Trooper #4 by Noah Chinn

Trooper #4 by Noah, Chinn 
Dystopian Novel

It's the end of the world – but not as we know it. A woman wakes up in a motel on the outskirts of a remote Oregon city with no memory who she is and a gun at her bedside. As she explores the world around her it seems that civilization has come to a violent end.

That’s bad.

It might also be the most normal thing that happens to her all week.

4 out of 5, here's why:

A woman awakens with a gun and a name badge and no memory of who the heck she was before this moment. She’s adaptable though, assumes the name Felice, and sets off to see what’s up.

What’s up isn’t anything good. Much of the world seems to have been burned to ashes and there are “screaming meemies” lurking about ready to suck the life out of you. Felice manages to find some food and a young boy who is also apparently suffering from amnesia. She takes it upon herself to protect him and to get to know him. I loved her then. How could you not?

So, you may be thinking this is just another post-apocalypse zombie-ish filled tale. Well, it is and it definitely is NOT. I know this makes no sense whatsoever but if I go into any sort of plot detail I’ll ruin it all for you and I’m not going to do that. I’ll only say that things take a unique turn and then another and though you may be confused here and there (or maybe that was just me) it all comes together in the end.

I love character focused books and Trooper #4 features a tough, smart and tenacious lead in Felice. She’s thrown into a confusing as hell situation and brings you right along with her as she tries to unravel everything that’s going on around her. She doesn’t sit around waiting for someone to save her or boo hoo about her situation. She digs in and figures things out on her own. She also has a snarky side which made me love her even more.

When someone gets overly complicated to show off how smart they may be she thinks:

“Tuned out the techno babble. Really, who needed it?”

And, this description? Tell me you’ve never thought something similar about someone? (If not, you’re a nicer person than I’ll ever be!)

“The smirk on her face. The kind you wanted to smack off with sandpaper.”

Again, how could I not love her?

I listened to this book as an unabridged audio and highly recommend it if you like a strong lead, twists, suspense and can deal with some plot confusion that gets cleared up. There’s nothing worse than a book that wraps up and leaves you confused, right? This isn’t that book. The story was expertly narrated by Barbara Benjamin-Creel . She has an almost musical voice that pulled me into the story from the very first scene. She does a beautiful job with Felice and the various other characters. I always knew who was who and she brought the scenes to life, something many a narrator fails to do, adding depth to the story.

I can easily recommend listening to Trooper #4 if you’re looking for something different.

PS, despite the title, this book is NOT #4 in a series so no worries there.

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