[Review] Fragments by Dan Wells

Fragments
Partials Sequence #2
Dan Wells
February 26th, 2013
Balzer + Bray
564 pags

Amazon/Book Depository/B&N

Kira Walker has found the cure for RM, but the battle for the survival of humans and Partials is just beginning. Kira has left East Meadow in a desperate search for clues to who she is. That the Partials themselves hold the cure for RM in their blood cannot be a coincidence--it must be part of a larger plan, a plan that involves Kira, a plan that could save both races. Her companions are Afa Demoux, an unhinged drifter and former employee of ParaGen, and Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed her and saved her life, the only ones who know her secret. But can she trust them?

Meanwhile, back on Long Island, what's left of humanity is gearing up for war with the Partials, and Marcus knows his only hope is to delay them until Kira returns. But Kira's journey will take her deep into the overgrown wasteland of postapocalyptic America, and Kira and Marcus both will discover that their greatest enemy may be one they didn't even know existed.

The second installment in the pulse-pounding Partials saga is the story of the eleventh hour of humanity's time on Earth, a journey deep into places unknown to discover the means--and even more important, a reason--for our survival.

 One thing after another with this book! There is no downtime. What appears to be a lull in the action is just an ellipsis trailing into the next bit of intense story telling.

I couldn't put this book down. From page one and Samm's point of view, to the last and the new addition to Nandita's orphanage. It ran the gambit on my emotions and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Kira spends most of the book looking for answers and trying to figure out how to save both the partials and the humans. We learn things about those who made the partials and about Kira that lead to more questions. Everything doesn't add up yet, but there's still more to be written.

Marcus gets into and out of more scrapes than anyone should physically be capable of. His chapters are some of the most intense. The front lines, as it were, are full of chaos and casualties.

The slow burn romance between Kira and Samm blooms briefly, yet satisfyingly near the end of the book. It is cut short by outside factors, and cliffhangers.

Kira's chapters are still some of the most heart-wrenching and interesting. The miles and miles of travel are anything but dull. Post-break Chicago is a swampy marshland. The Mississippi river is bridgeless and treacherous. What is normally one of the most uneventful highway trips ever, over the plains from Chicago to Denver, is full of acid rain, poisoned ground and deadly dust storms.

I can't wait for the next one!