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heatherjm's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
cashilling's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
austinburns's review
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
makes me feel better about my chances of surviving an apocalypse because a couple of these characters are the dumbest mfers i’ve ever seen and if they can survive well then so can i
rosydaysjpg's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
writerroguereader's review
4.0
What a weirdly excellent ride of an apocalyptic story! Just when I thought I knew what the story was about, it zagged! So many twists to this story! I would read more by this author.
papidoc's review
5.0
Interesting take on an apocalypse. Some if it seemed a little juvenile or poorly thought out, but most of it was entertaining and even sometimes thought-provoking. I would kind of like to see a follow-up exploring how the final group of 300-400 people lead their lives. There is more to mine here.
lisawreading's review
5.0
Thank you to Goodreads and the publisher -- I won this terrific book in a giveaway!!
I found myself mumbling or exclaiming “WTF???” practically once a chapter, start to finish, in this incredibly entertaining and mind-blowing novel of the apocalypse.
Or, as Touré puts it, the whateverpocalypse.
Seven seemingly random strangers wake up to find that they’re alone in a world suddenly overrun by plant life and wild animals — in what was formerly an urban college town. At Harvard and at MIT, several individuals wake up in confusion. Robbie wakes up in his dorm room bed, frantic that he overslept on the first day of freshman classes, only to discover that his technology doesn’t work, he has no idea what time it is, the clothes in the dresser drawers aren’t his, and there’s absolutely no one else around.
Before long he meets fellow student Carol, a blind young woman unsuccessfully trying to locate her dog, and the two then meet free-spirited Toure. Meanwhile, MIT astrophysicist Ananda wakes up at her office desk, confused by why she’s wearing her “Monday clothes” on a Tuesday, teen-ager Bethany wakes up in her suburban family home to see the shrine her family has erected in her memory, pastor Paul leaves his isolated New Hampshire mountaintop chapel when he realizes he’s all alone, and tough-girl Win mounts a horse to head toward a city and try to find other people.
They quickly realize that they’re the only people in the greater Boston area, and most likely in the world, but they have no idea why. How could all these trees and plants have grown so rapidly? Why are there deer and boar and wolves roaming and/or rampaging through the city streets?
Survival is the first issue to address, and initially, Robbie, Toure, and Carol are in rough shape, with no practical skills between them. As they connect with the others and explore local resources, they form plans, raid local malls to stock up on tools and clothing, figure out which parts of campus are safe (and where they’re most likely to run into packs of slavering wolves), and generally start to squeak their way toward something like building a way of staying alive.
The question remains, though: Why did they survive, and no one else did? What made them different? What actually happened to the human population of earth?
Don’t look at me — I’m not giving a thing away! Hints and odd facts and anomalies come to light along the way, but it’s only in the last 20% or so that the characters start to arrive at some real answers. I gotta be honest — even having finished the book, I’m not sure I completely get it, but I think it’s more a question of my brain not being able to fully follow the WTF-ness of it all than it not making sense. There is definitely an answer — but it’s kind of bent my brain into a pretzel, and it’ll take me some time to untangle it all.
There’s so much to love about The Apocalypse Seven. I’m often put off by books that focus on a group coming together, because many times the characters are introduced too quickly or in too large a chunk for them to really differentiate themselves as individuals. Not so in this book — each of the seven are special and memorable, with distinct personalities and backstories and abilities, and I really appreciated how well described they all are.
I also really enjoyed the setting. Who would have thought that a college town like Cambridge would offer so many resources for hiding, finding survival gear, and making a safe(ish) long-term shelter? The use of the campuses and their resources is really ingenious, and I was charmed by the characters’ inventiveness.
It’s also worth noting that this book — despite being about the near-total extinction of the human race — can be really, really funny. The characters are clever and the banter is crisp, and certain elements are just ridiculous enough to make me laugh out loud (or feel quietly charmed).
