Ashfall [Kindle Edition]

Mike Mullin (Author)

Book Description

Many visitors to Yellowstone National Park don’t realize that the boiling hot springs and spraying geysers are caused by an underlying supervolcano, so large that the caldera can only be seen by plane or satellite. And by some scientific measurements, it could be overdue for an eruption.

For Alex, being left alone for the weekend means having the freedom to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek to seach for his family and finds help in Darla, a travel partner he meets along the way. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This post-apocalyptic tale is one that combines reality with the stuff of nightmares, crawls under your skin, and forces you to question your own courage and survival instincts.”

— Marissa Meyer, author of Cinder

About the Author

Mike Mullin first discovered he could make money writing in sixth grade. His teacher, Mrs. Brannon, occasionally paid students for using unusual words. Mullin’s first sale as a writer earned ten cents for one word: tenacious.
Since then, he has always been involved with literature. One of his early jobs was shelving books at Central Library in Indianapolis. Later, he paid his way through graduate school in part by serving as a reference assistant. Mullin has worked in his mother’s business, Kids Ink Children’s Bookstore, for more than twenty years, serving at various times as a store manager, buyer, school and library salesperson, and marketing consultant.
He wrote his first novel in elementary school — Captain Poopy’s Sewer Adventures. He’s been writing more or less nonstop ever since, but fortunately for his readers, Ashfall will be his first published novel. 
He holds a black belt in Songahm Taekwondo. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and her three cats. Visit www.mikemullinauthor.com for more info about the author and Ashfall and its sequel, Ashen Winter.

Product Details

• File Size: 512 KB
• Print Length: 474 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1933718552
• Publisher: Tanglewood Press (October 14, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005TJNMV6
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,702 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #78 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mike Mullin would be the friend to keep by your side during the apocalypse! January 10, 2012

By Literary Meanderings

Format:Kindle Edition

Ah, I love a good apocalypse in the morning!

Alex, just your average teenage guy, is home alone for the weekend. He's just chillin' in his bedroom playing WoW when, all of a sudden he hears a massive crashing sound and the house practically caves in on itself. This is within the FIRST CHAPTER. To pretense here! Mike Mullin does not mess around!

A supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park has erupted, spiraling the world into darkness and chaos. Alex doesn't waste time in leaving to find his family. Only, they are over 100 miles away in Illinois. How will he ever make it there? He sets out on foot (and skis!) on a journey that changes his life forever.

It's a battle to survive. People are starving, freezing to death, getting stuck and trapped in their homes in the two and three feet of ash, and the snow on top of that. The ash and darkness isn't even the biggest issue at hand. There are people with guns around every corner. Then you have your looters, murderers, rapists and let's not forget the cannibals.

"For the first time ever, I felt ashamed of my species. The volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles, and our airplanes, but it hadn't taken our humanity. No, we'd given that up on our own."

Along the way Alex meets Darla. A strong willed, tough girl. At first she wants nothing more than to get him out of her home, but eventually they become as close as two people can get. After a couple of devastating events, they are forced back on the road. Together they endure a FEMA refugee camp where things are worse off than traveling alone on the road. Escape soon becomes their number one priority.

- - -

The numero uno thing I truly appreciated about Ashfall was how real it was. This isn't a paranormal book. It's about a natural disaster that alters everything about the way people live or die. Mullin describes the aftermath of the eruption in wonderful detail. The ashfall, the noise, the darkness, the weather changes, etc. It wasn't outrageous and it wasn't just for shock value. The survival tactics described were realistic and honestly, I found myself making mental notes for future reference! LOL It was FANTASTIC.

I fell in love with Alex and Darla. They were beautifully developed characters. They interacted together SO well. Their love was subtle and realistic. They didn't meet and instantly want to wrap their arms around each other and make-out. They actually fell in love at a real pace. This is something that is sorely lacking in YA novels. It was refreshing to finally read one where that was not so. Great job!

Random notes:

*This novel presses the Young Adult line a couple of times with a bit of cursing, gore, graphic violence, and sexual themes. Nothing too bad in my personal opinion, it's just real - but none the less, it pushes the envelope a bit.

* Mullin gives you a mini cliffhanger at the end of every single chapter! I literally could NOT stop reading. I was up well past bed time reading. Gotta love a book that does that to you. It seemed like such a long book before I began reading, but when I was finished I was so sad. I wanted more.

* I hate eating meat as it is, but this book pretty much ruined what minuscule bit of pleasure I had left when eating the occasional bit of meat.

