The Earth is a changed place ever since it was overtaken by the Assembly through a powerful signal (called the Tone) that renders people completely under the Assembly's control. The Assembly is an alien race that has decimated the adult population, leaving only children and a few adults immune to the Tone to survive. Holt Hawkins is a survivor in this world but he's run afoul of a local group and he's hoping the bounty on Mira Toombs' head will provide him some protection. Unfortunately, his plan goes seriously awry when he also discovers a young girl named Zoey... and realizes that the Assembly is tracking Zoey. Will Holt and Mira learn to trust one another long enough to save both themselves and Zoey?

MIDNIGHT EARTH is the first book in the Conquered Earth series and wow, what a fantastic start it is! I instantly fell in love with the imagery of this bleak, dystopian world where alien machines are rampaging and gathering up humans to store in the all too mysterious Presidiums. I could easily envision the scenes of man versus machine with plasma shots being madly fired in all directions. What a great movie MIDNIGHT EARTH would be!

J. Barton Mitchell crafts multidimensional characters with Holt, Mira, Zoey, and even the dog, Max. In fact, Max practically steals the show at times despite being completely nonverbal. I like how we get inklings of the deeper secrets that each character is hiding and I can't wait to see where the various threads will take us in future books.

J. Barton Mitchell kicks this post-apocalyptic tale off in spectacular fashion. From the characters to the world building, every element works together beautifully to create a tale that is practically impossible to put down. Thankfully I already have the second book, The Severed Tower, on my shelves to read!