This is a great and varied anthology, all dealing with how the world ends. It’s exciting and compelling, each story sucking you in. I really struggled to put this down and in fact it’s set me off on a bit of a zombie/post-apocalyptic binge. The anthology contains seven tales, all unique and interesting. They made me question what I’d do in an apocalypse. How would I survive? Could mankind even survive or were we all doomed from the start?
Some are stronger than others so I’m just going to quickly talk about my favourite ones. Also be warned most of these tales don’t have a full ending, instead setting you up for a second short story, book or novella.
THE HARVESTING:
Layla’s Russian grandmother calls her home and tells her to be prepared. Days later the world goes crazy and Layla must help protect her hometown from zombies. But that’s not all as an ancient force comes into play and threatens the small group of survivors. At the end of the world all the monsters have come out to play. This had some great twists and turns I wasn’t expecting. I loved the combination of the supernatural and post-apocalyptic elements. I also loved the inclusion of several different myths and folklores. I think this was a fantastic opener because it had me hooked!
ODIUM:
Nina lives in a walled in community, hiding from the zombie apocalypse. But this haven isn’t all it seems; it’s become a brutal and cruel dictatorship. Cast outside the walls Nina must learn to survive, not just for herself but also for the Emily, the girl she’s travelling with. But outside there are more than just zombies to contend with so Nina and Emily must join up with other survivors and do whatever it takes to survive. I enjoyed this tale, I found that in some parts it was a little slow but I was desperate to get to the end.
Z CHILDREN: AWAKENING:
This is told from multiple perspectives, all interwoven and is brilliant because each character has such a strong individual voice. The story centres around the idea that a vaccine has become contaminated somehow, turning all the children vaccinated into flesh eating (and sweetie eating) little monsters. I loved this original idea. What happens when our future is our demise? The parents, unable to comprehend or kill their children get bitten and turned themselves. They then act like bodyguards for their savage children, and still seem to have that parental instinct to protect. I also enjoyed the idea that there was still a degree of awareness there, that familial bonds were stronger than a virus that kills. For example a zombie sister becomes enraged when her zombie brother is killed. Very interesting.
Overall I’d give this anthology 5 stars because of the diversity, the excellent way it’s put together and the fact that I struggled to put it down. I’d strongly recommend this if post apocalypse is your thing – especially since it’s free on KU and only 0.99p otherwise! Bargain!
Page One Books 