Raid

June 12, 2017
Merbeth cheerfully follows Bite with a sequel replete with abundant meaningless violence, amorality, and bold personalities as she revisits the chaotic, Borderlands-esque postapocalyptic wasteland of cannibalistic raiders and infinitely expendable townies. Bounty hunter Clementine successfully follows a tip for entering the private bedroom of the raider king of the eastern wastes, Jedediah Johnson. Jed is a surprisingly compliant, if fast-talking, hostage. But her plan to take him west and cash him in with law-establishing raider-collector Saint is thwarted by the surge of raiders fleeing Saint’s just-destroyed radio tower, and Jed and Clementine must decide whom to trust—townies, raiders, or even each other—to survive the chaos. Merbeth superimposes Clementine and Jed’s occasionally emotional enemies-to-buddies story over the action, an authorial decision that fits with the series theme of humanizing the bad guys but hampers the plot. Cameo appearances by Bite’s oddball crew will remind readers that Merbeth is capable of eliciting fondness for characters, but she fails to manage that this time around. Agent: Emmanuelle Morgan, Stonesong Literary.

July 1, 2017

Bounty hunter Clementine has captured the notorious Jedediah Johnson, but no one is willing to pay the bounty, at least not in the eastern wastelands. But she may get her due in the western wastes. However, crossing this desert with such a person, who is loved and hated in equal measure, means that Clem will be battling other hunters and raiders seeking this prize. Along the way, Clem discovers that her unwilling companion holds a number of secrets. Everything Clem has faced in her solo hunts has not prepared her for the lawlessness of the west --or its need for a new ruthless leader. VERDICT This volume is not a direct sequel to Bite, but readers will find familiar references and characters here. Merbeth's fast-paced Mad Max-style adventure, set in a postapocalyptic desert, is difficult to put down.--KC

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