Dennis E. Taylor: Earthside

 Hi everyone

Earthside is the second book in Dennis E. Taylor's series Quantum Earth.
I read it on my e-reader.

"The Yellowstone super-eruption has put an end to modern civilization. As cities and countries continue to fall, the colony of Rivendell in the alternate Earth known as Outland looks more and more like the only real hope for humanity. But life in Rivendell isn’t getting any simpler, either. Bill and Kevin continue to discover new worlds; the population continues to rise; winter is approaching; and everyone has their own opinion about how things should be run.
Then, a garbled plea for help from Omaha sends most of the security forces back Earthside to investigate, leaving Outland’s police force understaffed just as a large group of refugees arrives with its own ideas and power structure. With threats from both inside and outside, will the colony even survive until spring?" 

Earthside is exactly what I needed, a light, fast-paced, and entertaining escape. The setting is something I always enjoy: a post-apocalyptic world where survivors are building a new life in an alternate Earth called Outland. The world-building is engaging, with new worlds to explore and plenty of drama to keep things interesting.
The characters are fun, even if they’re not particularly deep. There are plenty of people to root for (and a few to get frustrated with), which makes the story easy to dive into. The plot is predictable, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying it, sometimes, knowing where things are headed just adds to the comfort of the read.

That said, Earthside isn’t anything groundbreaking. The plot and characters are rather shallow, and there’s nothing especially unique about the storytelling. But honestly? That’s okay. Not every book needs to be a literary masterpiece, sometimes, you just want something fun and easy to read, and Earthside delivers on that promise.

Have you read Earthside or any other books in the Quantum Earth series? Did you enjoy the adventure, or do you have a favorite post-apocalyptic book to recommend? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
Helena