A dystopian, post-apocalyptic fantasy tale with aliens, mutants, humans, and magic. Sendrowski writes in consumable prose with a quality flow in and out of the scenes. He successfully bridges current action with character development and describes the scenery well. It took me a bit to get into the book, and I plowed through 3/4ths before slowing to reach the end. By default, I am not big into Fantasy. I do enjoy Urban Fantasy (Hallows, Dresden, etc), but toss in aliens, elementals, and big worms - it is something I don't actively read. The premise sounded rather interesting and I accepted a paperback ARC from the author. By no means did I dislike this book. It is a mix of Mad Max Thunder Dome, Raiders, and a dash of LOTR. Where this level of fantasy isn't my thing, I was still invested in the characters. And that, to me, means there is something good going on.
4 of 5 Stars - ARC provided.
From the Publisher:
Michael stared at the sand as nervous sweat slid down his brow. The nagra were everywhere, nesting beneath the polluted ground, waiting to drag down the unwary. "And it only takes one false step," he whispered. A tough break, but that was the life of a Culver cleanser. Dig, scrap, disarm and hope to return from a work detail with enough fingers to still count your pay. But as with any risk there are great rewards. Even in the Culver Waste, a land fouled by a decade long war and plagued with poisonous elemental traps and vicious predators, treasures untold remain hidden beneath the toxic sands. Relics, scrap, weapons, even entire cities... all abandoned and forgotten after the last great magic war swallowed the land whole. But not everything can remain lost forever. And when Michael Carter and his work crew unearth a mysterious bunker while on a cleansing run, they soon learn some things are best never found again.
