Scan barcode
stephsbookedout's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
veganheathen's review
4.0
I blew through this book. What an interesting take on a pandemic fueled dystopia. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.
faithsbookreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Not a bad read! It kept me entertained & I was really into all the parts about the Wraiths. Everything else was slightly boring to me. I kind of wished the book focused more on them leaving the bunker & encountering the Wraiths but nevertheless, I still enjoyed the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Gore, Medical content, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
henripop's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
toriannfish's review
3.0
I liked the book, and I will be reading the other ones in this series. My only thing is I like to be pulled in by books, and this one didn’t really do that. There wasn’t really a time I felt like “I can’t put this down!” I read a few chapters, then went to bed w/o thinking of it. Yes, we got a good knowledge of the characters, but nothing exciting happened until about half way through the book. Plots good, story is now starting to unravel, so I’m hoping the next books do more for me.
roseayyy_reads's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
suezeewit's review
4.0
Interesting take
The book takes place three years after the virus broke out. Nothing much is known, and the survivors just want to survive. Turns out there are secrets, insecurities and mysteries all around.
The story kept my interest and for the most part I liked the characters and the setting. I'd like to find out what happens next. And why.
The book takes place three years after the virus broke out. Nothing much is known, and the survivors just want to survive. Turns out there are secrets, insecurities and mysteries all around.
The story kept my interest and for the most part I liked the characters and the setting. I'd like to find out what happens next. And why.
severina2001's review
2.0
When a zombie-like disease sweeps the world, some remnants of society take refuge in an underground bunker.
This reads like a hodge-podge of ideas. Take the tech and the bunker from Hugh Howey's Silo series, throw in a bit of the vampire-like creature of Justin Cronin's The Passage and mix him with your basic shady-government bio-engineered super-soldier and then sprinkle with some teenage angst, and you've basically got this story. Tanpepper tries very hard to keep the tension going, but his descriptions of the "Wraiths" are so vague that I felt I never really knew what I was supposed to be scared of. We're told that they are people who become almost instantly infected. They turn grey. Their eyes turn black. Their 'soul' is drained. They die but are still animate. A single touch will turn you into one of them (no biting here.) But then they are described as drifting from the trees, as though they were camouflaged in them, like smoke or shadow. They seem to float, not walk or stumble. They didn't strike me with fear because I couldn't even picture what they were.
And in the bunker, everyone is just so damned serious all the time. The structure is disjointed, almost as though there are passages missing between chapters. The big revelations come out of left field, decisions are made based on nonsensical leaps of illogic, and the result is more over-the-top and campy than shocking. Lastly, I knew this was the first of a series, but I still expected a better wrap-up of this story with some enticements of what was to come to encourage me to continue. Nope, there's still a lot of plot threads left dangling, so don't pick up this one unless you intend to continue with the rest of the series.
This reads like a hodge-podge of ideas. Take the tech and the bunker from Hugh Howey's Silo series, throw in a bit of the vampire-like creature of Justin Cronin's The Passage and mix him with your basic shady-government bio-engineered super-soldier and then sprinkle with some teenage angst, and you've basically got this story. Tanpepper tries very hard to keep the tension going, but his descriptions of the "Wraiths" are so vague that I felt I never really knew what I was supposed to be scared of. We're told that they are people who become almost instantly infected. They turn grey. Their eyes turn black. Their 'soul' is drained. They die but are still animate. A single touch will turn you into one of them (no biting here.) But then they are described as drifting from the trees, as though they were camouflaged in them, like smoke or shadow. They seem to float, not walk or stumble. They didn't strike me with fear because I couldn't even picture what they were.
And in the bunker, everyone is just so damned serious all the time. The structure is disjointed, almost as though there are passages missing between chapters. The big revelations come out of left field, decisions are made based on nonsensical leaps of illogic, and the result is more over-the-top and campy than shocking. Lastly, I knew this was the first of a series, but I still expected a better wrap-up of this story with some enticements of what was to come to encourage me to continue. Nope, there's still a lot of plot threads left dangling, so don't pick up this one unless you intend to continue with the rest of the series.
abigsnail's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75