Published 9th June 2022 by HQ.
From the cover of the book:
When the lights go out no one is safe…A planet without power.
When a solar storm hits the earth, the lights go out across the planet. But this time the blackout won’t be over soon – it could last for years. Aubrey and her stepson now face the biggest challenge of their lives.
A society without rules.
Soon they hear rumours of riots, the struggle for food becomes real, and even within their small communities, the rule of law is collapsing. Aubrey’s estranged brother Thom, a self-made billionaire who abandoned her years ago, retreats to a gilded desert bunker where he can ride out the crisis in perfect luxury.
A race to build a better world…
But the complicated history between the siblings is far from over, and what feels like the end of the world is just the beginning of a personal reckoning long overdue…
***********
When a massive solar flare wipes out almost all of Earth's electricity, no one knows how long the blackout will last - it could be years.
Some, like tech billionaire Thom, have been preparing for disaster, creating a haven out in the desert where he, his family, and a carefully selected assortment of staff can ride out the storm in luxury. Others, like his estranged sister Aubrey and her stepson, in the suburbs of Aurora, Illinois, are completely taken by surprise and left to figure out exactly how they will survive while society falls apart around them.
But sometimes all the money and preparation in the world are not what matters when the chips are down. Thom has not factored in the vagaries of human nature - something Aubrey knows about all too well.
Aurora is a cracking high concept thriller that has everything you could possibly want in terms of an apocalypse tale, but at the same time shakes up the the genre to offer something really refreshing and new.
The premise is a horrifyingly simple one: that a massive solar flare knocks out everything electrical on the surface of the planet - except for a limited band around the Equator. Without electricity, society starts to crumble, and it's suddenly down to individuals to work out how they will survive the dark months, or even years, ahead before supplies can be restored.
Koepp does not shy away from addressing the terror, despair, and violence that would almost certainly follow as resources become scarce, building pace and seriously exciting suspense as events spiral out of control, but it is actually the way he explores the human side of the equation that is most interesting. Through the stories of the siblings Thom and Aubrey, Koepp examines many aspects of how small communities function, especially when the chips are down, layering a mass of themes around the kindness of strangers, connection, responsibility, guilt, greed, emotional distance, and isolation.
Thom and Aubrey, and their difficult childhood, with secrets that only become known well into the story, are at the centre of everything, and around them there is a network of both endearing and thoroughly rotten characters to take you through an unexpectedly wide emotional range. Aubrey was my absolute favourite, and I loved how she finds her inner strength, showing that being prepared for tough times is so much more about strength of character, and the desire to look after others, than material wealth. Koepp also plays nicely with how the balance of power can flip on a personal, local, and even global scale, which was fascinating to ponder.
This really is my favourite sort of story, with oodles of gripping action, fabulous characters, and a mighty dollop of heart. I found it surprisingly emotional, which I think has a lot to say about Koepp's accomplished skills as a screen writer, and the way he has written this with an eye on the difficult times we have all been through in the last couple of years. If there is such a thing as a heart-warming, page turner of an apocalyptic tale, infused with hope, then this is it, however contradictory that sounds - and it was a joy to consume.
Aurora is available to by now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to HQ for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the author:
Some of the films he's both written and directed are Stir of Echoes, Secret Window, Ghost Town, and Premium Rush. Cold Storage is his first novel.
Koepp grew up in the small town of Pewaukee, Wisconsin. He went to a variety of colleges over a leisurely-paced academic career, and recounts his junior year as being "three of the happiest years of my life." He cites the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the film school at UCLA as particular highlights.
He credits much of his success as a writer to the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis at Saint Anthony's Church and School, because they told him early on his handwriting was so awful he'd better learn to type immediately.
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