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adperfectamconsilium's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a fast paced eco-thriller which has a real dystopian horror edge to it.
I think the author sums it up at the start with a content warning where she says 'Expect sex scenes, bad language, substance abuse, violence, gore and zombies - a lot of them!'.
If that sounds like the book for you (and if not, why not? No, seriously. Why?) then get ready for an entertaining read.
It's a simple premise. The climate change has created acid rain which is destroying trees and gradually, buildings. The disaster reaches a tipping point. The poison balance has been reached and suddenly getting caught in the rain means extensive brain damage and turning into a flesh eating zombie or 'howler'.
The story is mainly told from the point of view of two characters, Amy and Joel. We briefly get a third POV from Mei in Beijing. She's awesome and I wanted more of her in the story.
Amy is 25, a failed PhD student with a chequered past working as a scientist intern and she's paired up with Professor Joel Harket, forty-something self-loathing but handsome Norwegian.
Can they convince the powers that be at the UN Air Health Summit of the impending apocalypse or is humanity doomed?
The story moves from London to Beijing and back again and the scientific thriller soon gives way to zombie carnage. Think 28 Days Later meets The Girl With All The Gifts.
There's plenty of action and although the plot moves quickly it flows well and is never confusing. It's a gripping page turner and an accomplished debut with an ending that leaves you ready for the sequel.
The romance element veers a little into Young Adult fiction territory. Two people that start by hating each other, argue over everything while not saying what they feel and in a surprise to no one fall in love while most sane people would be too preoccupied with trying not to get eaten by zombies. But it's as realistic as most Hollywood blockbusters and doesn't detract from the excitement of the plot.
Moody Joel and foul mouthed kick-ass Amy. Fiction's new power couple.
The rain falls, the world burns and humanity howls. Welcome to the near future.
I think the author sums it up at the start with a content warning where she says 'Expect sex scenes, bad language, substance abuse, violence, gore and zombies - a lot of them!'.
If that sounds like the book for you (and if not, why not? No, seriously. Why?) then get ready for an entertaining read.
It's a simple premise. The climate change has created acid rain which is destroying trees and gradually, buildings. The disaster reaches a tipping point. The poison balance has been reached and suddenly getting caught in the rain means extensive brain damage and turning into a flesh eating zombie or 'howler'.
The story is mainly told from the point of view of two characters, Amy and Joel. We briefly get a third POV from Mei in Beijing. She's awesome and I wanted more of her in the story.
Amy is 25, a failed PhD student with a chequered past working as a scientist intern and she's paired up with Professor Joel Harket, forty-something self-loathing but handsome Norwegian.
Can they convince the powers that be at the UN Air Health Summit of the impending apocalypse or is humanity doomed?
The story moves from London to Beijing and back again and the scientific thriller soon gives way to zombie carnage. Think 28 Days Later meets The Girl With All The Gifts.
There's plenty of action and although the plot moves quickly it flows well and is never confusing. It's a gripping page turner and an accomplished debut with an ending that leaves you ready for the sequel.
The romance element veers a little into Young Adult fiction territory. Two people that start by hating each other, argue over everything while not saying what they feel and in a surprise to no one fall in love while most sane people would be too preoccupied with trying not to get eaten by zombies. But it's as realistic as most Hollywood blockbusters and doesn't detract from the excitement of the plot.
Moody Joel and foul mouthed kick-ass Amy. Fiction's new power couple.
The rain falls, the world burns and humanity howls. Welcome to the near future.
juliette_21's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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? N/A
4.0
Thank you to the author and Cranthorpe Millner for an arc of this book in exchange of an honest review.
This book was faced paced, packed with emotions and twists and really enjoyable overall.
It’s a different read as this is based on an ecological disaster that in all honesty could end up become non fiction.
It was well written, plenty of information given and developped in an interesting way between Asia and Europe and setting of a chain of events.
The characters were lovable, I did enjoy the two perspectives from Mei in China and then Amy and Joel in the UK. It was nice to see how their paths crossed and how their stories unfolded.
