Checkpoint by Daniel Scuderi is a spellbinding, beautifully written story that puts the reader in a dreamlike world. The surrealism in the writing is exacting, but it doesn’t fail to appeal to the finest of human sentiments, exploring themes of friendship and love, survival, and death. Readers encounter young characters whose lives are quickly disrupted by an impending threat. Can they survive the chaos that looms ahead? Can Chris Brennan stay close to the woman who occupies a special place in his heart, Camilla Roy?

This is a highly descriptive narrative. At the start, the reader thinks the protagonist is delusional, following a girl who changes her color every time he comes closer to her. But this style of writing captures the world of an infatuated teenager. The narrative is suspenseful and the use of religious symbolism is striking. One example is the protagonist’s encounter with the snake slithering over the tree’s branch, holding the apple, watching them play. There is the feel of the replay of the Genesis story, only it has a beautiful twist to it. The drama is strong and the characters leap off the pages with life. The story is told in the first-person narrative, and in a strong voice. Daniel Scuderi has an evocative style of writing that will arrest anyone’s attention. Checkpoint is conflict-driven, a story with memorable characters and a world that feels so strangely familiar, the world between dreaming and wakefulness.

Checkpoint is a work of thriller fiction with speculative, post-apocalyptic and surrealist elements, and was penned by author Daniel Scuderi. With explicit language, mild sexual situations and graphic violence throughout, the book is best read by adults and mature young adults at the upper end of the age spectrum. Our protagonist and narrator is Chris Brennan, a suspicious figure who finds himself in a town stuck amongst the remnants of what seems to be a global outbreak of war. As reality falters and the fight for survival intensifies, Chris and the other central characters are forced to face poignant questions about creation, reality and the world that awaits them now.

Author Daniel Scuderi has created a thrilling psychological work that rockets through a fascinating plot and will be sure to leave readers with many questions to puzzle out long after they put the book down. My religious knowledge is not extensive, but I did pick out the interesting parallels between this novel and the Book of Genesis, where the author plays with the idea of creation and destruction and what that now means to us in a very modern, human sense. The narration is nail-biting and well crafted, as Scuderi uses a genuinely unreliable voice in the quick-to-move and difficult-to-fathom Chris Brennan. This adds to the disjointed and surreal feeling of the work as a whole, and it is this knife-edge of reality which the narrative hinges on to give it its impact at the end. Overall, Checkpoint is a fascinating read that anyone seeking a truly unique perspective on post-apocalyptic drama will enjoy very much.

Checkpoint by Daniel Scuderi is a suspenseful thriller in which a young man named Chris is living in almost a dream-like state but the illusion shatters when his world comes crashing down. Chris isn’t sure what to do with his life, but he is sure that he loves Camilla. He found her when he was in the most agonizing pain and she swooped in like an angel to save him. Chris, Camilla, Alex, and Nicole were living in their own bubble when everything was turned upside down. Suddenly nothing made sense, their once perfect life was destroyed as the world around them came crashing down. Their school was attacked by “soldiers” who seemed to be doing the Lord’s work. Chris has to think of something to protect Camilla and get out of this mess alive. But before he can do that, he has to understand what is really going on.

Checkpoint by Daniel Scuderi is a complex story, one that will make you want to read on and try to understand what is going on. Author Daniel Scuderi has laid out some amazing imagery from the very beginning; he describes Chris’s imagination and dreams very vividly and allows the reader to get lost in his world. Chris is your typical teenager at the beginning of the story, but as the story progresses, you will see how he matures, changes and develops into a man who has seen death right in front of him. The first person narrative is actually very interesting and the author handled it really well. The tension was thick as the story progressed, it made me sit on the edge of my seat and hold my breath. I enjoyed how the chapter names foreshadowed what was going to happen next and it felt incredible. This is a really good story and I enjoyed it very much.