It’s been twenty years since an engineered microbe brought the age of oil to an end, triggering a civil war that left civilization forever changed. Now, in a world divided into tightly controlled urban islands and self-reliant rural settlements, Salia Warchez, a cunning priestess of the end days, is ready to bring the new social order to its knees. Moving like a ghost on the fringes of civilization, the outlaw Salia is one of the select few who know the secret to oil’s demise. And now she intends to bring it back for her own nefarious ends. But there’s a problem, and it’s waiting for her in the Colorado mountain town of Purgatory. As smoldering rivalries suddenly ignite, the future of oil will be settled once and for all, in one of the most deadly and peculiar places on Earth. “What a master storyteller! I’ve read my share of post-apocalyptic screeds (i.e. James Howard Kunstler’s works), and this is the best ever. The idea is amazing—a microbe that solidifies the world’s oil. His venturing into the metaphysical is never easy, but in this case it works. The characters, the premise, the writing are truly amazing; his narrative description and character definition are equal to the best novelists in the trade.” – Neville Williams “The best-written book I have read in years. This post-apocalypse story is exciting, suspenseful, and told with words and descriptions that transcend the ordinary. The weird and wonderful notions of modern theoretical physics play well into this story of bonding, survival and conflict between philosophies. As the story unfolds, human nature is shown to be the same in the new world of an oil-less future. The story is great, the narrative is outstanding, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading.” – Jay Williams
