"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

"The Long War" by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

Title: The Long War

Author: Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Publisher: Corgi

Book 2 of 'The Long Earth'

Blurb:

A generation after the events of The Long Earth, mankind has spread across the new worlds opened up by Stepping. Where Joshua and Lobsang once pioneered, now fleets of airships link the stepwise Americas with trade and culture. Mankind is shaping the Long Earth -- but in turn the Long Earth is shaping mankind... A new ‘America’, called Valhalla, is emerging more than a million steps from Datum Earth, with core American values restated in the plentiful environment of the Long Earth – and Valhalla is growing restless under the control of the Datum government... Meanwhile the Long Earth is suffused by the song of the trolls, graceful hive-mind humanoids. But the trolls are beginning to react to humanity'’s thoughtless exploitation... Joshua, now a married man, is summoned by Lobsang to deal with a gathering multiple crisis that threatens to plunge the Long Earth into a war unlike any mankind has waged before.

Synopsis:

Joshua, Lobsang and a multitude of characters deal with how mankind is treating the trolls.

At 1.4 million steps from earth a new America named Valhalla declares its independence from Datum Earth.

What more can I say....

Verdict:

You would think from the book title and the blurb that this book is about a war. I obviously missed that bit of the book, hang on a minute, no I did not miss it as it wasn't there. The Datum Earth send out a fleet of ships to Valhalla, but nothing happens. To come to think of it, nothing much happens in the whole book!

Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter have delivered a mediocre second book in this series. It moves the story along, although in what direction is not quite certain. I am hoping that the third book will bring the story to a conclusive end, as although the Long Earth series opens lots of possibilities, it seems that Mister's Pratchett and Baxter are not exploiting any of them.

Rating: 3/5

"Mitosis" by Brandon Sanderson

Title: Mitosis

Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Gollanz

Book 1.5 of 'Reckoners'

Blurb:

From "New York Times" bestselling author Brandon Sanderson's action-packed novel "Steelheart" comes "Mitosis," a short story set in the world of The Reckoners series, exclusively available in the digital format.

Steelheart may be dead, but Epics still plague Newcago and David and the Reckoners have vowed to fight back.

Catch all the action before, "Firefight" is the exciting sequel to "Steelheart" hits shelves in December 2013.

Synopsis:

Having defeated Steelheart in Newcago, the Reckoners are attempting to restore the city with a human government. An Epic named 'Mitosis' comes looking for the Steelslayer, wishing to know the truth behind Steelheart's death, as he does not believe that a human could have defeated Steelheart. David, the Reckoners and the people of the City must fight to stop this epic from taking control of Newcago.

Verdict:

As soon as I saw this book was available, I had to read it. At 35 pages, it is less than an hours read and is action from the start. An enjoyable read with Sanderson delivering the goods once again.

Rating: 5/5

"Steelheart" by Brandon Sanderson

Title: Steelheart

Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Gollanz

Book 1 of 'Reckoners'

Blurb:

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning - and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

Synopsis:

David as a young boy see's his father killed by the Epic Steelheart. After ten years he has been watching and waiting for the Reckoners to make a hit on one of Steelheart's subordinates. He spots their mission going wrong and decides to help, to become one of the Reckoners. David and one of the Recokners kill an Epic and the Reckoners take him into custody to see if he is a problem. He convices them otherwise and soon a second Epic is dead.

David convinces the Reckoners that nothing will change unless they kill Steelhart. The leader agrees and a plan is hatched....

Verdict:

I was recommended this book, but was unsure about it to begin with. Shortly into the book, my mind was changed and I found it hard to put down. The idea that if people got super powers they would use them for their own goals is great, leaving the normal people to become the heroes. At 400 pages, it took me a while to read, but well worth it. Sanderson throws you straight in at the deep-end and keeps the action hot. This would make a superb movie.

Rating: 5/5

"The Long Earth" by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

Title: The Long Earth

Author: Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Publisher: Corgi

Book 1 of 'The Long Earth'

Blurb:

1916: the Western Front. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong, and the wind in the leaves in the trees. Where has the mud, blood and blasted landscape of No Man's Land gone?

2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Cop Monica Jansson is exploring the burned-out home of a reclusive (some said mad, others dangerous) scientist when she finds a curious gadget - a box containing some wiring, a three-way switch and a...potato. It is the prototype of an invention that will change the way Mankind views his world for ever.

And that is an understatement if ever there was one...

Synopsis:

The 'Long Earth' is a series of parallel worlds that are similar to Earth, which can be reached by using an inexpensive device called a "Stepper". The "close" worlds are almost identical to 'our' Earth (referred to as "Datum Earth"), others differ in greater and greater details, but all share one similarity: on none are there, or have there ever been, Homo sapiens - although the same cannot be said for earlier hominid species, especially Homo habilis. The book explores the theme of how humanity might develop when freed from resource constraints: one example Pratchett has cited is that wars result from lack of land – what would happen if no shortage of land (or gold or oil or food) existed?

The book deals primarily with the journeys of Joshua Valienté (a natural 'Stepper') and Lobsang, who claims to be a Tibetan motorcycle repairman reincarnated as an Artificial intelligence. The two chart a course to learn as much as possible about the parallel worlds, travelling millions of steps away from the original Earth. They encounter evidence of other humanoid species (referred to as trolls and elves); of human settlers who learned their gifts early, and of an extinct race of bipedal dinosaur descendants. They also encounter warning signs of a great danger, millions of worlds away from 'our' Earth, causing catastrophe as it moves. The book also deals with the effects of the explosion of available space on the people of Datum Earth and the new colonies and political movements that are spreading in the wake of Step Day.

Verdict:

Terry Pratchett is a favourite author of mine, and I was a little skeptical what this book would be like. I was pleasantly surprised and have really enjoyed this departure from Pratchett's normal writing

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