’48 States’ has an intriguing and original premise, a strong female lead and a powerful opening with short, crisp chapters, like well-done establishing shots plus some character-building close-ups. The world-building is low-key but threatening. I liked that there was a little bit of violence in the first chapter to get first blood out of the way and to establish the lawless nature of the Energy Territory and the toughness of River, our heroine.

For me, the book worked best when River was at the centre of the storytelling, which was about the first sixty per cent of the book. She felt real to me and I enjoyed seeing the world and the people in it through her eyes. She has the ex-army background, practical competence and solitary but tough personality that is de rigeur for any action hero about to take on impossible odds but she’s far from a cliché. She’s a mother and a widow and she’s had her life derailed more than once. She’s multilingual and escapes from the world into books. She’s a survivor, not a crusader and she has limited expectations of personal happiness.

I was convinced by the premise of the book. I could see a swing towards totalitarianism in the face of two large-scale terrorist attacks, one of which beheaded the government. Converting sparsely populated States into Territories to enable oil and gas extraction that would secure the USA’s energy needs is something I can easily imagine the fossil fuel lobby pushing hard for.

Where the book started to work less well for me was when the focus switched from River to the President of the United States. She was also a strong, well-drawn character who felt real to me but I struggled to believe that her principled, ‘I will defend the constitution of this great nation and restore and protect the democratic rights of its citizens’ stance would have stood much of a chance when confronted by a well-funded and well-organised kleptofascist movement led by a charismatic megalomaniac. Maybe that’s my problem rather than the book’s problem. Either way, I found the ending at best anticlimactic and at worst unbelievably optimistic.

The part that worked least well for me was the President’s big speech. Personally, I’ve never heard a speech by a President that I’ve found inspiring. I’m deeply suspicious of their intention and largely immune to their techniques, so the big speech was never going to be a highlight for me. I could see that the plot needed it and that it needed to be powerful, so I’d have let it pass if it hadn’t gone on so long and hadn’t included a poem and long quotations from Kennedy and Lincoln.

The final part of the book didn’t work for me. The action scenes were well done. The various reconciliations and happy-ever-afters went on too long, felt too neat and were accompanied by what felt like sermons on the nature of good government and healthy relationships.

Perhaps I’m just allergic to optimism. More positive readers, especially those with a patriotic bent, may find the ending deeply satisfying.

For the most part, I enjoyed ’48 States’ and I admired Evette Davis’ writing so, I’ve picked up her next book, ‘Woman King’ which kicks off a fantasy trilogy.