"Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile" by J. L. Bourne

Title: Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile

Author: J. L. Bourne
Publisher: Pocket Books

Book 2 of 'Day by Day Armageddon'

Blurb:

Sporadic news reports indicate chaos and violence spreading through US cities. An unknown evil is sweeping the planet. The dead are rising to claim the earth as the new dominant species in the food chain. Day by Day Armageddon and its sequel Beyond Exile are the handwritten journals of one desperate survivor as he battles in the face of global disaster. Zombie fiction at its finest, these books will take you to a whole new level of terror.

Synopsis:

Our Naval Officer has survived the attack by the raiders and secured the base and its occupants. When the next attack comes, the occupants of Hotel 23 realise that the attackers are military wanting the  contents of the base and the resources it may provide. Knowing that they eventually cannot survive lots of attacks, our Naval officer does the one thing the military would not expect. He puts on his uniform and goes topside to take effective command of the units.

The population of Hotel 23 suddenly increases ten fold and contact is made with the remnants of the military currently running operations from Naval vessels.

A branch of the government, known as Remote Six, help our officer after he crash lands on a reconnaissance mission in a supplied helicopter. But are they really here to help, or do they have their own agenda...

Verdict:

Enjoyed this book, as the 288 pages again seemed to disappear quite rapidly. The descriptions are well written, enabling you envisage the situations that the officer finds himself in. Although we still do not know his name, it does not matter, the story stands up on its own merits.

Rating: 5/5

"Day by Day Armageddon" by J. L. Bourne

Title: Day by Day Armageddon

Author: J. L. Bourne
Publisher: Pocket Books

Book 1 of 'Day by Day Armageddon'

Blurb:

Day by Day Armageddon is the handwritten journal of one man and his struggle for survival. Trapped in the midst of global disaster, he must make decisions that could mean life, or which could condemn him eternally to walk as one of them. Enter, if you dare, into his world. The world of the undead.

Synopsis:

One Naval officer’s New Year’s resolution is to keep a journal. In the January a mysterious plague breaks out in China. By February the plague has signalled the end of the world as we know it and has given rise to the undead walking.

The journal becomes the narrator’s salvation and point of reference as day by day he tries to survive the madness that unfolds before him. Soon he makes contact with a neighbour (John), trapped inside his house just down the street. When a broadcast informs them that the city they live in is to be nuked, the Officer and John escape and start a trek across Texas. Along it they rescue a family and finally reach a nuclear launch facility named Hotel 23. This becomes their home and they rescue a couple more people.

After a while some people turn up that want the base for themselves. The occupants now have two enemies.

Verdict:

Enjoyed this book, as the 224 pages disappeared rapidly. Not as fast paced as some zombie novels, but well described and keeps your interest. As this is a journal, you can see where our unknown officer has his highs and lows.

Rating: 5/5

"Siege" by Rhiannon Frater

Title: Siege

Author: Rhiannon Frater
Publisher: Tor Books

Book 3 of 'As the World Dies'

Blurb:

As the survivors continue to seek stability in their lives, forces both inside and outside the fort walls move them toward a final, climactic conflict between the living and the dead. Jenni, Katie and the others discover that they are not alone, that there is another enclave of survivors whose leaders plan to take over the fort.

Faced with a series of difficult decisions, each choice they make could lead to the deaths of those they love or, if not careful, their own demise.

Meanwhile, an army of the dead is descending on the fort. Soon, the living will face their ultimate fear...

...a siege by the dead.

But they will fight to the end to survive...

As the world dies.

Synopsis:

The fort comes under scrutiny of the remnants of government. On a raid to a hospital for medical supplies, members of the fort are kidnapped by the military, so the Senator of Texas can further her politica career in the new world. Things go badly wrong for the Senator and those in the Mall that has been set up as a rescue center.

The fort has to cope with thousands of undead heading their way, a siege by the undead. The ghosts of the dead come to their aid inthe fight for humanities survival....

Verdict:

Loved the book, although I could really get stuck into book 4 as the story is not truly finished. The body count is high, and all I can say is don't get too hooked on your favourite characters. Anyone is game for death in this third book.

