Review: Pandemonium (World Fallen Series Book 1) by Susanna Strom

Pandemonium by Susanna Strom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Devastating Pandemic

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is the first book in a continuing series. The book ends at a natural break, but there is definitely a lot more story to tell in future books.

I wasn’t sure about this book because it’s about a dystopia that was brought about by a flu pandemic. This is still a little close to home, even with the vaccine and life starting to get a little bit more normal again. However, the flu is different enough for it not to cause me nightmares (I have Long Covid). However if the pandemic has caused you emotional difficulties beyond going stir crazy, this might trip your triggers. The author wrote this book in 2019 so it’s not based on actual events.

When the governor closes down everything in the state due to a flu pandemic, MacKenzie decides to go to her cousin’s house. He is a neurodivergent prepper and they don’t have anyone else except each other. Kenzie’s ex-boyfriend, best friend and her boyfriend head off to their parent’s houses as they all live in the same gated community and believe they will be safe there.

When Kenzie gets to her cousin, Miles’, house she finds him behind his high fenced garden and house with vegetables, chickens and everything he can find to make things easier for them both in the event of everything shutting down. He has been meticulous in his preparations. He also has a neighbour who has been helping him, Ripper, who is a biker. He’s also an ex-army ranger. He’s tough, determined and ruthless. He’s also incredibly kind and gentle with Miles and he and Kenzie click immediately.

This is not a happy book. It’s filled with death, danger and sickness. However, it’s also got affection, loyalty and family. There are some quite emotionally challenging parts to the book and not all the characters we meet make it. This book is equal parts emotionally challenging and gripping. I couldn’t stop reading it because I needed to know what happened to them all next.

As the characters find their way in a difficult world, they also reveal parts of themselves to each other. They talk about their childhoods and their loved ones and we hear about why they react the way they do to certain things. Each of the characters is fully realised and behaves consistently with their history and personalities, which is always something I look for, particularly with a book like this. I really liked all the characters, even when they weren’t behaving perfectly they behaved in a way I understood, even if I didn’t like it.

The book was really well-paced and structured. It’s told from multiple points of view so we get to see the events that happen away from the compound. This also helps us to understand the characters a little better as we see things through their eyes and also see the other characters from the outside to give us a different view of them and their behaviour.

This is a really good book and I can’t wait to read the next one in the series.

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