Plague Year has a star– the nanotech that destroyed civilization and has stranded everyone up on mountain peaks. The story starts more than a year later and is told from two points of view. Cam is a ski instructor who has compromised his morals to survive despite the lack of sustenance up above 10,000 feet, and Ruth is a scientist on the International Space Station. Both stories are well told, with compromised but still sympathetic characters. Sawyer’s subplot is interesting and knits the two experiences and lives together with interesting contrasts.
The ending is abrupt– the action stutters to an break point and we get a sentence to end this book set up for the next book, Plague War. I will probably read the sequel, but it isn’t a strong compulsion. I enjoyed it, but I suspect it isn’t one I’ll reread much.