Overall this is a good trilogy that is enjoyable to read.

Rating: 5/5

"Fighting To Survive" by Rhiannon Frater

Title: Fighting To Survive

Author: Rhiannon Frater
Publisher: Tor Books

Book 2 of 'As the World Dies'

Blurb:

It’s time to clear the hotel.

The fort has grown crowded as survivors of the zombie apocalypse have found safety between its walls. Winter is coming; soon it will be too cold to live in tents and other makeshift shelters. The leaders of the survivors—Katie, Jenni, Juan, Travis, and Nerit—decide it’s time for an assault on the zombie-occupied hotel that looms over the town square.

A pitched battle in the banquet room is the start of a harrowing, room-by-room struggle from Reception to roof. As the sun sets, the people of Ashley Oaks gather in the hotel’s rooftop ballroom and gazebo to celebrate their survival. Gazing out over the beauty of the surrounding Texas countryside, it’s hard to believe that death and danger lurk around every corner.

The fort’s search and rescue teams have attracted unwanted attention from bandits who see the fort as competition for food . . . and as a ready source of women. The first attacks are minor, but everyone knows there is worse to come.

And beyond the fort’s walls, the zombies shamble, moaning, eyes fastened hungrily upon the living.

Synopsis:

The population of the fort finally deice to take the hotel. After losing several  people, the hotel is added to the fort and the population returns to something akin to a normal existence. But then the bandits turn up, taking out several of the out lying people that the fort talk to. Nerit decides it is time to bring the outlying groups into the protection of the fort, provoking a confrontation with the bandits.

Verdict:

Again, a really good read. This was 448 pages of pure zombie pleasure that I could not put down and jumped straight into book 3.

Rating: 5/5

"The First Days" by Rhiannon Frater

Title: The First Days

Author: Rhiannon Frater
Publisher: Tor Books

Book 1 of 'As the World Dies'

Blurb:

The morning that the world ends, Katie is getting ready for court and housewife Jenni is taking care of her family. Less than two hours later, they are fleeing for their lives from a zombie horde.

Thrown together by circumstance, Jenni and Katie become a powerful zombie-killing partnership, mowing down zombies as they rescue Jenni’s stepson, Jason, from an infected campground.

They find sanctuary in a tiny, roughly fortified Texas town. There Jenni and Katie find they are both attracted to Travis, leader of the survivors; and the refugees must slaughter people they know, who have returned in zombie form.

Synopsis:

Katie sees her wife eat the postman and is saved from zombies by a Reverend. Jenni screams as her husband eats her children. Katie saves Jenni and a friendship is born. They escape the city, find fuel for the Reverend's truck and make it to a small town where they meet Nerit and Ralph holed up in a gun store. They help Nerit and Ralph clear the town of zombies and then go find Jenni's step son.

At the camp where Jason is, Jenni and Katie get there just in time as the zombie infection was brought there by another family. they escape the camp but due to a zombie horde cannot get back to Nerit and Ralph. Instead they find sanctuary at a fortified Texas town where they become part of the community and help secure the center of town and expand the fort.

Verdict:

A really good read. This was 336 pages of pure zombie pleasure that I could not put down and jumped straight into book 2.

Rating: 5/5

"The Remaining: Refugees" by D.J. Molles

Title: The Remaining: Refugees

Author: D.J. Molles
Publisher: Orbit

Book Three of The Remaining

Blurb:

He has fought the fight, and run the race.

But the enemies never stop coming, and the race has no finish line.

It has been three months since Captain Lee Harden found the survivors at Camp Ryder. With winter looming, Lee is on the verge of establishing Camp Ryder as a hub of safety and stability in the region. But not everyone agrees with Lee’s mission…or his methods. Growing tensions between camp leadership are coming to a head, and as Lee struggles amid the dissention and controversy, new revelations about the infected threaten to destroy everything he has worked for.

Synopsis:

By the end of book two, Captain Lee Harden, one of 48 coordinators, has established he can be trusted. Book three picks up the story three months after the end of book two. Dissention is in Camp Ryder with two sub groups not wanting to accept the way the world is and challenging Captain Harden's mission.

