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vikingwolf's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I heard that fans of the Extinction books were invited to write their stories about survivors from the war...fan fiction I guess-and that they were being shared for kindle in the US. I looked forward to seeing what they had written so I grabbed these books when they were released in the UK. This book follows the much loved firefighter Meg, and Jeb who I actually don't remember from the main series if he was indeed in it. I can't say that I greatly enjoyed this book which is the first in a trilogy.
Meg's storyline is certainly the better one. It follows the story from her first interaction with the variants up to taking refuge in her fire house. These events were interesting enough and brutal but it didn't quite make sense that Meg hasn't heard anything about the Chicago 'ebola' outbreak until Tim tells her about the horrors on the tv and shows her the newspaper about it. If they were reading it in the paper then it happened the previous day and would've been breaking news. Surely Meg would've seen something, maybe heard it as gossip from her work colleagues. But even if you can accept she knew nothing, minutes after Tim shows her the paper & says what he saw on tv, they are under attack. If the monsters are in position to attack so fast with armed people in pursuit, it makes me wonder how the newspaper even got delivered that morning.
The other story follows Jeb, failed Marine, kicked out and now making a living selling drugs to kids. Yes a really useful member of society and the kind I hate as MC in the books I read. Marines are supposed to be elite so how this waste of space ever passed the training is beyond me. He has the worst attitude problem, can't follow a basic order like 'watch our back', argumentative, always looking to save himself the first chance he can get. He doesn't care about being part of the unit that saves his life, doesn't do his part and abandons them the first chance he gets. This passed marine training? Really?
Jeb is hopeless. He can't seem to shoot very well and has an issue in remembering to take the safety off his weapon, which he can't seem to look after either. He breaks the golden rule of handling a weapon 'never put your finger on the trigger unless you are ready to shoot', causing him to nearly shoot off his foot. He's suspicious about a guy he meets who has eyes on his weapon yet hands it over to him because the guy said the commanding officer says so, yet he never follows direct orders from legitimate superiors. He prefers to hide than get in the fight, he looks after number one, doesn't care about his fellow soldiers. He does not sound like a Marine to me. Either way he's a whiny, self obsessed idiot and I can't stand him.
For me, this book adds nothing to the Extinction series and even having Meg as the MC isn't enough to get me reading the rest of the trilogy.
Meg's storyline is certainly the better one. It follows the story from her first interaction with the variants up to taking refuge in her fire house. These events were interesting enough and brutal but it didn't quite make sense that Meg hasn't heard anything about the Chicago 'ebola' outbreak until Tim tells her about the horrors on the tv and shows her the newspaper about it. If they were reading it in the paper then it happened the previous day and would've been breaking news. Surely Meg would've seen something, maybe heard it as gossip from her work colleagues. But even if you can accept she knew nothing, minutes after Tim shows her the paper & says what he saw on tv, they are under attack. If the monsters are in position to attack so fast with armed people in pursuit, it makes me wonder how the newspaper even got delivered that morning.
The other story follows Jeb, failed Marine, kicked out and now making a living selling drugs to kids. Yes a really useful member of society and the kind I hate as MC in the books I read. Marines are supposed to be elite so how this waste of space ever passed the training is beyond me. He has the worst attitude problem, can't follow a basic order like 'watch our back', argumentative, always looking to save himself the first chance he can get. He doesn't care about being part of the unit that saves his life, doesn't do his part and abandons them the first chance he gets. This passed marine training? Really?
Jeb is hopeless. He can't seem to shoot very well and has an issue in remembering to take the safety off his weapon, which he can't seem to look after either. He breaks the golden rule of handling a weapon 'never put your finger on the trigger unless you are ready to shoot', causing him to nearly shoot off his foot. He's suspicious about a guy he meets who has eyes on his weapon yet hands it over to him because the guy said the commanding officer says so, yet he never follows direct orders from legitimate superiors. He prefers to hide than get in the fight, he looks after number one, doesn't care about his fellow soldiers. He does not sound like a Marine to me. Either way he's a whiny, self obsessed idiot and I can't stand him.
For me, this book adds nothing to the Extinction series and even having Meg as the MC isn't enough to get me reading the rest of the trilogy.
beingshort's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kathythelibraryteacher's review
4.0
I’m glad that I purchased this series as a set. I’m curious to see where the story goes. While reminiscent of World War Z, it’s a slightly different take on the Zombie Apocalypse sub genre. The characters are interesting and the story has been face paced even if it’s far fetched. So far, so good.
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