When the Dawn Breaks
A completely unputdownable post-apocalyptic survival thriller
Ratings1
Average rating5
The skies are burning and humanity is tearing itself apart. Emily Stark is a ray of hope in the darkness, fighting for survival, fighting for truth.
Amidst the corrosive clouds that shroud the globe, Emily is on a mission to reach the colossal machine that brought the skies crashing to earth. She has the power to destroy it, but her journey is fraught with danger.
The savage Outsiders patrol the poisonous, dark wilderness, hunting for any sign of life. As the acid air burns her skin, Emily can only stifle her screams. She must remain undetected. She must succeed in her mission.
Deep within the workings of the machine, Declan Chambers wakes from a nightmare to the gentle touch of his beloved Sammi. She is beautiful, vibrant, enchanting… but he vividly recalls burying her broken body just a few days before.
Utterly bewitched, he’s desperate to believe Sammi is real. As her belly swells with new life, she promises Declan the machine is not their enemy—it can grant them a life together, forever. But at what cost?
Clouds fall, the dead rise, and Emily has the fate of humanity in her hands. To return sunlight to the earth, she must destroy the machine. But will the sight of her resurrected sister, safe and happy, present a truly impossible choice?
When the Dawn Breaks is the electrifying finale of USA Today bestselling author B.R. Spangler’s Dark Skies Apocalypse duology. A completely gripping dystopian thriller that will leave you breathless, it’s perfect for fans of A.G. Riddle, Kyla Stone and Mike Kraus.
Series
Featured Series
2 primary books#2 in Dark Skies Apocalypse
Dark Skies Apocalypse is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2024 with contributions by B.R. Spangler.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
More Consistent Yet Less Grounded Storytelling Than Predecessor. When The Sky Falls, for all of its faults in rather clunkily combining two prior books into one, was a very grounded story of survival in both the immediate aftermath of an Apocalypse and several years later. Here, we continue not long after the events of Part 2 of When The Sky Falls leave off - indeed, seemingly just hours after the events of that book's finale.
And we wind up getting a far more consistent - if also much more fanciful - tale in this book. Without going *too* deep into spoiler territory, I'll say that some elements of the ending of When The Sky Falls are continued and continued quite effectively, but the newer elements of this tale are where it becomes far less grounded and much deeper into the realm of scifi than simply a post-Apocalyptic story. We get some versions of some answers to some questions, and we're left with a lot more questions... seemingly leaving room for Spangler to come back to this world, if the third time revising and rereleasing these stories is indeed the charm and sales truly increase such that this may be an option for him.
While When The Sky Falls had a few dusty rooms, this tale has a very different feel that taps into a very different but nearly equally visceral emotion - particularly in some more blatant moments. It is hard to describe this part while avoiding all spoilers, so I'll just leave it at that. I enjoyed this stretch and thought it well done, but admittedly it could be a bit much and perhaps a bit complex for some readers.
So come along for the ride and see what happens after the sky falls and when the dawn finally breaks. ;)
Very much recommended.
Originally posted at bookanon.com.
