Anarchy by Megan DeVos

Anarchy by Megan DeVos
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days

Pages - 396

Publisher - Orion books

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads


The world is different now. There are no rules, no governments and no guarantees that you will be saved . . .Rival factions have taken over, fighting each other for survival with no loyalty to anyone but their own. At twenty-one, Hayden has taken over Blackwing and is one of the youngest leaders in the area. In protecting his camp from starvation, raids from other actions and the threat of being kidnapped, he has enough to worry about before he finds Grace. The daughter of the head of the rival camp, Greystone, Grace is slow to trust anyone-much less the leader of those she has been trained to kill . . .This is danger. This is chaos. This is anarchy . . .


My Review

A bit The Walking Dead (minus zombies) with a vibe of Romeo and Juliet. So the world is toast and we have small communities of survivors that have their own place (hence the Walking Dead vibes, Alexandria, The Governors place etc). To survive they raid the other communities and head into town, they do what they need to. When Hayden is caught raiding Greystone, instead of being shot on the spot his and anothers life is spared by Grace. Hayden has principles and loyalty so when he sees the chance to repay the favour he saves Grace. She can never go home and must stay in Blackwing. This follows their time in the before, how they meet and everything that follows after.

So natural enemies, teens, natural draw to each other you get the picture. Hayden is the leader of Blackwing so very selfless and aloof. Grace needs to stay with him as she is the natural enemy so not safe in Blackwing but can't be allowed to go home. Forced proximity, readjustment and we get glimpses of the before the world came to be like this.

One thing I noticed was a lot of breath mentioned, took a breath in, let a breath out, inhaled a sharp breath. I didn't count but it was more than a few times and I noticed it, meh! A bit Romeo and Juliette, limited resources, danger coming from just about every field. Survivalism, mixed emotions, danger on almost every corner, 3/5 for me. It is book one so will see how we go.

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A Savage Generation by David Tallerman

A Savage Generation by David Tallerman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 352

Publisher - Flame Tree Press

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Sickness is ravaging America, driving the infected to savagery. Petty criminal Ben Silensky is determined to get his girlfriend Carlita and son Kyle free of the quarantined city they live in, enough so to risk a foolhardy crime and then to team up with Carlita's equally desperate cop cousin Nando. Once they're out, Nando is certain they'll find a place in the open prison where his uncle works, unbeknownst to him already become a survivalist colony named Funland under the management of entrepreneurial convict Plan John. In Funland itself, guard Doyle Johnson is shocked when his ex-wife abandons his son Austin into his care. Fearing the vulnerable position he's been placed in, he recruits the help of Katherine Aaronovich, the former prison's doctor. But Aaronovich's traumatic past has left her with vulnerabilities of her own, along with radical theories on the nature of the epidemic that will place all their lives in jeopardy. As the last vestiges of civilisation crumble, Funland may prove to be the safest or the most dangerous of places, depending on who comes out on top - and what can't be held together will inevitably be torn apart. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.


My Review

A city under quarentine, the "sickies" are people who have became infected, becoming aggressive and little more than animals at certain stages. Ben wants out with his kid and girlfriend and he knows exactly where to go, "Funland" previously a prison. There are still prisoners and guards but there is an understanding and Ben and co figure it has to be safer in there than it is out here.

So it is giving 28 days later meets the walking dead vibes, the infected are still human but they beat/murder/destroy and are highly contagious. The majority is set in the prison so that is what was giving me echoes of the walking dead along with the power struggles. There is a female doctor and one of the guards is a really good guy who is tough and respected, he helps smuggle Carlita in because it is still a male's prison and her being discovered would be devastating.

I liked the idea of this but did love a lot of it. I felt the atmosphere was well portrayed and I absolutely wanted to know where it was going. When I read it I felt maybe this was book one and setting up for the second yet it isn't, it is a standalone which again left me a bit meh. Like so much of what they went through and did almost seemed pointless at times, like really all that for that?

That being said am sure many will love it, it gives you glimpses of some of the pathetic and bad sides to humanity, Ben ugh I had very little respect for him. Like it was as if he didn't really know who he was or who he wanted to be, he was, to me, a weak guy, I just couldn't with him by the end of the book.

I liked the doctor and would have liked to have had more exploration on what she was doing/looking into. I felt like so much of the story had unanswered or only briefly touched on issues/themes so I think it would be good if the author did go back to this and make more, maybe a series?

It is quite dark at times, I found the more we learned about this sickies, as the story went on the more I wanted to know about them. How they progressed, the ones we met in the book, I would have loved more of there stories, before, during and after but also the meat/origins of the outbreak. For all of that 3/5 for me, tense, dark, horrible characters with a very small mix of decent ones, it is worth a read because I do think many will love it, I am just a fussy potatoe!

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A Boy And His Dog At The End Of The World by C A Fletcher

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 365

Publisher - Orbit

Source - Competition win & review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

When a beloved family dog is stolen, her owner sets out on a life-changing journey through the ruins of our world to bring her back in this fiercely compelling tale of survival, courage, and hope. Perfect for readers of Station Eleven and The Girl With All the Gifts.

My name's Griz. My childhood wasn't like yours. I've never had friends, and in my whole life I've not met enough people to play a game of football.

