This is an old-fashioned Western of the Shane variety made different by its setting in a time after the collapse of society. Interesting premise but never pulled me in. Characters a bit sketchy or one-dimensional, a bit too much love for the details of which gun is which, and a plot that moves from one improbability to another -- those kept distracting me. I also think books, even when a series, should stand on their own -- which this one did not. It's entirely possible that I am not part of the intended audience. ( )

I love the apocalypse genre and found "The Day After Never - Blood Honor" quite different from others. In fact, it's the first dystopian story that read like a western with drug cartels playing the roles of the bad guys. It's been years since gasoline was available and horses have become the vehicle of transportation. Hunting, farming and bartering have become staples for survival...everything, including your life, had a price.

Cartels took over cities and treated its citizens like slaves...saying or doing something against the rules resulted in a bullet between the eyes. There was a pandemic that killed much of the population and now, a new strain has evolved, and it was killing everyone else. It has stalled and is positioned in the eastern part of the country - lack of transportation out of the hot zone has prevented its spread.

The main character was chasing a group of Mustangs to be used as bartering when he sees a group of people ambushed by one of the local cartels. By the time he arrived to render aid, he is too late, but does find a woman who was badly wounded but still alive. He manages to get her back to town where she gets treatment and finally awakens two days later. She is in a panic over a five-year-old girl who was still hiding at the ambush site. He agrees to help and by doing so risks everything and then loses everything he holds dear.

There are many twists and turns and the main character finds himself in dire straits more than once. It's the first book in a series and leaves the story open ended which I didn't like but expected. It's a good read with some slow parts...all that was missing was a rodeo and injuns. ( )