I really, really want other people to read this book! First of all, it’s so enjoyable and mind-warpy, frightening in its own way — but really, how seriously dire can the end of the world feel when characters use words like “whateverpocalypse”? Beyond the terrific reading experience, I want people I know to read The Apocalypse Seven so someone can explain the ending to me and tell me if we understand it the same way!!
Really and truly, though, The Apocalypse Seven is a terrific read, and I had a great time zipping my way through it.
I found myself mumbling or exclaiming “WTF???” practically once a chapter, start to finish, in this incredibly entertaining and mind-blowing novel of the apocalypse.
Or, as Touré puts it, the whateverpocalypse.
Seven seemingly random strangers wake up to find that they’re alone in a world suddenly overrun by plant life and wild animals — in what was formerly an urban college town. At Harvard and at MIT, several individuals wake up in confusion. Robbie wakes up in his dorm room bed, frantic that he overslept on the first day of freshman classes, only to discover that his technology doesn’t work, he has no idea what time it is, the clothes in the dresser drawers aren’t his, and there’s absolutely no one else around.
Before long he meets fellow student Carol, a blind young woman unsuccessfully trying to locate her dog, and the two then meet free-spirited Toure. Meanwhile, MIT astrophysicist Ananda wakes up at her office desk, confused by why she’s wearing her “Monday clothes” on a Tuesday, teen-ager Bethany wakes up in her suburban family home to see the shrine her family has erected in her memory, pastor Paul leaves his isolated New Hampshire mountaintop chapel when he realizes he’s all alone, and tough-girl Win mounts a horse to head toward a city and try to find other people.
They quickly realize that they’re the only people in the greater Boston area, and most likely in the world, but they have no idea why. How could all these trees and plants have grown so rapidly? Why are there deer and boar and wolves roaming and/or rampaging through the city streets?
Survival is the first issue to address, and initially, Robbie, Toure, and Carol are in rough shape, with no practical skills between them. As they connect with the others and explore local resources, they form plans, raid local malls to stock up on tools and clothing, figure out which parts of campus are safe (and where they’re most likely to run into packs of slavering wolves), and generally start to squeak their way toward something like building a way of staying alive.
The question remains, though: Why did they survive, and no one else did? What made them different? What actually happened to the human population of earth?
Don’t look at me — I’m not giving a thing away! Hints and odd facts and anomalies come to light along the way, but it’s only in the last 20% or so that the characters start to arrive at some real answers. I gotta be honest — even having finished the book, I’m not sure I completely get it, but I think it’s more a question of my brain not being able to fully follow the WTF-ness of it all than it not making sense. There is definitely an answer — but it’s kind of bent my brain into a pretzel, and it’ll take me some time to untangle it all.
There’s so much to love about The Apocalypse Seven. I’m often put off by books that focus on a group coming together, because many times the characters are introduced too quickly or in too large a chunk for them to really differentiate themselves as individuals. Not so in this book — each of the seven are special and memorable, with distinct personalities and backstories and abilities, and I really appreciated how well described they all are.
I also really enjoyed the setting. Who would have thought that a college town like Cambridge would offer so many resources for hiding, finding survival gear, and making a safe(ish) long-term shelter? The use of the campuses and their resources is really ingenious, and I was charmed by the characters’ inventiveness.
It’s also worth noting that this book — despite being about the near-total extinction of the human race — can be really, really funny. The characters are clever and the banter is crisp, and certain elements are just ridiculous enough to make me laugh out loud (or feel quietly charmed).
I really, really want other people to read this book! First of all, it’s so enjoyable and mind-warpy, frightening in its own way — but really, how seriously dire can the end of the world feel when characters use words like “whateverpocalypse”? Beyond the terrific reading experience, I want people I know to read The Apocalypse Seven so someone can explain the ending to me and tell me if we understand it the same way!!
Really and truly, though, The Apocalypse Seven is a terrific read, and I had a great time zipping my way through it.
alongreader's review
4.0
I love apocalypse and post apocalypse novels. It's a vicarious joy; I'm well aware that I'd never manage to actually survive an apocalypse. Unless, like the characters here, I was ... well, that's a spoiler I don't want to give you until you've read it.
