Books & Audiobooks
The beauty of science fiction is its ability to use fictional situations to examine real world issues. It looks at human behaviour through “what if” situations involving new worlds and technologies in the not-so-distant future.
The Warning by Kristy Acevedo is a deep dive into our nature and how humans face their mortality in a sudden, end-of-the-earth situation.
On her way home, 17-year-old Alex’s train is suddenly halted when a glowing blue portal appears on the tracks. Soon there are reports of strange portals appearing all over the world. They come with a warning: six months from now, a comet will collide with the earth. Nothing can prevent it. The only hope for survival is to enter a portal and join a new world. The message is spoken by a hologram of a futuristic humanoid entity, who describes this new world as a utopian society. It’s a place where hunger, crime and disease do not exist. But no one knows for certain if these holograms can be trusted.
Alex’s anxiety disorder is thrown into overdrive when faced with this startling revelation. Her friends believe it is better to flee, while her father is steadfast in remaining behind. She must make her own decision, but time is running out.
What hooked me into this story was how real it seemed. The characters react in very predictable human ways. Some people think it’s a hoax, others jump at the chance to explore a new place. Some see it as a new beginning, while others think it should be used as a way to exile “undesirables” from society. As the countdown gets closer, you can feel how quickly panic turns into chaos. Inevitably, society begins to break down long before the comet even appears. But on the flip side, it also shows the best of humanity. Alex uses her long battle with anxiety to her advantage and finds strength she didn’t know she had. It also prompts the reader to consider what they would do in the same situation. I kept changing my mind. The portals could lead anywhere or no where at all. It could be a paradise, or it could be a trap. There is no way to tell the outcome, once a person enters the portal they cannot return.
The best part, of course, is the ending. I won’t reveal anything, but I will say as soon as I finished it, I put the second book immediately on hold. I can’t wait to see how the outcome of Alex’s decision plays out in the next installment, The Fallout.