I have to admit that "Iron Mike" is not at all what I expected.Because of its subtitle - "A Boy. A Dog. The End of the World" - I had a vague idea that it would be somewhat like Harlan Ellison's famous "A Boy and His Dog."It isn't.It is, instead, far richer in both plot and narrative than Ellison's apocalyptic novella. Author Patricia Rose has laced "Iron Mike" with some sharp commentary about the arrogance of technologically superior societies when they come into contact with those they consider more primitive and some equally sharp observations about the willingness of politicians to sidestep not just protocol but also the law in favor of profits over people.At first glance, the plot seems fairly straightforward. An advanced alien race attacks Earth, intending to colonize it as a gigantic farm. In the first few days of the invasion billions of humans and most animal life perishes. Small groups of survivors scramble for safety and what remains of the military attempts to fight back.Rose, however, throws a few interesting twists into that plot. I'm not going to spoil the experience for those who have not yet read this excellent science fiction novel by delving too deeply into it but I will say that some of the characters experience crises of conscience during the fighting, which leads to some unexpected turns in the narrative.Rose has taken an interesting approach in that narrative. "Iron Mike" is told from multiple points of view and not all of the characters with a voice in this story are human. It's a risky approach because it requires the author to repeatedly shift perspective and tone but Rose has, in my opinion, found a way to do that skillfully. The result is an entertaining read that is surprisingly easy to navigate. She also does not slow her narrative down with minutiae or information dumps but, instead, gives her readers the right amount of detail to put the action and her characters into context.As all good novels do, "Iron Mike" asks its readers to think about important issues ranging from the appropriateness of vengeance to the challenges facing leadership in a time of crisis. It asks readers to consider, for example, what constitutes the greater good as well as the importance of maintaining a civil society in the face of disaster.Although Rose has injected humor and a little romance into "Iron Mike" this is not always an easy novel to read. As in all wars, people die and there are always those who will take advantage of the weak. Rose does not flinch away from those realities but meets them head-on with strong prose.The verdict: A really interesting plot combined with strong writing and intriguing characters makes "Iron Mike" a 5-star read.