Amid monsters, marauders, and mysterious drones, is there room for a place to call home?Owl Melonvine escaped an abusive relationship, only to end up lost and alone in the barren deserts of post-apocalyptic America.When an accident drops her into the hands of an imposing Islander with no name, she must accept his help… or die in the wastes.Caught between her growing feelings for the mysterious … her growing feelings for the mysterious man she shouldn’t trust and dangers around each bend of the road
—putrid trashdogs, blood-thirsty highwaymen, roving slavers, and foreign drones—
Owl will be forced to choose between the uncertainty that comes with new love, or going it alone.
With past mistakes haunting her, she must summon her inner strength to navigate a harsh world.
Will Owl achieve the happiness and safety she seeks?
Or will old wounds and an uncertain future get in the way?
Don’t miss Travelers, the first installment of the Travelers Series by Alia Hess. If you love character-driven stories of self-discovery and romance in eclectic, post-apocalyptic settings, you won’t be able to put this down!
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There’s something oddly cozy about this tale of a post apocalyptic America. There’s no melodramatic character fall-outs, no big explosions and edge-of-seat urgency. Instead it’s a warm and quiet story about two damaged misfits who just might have found what they were looking for.
Owl Melonvine is trying to outrun her past when she is injured out on the road. Luckily for her, she’s discovered by an enigmatic Islander with pale skin and pointed teeth who isn’t as fierce or gruff as he first appears. They travel the road together, and slowly come to understand both the world they inhabit and themselves a little better. They get some help along the way from unexpected places, whether it be the kindness of fellow strangers or a crazy Russian drone pilot with orange shoes.
When I read the first edition of this book I wasn’t feeling a lot of it. The author having taken the time to rewrite and edit the entire book, I can safely say that this edition is the same quality as later books in the series. Owl and Trav’s relationship grows steadily, and when things blossom it feels they’ve really earned the warm-n-fuzzies it makes you feel. There’s a tiny bit of clunk to some of the early conversations and exposition still, but I guess that’s just how Owl thinks – straightforward and pragmatic even when she’s questioning everything she believes about herself. The tension is still fairly low, but this not being a book of action/adventure I really don’t think that matters as no scene feels robbed of it.
What I love about this setting is that the ravaged Americas are full of dangers and decay, but also human decency. That cozy feeling comes from the hopefulness that even in terrible circumstances humans are capable of being good. Yes, we do meet some of the usual nasty types who inhabit this sort of fiction, but for the most part people don’t seem to have descended into the feral, murderous stereotype. Issues of sexuality, gender, mental health and trauma are raised with compassion to combat the prejudices.
Trashdogs, slave armies, creeping GM corn, crazy Russian researchers, Island-folk with pointy teeth – you can’t accuse the setting of being derivative, and it sets everything up so well for the later books I almost regret not being able to read this one first because of the foreshadowing. I did wonder how 153 years was enough time for everyone to forget what happened during “The Collapse” and what the outside world was like, but we do get some explanation for the strange (and wonderfully illustrated) creatures that roam the continent.
One plot point did feel a tad anti-climactic but it’s only an aside piece to the main narrative. I do wish there had been a little more drama with it, maybe given some time to a true villain and their downfall, but eh, personal preference.
Overall a cozy hug of a dystopian read. A romance that’s not slushy, and an adventure that’s more about the journey within than without. Worth checking out for those who like the idea of a post apocalypse in the slow lane.
“I’m tired of these places. I’m tired of walking”
Owl Melonvine is walking. In the past 150 years, the Collapse has decimated what was once known as North America, killing most of the inhabitants and driving almost everyone else into a semi feral lifestyle, scrounging simply to live in the ruins of the known land. This is what she knows in the Mainland, trust no one, sleep when and where you can, and stay out of the areas on the map that aren’t safe.
And then, things change. A skirmish leaves her badlly hurt, and another person, who she dubs Trav,steps in to help her. They fall into journeying together, and become a couple. The adventures they have are a fascinating study of a post apocalyptic world where they try to find safety
I simply loved this book. Shades of Cormac McCarthy, George Orwell, Jack Kerouac and Frank Herbert are brought to mind as we see these two very broken battered people try to define “home”. I highly recommend this very fascinating read.