[TKO Chronicles 01] • Embers in the Chaos

A major earthquake in New Zealand has long been anticipated. But it comes from an unexpected quarter, spelling the fall of civilisations worldwide. An asteroid takes astronomers by surprise, coming from above the plane of the ecliptic and breaking apart, striking the Northern hemisphere in three major impacts. The ensuing firestorms, air pressure waves, and seismic waves inflict unprecedented damage. Even in far off New Zealand this triggers earthquakes and volcanic activity with mass casualties.

Peadair Walker heads an organisation that provides combat and military engineering support in trouble spots worldwide. Returning to his base in the Hutt Valley, after the first earthquake has flattened Wellington city, he learns that this has been a worldwide phenomenon. Foreseeing the downfall of urban civilisation, he organises his staff for a migration to farmland on the Wairarapa plains. However, his head of Security, Aaron Bryant, feels impelled to walk to Wellington city in search of his wife and small son.

Russell Smith, Captain of a local Chapter of the Hell Hounds motorcycle club, is shaken awake after a hard night’s drinking. Soon, he too recognises the implications for survival and organises his group for a mass exodus, pillaging for provisions along the way.

Marcia Porter and her flatmate David are university students in Wellington. They flee the smoking city on bicycles and make somewhat better time than those migrating on foot.

Their paths cross in various ways, and the ensuing power struggles lead to an escalating series of conflicts as each group strives to ensure their long-term survival. This story is one record of the effects of a global catastrophe. A gritty, switched-on first novel, it is often violent and uncompromising, but always highly authentic, literate and witty.