Them

"Underneath it all was a ripple of realization that old Uncle Sam has finally found himself outmatched and outgunned. It was the first time humanity had ever encountered a problem for which it saw no solution, beating climate change to the punch by about seventy years. People waited for soldiers and salvation, gunslingers and Jesus, but all they got were ghosts and gore." I really enjoyed W.H. Chizmar's co-authored book with Richard Chizmar, Widow's Point, so I was very curious to see what his solo debut would bring. All I knew upon diving into "Them" was that there would be aliens and a post apocalyptic earth. What I was wholly unprepared for was such a heartfelt story about humanity AND aliens. We are following an unnamed man's recounting of what led to the fall of humanity due to a failed top-secret government experiment called "Project Artemis" and another man's journey of trying to survive in the hell-scape that is now Earth. I loved the format of these POV's and the character anonymity until nearly the end of the story. Chizmar used such lyrical prose that made me feel hope and empathy for man and alien in the midst of such an isolating and dreadful atmosphere. This story begs the question of are we as humans the real monsters and what happens to earth when we're not "invading" any longer? Thank you to Gallery Books & W.H. Chizmar for the ARC!