This is an okay entry in the post-apocalyptic genre, but not really outstanding. The premise, of course, is that a supervolcano erupts from Yellowstone. We watch as the event unfolds and then follow the fate of California cop Colin and various members of his family, now scattered across the continent, as they go about their lives.
And that's the gripe. We can't get emotionally invested in these folks because they're not challenged. Except for Colin and Kelly, they're not particularly likeable folks either. They just kinda go about their lives with not too much inconvenience. Vanessa is in a refugee camp, which sucks, but the others are not doing so bad. Now, I know that major disasters in one part of the country (or world) don't always affect folks in other parts, so I might buy some of this. On the other hand, holy cow, Turtledove has just blown up about 4 states and scattered the population of a couple more, global winter is upon them, agriculture in the US has to be at least three-fourths gone - you'd think there would be some problems other than higher gas prices and a shortage of potatoes.
So it's readable - I finished it in a day - it's at least plausible, there are some interesting subplots to be continued, but not that engaging. I probably won't look for the sequel.

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Anyone familiar with Turtledove's novels knows that sometimes he takes a while to get to the meat of the conflicts and the way the conflicts affect the main characters. This novel is no different. I felt as if the whole purpose of the book was to set up the second two in the series. I, personally, have no problem with that sequence of events as I am a big fan of the author. Having family that live in the Yellowstone area and having just watched a Nat Geo show on the super-volcano that lies under Yellowstone made the reading a lot more enjoyable.

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By page 91, I was so tired of the endless jibber-jabber of the characters, that I quit reading the book. Nothing of any importance had happened yet. I kept waiting for a volcano to erupt, but every time I turned a page, I was disappointed. The main character, Colin, is okay, but his kids are useless. It was like reading a very bad soap opera, where you keep waiting for something to happen.

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The eruption happened. Then, nothing much of any consequence happened. People were still getting married, having kids, cop business as usual, a band still touring, completeing dissertations. It didn't feel very real. I was very disapointed. At the end of the book, a page advertised the sequel, not putting it on my wishlist.

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