I wanted the characters to have a little more depth to them. This was just ok.

Well written, compelling story. Without giving too much away, I'll say the subject matter was very well handled. ( )

When Fire Splits the Sky tells the story of Maranda and Ben, a couple living in Juneau, Alaska, married a little more than a year, and who already are experiencing a troubled marriage. At the time Maranda realizes that Ben has cheated on her, an ill defined apocalyptic event occurs. Maranda tells Ben that she needs to go to Anchorage, a thousand miles away, but really doesn’t explain why. Ben elects to go with her, and they embark on a road trip through a hellish landscape, altered by this event. What follows is a remarkable story, but I don’t want to mention anything that may spoil the plot. Ben and Maranda initially both seem to be terribly mismatched, but we learn that Maranda is suffering from multiple personality disorder. As the book progresses, these personalities literally take on a life of their own. The writing is spare, and to the point. For me, this helped some of the tenser scenes be more effective, but I also feel that it kept me from sympathizing with both Ben and Maranda as the book went on. The author did bring the hellish landscapes to life. This is not a lighthearted read. The book is dark and at times graphically violent, and the themes of child sexual abuse and sexual trafficking become prominent towards the end of the novel. My thanks to LibraryThing and to Unsolicited Press for the chance to read an ARC of the book.