So, I’m walking through an airport a few weeks ago, right at the height of the Hunger Games hype, and a book cover caught my eye.

I had read the HG books a year ago when a teacher friend gave me some sci-fi/fantasy recommendations, and like most everyone else I read them back-to-back-to-back in virtually one sitting.  Me in the Stratolounger, cans of Diet Coke scattered about, Doritos dust smearing the buttons of my Kindle.  “Just a couple more pages, honey. Seriously . . .”

Which means that while most others were reading the real books in prep for the movie, I’d already been there-done that and needed at least something even vaguely reminiscent of a Katniss fix to tide me over until HG movie D-Day.  And this one looked promising.  Just before boarding my flight I downloaded it to my Kindle and began reading soon after the 10,000-foot chime.  And yeah, I was hooked after a couple of paragraphs.

Here’s my in-a-nutshell no-spoiler summary:

Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, teenager Saba sets off in epic pursuit of the four cloaked horsemen who kidnapped her twin brother.  Trouble ensues.  She’s a clever survivor with a wicked temper, a pesky little sister, and an awesome pet crow named Nero.  Add in some daunting monsters, lots of battles — both mano-a-mano and gango-a-gango — plus an enigmatic love hunk and some really evil bad guys, not to mention an opportunity to alter the path of history, and Blood Red Road touches all the we’ve-got-a-winner fantasy bases with dexterity and even a satisfying level of originality.

One tiny element I LOVED — in addition to the crow — was the patient and minimal pre-apocalypse artifact tease.  Author Moira Young could have easily overdone that and I appreciate her restraint.

Saba’s a keeper and so is this first in the Dust Lands series.  I’ve already pre-ordered the sequel, Rebel Heart, coming out in late October.  If you’re into this sort of read, I say check it out.

Just a thought.