Ruin’s Wake

A handful of strangers trudge through their individual, tedious quests before finally coming together in this pompous attempt at a novel of the dystopian future. Though several characters narrate, the one with the most page time is Cale, a former freedom fighter who has spent nine years in self-imposed exile after the death of his wife. He emerges when he receives news that his son has been gravely injured. Anyone who has ever seen an action film will recognize the strong, silent hero who has withdrawn to nurse his emotional scars and disillusionment, but despite the cliché, Cale is the most fully realized in a flat cast of stereotypes; these include an abused woman who takes risks for love and exists to be a sacrificial lamb, the frigid caricature of an autistic woman who is thawed by sex with the right guy, and the rebellion leader who becomes what he hates. The story is likewise predictable and crammed with unsurprising twists and coincidences that defy credibility. Readers of the dystopian subgenre will find this clumsy rendition both familiar and forgettable. (Mar.)