Nicholas Sansbury Smith is the king of apocalyptic story telling, with a portfolio of series that range from realistic to fantastic. This one definitely falls on the realistic side of the scale, so much so that classifying it as science fiction isn't exactly accurate. Ten years ago it might have felt pretty fictional, but in the current tribal political climate in the US it now feels way too possible. The US National Guard is rebranded as the American Military Patriots (AMP) and these federal troops are used to invade various states that are branded as rebels. The US Marines are blamed for some of the chaos going on in the country and before we know it, we have US troops fighting against each other on American soil. With infrastructure crumbling, the environment is ripe for gangs and crime families to prosper, and within this turmoil the Moretti family sets its sights on taking over the city of Los Angeles. With good cops fighting corrupt ones, Latino gangs fighting the mafia, and the marines fighting against AMP, Los Angeles becomes the battleground of an apocalyptic future.

Smith creates a world where remaining good and ethical has no place, and the characters within it are mostly dark ones. Family becomes top priority for many, and even that can take multiple forms. Don Antonio Moretti, head of the Moretti crime family, is ruthless with his enemies, and wants to establish a lasting legacy for his family. He is old school mafia from Naples, and we watch as he settle scores with old enemies and starts wars with new ones. Marine Sergeant Renaldo Salvatore will also do anything to protect his family, but he fights against those who take advantage of the chaos. He learned from his own father that to fight evil, you must sometimes do evil, and thus he struggles with his own dark side and his willingness to do whatever it takes to protect his wife and kids. These men are prominent figures in this new war, but we also experience how the next generation of fighters are being formed in Dominic, son of Renaldo, and Vinny, likely future head of the Moretti crime family. 

I found the story all too plausible, yet the characters themselves never grabbed me. So much of it is bad people doing bad things to other bad people that I was never invested in the outcomes. That being said, I didn't hate it and I do plan to move on further into the series to see if it grows on me.

Ray Porter is great as always and his narration of the audiobook version was excellent.