The dead lands : a novel
(Book)

LJ 02/15/2015.

PW 02/09/2015.

Kirkus 04/01/2015.

One hundred and fifty years ago--when the world began to fall apart, when the flu mutated and millions began to die--downtown St. Louis was fortified. The few had to make the immediate decision to live or die. The flu was airborne. St. Louis--now called the Sanctuary--is a shielded community that owes its survival to its militant defense and fear-mongering leaders. Then a rider comes from the wasteland beyond its walls. She reports on the outside world: west of the Cascades, rain falls, crops grow, civilization thrives. But there is danger too: the rising power of an army that pillages and enslaves every community they happen upon. Against the wishes of the Sanctuary, a small group sets out in secrecy on an epic quest across America's blasted hearland, determined to secure a better life.