The Blackjack Trilogy Series by Shelley Singer

IT’S 2066 AND YOU CAN'T TRUST ANYBODY… Rica Marin’s a mercenary—a hired gun, soldier, and spy who answers only to whoever can keep her in the meds she and her only living relative need to survive the plagues that scourge the earth after biological warfare’s wiped out pretty much everything. It’s a strange world that’s left—composed of tiny city-states, like Redwood, Sierra, and Rocky—run with a variety of futuristic machines and broken down ones... moreIT’S 2066 AND YOU CAN'T TRUST ANYBODY… Rica Marin’s a mercenary—a hired gun, soldier, and spy who answers only to whoever can keep her in the meds she and her only living relative need to survive the plagues that scourge the earth after biological warfare’s wiped out pretty much everything. It’s a strange world that’s left—composed of tiny city-states, like Redwood, Sierra, and Rocky—run with a variety of futuristic machines and broken down ones. Fancy new cars float as well as roll, but the Internet’s now so glitchy you can't even blog properly—newspapers have come back! So many machines are so broken-down that a fixer in this world isn't someone who rigs elections or cleans up after murders—it’s a person who can repair both an elevator and an ancient toilet. But roving bands of bandits, godders, causies, breeders, khakis, and toxies threaten to destroy what’s just been fixed. A POST-APOCALYPTIC GUNSLINGER KICKS ASS Anywhere there are people—however few—there’ll be power plays, and Rica’s current job at the Blackjack Casino is to run interference between the warring clans of Tahoe, in tiny Sierra. But then Rocky gets ambitious. And that means war. On the one hand, Sierra’s ready; everybody’s got plenty of fancy laser weapons. On the other, the term “everybody” in this world, applies more to the kinds of numbers usually found in neighborhood gangs than opposing armies. Singer’s built an intriguing half-world resembling a medieval society equipped—and sometimes ill-equipped—with technology. In Rica she’s created a fascinating, complex character, who meets more like her in Sierra (all with the fashionable striped hair of the day). WHO WILL LIKE IT: Fans of post-apocalyptic thrillers and dystopian fiction. Think LEGEND for adults. less

FIRST, APOCALYPSE BY POISONING— NOW WAR IS ON THE WAY. In Shelley Singer’s second action-packed post-apocalyptic adventure starring kickass survivor and mercenary Rica Marin, war is at her loved ones’ doorstep—and Rica’s elected to unite the western states against the invaders. It’s 2066, a few decades after the dreaded Poisoning, and Rica’s world is full of bandits, terrorists, godders, and militias... moreFIRST, APOCALYPSE BY POISONING— NOW WAR IS ON THE WAY. In Shelley Singer’s second action-packed post-apocalyptic adventure starring kickass survivor and mercenary Rica Marin, war is at her loved ones’ doorstep—and Rica’s elected to unite the western states against the invaders. It’s 2066, a few decades after the dreaded Poisoning, and Rica’s world is full of bandits, terrorists, godders, and militias. Ever fearless, she’s working as a spy for the Coleman clan—arguably the most powerful family and casino in the salvaged city state of Sierra—headed up by the irresistibly elegant Jo, whose fierce will to protect her own borders drives her to action before anyone else sees what's coming. On assignment, Rica learns the fabled city of Reno, long thought to have been totally destroyed, is a literal smoke screen. Smoke encases the city to disguise what lies beneath: the Rockymountain army, gathering strength within Sierra’s own borders, all under the thumb of an invisible leader known only as “Bane.” And they could attack Sierra at any time. Torn between her allegiance to her home in Redwood and her work in Sierra, and between an old love and a new love, Rica embarks on a journey to try to unite Rockymountain’s enemies—in a world that doesn’t much trust allegiances—before time runs out. But Rica’s adventures aren’t all action and gore. While the circumstances of post-apocalyptic chaos and gritty violence means Rica must be hardened, at times ruthless, and always on-guard, she’s also very soft—loving and above all loyal. More than anyone, she puts family first—even before self-preservation. Shelley Singer’s futuristic vision of a world that’s both tech-savvy and falling apart, dangerous and still full of warmth is one of the series’ great charms, along with the competent yet caring Rica. Readers who love .A. G. Riddle, Octavia Butler, and Susan Kiernan-Lewis’ Irish End Games should come ride shotgun in Rica’s floater car—fans of women’s adventure fiction and post-apocalyptic thrillers, especially with female protagonists, will adore Rica and the Blackjack Trilogy. less