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Thursday, July 5, 2012

Review: Chaos (Agents of Evil #2) by Megan Duncan

Be sure to check out my review of Released, book one in this series

TITLE: Chaos                                SERIES: Agents of Evil #2
AUTHOR: Megan Duncan           PUB DATE: 6/12
FORMAT: eARC
SOURCE: from author in exchange for honest review


Is any shot at living, worth dying for?
They thought they’d be safe, but a world ruled by chaos doesn’t die easily.
When Max turned on the radio transmissions assuring safety, they came. But, it wasn’t just survivors of the demon apocalypse that crawled their way into the abandoned military base. A myriad of beastly demons unlike any they’ve ever seen, came as well. Abby, and her companions, struggle to survive as the evil around them grows. Desperate to endure, and to defend their fellow survivors, Abby and a squad of fierce fighters, take on a dangerous mission that has deadly consequences.

THREE WORDS: Intense, Suspenseful, Unpredictable

MY REVIEW: In Released, the first book in the Agents of Evil series, author Megan Duncan introduced readers to a refreshing and captivatingly stark apocalyptic world overrun by demons. And in Chaos Duncan continues to explore her heroine’s fight for survival in this dangerous and fierce new world.

Picking up where Released ends, in Chaos Abby and company have arrived at the military base to find it completely empty. But when they turn the radio transmission back on other survivors begin to arrive, seeking safety. With a growing group of survivors, Abby, Max and a few others set out on a supply run that quickly turns deadly and sets a whole new string of dangerous events into motion. In desperate need of medical supplies, Abby and Max find themselves crossing into demon territory and facing a new type of terrifying demon. How far must Abby go to ensure the survival of those she loves?

Demons, giant spiders, survivor squabbles, steamy romance, oh my! Author Megan Duncan packs a lot into this sequel and continues to deftly build her post-demon apocalyptic world. The four main teenagers from the first book are back, while new, engaging characters are introduced.

It’s the end of the world as the characters know it, with a vast array of different deadly demons constantly closing in; a waning number of vital supplies and potentially explosive arguments and disagreements threating any semblance of peace among the survivors. The world Abby currently resides in is bleak, scary, unforgiving and dangerous and Duncan has done a great job of bringing this world to life in a way that is always believable and intriguing. Every day is a fight for survival, creating an atmosphere that is intensely suspenseful, thrilling, startling and unpredictable.

I love the intense action and demon battling scenes included in book two. And the demons themselves continue to enthrall and chill me! Duncan’s own brand of demon baddies is such a refreshing change from the often repetitive supernatural elements found in YA.

The story is equally action and emotion driven. Amidst all the exciting and chilling gun shooting and demon killing, the author offers readers glimpses into the emotional and mental side of an apocalypse; whether it is a look at how life and death situations can bring the best and worst out of people, tear people apart or bring them intimately together. I really appreciated this much needed balance.

My girl Abby continues to be a really relatable and likable heroine. She grows and matures a great deal in book two, but in a way that always feels organic and never contrived. I like Abby and Max together and appreciate that the author has not thrown in a cliché teenage love triangle (thank goodness!!!), but the intensity and love between the two has felt a bit rushed from the beginning of book one to book two.

Towards the end of Chaos the characters begin to come up with a theory surrounding how the demons entered our world and I found it pretty unexpected and fascinating. I do wish there was more time spent on the why’s, where’s, and who’s though- Why are the demons here?  Where did they come from? Who sent them?-and I’m hoping and thinking these things will be explored more in-depth in book three. And I have no doubt that Duncan will come up with something smart and innovative!

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Megan Duncan does post-apocalypse right and continues to excite, thrill and captivate with her originality, strong world-building and likable characters. Chaos is an excellent second volume in a must read series!

MY RATING

Find the author: Website /  Goodreads  / Twitter  / Facebook
Purchase: Amazon / B&N
Megan Duncan is a lover of all things paranormal, fantasy, sci-fi and anything just out of the ordinary. She is continually fighting her addiction to chocolate and living in her overactive imagination.
Be sure to come back July 12th when the Chaos Blog Tour stops by Word Spelunking with an author interview and giveaway!!!

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