I am not a fan of books that have several POV’s but this one was cleaver in the way that it gave out loads of information.
Towards the end there’s new characters introduced and that gave a nice added touch to the book and added drama which kept the book going and kept me hooked on even more.
The ending itself really makes me want to pick the next book as there’s plenty of material for a second book and a lot of unanswered questions.
To finish off my review I would like to say that the book is fast paced, clever, well researched with no unlogical moments. I love how this book made me think of The Walking Dead.
The writing is fluid and nice to get along with and I love the front cover of this book which is what gripped me to start off with. I would definitely recommend readers to pick up this book.
This book was faced paced, packed with emotions and twists and really enjoyable overall.
It’s a different read as this is based on an ecological disaster that in all honesty could end up become non fiction.
It was well written, plenty of information given and developped in an interesting way between Asia and Europe and setting of a chain of events.
The characters were lovable, I did enjoy the two perspectives from Mei in China and then Amy and Joel in the UK. It was nice to see how their paths crossed and how their stories unfolded.
I am not a fan of books that have several POV’s but this one was cleaver in the way that it gave out loads of information.
Towards the end there’s new characters introduced and that gave a nice added touch to the book and added drama which kept the book going and kept me hooked on even more.
The ending itself really makes me want to pick the next book as there’s plenty of material for a second book and a lot of unanswered questions.
To finish off my review I would like to say that the book is fast paced, clever, well researched with no unlogical moments. I love how this book made me think of The Walking Dead.
The writing is fluid and nice to get along with and I love the front cover of this book which is what gripped me to start off with. I would definitely recommend readers to pick up this book.
anniereads221's review
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I got an ARC as part of a Bookstagram tour to tell my honest opinion on the book.
4.5
When I tell you, I found this because my local paper did an article about the author and was interested to see what kind of book, so I checked out social media and was surprised when I actually realized I might end up liking the book.
When I saw it was an Eco Thriller, I was sold, I couldn't wait to dig in, and I did.
From the very start I was pulled in, I couldn't stop reading, and I was glued to the pages until the end. I needed to find out what happened.
The science in this was great and made me love this more than I thought I would. Like I love how it is important to the plot and made me have my brain trying to work stuff out before more information was revealed.
I was not sure what to make of Joel at the start, because he seemed like a bit of an arsehole, I wanted to punch him. But once I saw through that I really did like him more than I probably should have done.
I loved Amy, she was amazing, being true to herself throughout. What a badass!! I want to wrap her up in a blanket like a burrito and protect her.
Mei, who we got a few POV chapters of, was a character I just loved straight away. The determination and strength shown by her makes me want to give her the biggest hug.
The zombie-like howlers as they are called in the book, were as gruesome as they should be.
Definitely reminded me of The Last Of Us
I look forward to the next book for sure
I was pleasantly surprised by this one
4.5
When I tell you, I found this because my local paper did an article about the author and was interested to see what kind of book, so I checked out social media and was surprised when I actually realized I might end up liking the book.
When I saw it was an Eco Thriller, I was sold, I couldn't wait to dig in, and I did.
From the very start I was pulled in, I couldn't stop reading, and I was glued to the pages until the end. I needed to find out what happened.
The science in this was great and made me love this more than I thought I would. Like I love how it is important to the plot and made me have my brain trying to work stuff out before more information was revealed.
I was not sure what to make of Joel at the start, because he seemed like a bit of an arsehole, I wanted to punch him. But once I saw through that I really did like him more than I probably should have done.
I loved Amy, she was amazing, being true to herself throughout. What a badass!! I want to wrap her up in a blanket like a burrito and protect her.
Mei, who we got a few POV chapters of, was a character I just loved straight away. The determination and strength shown by her makes me want to give her the biggest hug.
The zombie-like howlers as they are called in the book, were as gruesome as they should be.
Definitely reminded me of The Last Of Us
I look forward to the next book for sure
I was pleasantly surprised by this one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Alcohol, Gore, Medical content, Body horror, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Grief, and Animal death
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Sexual assault, Self harm, and Sexual violence
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