Throughout the book, we learn more of what is happening in the United States through the arrival of various new refugees to Camp Ryder. One of these is a CDC scientist who was studying FURY, and was rescued by one of the coordinators. The coordinator dies and charges him with locating Captain Harden with vital information.

Later in the book another coordinator turns up with disturbing news of the new government, and the fact that Captain Lee Harden is now a "non-viable asset". Without wanting to give away the story, Lee's life is on the line....

Verdict:

At 375 pages, this book took me about 8 hours to finish. I am not sure I am completely happy where the story is going, (pregnant zombies being killed, hence a lower rating), but as the storytelling is great, I will see what book four brings.

Rating: 4/5

"The Remaining: Aftermath" by D.J. Molles

Title: The Remaining: Aftermath

Author: D.J. Molles
Publisher: Orbit

Book Two of The Remaining

Blurb:

Nothing has gone according to plan.

To Captain Lee Harden, Project Hometown feels like a distant dream and the completion of his mission seems unattainable.

Wounded and weaponless, he has stumbled upon a group of survivors that seems willing to help. But a tragedy in the group causes a deep rift to come to light and forces him into action. In the chaos of the world outside, Lee is pursued by a new threat: someone who will stop at nothing to get what he has.

Synopsis:

By the end of book one, Captain Lee Harden, one of 48 coordinators, has rescued a mother (Angela) and her daughter (Abby) and a young lad (Sam). They end up at Camp Ryder, a refugee camp located in a Ryder Truck compound 3 miles south west of Angier in North Carolina.

He offers the leader (Bus) of the compound help, but shortly after their arrival, a gang of criminals/miscreants cuts the wire into the compound and lets some infested in. This results in the death of a young girl, and Harden is soon blamed for being in league with 'Milo', the leader of the gang. His task then starts, not only to get the compound supplies, but also to get their trust.

Heading out to one of his supply caches, Harden finds a preacher and his flock camping outside of the bunker, he gives them aid and the directions to reach Camp Ryder. On the way back to camp, Harden and a few of the Ryder refugees detour to Smithfield in search of one of the refugee's sister. 'Milo' has his own plans for Harden, and things get interesting....

Verdict:

At 296 pages, this book took me about 6 hours to finish. Once again the story is well written and keeps you enthralled for the whole journey. I can't wait to see what is in store for Harden and the Camp Ryder refugees in book three.

Rating: 5/5

"The Remaining" by D.J. Molles

Title: The Remaining
Author: D.J. Molles
Publisher: Orbit

Book One of The Remaining

Blurb:

In a steel-and-lead-encased bunker 20 feet below the basement level of his house, a soldier waits for his final orders. On the surface, a plague ravages the planet, infecting over 90% of the populace. The bacterium burrows through the brain, destroying all signs of humanity and leaving behind little more than base, prehistoric instincts. The infected turn into hyper-aggressive predators, with an insatiable desire to kill and feed. Some day soon, the soldier will have to open the hatch to his bunker, and step out into this new wasteland, to complete his mission: TO RESCUE AND REBUILD.

Synopsis:

Captain Lee Harden, one of 48 coordinators is ordered into his bunker below his house when a plague known as FURY starts to spread within the United States on June 15th.

June 28th was the last day most news websites were last update. By July 3rd, he loses contact with his superiors.

On July 23rd, Lee finally leaves his bunker emerging into a world of destoy or be killed. He immediately learns how the living have changed into those that are the hunters and those that are the hunted. Violent people group together now that law no longer exists to commit whatever crimes they chose, leaving decent people or the meek to be preyed upon.

Lee has to resuce a boy and learns just how far people have come in just a month. Lee must become judge, jury and executioner in the eyes of the law. His mandate requires him to deliver swift justice.

The book focuses on how the character focuses on his mission and the problems he faces in trying to re-establish society.

Verdict:

This story took me a little over four hours to read (219 pages) and has that "don't want to put it down until you have finished it" feel. The story is really well written and keeps you on the edge through the whole book. The description Molles uses in his writing allow you to really picture what is happening as though you were watching a TV series. This would sit right alongside "The walking dead" as a good show.

Rating: 5/5