About the age, I think you are looking at it from a modern perspective, where age of consent is a hard 18. In pioneer times, just like in Napoleonic Law, 12 was the age of consent. And I also point you to Europe and some states in the US, where adult hood IS 18, but the age of consent is 16. You can engage in relations with someone under 18 as long as they are over 16.

This is how I viewed the world of ASASF. They still had hang overs from the society that came before, but like a true pioneer world, they were moving back to an understanding that in a harsh world, people grow up fast. David is only 17 at the end of the book, but his actions have made clear to the towns folk he is an adult, and no one gainsays him that right.

Because he is young, they want to make sure he is truly ready, but once they understand, they accept his adulthood.

I just understand that view point. Living as I do now in New Zealand where a bit of that pioneer spirit still lives, as long as the parent’s don’t feel thier child is being abused, we all accept relationships between 16 year olds and people in there 20s

Out of the Ashes (SF) – this sequel to A Strong and Sudden Thaw continues David and Callan's story, taking them far from sleepy Moline into new challenges, and new dangers. Status – draft complete, in revision.

Re. David’s being old enough to marry in his society, I thought that he was old enough to be expected to begin courting at sixteen, not necessarily old enough to marry immediately. And yeah, on the one hand there were signals that he was close to adulthood as far as the residents of Moline were concerened, but there were also signals to the contrary, like David’s complaints that he wasn’t viewed as a grown man, and the insinuation that Callan might have corrupted a child.

It was very much a coming-of-age story, and I suspect that was the reason Day didn’t make David older. Because if he really was an adult for all intents and purposes, why not just make the character eighteen or older? I felt the author wanted to have it both ways — have him adult enough for sex, but young enough for other things.

Rachel - I don’t know the publication status of the sequel but I too was very glad to see that the book was picked up by another publisher.

Cathy – The inconsistencies in the world building occurred to me, but I was caught up in the story enough not to care that much about them. I thought that wrapping up the romance but not everyhing else was a good way to set up a sequel, because if nothing had been wrapped up I would have been dissatisfied. I do agree though that it’s not a perfect book, though.

I did like the romance, and in general the idea of a post-apocalyptic Virginia was neat (probably because I live in central Virginia), and I agree that the characters were all 3-dimensional, with clear voices and personalities, which was a nice change from many other books.

I’m not sorry I read the book; it’s on my keeper shelf, and I’ll definitely read the sequel when its published, but I think for me it was a B+ for the romance and characters, and a C world-building and other issues.

(BTW, I know Iris turned out to be shady and cheated Day out of her earnings, but I really did love the cover on their edition; it’s what drew me to the book in the first place.)

I think David’s maturity is somewhat addressed by the fact that it is clear that due to the harsh circumstances in which the characters live – following the apocalypse -children become adult much sooner. And that if David hadn’t ended up with Callan, he was expected to marry the girl from town.

This is one of the books I’d recommend for anyone thinking of trying out a m/m book. The love scenes whilst erotic and beautifully written aren’t graphic.