The Darwin Elevator by Jason Hough

The Darwin Elevator had an interesting premise, and more than delivered on that premise. Set a couple hundred years into the future, aliens have approached the planet on three different occasions. They provided an amazing space elevator on their second approach, and a disease that nearly wiped out the entirely population on their last approach. Most of the humans either died instantly or turned into these hyper zombie type creatures when exposed to the virus, and only those near the space elevator are safe. Neil Platz, a billionaire businessman, was the first human to know about the alien contact and built a series of space stations in preparation. He suspects the aliens are making a fourth approach and enlists scientist Tania Sharma and scavenger, Skyler, to enact a plan to prepare for the alien incursion.



This was a terrific novel in many ways. The concept and ideas presented were thought provoking. The writing was tight. The flow was great. The two main characters, Sharma and Skyler, were strong characters and had good chemistry together on the page. There was a good buildup through the novel. It felt as if there were several different shifts in the story, starting off as an action adventure, then turning into a sci-fi novel, and then becoming a political thriller. There were lots of twists and turns, good conflict not only with the impending alien arrival but also with the human factions vying for power. This is a must read for anyone who likes sci-fi or post apocalyptic fiction.