Forever, Cedar Key is a post-apocalyptic tale grounded in the small coastal town of Cedar Key, Florida, after a catastrophic nuclear event. It picks up after the events of Bobbitt’s earlier novel, Godspeed, Cedar Key, following a close-knit community that clings to survival and tradition in a crumbling world. The story centers on the return of the Colonel, an aging Marine pilot who has flown a dangerous mission to scout what remains of the outside world. His crash landing stirs up the fragile peace of a town rebuilt on hope, shrimp boils, and stubbornness. The book weaves together themes of love, loyalty, and what it means to fight for something that matters, all told through the lives of the residents who refuse to let their home slip into history.

The writing is raw, earnest, and deeply human. Bobbitt doesn’t pretty things up. He writes like someone who has felt loss in his bones and joy in the quiet moments between chaos. There’s something magnetic in the way he captures the rhythm of life on a broken island—tides still rising and falling, people still falling in love. The prose dances between lyrical and plainspoken. It’s a book that doesn’t try to impress with big vocabulary or flashy metaphors. Instead, it punches you in the gut with a well-placed line or a tender silence. I found myself slowing down to savor certain passages, then speeding up in anxious anticipation when tension crept in like a thunderstorm.

The ideas in the book are as weighty as they are timely. Bobbitt has something to say about leadership, community, and what we’re left with when the world we know falls apart. What struck me most was how the town of Cedar Key, while fictionalized, felt so real—like a place I could drive to, where I might meet someone like Luke or Kinsey or the Colonel at the pier. It’s clear Bobbitt loves this town and its people. And that love is infectious. The story also made me think about how fragile our comfort really is, and how grit and grace often rise up in the ruins.

Forever, Cedar Key is for readers who want more than action or spectacle in their end-of-the-world stories. This one’s for folks who care about characters, who enjoy sitting with hard questions, and who understand that healing is just as important as surviving. I’d recommend it to anyone who has ever felt rooted to a place, or who needs a reminder that even after the smoke clears, life has a way of blooming again.

Pages: 269 | ASIN : B0F5BQTMVX