Apocalypse Five is the first installment in a new young adult science fiction series that follows a team of space cadets forced to participate in simulations in preparation for saving the Earth in the event of an impending apocalypse. If you fail to survive these simulations, you die in the real world. If you die, you are replaced with another candidate. The team of superstars representing the most promising candidates is known as the A-5 team. The story is told from the point of view of Detroit, a strong willed, independent, kick ass young lady who leads the latest version of the elite A-5 team. This team consists of ginger twins Juneau and Reno, the love interest Houston, and the party boy riddled with teenage angst, Augusta. The simulations the team participates in provide a platform for describing the conditions of the Earth, which is essentially portrayed as a riddled wasteland populated with humanoids. Little does the team know how much the truth has been stretched. Detroit goes on a solo simulation and is given a glimpse of reality. In response, she gathers her team and heads for Earth. The trip to Earth just opened up a whole can of worms for the A-5 team. Questions are answered, conspiracies are uncovered, and new questions arise.
This was Ms. Rourke's first foray into the science fiction genre and I think she absolutely nailed it. There was the classic elements of science fiction with the advanced technology (androids, laser weapons, holograms) and evil sci fi villain. The concepts behind the technology weren't too over the top as can be found in some other books in this genre. Parts of it made think of the show The 100. Aside from the great homage to science fiction Ms. Rourke provided, I was also impressed with how she treated her characters. This wasn't one of those typical sci fi books with factions trying to blow each other up with space weapons chasing each other across the galaxy. There are layers to this story. Each A-5 team member brings their own unique personality traits and skillsets. While this book focused predominantly on Detroit, Ms. Rourke took the time to provide glimpses for the types of characters the other team members are intended to be. This should lay the groundwork for future installments in the series, which I am very much looking forward to.