Not a traditional post-apocalyptic thriller, 2020: A Novel by Frank McArthur, the first book in a projected trilogy, would more accurately be called “speculative fiction.” It is a vivid portrayal of today’s headlines—what happens when we run out of cheap oil?—and projects them to just a few years away—instead of some distant dystopia.The heart of this book is the intense drama of a young man facing such a devastated world—when any stranger may be a threat and no essential resource is readily available—where does he find food, water, companionship, and most importantly, reasons to go on living?The year is 2020. Fuel prices have soared and supply is sporadic at best. Rolling blackouts are common, plunging the United States into the darkness and desolation of a Fourth World country.But that was only the beginning. With gasoline becoming scarcer, the remnants of government have commandeered the small supply. Trucks can no longer deliver food and water pumps cease to run. Riots ensue and within weeks, the population has been decimated. Skye Langer and his best friend Cherry, both avid outdoorsmen, emerge from a two-month hiking expedition in Northern California and are faced with life-altering decisions in this new world order.The status of Skye’s family in Ohio pulls him eastward and he and Cherry part ways in California. Thus begins Skye’s harrowing journey.Evocative of such pillars of the genre like Stephen King’s The Stand, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and Margaret Atwood's Oryx & Crake and The Year of the Flood, 2020: Novel should establish Frank McArthur as a major new voice of the category.