I started reading this on a recommendation from a friend and I’m glad I did.  What seemed like it was going to just be another teen fantasy turned into a wonderful study of character and relationships with action and magic thrown in.  The shorter first part was definitely slow but I’m glad I read it because it set up everything that was to come in the second book.

(Possible Spoilers from here on): Children of the Apocalypse is about a small group of girls who find they aren’t normal after all.  A cliche premise but not in execution.  The characters are complex and believable, definitely flawed, and very well drawn.  The mentor and one of my favorite characters Michael isn’t the wise and caring teacher you’d expect.  Each of the girls are distinct with their own struggles, from Meredith’s intentional shifting personality to stoic Sage, and to the occasionally ditzy but ultimately good Gen.  It’s easy to root for these people and be touched by their heartbreak.

For the writing style, it’s very clean and easy to read.  The dialog is the highlight for me.  It’s often snappy and clever (usually Genny’s lines, or Michael’s.).  There are a lot of characters who become more and more prominent as it goes on and it could easily be really confusing. Instead they’re introduced at a good pace and woven into the story.

The biggest complaint so far is that updates aren’t frequent enough but just once a month.  I was able to read a lot of content at once recently but that will be a long time between chapters when it starts again.  There’s a webcomic included that is a bonus but isn’t complete (and it’s about michael so I want more!!)  The story also gets progressively darker as things go (there’s a sexual assault scene that bothered me a little bit) which I wasn’t expecting since it starts off lighter. I’d reccommend younger readers heed the warning of mature content and not assume that teenage characters means it’s for young adults.

I recommend it to readers looking for urban fantasy that has better writing than most of the webnovels out there. Just have some patience when you’re done and craving more.

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