Wasteland - Surviving the Evacuation by Frank Tayell

Wasteland by Frank Tayell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 203

Blurb from Goodreads

Billions were infected. Nations fell. The evacuation failed.

Bill Wright's journey has only one destination, the research facility that created the virus. As he meets other survivors in his struggle across the wasteland to reach it, he discovers that it is not just the undead who need to be feared.

This is the second volume of his journal.


My Review

This picks up pretty much where the first left off. Bill is hell bent on getting to the facility where it all started off, either to find answers or destroy what is left of the virus. Along the way he meets other survivors and Bill starts to realise people can be just as deadly as the zombies.

Bills journey in the first book was fairly solitary, this time he meets other survivors, some who recognise and blame him for "his part" in the death of so many. Along with survival this book looks more to the formation/breakdown of relationships, trust and Bill having to reassess his goals.

There is plenty of zombie action despite there being a heavy focus on the human interaction side of the story. Bill also finds some answers he wasn't aware he was looking for. A good second part of this story although I would recommend starting with the first book that this one. 3/5 for me this time, I will be buying the third installment of this tale to see how Bill fares.

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Surviving The Evacuation - London by Frank Tayell

London by Frank Tayell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days (on and off)

Pages - 201

Blurb from Goodreads

The outbreak started in New York. Within days the infection had spread to every corner of the world. Nowhere is safe from the undead...

Bill watched from his window as London was evacuated. His leg broken, he is unable to join the exodus. Turning to his friends in the government, he waits and hopes for rescue. As the days turn into weeks, realising inaction will lead only to starvation and death, his thoughts turn to escape.

Forced to leave the safety of his home he ventures out into the undead wasteland that once was England, where he will discover a horrific secret.

This is the first volume of his journal.



My Review

An outbreak that starts in New York soon finds its way to London. Bill is stuck in his house watching it all unfold as he is stuck indoors with a broken leg. As the chaos descends Bill knows that he will have to make a break for it if he is to survive, this story is Bills journal cataloging his journey.

As you may know, I love zombie/apocalyptic stories, this is a fairly thin read although I believe there is 7 volumes available. Bill is our main character, it is his voice and diary we follow as the events unfold and he faces the choice of staying safe indoors and starving or attempting to go out and escape where he has seen so many perish.

This is a bit different from the books I have read on this genre, it is told in diary format which isn't exactly unique however Bill has a broken leg. The outbreak is hard enough to try and survive without having a cast on and being slowed down. It builds up the tension as you feel the despair of the situation for Bill and things go quickly from bad to worse. There are a few surprises along the way and considering it is a lone voice telling the story and for the most part it is only Bill, the author manages to bring in other characters through Bills previous chats/memories and things he happens upon.

I think some people may have issue with this one because Bill has a cast on, one or two things that happen you question the validity however, it is a zombie outbreak book and I think it all works pretty well. I have already downloaded the second one of this in the series and can't wait to see what happens next, 4/5 for me and I definitely recommend it to fans of this genre.

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