My parents told me how crowded the world used to be, but we were never lonely on our remote island. We had each other, and our dogs.

Then the thief came.

There may be no law left except what you make of it. But if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you.

Because if we aren't loyal to the things we love, what's the point?


My Review

Griz is our main character and protagonist. In a post apocalyptic world Griz lives pretty isolated with his family and dogs. When a stranger comes to their little strip in the world and takes his dog he must go out into a world he has never ventured into to reclaim his dog. Armed with the stubbornness of the young, his boat, his other dog and some food he chases after the thief. Heading to the unknown, danger is everywhere and the reader follows through Gritz written accounts of all he endures and survives whilst trying to get back what belongs to him.

It starts of relatively slow, builds up and offers the reader a different slant on the apocalypse, it is well after the event and we get snippets through Gritz telling. Whilst we have slow build up we do have a fair amount of action, scenes that push some darkness and reminded me of a few of the apocalypse movies/books I have came to love over the years. That said I felt I had a lot of questions that for me didn't have answered how I would have liked. I am very much in the minority as this book is loved by so many and I would absolutely recommend reading it and seeing how you find it.

There are so many great things that really adds to the solemness and emptiness of our world without being over the top and in your face. The situations Gritz finds himself in, the reactions and actions mirror the age of the character and yet some have you thinking he is far older. We see Gritz go on a journey of personal growth, starting out as a reckless kid and becoming closer to an adult after the exposures and hardships along the way.

Whilst there were things I enjoyed and the writing engages you quickly I was left underwhelmed by the things I would have liked addressed or explored further. As I said I am in the minority as this book is overwhelmingly loved by so many and I can be a picky fussy muppet with some aspects of books and I think this time it was definitely me, I needed more. I would absolutely read this author again and even this it would be awesome for them to revisit this world/characters again, 2.5/5 for me this time.

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The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell

The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days on and off

Pages - 294

Publisher - TOR

Blurb from Goodreads

Zombies have infested a fallen America. A young girl named Temple is on the run. Haunted by her past and pursued by a killer, Temple is surrounded by death and danger, hoping to be set free.

For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself and keeping her demons inside her heart. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.





My Review

We all know I love a zombie read, for those who are a bit fencer sitter on them this one may appear a bit more to you. Temple is taking it one day from the next in a new world where zombies far outnumber the surviving humans. Twenty five years after the apocalypse kicked off Temple has lost everyone close to her and is moving from place to place to stay safe. After a horrific encounter she finds herself hunted and not just by the zombies. Coming across someone who is vulnerable to say the least she tries to keep them both safe whilst eluding the person who wants to dole out some justice.

I think if you like a story that is post apocalyptic which more focus on the human survival and rationale behind human actions and consequences rather than horror and flesh eating, this is one for you. Temple is older than her fifteen years and in some aspects really smart, in others you are slapping your head in disbelief at some of the choices she makes considering that which she has just survived.

She looks after a vulnerable male adult she comes across after her conscience won't let her abandon him yet calls him some terms that many readers will find offensive. The person who hunts her whilst you can understand their initial reasons just had me thinking, really?!?! she is a kid and anyone would justify her actions oh and she is a fifteen year old child! A few other issues for me was how well kept the world appears to be, twenty five years in and some places still have working electronics, electricity, home comforts meh I have read and seen so many of this genre that that did stick in my craw.

However, the book itself rather than heavy focus , as most zombie reads do, on death eating monsters & destruction this was more on humanity, the ups and downs of it. In a ravaged world we will have good guys, bad guys and a sense of righteousness, friendship, honor and family ties. I did like this book, I just didn't love it and whilst some will appreciate how it all came to play folk like me get a bit prickly with how things are chosen to come full circle. I would certainly recommend it to folk who enjoy the more human interactions of apocalyptic style read as it has been loved and enjoyed by many. If you are looking for a gore fest or the survival from limited resources then maybe not so much this one. 3/5 for me this time, this was my first time reading this author and I would read them again, certainly different from the other zombie reads so far.

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The Girl With All The Gifts by M R Carey

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days

Publisher - Orbit

Pages - 460

Blurb from Goodreads

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.



My Review

We open with Melanie, what her name means and what "life" is like for her and her routine. Her cell is where she lives when she isn't in the classroom, when she goes to the classroom she is confined to a chair. The soldiers, the children she spends her class time with and the teachers. Melanie is different, she is smart and notices things, that some of her classmates go missing and never come back. Soon Melanie will find out first hand what is happening to her friends, why her favourite teacher is looking so sad & what she really is.

For the first we while I wasn't too sure where the story was going and was a bit confused. However, eventually you find out, along with Melanie why she is strapped down, why her classmates disappear and what the lessons where all about. For me the story is a cross between invasions of the body snatchers with a bit of post apocalyptic theme with cannibalism, cruelty, murder and gore.

It isn't just about Melanie's self discovery, she is ten years old by the way but very intelligent and advanced for her age. It is also about relationships, survival and acceptance. It is different from a lot of what I normally read but reminded me a lot of the old movies I loved as a kid, 3/5 for me. This is my first time reading this author and I would read more by them.

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