Partials (Partials Sequence book 1) by Dan Wells 483 pages
The humans lost The Partial War. 11 years later, what’s left of the human race scrapes together a semblance of normal life on what used to be Long Island. There are no children, thanks to a rampant virus that kills every baby born in this dark new world. Kira Walker is a medic and maternity ward nurse. Determined not to watch any more infants die, Kira sets out on a mission. A mission to find a cure, to find hope, to find a way forward. What she never expected to find was answers to questions she never thought to ask. Dan Wells’ Partials is tightly written, filled with complex characters, conspiracy and big moral questions. Including whether humanity is worth saving at all. Highly recommended for fans of BSG, Bladerunner, Children of Men or The Last of Us.
Book Review
First things first, I am an absolute sucker for books that take place during or after the end of the world. So, right off the bat, Partials had me. Wells sets up his world, his history and his characters in such a way that you both immediately understand where you are and are drawn in to wanting to know more. He also gets bonus points from me for setting his story in Long Island of all places, which makes for a nice change of pace. Kira Walker is a fantastic character, multi-faceted and not entirely comfortable with the choices she’s forced to make. The science is grounded in real research and data, especially in regards to the breakdown of materials and goods, while the future tech of the Partials themselves is fantastical enough to be super creepy. All in all, I found Partials to be philosophical, political, entertaining and kind of terrifying. All at once. A couple of quibbles: there are some editing issues regarding gun types and who is holding what, when. Hopefully that doesn’t continue. I’m diving right in to Book 2, Fragments!
