Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
The Shadow Apocalypse by Glenn C. Nor begins when strangers take refuge in a museum during a storm, and a cataclysmic explosion petrifies two individuals and leaves another unconscious. Dr. Knight's life changes after a message from Genesis Block Inc. leads to sleeping gas and bomb-disarming interviews and a 'world-saving' job offer. Dr. Angelina Fischer tests CRISPR technology to detect Ebola while a British scientist takes a sample marked POTUS-5. Alarm bells are raised when the Pegasus system flags activity related to a plane crash and cryptocurrency, with an avalanche of missing person cases marked by individuals vanishing, debts being paid off, and properties sold post-disappearance. And that plane crash? There's a single survivor with a horror story to share about a shadow plague, but by then it could be too late.
The Shadow Apocalypse by Glenn C. Nor is an incredibly well-written, fast-paced, and engrossing read. Nor constructs his story in alternating timelines and a series of dangling threads that all start to weave together as the plot barrels forward. Nobody is left out of the global is-it-or-isn't-it experiment, whether you are from an isolated Amazonian tribe or happen to be the most powerful woman on Earth. Yeah, you read that right, Madam President! I love that Nor leaves us unclear on the cause of people becoming comatose in a frozen state, why others are disappearing, and who is behind it all. The answers come in scenes that read as brilliant interconnected vignettes, which to me are reminiscent in style of the iteration format of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. Overall, Nor delivers a genre-bending story that will keep many readers up far too late at night. Very highly recommended.
