I have never read any John Gilstrap work until Blue Fire came across my NetGalley.com feed and I immediately jumped on the opportunity. Blue Fire has a post-apocalyptic vibe while it also draws on the consistent ability of the government to screw things up. With the political back and forth seen in the news every day, this shows the aftermath of bad decisions and how they can affect the people that they represent.
One of the main locations in this adventure is Ortho, West Virginia, where former congresswoman Victoria Emerson has taken refuge. After choosing not to hide away in a bunker with the rest of the surviving branches of the federal government, Victoria has become the pseudo mayor of this shanty town. She also requires all capable members of this community to be fully committed to serving, not a hard bargain if you ask me. After the bombs have dropped all over America in Gilstrap’s first, Crimson Phoenix, we start to see the lawlessness. An unfortunate meeting occurs as a neighboring town comes to speak with Victoria and a gun fight ends the chat and riles up the tension. For those that are stuck in the wilderness and unsettled areas surrounding these dangerous towns, they must make their own safety or become just another body in the ground.
As Victoria and Ortho continue to be receptive to random people walking into town, the inhabitants of the government facility are trying to determine what is happening outside the safety of their bunker. In a brave mission, one of the people attempts to go out to record the findings and meets an untimely demise. Emerson is seemingly keeping herself inundated with a broad list of keep busy items to not focus on the fact that her husband was overseas when the war started, and her oldest son was at military school which is now not standing.
Gilstrap does an amazing job of bringing together another modern-day Red Dawn while showing that humanity can have a chance at survival with the right people involved. Though no one is immune in the aftermath of the nuclear war that was unleashed all over earth, the bloody and fierce battle between neighboring towns continue as people are literally fighting for their lives. A harsh reality and unnerving emotion highlight the hellish landscape in which few survive but maybe staying alive isn’t surviving.
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