Altered Seasons: Monsoonrise

I haven't read a REALLY good post apocalyptic book in a very long time, and this was the perfect re-entry into the genre. All I can say is I wish there was MORE and more NOW!! I will be watching (and selling) Mr Briggs in the future! Thank you!

Starts off well, with some interesting premises... then stumbles into some lengthy soap-opera-worthy involvement in the lives and loves of several characters. Character development is important, and often weak in SF, but this is about twice as much as needed. And the characters are, to be honest, rather boring, albeit occasionally in extraordinary circumstances.

Briggs also tries the Vonnegut-esque trick of talking directly to the reader about the book, but he does it a bit too much. It throws sand into the gears of willing suspension of disbelief..

Would I read volume 2? Maybe, hoping for less family and relationship drama.. If that doesn't prove to be the case, then volume 3 will remain on the shelf (or undownloaded).

Cli-Fi At Its Finest


4 out of 5 stars
I know that I usually review audiobooks and saying that a book would have been better in audio is pretty cliche for me - but that's how this book felt. The narrative jumped around a bit and the dialogue was a bit choppy as well. Sometimes a good narrator (and even edits for the audiobook) can soften some of these issues.  But, looking past that - I did enjoy Altered Seasons: Monsoonrise.

It took the bits from the climate stories and movies that I liked and threw a ton of science in there (not too much like The Storm) to make it seem and feel realistic.

The cast of characters also made this enjoyable.  It jumped around between a few people - each with their own story and own reasons for being included but the main character Isabel made this book worth reading. She was intelligent and relentless.  Easily one of the easiest to follow characters in a while. 

Overall, Monsoonrise, while a mouthful - was an enjoyable Cli-Fi story that I hope will spur more like it.  Briggs could easily write similar stories from similar points of view (much like what Tom Abrahams is currently doing).

This is an interesting Cli-Fi book. Basic story is loss of North Pole ice and the effects on group of varying people.
The characters flow together in a seamless fashion, although at times the storyline is choppy. I liked the characters realism and depth. The science used in story was great.

I hope Paul Briggs continues with similiar Cli-Fi books. I enjoyed the book.