The Shadow Road is a post-apocalyptic thriller that weaves together fantasy and science fiction to form something delightfully new. The narrative follows the adventures of Cassie and Thomas, two teenagers who are left to fend largely for themselves in the wake of a civilization-destroying event. The world that they find themselves in is much different from the one of only a few months prior, filled with monsters of legend. Kirchmeier’s writing style is suspenseful and draws the reader into the story, and his characters are realistic so that they seem like companions to the reader along this journey. The author shows a deep knowledge of mythology and legend and works aspects of this into the tale, providing a richness of plot that is at the same time fresh and yet reminiscent of familiar legendary stories.
Review of an Advanced Reading Copy from the Publisher
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 11 religious exclamations; 34 mild profanities; 20 scataological words; 6 anatomical words; 3 religious profanities.
Note: Hell is mentioned as a place (not tallied). A few instances of the British usage of “bloody” (not tallied).
Violence/Gore: Characters threaten each other with weapons; a few reports of people killed by monsters; report of a person killed by drinking too much; a monster eats people (no gore described); a vehicle is destroyed in a wreck; characters find gore and severed body parts; report of buildings destroyed; a character is chased by a creature in a tense scene; painful injuries are described; a character is murdered in a bloody manner; a person’s blood is used in a magic spell; characters find many dead bodies; a few fights with bloody injury and death; a storm causes damage; a wild animal threatens a character; report of people cutting off other’s fingers; characters find buildings and vehicles that have been damaged; a fight with minor injury shown, as well as implied deaths; an animal stalks a character.
Sex/Nudity: Mention that a girl has a crush on a boy; a man and woman seem to be romantically interested in each other; teens are nervous a few times around people of the opposite gender that they have a crush on; teens flirt with each other; a teen boy and girl kiss.
Mature Subject Matter:
Death (parents, friends, family members); alcoholism (mentioned); terminal illness; bullying (reported).
Alcohol/Drug Use:
Report of an adult drinking beer; report of an adult smoking cigars; report of alcoholism.
