Into The Wilderness-Mandy Hager

Into The Wilderness Mandy Hager Pyr, Jan 7 2014, $17.99 ISBN: 9781616148638 Following the Tribulation that decimated the world population, the white Apostles of the Lamb leaders of Onewere Island abused the brown-skins. Witnessing the horror of those they worshipped as deities, the brown-skinned former believers turned doubters Ruth and Maryam know they must leave before they become dead victims. Thus the Blessed Sisters, accompanied by white Apostle cousins Joseph (who loves Maryam) and Lazarus, leave their insular community by sea. Sailing the Pacific, the quartet arrives in violent racist what was once called Australia before the Tribulation. On Marawa Island, they find their hope for the future shattered as apparently no humans reside there. Meanwhile Maryam and Joseph struggle with their love for each other while she also loathes Lazarus for what she saw he did on the Star of the Sea cruise ship before the foursome fled for their lives (see The Crossing for his atrocity). The second Blood of the Lamb dystopian post-apocalyptic teenage thriller once again profoundly and harshly looks at organized religion and civilization turning brutally barbaric after the Tribulation collapse. The enjoyable storyline is at its best when the Blessed Sisters (especially Maryam) confront a vicious new world order as violent as what occurred on the Star of the Sea though when the plot leaves Maryam to focus on others it loses some momentum. Still readers will appreciate the dark middle book in a world in which rape and murder are the accepted norms. Harriet Klausner