Customer Reviews

8 Days

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We'll be hearing more from this lady! She strikes a resonant chord with a fast-paced look at all kinds of nightmare scenarios!

"8 Days" ought to be a movie!

WOW! I got so into it that I couldn't wait to see how it ended...all this from a person who is NOT into Sci-Fi. I loved it. Man, the connections I had. Besides the obvious ones with the Missouri connections, I was born in Nacogdoches, Tx and when I play my ipod in my car, I have to tune it to 92.5 for it to transmit. You did a great job and I can't wait for your next project. Keep it up.

8 Days was an absolute thriller which involved you emotionally with the characters. I am impressed that this is the first book published by this author, as it appears to be so advanced in its structure and story. The story brings into reality the depth of destruction that could truly happen in our world along with the reality of how we possess such powers to do so. This story is riveting in its display of characters and structure of the actual storyline. What an impressive read, I cannot wait for the sequel.

8 Days is a journal documenting a period of eight days following the release of a deadly gas called X-86. Billions of people from all over the planet are affected by this deadly gas, most of them die but a select few survive. The survivors experience enhanced ESP capabilities as they are forced to watch friends, families and loved ones perish. Most of them wonder why they were spared this same fate but in the meantime a massive effort has begun to assemble the survivors in one place to determine the future of what remains of humanity.

We experience stories from different states in which we read about mad men and women roaming the streets while survivors avoid them. We read about small children loosing parents, husbands and wives widowed as a result of this gas and men in power with plans to exploit this tragedy for their own personal gains. One by one these individual stories become one story with diverse roles played out to a remarkable conclusion.

8 Days is written in an aggressive, truthful and shocking style. When you read these pages you live out nightmares that few of us ever want to experience. You are taken to emotional lows with your characters and you begin to hope that they rebuild their lives as the ones responsible receive their just punishment. From page one I found myself captivated by this book. The mental images of children forced to grow up too fast as they struggle to survive intertwine with images of people killing their loved ones in an act of violence or mercy.

This book has it all and its honesty and truth are brutal - but these aspects of this novel make the book the work of literary excellence. Ms. Bumgarner is indeed an exemplary writer (she teaches Reading/Writing in the morning and she writes in the afternoon) and I've found out that she is writing a prequel to 8 Days. This book is a "must read" in every aspect!

Tyrone Vincent Banks

What can I say? I have never been a reader due to an inability for an author to catch and hold my attention. Finally, something for me to read! I was unable to put the book down. Excitement, drama, love and fear all contained in this one book. I can't wait for the next story from Barri. Please hurry! Thanks!

Christina T.

What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good end of the world book. It's dark, but not so dark as to be depressing. Realistic, hopeful, and full of three dimensional characters, I couldn't put it down. Well worth my time. People have compared it to Stephen King's 'The Stand,' though I say that '8 Days' stands in its own right. Can't wait to see more from this talented author.

This is a real can't-put-down book. From the very first page I was

deeply involved with this story. It is certainly pertinent to our times. Also the characters are very well developed and I really cared about them. Some of them I hated but all were real. The plot was very well thought out and intriguing. This is one I plan to read again because I read it so fast I'm afraid I missed something.

If you like a good thriller with empathetic characters, you will like this book. Personally I believe that people that don't even like thrillers will like this book. It could happen!!!

An Avid Reader

I was referred to this book by a Missouri Writers' Guild peer, and I can't believe this is a first novel. Bumgarner's depiction of character and dialogue are as good as any I've ever read. I'm a fantasy guru and don't normally read thrillers or mystery, but I will read everything Barri Bumgarner writes. She is such an incredible individual, as I met her at the guild conference last year, and I think we will soon be reading about her in bigger places. She may be the first Missouri author to really hit the big time! If you want a good winter read, I suggest you get 8 Days, but don't plan to go anywhere for a while...it is a page turner, and you will not be able to put it down!

This is the best book I have ever read. It grabs you from the first chapter and doesn't let go. It was an outstanding read and I highly recommend it. The book is extremely well-written and maintains the reader's attention throughout the story. It is complex and has a variety of story lines interwoven to lead up to the climactic ending. I am anxious to read other books by this author.

At a first glance, it would be easy for a reader to dismiss 8 DAYS, by Barri L. Bumgarner, as just another end-of-the-world, Armageddon or THE STAND rip-off. However, a reader would be shortchanging herself to do so; this book has so much more going for it than a similar plot as Stephen King's famous tome.

First and foremost are the characters, a collection of every day normal people like you and me, caught in a horrendous situation not of their creation but making the best of it and existing against monumental odds.

From the young husband and survivor Jake, in North Carolina who loses his wife to a release of the deadly chemical X-86, to DJ's Dusty and Melanie helping their listeners make it to safe zones throughout the country after an attack of X-86, to eight-year-old Jessie Bayker, the young girl who bikes hundreds of miles home after witnessing the death of her father in a hotel room to the lethal chemical, the reader cannot look away from the carnage on the pages and the survivors left behind to clean up after the fallout of a deadly chemical attack.

Even the four young scientists, the "villains" of the book, have enthralling stories to tell, that almost makes the reader sympathetic to their reasons for releasing their creation-X-86-on an unsuspecting world.

Ms. Bumgarner has penned a remarkable story of courage and hope rising from the ashes of despair and hatred. This is an excellent book with enough action, suspense and thrills to keep the reader on the edge of her seat, and an engrossing plot and complex, engaging characters that will have the reader turning pages until the very end.

8 DAYS is a frighteningly realistic and gripping sci-fi story, I highly recommend!