(2022) Very good apocalyptic story about a solar massive CME that strikes Earth and causes almost global shutdown of electrical and computer functions. This concentrates on the effects on a micro level centered on Aurora, Illinois and in Utah. A billionaire brother and his sister are the main protagonists. The role that money plays is also a major player. KIRKUS: A billionaire and a suburban family struggle to survive when power goes out around the globe.This brisk thriller is set a few years in the future, after the world has been through the coronavirus pandemic and thinks it's learned how to handle disaster. It hasn't. A coronal mass ejection on the sun isn't an unusual event, but this time one sends out a massive cloud of solar plasma aimed straight at Earth. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration see it coming and know it will fry electrical grids around the globe. Their attempts to shut down systems to protect them are shrugged off by anti-science politicians, and the world goes dark. No electricity means no internet, no phones, no TV or radio, no supply chain�?Everything from a nuclear power plant to your coffeepot,? one expert says. ?If it's connected to the grid and turned on, it will blow.? Thom Banning is prepared for the catastrophe. A tech billionaire, he's purchased a disused missile silo and spent $30 million to convert it to a secure underground bunker big enough to house a village¥of Thom's choosing. He and his family, plus selected employees, evacuate to the bunker and settle in, but things will not go exactly as Thom planned. Meanwhile, Aubrey Wheeler is not prepared at all. She's been busy trying to steer her conference business through the pandemic, avoid her creepy ex-husband, Rusty, and cope with Rusty's son, Scott. The boy is a typically surly teenager but wisely chose to stay with his stepmother when she and his father, who's addicted to just about everything you can be addicted to, divorced. When the power goes out in their Illinois suburb, all Aubrey has on her emergency shelf is 11 cans of black beans. Koepp, a successful screenwriter (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man), brings those skills to this novel, crafting carefully placed revelations about the characters' relationships and the bursts of violence in their increasingly chaotic world into an exciting and satisfying tale.Engaging characters deal with disaster in this swiftly paced, well-written thriller.Pub Date: June 7, 2022ISBN: 978-0-06-291-647-1Page Count: 304Publisher: Harper/HarperCollinsReview Posted Online: April 12, 2022Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022

When a major CME (coronal mass ejection) is projected to knock out all power grids and cause a worldwide blackout, people scramble to “prepare" for the worst. This is a world that has survived the COVID pandemic but when the solar storm hits and results in a black sky event that could last months, maybe even years until power can be restored, it calls for a different level of preparedness.

While the affluent, like tech entrepreneur Thom Banning, pack their bags and proceed to a well-equipped bunker with a full staff, a “community” of carefully chosen people- cooks, yoga instructors, dentists, teachers and so on, his sister Aubrey gears up with her sullen stepson to stock food and other necessities in their fixer-upper in a cul-de-sac on Cayuga Lane in Aurora, Illinois. Her ex-husband Rusty is not making things easy for her, with his criminal connections to whom he owes money and his addiction issues, and his efforts to squeeze as much as he can from her. As the country (and the world) witnesses gradual infrastructural collapse, we see how people from different walks of life deal with a disaster that forces everyone to live off the grid. With the world in chaos , there is an overall rise in crime, vandalism and substance abuse. Aubrey's neighborhood bands together to develop community gardens to grow fruit and vegetables to combat dwindling food supplies and supplement whatever they are receiving through government- controlled food distribution systems also combining efforts to conserve and share water , standing by each other. Thom, self-assured on account of his wealth and confident in his foresight and survival strategy, learns that money cannot buy him loyalty and cooperation from the people around him. Aubrey’s neighbor, a retired renowned solar researcher who had been tracking the CME , uses his old school radio to keep track of what is happening throughout the world and his advice proves to be very helpful to their community.

David Koepp’s Aurora is a compelling novel with a cast of interesting characters and a plot that kept me engaged. The author combines dystopian elements with family drama, crime and suspense. Initially, the first few pages made me think that this would be a very heavy sci-fi read but after the initial explanation of the CME phenomenon, the story flows easily and doesn’t use too much technical jargon. I’m glad the author did not go into graphic descriptions of crime and despair which are common to dystopian novels and has limited the focus to family, siblings and community. Overall, I enjoyed this novel and would not hesitate to recommend it.

I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. Many thanks to the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. ( )

4.5 fantastic stars!

I finally found a genre of science fiction I love—Dystopian ❤️ ( )

A magnetic solar event causes the world's electrical grid to go down leaving almost everyone without power for an extended period (months years?) I wasn't sure if the novel would take the macro approach and look at what world governments will do to solve the issue or the micro approach dealing with individual people. This is what Koepp does featuring on a billionaire and his extended family. He owns a large survival compound in the rural west but his big problem is his sister who insists on staying in surbuban Chicago who he loves deeply. A unique take. ( )

This book was quite a ride. Characters were kind of predictable but placed in a fairly chaotic situation. Entertaining read, nonetheless. ( )