I recently finished reading J.F Perkin's "Renewal" series, which has been put out for the Kindle, more or less chapter by chapter until it was finished. Actually, I read the series cover to cover twice, but more on that in a sec.
First, the good news. I really appreciated and enjoyed this book! The plot moves along at a clipping pace, keeping track of a series of events in two time-lines. It's interesting to watch how an initial group of survivors deals with a societal collapse, and how the next generation has become acclimated to it. I found myself purchasing the next chapter immediately after finishing reading one, and by the time I had finished reading chapter 3 I went ahead and purchased the rest at once. The characters are memorable and you find yourself invested in them pretty quickly. You will probably be able to directly identify with at least one character in the book. (I mentally aligned myself with Kirk and wished his character had more explanation, face time, and resolution).
Now, the bad. After I finished reading the entire book, I went back and re-read looking for the mistakes that I had noted on the first pass through. This book is hampered, in a small way, by plot errors. I am not calling Mr. Perkins out on the plot per se, but how he keeps track of minutia from chapter to chapter. Dusty's name changes from Dusty Bearden to Dusty Baer, and he goes from being married to one of Bill's family members to relationship status unknown. Terry's handgun given to him by Teeny Town goes from a 1911 style .45 to a non-descript 9mm. There were a few more things, here and there, but it's all more or less small detail work. All of this stuff doesn't detract from the strength of the story, but it does serve as a distraction. When I'm lost in a book, the last thing I personally want is a "What a minute, I thought he said that.." moment. These remove the reader from the story, and you really want your reader to be lost in the story and gobble it up in one sitting.
The plot can also test your ability to suspend disbelief. The enemy in the book universally acts stupidly, which in a post-apocalyptic setting seems a bit inane. I'm not sure why raiders could capture an entire county but not be capable of acting as a unit in the raid on Teeny Town. The raiders caught in the vise of the Teeny Town forces and Terry's militia don't have an escape route, but instead of fighting to escape they just surrender? Really? A group of dangerous fighters aligns themselves with Teeny Town at the last minute, on a suggestion from a grandson of a dude that knew Bill's dad almost 40 years ago? Are you sure? Bill accepts a dangerous mission to rescue the state police, but doesn't negotiate a payment for services rendered first? Really? Bill meets Terry and immediately decides to hook him up with not only a leadership position in Teeny Town, but he wants him to court his daughter too?! That last one especially only gets a passing explanation in the text, almost as if Mr. Perkins is saying "I know, I know, just go along with me on this one".
Rating my book on this scale, I'd give it a solid 7.5 out of 10. The plot is solid but at times tests your ability to suspend disbelief. The characters are memorable and mentally approachable, but a lack of attention to details mars things just a bit. Some characters are not explained as well as I would like, but fortunately Mr. Perkins is making this into a trilogy so I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Mr. Perkins has also stated that he is re-writing the Renewal Series into a single book that corrects some issues and highlights some characters more. If he releases this on Kindle, I'll be sure to snap it up and read it again. I'm looking forward to more work from Mr. Perkins!
