Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940046259575 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | CK Printworks |
| Publication date: | 09/03/2014 |
| Series: | The Survivors , #1 |
| Sold by: | Draft2Digital |
| Format: | NOOK Book |
| Sales rank: | 108,400 |
| File size: | 679 KB |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
The Survivors Book I: Summer
4 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
8 reviews.
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This book was not my normal genre of books, but I liked it very much. It is a post apocalyptic zombie story. It was a sound story line that was not like other zombie stories I have heard of. The characters were well written and the relationships between them flowed. You get to know them very well.
The only warning I will give is that it's a series and this book will not stand alone. There is a cliff hanger and you will want to get to the next book quickly (that really isn’t a bad thing right)?
I personally look forward to seeing what the new world holds for Sandy and all the other survivors.
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A Layered, Touching, Powerful Story of Humanity and Survival!
I received this eARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The Rundown:
In 2013, Ebola-X decimated the human population, presumably worldwide.
After losing her father and sister, her mother and grandmother, Sandy's left to live on her own at the young age of eighteen. After weeks of solitude, she ventures out of the secluded beach house where she buried her family, seeking desperately needed food and provisions.
This story starts ten years later in Ohaupo, New Zealand.
Sandy, one of the immune, has survived the apocalypse, the fall of humanity and even barbarous human acts over the last ten years, ever since a deadly virus stamped-out most of the worlds population and turned the majority of society into zombies. The world is a much different place and the small portion of civilization who remain due to an immunity, are no longer governed by the laws and rules once enforced, now washed out of existence.
Escaping horrific circumstances, Sandy has decided being alone is the way she wants to live out her days. So scavenging, hunting and pilfering from one town to the next until supplies run out, keeps her days busy and though her life isn't a good one or even a fulfilling one, she prefers the loneliness to the barbaric humanity thats scorned her.
That is until an accident sends her out of her hiding place and she meets a small group of people who revive her faith and hope as they hold civility close and exhibit a human kindness she thought long dead.
The Review:
I love a good zombie versus human story, especially when the story is character driven and the zombies aren't brain starved, staggering corpses. V.L. Dreyer gives us that in this thrilling, sometimes scary, most of the time intense, and always entertaining read. I was warned by the author before starting this read that it was still in the editing stages and I have to say, if this is the unfinished product, color me seriously impressed. The writing was descriptive and flowed well, completely immersing me in the desolate, lonely world this author creates. It isn't bright and pretty, it isn't pleasant nor fun. This world is dark, dreary and grim yet when Sandy meets up with the rest of the cast, friendships and companionship is formed amongst the rubble of a once flourishing civilization. Its beautiful and wondrous to see humanity strive for life, holding tight hope, even after such hopeless defeat.
The Story...
We spend the first hundred pages alone with Sandy as she navigates through town and collects provision, but we are never bored. Through the use of internal thoughts, memory flashbacks and one persistent kitten, the author fills those pages with a graphic, daring story of isolation and dismal loneliness as Sandy tracks through deserted streets, buildings and a town no longer thriving as it once had. I could clearly picture the vacuity of her surroundings and I didn't need a constant interaction with other characters to fill the void. The author does a brilliant job delivering this. When an accident forces Sandy from seclusion and other characters are introduced, a precarious journey of survival begins along with the trials of a small group cultivating a future and re-gaining civilization.
The Zombies...
I really liked the authors take on the zombies in her story. They were unintelligent, unaware and for the most part, non threatening. If they were kind or monstrous in life, they were docile or fiendish after infected. Though we only really met one zombie pre-mutation, we get the impression they just roamed aimlessly without much cerebral function. What could be more terrifying than a human with no cognitive thought, being nothing more than a rotting shell, trapped and unable to feel emotions or to look at things you once loved and have no recognition at all?
The mutated zombies, thats what!! Scare-eeeeeee!
As if a virus wiping out most of the human populous wasn't enough, now the virus has altered and turned sometimes dangerous zombies into mutated, horrifying cannibalistic monsters who seem to have an intelligence their predecessors don't.
Oh, and crazed, rotting, rampaging pigs! Run!!!
The Humans...
I loved all the characters. The doctor, the child, the pregnant young woman and her fiance as well as the Maori survivors we meet later on but I especially loved Sandy and Michael.
Sandy was seriously haunted and broken after the harrowing events of her past, and rightly so. But she's independent, strong and brave. When she meets up with the other characters, she becomes this loyal, fierce leader who, along with Michael, lead their small band to greener pastures. She's a true fighter and her intelligence and common sense keep the family moving forward. I liked that she wasn't just someone to protect but did the protecting.
Michael and Sandy's romance was a sweet reprieve from the intense danger of the world around them. I really liked Michael and his need to protect the people he feels are now his charges. I do have to say though that he seemed much younger than his thirty-two years and less war-hardened than I would have thought given he's spent the last ten years surviving the apocalypse.
The Wrap Up:
This book gives the reader a constantly changing range of emotions to experience. From loneliness, to fear, from sadness, to happiness, to nervousness, the story never falters from entertaining. I can't wait for others to read this book and see their reviews! And I'm excited to see what happens next, in book two, The Survivors Book II: Autumn (The Survivors, #2), considering the cliffy we are left with.
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Great read. Can't wait for the next book in the series.
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10 years after apocalypse and still the power grid is working? Water and toilets work? New Zealand must know something I don't.
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This was such an amazing story! I don't get many chances to read many books that are set in New Zealand. So learning about the culture and the people were just as exciting as the story itself. This story made me laugh out loud, shed a tear, and kept me completely captivated throughout. We get a glimpse of what life was like before the disease takes New Zealand, in Sandy's flashbacks. We get a small glimpse into her life the 10 years after as well. She craves human contact, but afraid of being hurt and not just emotionally. If you want to read an amazing zombie apocalypse book don't you dare miss out on this!! Dreyer's writing is amazing and I can't wait to read the next book!!
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Finally, the Zombie Apocalypse story I've been waiting to read!! This is an incredibly well written story that is not all about slashing zombies to live. There are zombies, and zombies as you have never seen before, very awesome, creepy and scary. But they do not take center stage and overpower the story for once. This amazing book follows the emotional journey of a young teen into her adulthood showing HOW she survives. What she endures, encounters, the real nitty gritty of what would happen next that is lacking in most apocalyptic tales. There is a realism in the characters in the book that is so often lost in apocalyptic storytelling. This girl/woman is not a superhero nor does she have paranormal powers. She is a real, believable quirky 'heroine' made strong through her having to face the end of the world as a high school senior and grow up or die. It was very easy to become emotionally invested in this story. I admit, I do not remember having ever cried so much in a zombie book before. This story has something that will appeal to all readers, not just fans of zombies, there is true drama, some romance, thrills, terror and of course the apocalypse. This book has become one of two Apocalypse books that are my favorites.
I cannot wait for the next installments to come out !
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