you have enough experience to help yourself survive? And thrive? We’ve all had these thoughts at one time or another. Mark Carnelley’s The Omega Chronicles is a lesson in survival and in humankind’s place in the grand scheme of the universe.
Colton Lee Steele was faced with such a challenge. It’s at that point that anyone would have to make the decision to give up and die, or find a way to remain alive, no matter the rest of the world have been destroyed. Colton is blessed with the gift of endurance. He has a calculating mind. He will survive at all cost. How he survives offers clues to what needs to be managed if a person is to live and thrive. It’s also a story of perseverance and often times luck.
When I began reading this story, I thought I couldn’t read this saga of loneliness and survival. But something in me kept asking, “What if?” Though Colton continually proves he has the where-with-all to face his new life, so too, did this story put me in touch with my own thoughts as to what a person could do to help themselves in their personal plight. It makes a person take a look at what they have in their current lives that will help them survive. This was a different read for me, out of my usual genre, but it has taught me a great deal.
What a journey! Spiral up and around, from the very bottom of the world to the top. Ice land to inferno blast. The Omega Chronicles, by Mark Carnelley, is a fast-paced adventure like no other I’ve read. A pilot who loves to fly, the last man on Earth, trials and tribulations and bourbon-spiked spirals into madness—and rebirths. The author packs a lifespan into his opus, which I had an absolute BLAST reading. I absolutely WILL read this book again and I cannot say that for most books I read.
Many parts of this novel piqued my sense of enjoyment. I will name a few. There’s numerous thrills during many flights, dashes to get, where simply, the main character wants to be. And the expertise in detailing these flights, just what is needed to solidify impeccable credibility, well, I knew the author was a pilot. The author’s style is interesting, straightforward, with a very catchy perspective to boot. All of that and more kept me glued to this book. In fact, I found The Omega Chronicles very hard to put down and finished reading it in only a few short days.
It rolls like this. The main character, Colt, a pilot who is just a plain-old human—blunt, to-the-point and clever—finds himself *lucky,* or from another point of view, an entirely valid one, *unlucky.* He is, the last man alive on Earth. EVERYTHING ELSE IS DEAD. There remains, though, lots of heat, lots of gritty yellow stardust, and…
I fell in love the memories Colt often shared during his trek up and around the planet. Here’s a couple of my favorites…
One. As a child, Colt saves up for a $25 aerial joyride. The pilot, however, doesn’t like Colt’s know-it-all attitude, or seemingly any kids for that matter, and while up in the air the cheeky man, who is not such the ace he’d thought himself to be, has finally had enough. He lets go of the controls and sets the plane into an incipient spin, then says to Colt, “Well, what do you do now, smart-ass?” And what did Colt do? I’ll let you find out. It’s good.
Two. I enjoyed when the author described what Colt liked to do later in life. It was “better than drugs,” he’d said. Colt loved to take his small plane high into the sky and cut off the engines. Then he’d dive and let the air speeding though the propeller, restart the plane. And just before the plane crashed, at about a hundred feet above land… Again, yep, read it for yourself to find out. Very thrilling.
There were myriad other things I enjoyed, too. When Colt visited family various times during his trek, what was left of them. And the madness Colt sunk into for a time. And ultimately, his salvation. His new life and acceptance of what had become of planet Earth. Oh, and I absolutely loved the numerous quotes within this novel. Enlightening. I highlighted many.
But, and I must stamp my foot down, my favorite part about this book was the epilogue. And I still and again, won’t elaborate to spoil anything. Read it for yourself. It’s worth it. But don’t peek, don’t sneak ahead. Because you are in for a real Canadian-sized treat!
Before I wrap this up (I had told my wife I was going to write a shorter, more pithier review but here I go again… Just too many things I liked), I’d like to add one more small detail to this review. This book fit well with me. As many of you know, I love The Martian, by Andy Weir, movie and book. I love the very concept of being the last person alive, trapped in solitude on a distant planet or moon. In this case, Earth. It was a gratifying to journey alongside Colt as he attempted to escape, not only for survival, but to evade the pursuant insanity that came with sheer and utter loneliness.
The Omega Chronicles, by Mark Carnelley, gets FIVE STARS. I loved this novel on so many levels. It is officially on my TBRA (that’s to-be-read-AGAIN) list!