Skylight ~ Review

SKYLIGHT: A Novel
By Kevin Hopkins

Breathe Deep.

While You Still Can....

It seemed like an ordinary night until Martin Fall's life was destroyed.  Losing his wife, daughter, and best friends within minutes of each other he is left with his daughter's best friend in his care.  How could the air have suddenly lost oxygen stability and become deadly?  The world is left wondering as the deaths mount. And Martin must come to terms with his loss in order to help save what is left of the world.

Nearly a year after the tragic loss of his wife and daughter, Martin is called upon to aid those who have survived.  Someone is attacking the few sources of power that remain and adding to the misery that the middle-class and those further down the societal ladder now call life.  Why would anyone try halt what little progress is being made in an attempt to find an alternate renewable energy source?  It is into this that Martin steps.

Caught between competing entities that are determined to control all sources of energy for their own gain, Martin must choose who is his enemy before he loses more friends and even his own life.  This is an exciting and page turning eco-thriller that will capture your attention until the final page.  Having lived among the downtrodden Martin has a unique perspective that allows him to focus on those who are truly living without while the wealthy and the ruling class continues on much as it had before the Catastrophe that cost millions of lives.

Skylight shifts between Martin's present and his past immediately before, during and after the Catastrophe.  We are offered a glimpse in how Martin was altered by his experience and how it is a testament to his character.  He truly is a champion to the downtrodden and yet he is willing to do what is necessary to do the greatest good, even if there is a cost involved that he doesn't necessarily want to pay - but the lives of the world are in the balance.

This is an intense page turner, but it doesn't sacrifice clean reading just to give you a thrill.  If you like profanity-free reading this is the book for you!

I was provided a copy of this book by SweetWater Books - an imprint of Cedar Fort, in exchange for my honest review and in conjunction with this blog tour.  All opinions expressed are my own.

One October night, millions died when the air suddenly became unbreathable. Miraculously left alive, Martin Fall journeys home to Los Angeles and watches as society collapses all around him, leaving him to pick up the pieces. But when he’s recruited for a dangerous mission, he must confront his tragic past to rescue a technology that could save the earth from destroying itself.

Meet the Author:
Kevin Hopkins is the director of energy and environmental research for The Communications Institute, a Los Angeles-based think tank. He previously served as director of the White House Office of Policy Information, where he advised the President of the United States on economic, energy, and environmental policy, and also was senior policy counsel to the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. He has published several books on U.S. economic and social policy, including “The Catastrophe Ahead” and “Poverty and Welfare Dependency,” and served for 20 years as a senior contributing editor to Business Week magazine. Skylight is his first novel.