Category Archives: Apocalyptic

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Fighting to Survive

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Fighting to Survive by Rhiannon Frater   Fighting to Survive (As The World Dies, #2)
by Rhiannon Frater

 

This gets 3.5 for keeping my interest and having women at the front of all the action. Katie and Jennie are great. Zombie novels have become so numerous that it can be hard to find a good one in among all the hastily thrown out work. This series is definitely one of the good ones. Not only do you have two kick ass heroines you get a third for free. Nyreet is 60’s and a former Israeli Army sniper, she has the mind set needed in a situation like this and they are not afraid to use her expertise.

The fort, as they come to call it, has been bringing in more refugees and requires more room so they finally decide to clear out the hotel. This is not something that can be done easily or without loss of life , but they have no choice. In the midst of simple survival they are threatened by not only the dead but also the living. A gang has been attacking survivors and taking what they want, including women and young girls. Though they are known to those in the fort because they had killed Nyreets husband, it seems they are getting closer to them. There are those in the fort who do not like the status quo as it is and want changes made, even if they impact negatively. There is infighting among the survivors for actions taken that were necessary to ensure the safety of all. Just when things were starting to look up, they all start to spiral out of control.

There are some good zombie kills, great action scenes, and good characters. The writing is great and flows from scene to scene in a way that makes you want to continue long after you should stop reading.

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The End

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The End - Visions of ApocalypseThe End – Visions of Apocalypse by N.E. White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this anthology which consists of twelve tales of the world ending you can find apocalypse scenarios of various type. Computer viruses run amok, unknown menaces from space taking out the planet, or the ever popular infection of the human race. The stories are all fairly short which makes for a relatively quick and enjoyable read.

While all of the stories were well written, even if you had no idea of how the end came about, there were four that made me like this more than I might have otherwise.

The most fun for me was Empty Nest, Mother Nature (the planet) decides that she should speak to someone in charge about her future plans for the Earth. You can imagine the scramble as everyone around the world wants to be the person that actually gets to converse with our home. Not so much an apocalypse but earth moving at least.

Burning Alexandria was more of a claustrophobic story than apocalyptic because the action all takes place within a home. All we know about the outside world is that it is cold and heat needs to be generated. This is about one man but does not say how the world fell apart.

The love story in Silver Sky seems to be the main focus while the impending end of the world is secondary. But at least we get to know what is going to happen to cause the planet to end. As with most shorts you don’t really get a chance to like or dislike the characters before it ends.

Finally, Julia’s Garden has a group of scientists hold up and trying to find a cure for a peril they created. They are all going slowly crazy as they wait for the end.

If you like end of the world plots then this is a good place to get a fix and not a zombie in sight.

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First Days

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The First Days (As the World Dies, #1)The First Days by Rhiannon Frater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First things first, I’m giving this 4 1/2 stars for the narrator as well as content. The narration was fantastic and added to the feel of the action by giving a voice to the characters.

Going into this I had no idea what to expect but I have to say that it was a pleasant surprise. Instead of the usual male hero we have two women who are strong, capable, and do not require rescuing by a man. In fact they do a lot of the rescuing themselves of the male characters.

The action starts on what is expected to be a typical weekday morning. Katie is heading into work (she is a prosecuting attorney) when she is attacked and saved by a man who is himself killed. She returns home to find the worst has happened and speeds away and becomes lost. She spots Jenni (an abused housewife) running out of her home being chased by her young zombie son and takes her into the truck she is driving. They head off not knowing where they are going but determined to survive what is happening in their town and around the country.

The bond between these women is strong but it is tested when they reach a final safe haven by a man they both want. So there will also be a measure of romance/lust injected. It is not however distracting to the main plot, which is the zombie apocalypse.

If you want strong female leads who do not faint at the sight of blood and gore, this is the place to look.

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Killer Plants

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The Day of the TriffidsThe Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Triffids are actually a side concern in this book. While they are a threat to those involved, they are also just a nuisance. The story is about people and how they react and or cope with a disaster that could not be anticipated.

The Triffids have spread around the world and nobody knows where they came from. The best thing about them is they secret and oil that is profitable, the worst is that they are able to use their roots to actually walk and use a stinger to release a poison when they strike someone.

We then have the earth pass through a comet tail which creates a meteor shower that is viewed by people around the world. The next day those who saw it are blind.

The story follows those who are sighted and what they endure trying to survive in a world that is fast falling into chaos. Roaming gangs of the sighted, blind people being used as slaves, and the triffids taking advantage of the situation.

There are no major scares or high emotion, just good story telling.

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Swan Song

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Swan SongSwan Song by Robert R. McCammon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book takes you on an epic journey as we follow Swan, a child who has an extraordinary power within her and her guardian Josh (black Frankenstein)as they travel the country after a nuclear war. Along the way they run into people both dangerous and helpful who make their lives more enriched. In each state their are survivors and they are moving toward something they can’t understand. In New York we meet a homeless woman who is called Sister Creep she survives the blast and finds a wondrous piece of glass in the burned out hulk of a jewelry store on 5th Ave which gives her hope for the future. Under a mountain in Idaho a young boy survives and becomes twisted by his association with a military leader after the lights go out and things fall apart, starting a quest to destroy and conquer.

This is a story of good and evil in the aftermath of a world changing event. The big difference is that you can spot both after a transformation that none expected.

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