* Taekwondo can be useful against a psychotic killer wielding a very sharp ax.

* Even when it seems all hope is lost, keep on trekkin'. Never give up.

This book went on my favorites list as soon as I finished it. I will be impatiently awaiting the second installment. If you like books that have anything to do with an apocalypse, you definitely need to read this!

33 of 41 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Review from a 5th Grade Teacher September 4, 2012

By Rosa Snapp

Format:Kindle Edition

I try to read some of the latest books out there before buying a hard copy for my classroom. I will definitely not be buying this one. While this book is very intriguing, I find it interesting that the book level is recommended for 12 years old and up. In my opinion, it is definitely intended for an older audience. I was appalled by the sexual and violent content. I wouldn't want my 12 year old kid to read this, nor do I think my middle school students are ready for a book like this. I understand that the violence is probably somewhat realistic to how things would be if we lived through a super volcano, but I still don't think middle school kids are ready for a book with this type of content. The reading level of this book probably is at 12 years old, but the recommended age should be high school and above.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Lost for Words October 1, 2011

By Cor Lost For Words

Format:Hardcover

Source: Received from Netgalley courtesy of the Teen Book Scene. Many thanks goes to Netgalley and the Teen Book Scene for sending me a copy of this book for review. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 5/5

What if your world turned upside down in the space of 24 hours? Nothing would be the same again. Would you be able to survive? This question runs rampant through Alex's mind as the world around him is obliterated by ash spewed from the supervolcano located 900 miles away in Yellowstone National Park. Left at home alone, he was enjoying the idea of having a weekend to himself while the rest of his family visited relatives a couple hours away. Within hours of their leaving, everything changes. Now all Alex can think about is getting to his family and he is going to have to travel over 100 miles to get to them. He doesn't know what is out there, or what anyone will do as the days and weeks pass by. His only goal is to make it to his family, but will he survive the journey?
I'm going to say this straight up. I don't think I can even begin to do this book justice in my review. It was absolutely mind-blowing and way too realistic, which makes the read all the more gripping. Alex is amazing. He is such an intriguing character, and he really steps up when everything around him changes in the blink of an eye. Disasters bring out the best and worst in people, and seeing how Alex reacted to every situation thrust upon him was both terrifying and realistic. Friendships formed in the most unlikely places, and it was kill or be killed in other situations. Mullin doesn't pull any punches. He puts Alex through the wringer and then some. We are there every step of the way, living through Alex vicariously, wondering if we would be able to do what he has to do to survive. Honestly, I couldn't tell you if I would be capable of doing some of the things he has to do. Yet through it all, Mullin doesn't delve into ridiculously gory details. Less is more, and that will resonate with readers, especially when certain acts of depravity rear their ugly heads.
His attention to detail, especially with regards to the aftermath of the volcano erupting, the landscape, and the diseases brought on by the volcano really show that Mullin put a lot of time and effort into researching before writing the book, and that paid off exponentially. We get an unscripted look into a disaster that could happen at any time, and Ashfall really makes you think. Would you be able to survive such a disaster? Would you be able to defend yourself and your loved ones from those looking to take everything from you?
Al in all, this book gave me chills, and it kept me up into the wee hours of the night as I absorbed every word. I couldn't help falling in love with Alex and Darla and cannot wait to read more of their story because this disaster is way too big for just one book. As much as I hate seeing the situations that Alex has thrust upon him, I can't wait to see what Mullin has in store for him next, especially since this is the start of a new and very uncertain future. This is an incredibly realistic, poignant and mesmerizing read. It should top everyone's reading list. It has made my top reads for the year, and I cannot wait to delve back into the haunting world Mullin has created.

More About the Author

Mike Mullin's first job was scraping the gum off the undersides of desks at his high school. From there, things went steadily downhill. He almost got fired by the owner of a bookstore due to his poor taste in earrings. He worked at a place that showed slides of poopy diapers during lunch (it did cut down on the cafeteria budget). The hazing process at the next company included eating live termites raised by the resident entomologist, so that didn't last long either. For a while Mike juggled bottles at a wine shop, sometimes to disastrous effect. Oh, and then there was the job where swarms of wasps occasionally tried to chase him off ladders. So he's really glad this writing thing seems to be working out.

Mike holds a black belt in Songahm Taekwondo. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and her three cats. ASHEN WINTER is his second novel. His debut, ASHFALL, was named one of the top five young adult novels of 2011 by National Public Radio, a Best Teen Book of 2011 by Kirkus Reviews, and a New Voices selection by the American Booksellers Association.

www.mikemullinauthor.com