I 
read for different reasons, but when a book makes me think and wonder “what if?” well my imagination takes all kinds of crazy twists and turns. After reading the first four books in Joss Ware’s series the Envy Chronicles my imagination has definitely run away with me. The series is about five men who in 2010 fall asleep for 50 years and awaken to a post-apocalyptic world where NO THING is as it was. They’ve awakened to a world where everything they’ve ever known is gone and find a civilization that is trying to survive and re-invent itself. And to that I say – when the end of the world comes – please let me die. Seriously, when the end comes I better be one of those people who don’t make it. I have my reasons and they vary from the significant to the mundane.
When/ if the end comes, I of course would be devastated by the senseless loss of life and miss the people I love; and after the initial shock wore off I’d be freaked out and wonder how to survive. Let’s face it, I get my food from the local Stop and Shop, I get my news from the internet and TV, I get my entertainment from the book store, the theater, and DVD’s, and sometimes I even get on a plane, train or in a car and go on vacation. If I lived in the post-apocalyptic world that Joss Ware has created I’d be growing my own food, trying to find a 
place to sleep and living in a small community where the people make up the rules as they go along.
As I sit down to my computer to write this I wonder about my life. There are times when I long for a simpler way, particularly when I’ve got deadlines and a myriad of responsibilities to attend to. However, when I really think about it, if I had to live without my computer; if I couldn’t reach my friends and family at a moment’s notice through email, Skype or my iPhone; if blow dryers, make-up and tampons were a thing of the past; if I couldn’t re-heat leftovers in my microwave or drive to the nearest grocery store or even take an aspirin for a headache, and my day to day existence was all about survival, I’m not sure that would fulfill my longing for a simpler life. Let’s face it, I’m a spoiled woman of the 21st Century and I do take the conveniences of the modern world for granted. There are some things I could live without. I could certainly live without skinny jeans, Dr. Phil, textspeak, weight loss programs, pillow tags that say do not remove, and the constant wondering if Brad and Angelina will finally get married. I could definitely live without the worries of property taxes, health care reform and nuclear proliferation. 
But let’s say the worst did happen and I did survive, well that would mean being a part of creating a new world. I’m not sure I’d be up for the task. Where would I start? I know for certain that life is not like the TV shows I watch or the books I read. I’ve always thought that if I got stranded on an island or survived the apocalypse my fellow survivors wouldn’t be
Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, Robert Pattinson or Julia Roberts. No, my fellow survivors would most likely be my crazy next door neighbor who plays his music way too loud at 3 a.m., and the woman on the second floor with five yapping poodles who bite anyone coming within three feet of them (oh yes the dogs would survive), and the nice older gentleman who is allergic to dogs. This motley crew and I would have to find a way to not only survive but thrive. The very thought sends shivers down my spine, and the thoughts just spiral out of control from there.
This is what Joss Ware's series the Envy Chronicles did to me. It made me think and sent my imagination into a hundred different often disparate directions. Ms. Ware can write. The world she has created is intense, creative and thought provoking; and although the series scares the bejessus out of me because it took my mind in directions I hadn’t previously pondered, I’m hooked. Yes, 
it’s a romance and in each book she gives you a great romantic tale with a hero and heroine you can embrace, but for me it’s the world she has created that continues to intrigue and entice me. With all four books, Beyond the Night, Embrace the Night Eternal, Abandon the Night and Night Betrayed, you’re in for an amazing adventure because Ms. Ware is a gifted storyteller.
dhaupt
on
Marisa, you're a fighter, and okay so we all get our food from McDonalds whatever. the sense of survival is pretty big in the human equation. So you really don't want to go there?
Because according to the Mayan Calendar you've got a little less than two years. 
Deb
