Climate post-apocalypses offer various scenarios for the survival-minded, this one throws up a big bunker, defending itself from a savage outside world. We join with some new people trying to find this society - "The Community" hidden in the mountain, and its quite clear that the survival of said Community relies on being very picky. You have to offer them something to get in - the low bar is genetic diversity. Our viewpoint character is Brick, who interrogates those who come in, and it becomes quite clear that the Community is no Utopia, and may be worse than some of the seemingly more feral groups out in the world. This we see through Thea's eyes, the outsider that brings in her family, that seem to be covered in a self-healing, self-warming extra dermal layer, which is the beginning of the crisis.

I thought The Change had a decent set-up but started to fall apart for me in the middle. There are plenty of incidents, and the evil within is built up well, but it all ends up with too much going on and the stakes elevating beyond just the survival of the protagonists. There's also a little too much mismatched science and mysticism; I could take the second skin but wasn't so sure about the "mindscape space" that its wearers seem to be able to astrally project to. It feels like the setup to a longer series that I will probably not be onboard for, though if the idea of post-apocalyptic adventure appeals then it is worth giving a go.

4.5 stars rounded up- This was an epic and entertaining science fiction. I feel this is heavily underrated or overlooked. I really enjoyed this post-apocalyptic world of harsh wintry survival and broken territories where people live in underground shelters, relics of old technology. The characters are very captivating, the alliances and betrayals are surprising, and the new technology that is introduced through the gates is just the tip of the iceberg of technological potential. There’s even a spiritual element to the science which I found really poetic and human. I loved witnessing the characters explore their moralities of corrupt systems, and discover new truths and emotions that challenge the status quo. The strategic battleground of politics, beliefs and laws in an environment controlled solely by one cold-blooded woman and her AI that oversees everything creates constant tension to the very end. Throughout, I was thrilled, engaged, and touched by the heartfelt moments. Where I got lost was perhaps a bit towards the end where there are interactions between the other cultures. There was some repetition of movement back and forth from the community, where I would have perhaps really loved some more enticing reveals from a very different setting. A big crescendo! I understand the point was to wrap-up the story within the community but I felt something was missing. And there were just so many characters in the community, it was a bit hard to distinguish between them, eg. Emmett and Arthur, Riva and Ruth.. it may help to have more descriptions of the characters and have them have their personalities voiced sufficiently to anchor them in the story. Otherwise, what a brilliant find, I’m so glad I came across this and I highly recommend!