This rates somewhere around the middle of the ones I've read. It's an interesting idea, but apart from Robbie I never really felt connected with any of the characters. Robbie's reluctant growth into a leader was about the best story arc anyone had.
I loved the setting, although since I've never been to Cambridge some of the locations were lost on me. The descriptions of the plants, animals, broken down cars and so on were fantastic, though. Really atmospheric and clever.
I had to think about the ending for a while before I got it straight. A couple of parts still don't make a lot of sense to me, but I can muddle along without them, they were minor details. Overall, once I figured it out, it made sense and was quite clever.
A good read; I won't be rushing back immediately to read it again, but I will read it again, more likely than not.
This rates somewhere around the middle of the ones I've read. It's an interesting idea, but apart from Robbie I never really felt connected with any of the characters. Robbie's reluctant growth into a leader was about the best story arc anyone had.
I loved the setting, although since I've never been to Cambridge some of the locations were lost on me. The descriptions of the plants, animals, broken down cars and so on were fantastic, though. Really atmospheric and clever.
I had to think about the ending for a while before I got it straight. A couple of parts still don't make a lot of sense to me, but I can muddle along without them, they were minor details. Overall, once I figured it out, it made sense and was quite clever.
A good read; I won't be rushing back immediately to read it again, but I will read it again, more likely than not.
seang81's review
4.0
The end of the world hey? Feels like we're there already doesn't it? Well, this book makes our current issues look like nothing - and it's great because of it! Reading a novel where there are only a few people left in the world resonated with me, the way the author wrote about how empty everything feels really sucked me in. Wildlife everywhere, a mystery about why these people are the only ones left provides a great premise, up until an ending that felt a little disconnected from the rest of the novel for my taste. All in all, a good read - don't expect highbrow concepts, more routing for the characters to survive the situation they're in. Good times!
ashcomb's review
4.0
I got a recommendation for this when I asked for an apocalypse book. I was told the book hooked them instantly and that it was getting better by more they read. I have to agree. This was a highly entertaining book to read in terms of plot, characters, and writing. The book follows a group of survivors of an apocalypse. They have no idea what has happened to other humans in a world riddled with monstrous wildlife. There is no electricity, no bodies of those who have died. It is like the whole world is rebooted. Or so it feels for Touré, Carol, and Robbie, who suddenly wake up to an apocalypse. Touré even thinks he has been put inside a computer game. As the book progresses, following their survival, more characters are introduced, and the narration shifts perspective between all the characters, letting the reader see what they think about their situation and how they handle all the oddity going on. At first, the shift felt forced, but then it helped to piece together how the world had changed.
What fueled my curiosity was the mystery behind the apocalypse and the monsters lurking in the shadows. But, as with every mystery book, the ending has to deliver. And I think this one did. It wasn't exactly what I wanted from the ending, but I liked how it turned the book to have some philosophical meaning. I can't say too much, as it would ruin the reading experience, but I can say it will make a nerd in you smile.
I also liked the characters. They felt organic and not too stereotypical, even when they were stereotypical up to a point. Every apocalypse book has to have an Amazon warrior, a nerd, a kid with tricks up their sleeve, a scientist, a preacher, a dreamer, and one with heart.
I liked this one a lot. It was light-hearted, entertaining, and well-written.
Thank you for reading! Have a beautiful day <3
What fueled my curiosity was the mystery behind the apocalypse and the monsters lurking in the shadows. But, as with every mystery book, the ending has to deliver. And I think this one did. It wasn't exactly what I wanted from the ending, but I liked how it turned the book to have some philosophical meaning. I can't say too much, as it would ruin the reading experience, but I can say it will make a nerd in you smile.
I also liked the characters. They felt organic and not too stereotypical, even when they were stereotypical up to a point. Every apocalypse book has to have an Amazon warrior, a nerd, a kid with tricks up their sleeve, a scientist, a preacher, a dreamer, and one with heart.
I liked this one a lot. It was light-hearted, entertaining, and well-written.
Thank you for reading! Have a beautiful day <3