The surface has always been forbidden, said to be poisoned by the old world’s mistakes. After an earthquake rips through the underground mountain colony of New Appalachia, whispers spread of secrets buried deeper than bedrock, and truths the government can’t afford to let surface. As order frays and pressure builds, four lives begin to intersect: an addicted surgeon, a traumatized soldier, a teenage boy, and a young woman unsure of her place in this world. Each carries a spark the colony never meant to light. The Shattering is a post-apocalyptic novel. For fans of Wool and Station Eleven, this is the beginning of the end.