Fighting to Survive: As the World Dies, Book Two [Paperback]

Rhiannon Frater (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 8, 2011 | Series: As the World Dies (Book 2)

Picking up where The First Days ends, Fighting to Survive features the further zombie-killing, civilization-saving adventures of a pair of sexy, kick butt heroines and the men who love them. A hundred or so survivors of the zombie plague have found tenuous safety in the walled off center of a small Texas town. Now the hard work of survival begins—finding enough food; creating safe, weather-resistant shelter; establishing laws; and fighting off both the undead who want to eat them and the living bandits who want to rob and kill them.

Fighting to Survive won the Dead Letter Award for Best Novel from Mail Order Zombie. The first book in the As the World Dies trilogy, The First Days also won the Dead Letter Award and was named one of the Best Zombie Books of the Decade by the Harrisburg Book Examiner. Tor Books began bringing this series to a wider audience with the Spring 2011 publication of The First Days.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Rhiannon Frater and As the World Dies:

“Frater is a terrifyingly talented new voice. Her characters spring off the pages and come to life with a depth most authors long to achieve.”
--Eric S Brown, author of War of the Worlds Plus Blood Guts and Zombies

“There's a lot of great zombie fiction out there, but Rhiannon Frater sets the gold standard. She's got the goods.”
--Joe McKinney, author of Dead City and Apocalypse of the Dead

“The First Days is one of the few zombie novels fueled by the power of feminine protagonists in an apocalyptic world gone wrong.”
--Harrisburg Book Examiner, “Best Zombie Books of the Decade”

“Rhiannon Frater paints a vivid picture of what the world could become if a zombie outbreak were to occur. I found myself on the edge of my seat, turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next.”
--Bitten by Books (5 out of 5 tombstones)

About the Author

Rhiannon Frater is the author of As the World Dies: The First Days and two sequels, Fighting to Survive and Siege. She and her husband live in Austin, Texas.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; Reprint edition (November 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765331276
• ISBN-13: 978-0765331274
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of the AS THE WORLD DIES ZOMBIE TRILOGY. The first novel in the series, THE FIRST DAYS, won the 2008 Dead Letter Award for Best Book (Fiction). The second book, FIGHTING TO SURVIVE won the 2009 Dead Letter Award in the same category.

Originally self-published, the As The World Dies books were purchased by Tor. The first book will be released July 5, 2011.

Also, the series is optioned to become a possible TV show in the future. You can also check out my vampire novel Pretty When She Dies, which has been optioned for a possible film. My book for the younger zombie fans, The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters, has been optioned for film and the director hopes to start filming soon.

I previously wrote for The Edge Magazine and Rank & Revue (renamed Reloaded Monthly) in the mid-00s, before dedicating myself to my fiction writing.

I am represented by Hannah Gordon of the Foundry Literary + Media agency.


Contact me at rhiannonfrater at gmail.com

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for any lover of this genre! December 10, 2009

By Janet L. Rogers VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Unlike most sequals this book ROCKS! Ms. Frater's books just keep getting better and better! She has created such a vivid world, her writing and characters literally pull you into their world and you SEE through their eyes. Very rarely have I had the pleasure of reading such a fun and interesting book. I couldn't put it down. Any lover of the Zombie Genre will love these books and they will find a permanent home upon their bookshelves!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great sequel to 'As the World Dies.' Can't wait for the third book! August 3, 2009

By Stephen A. North

Format:Paperback

"A riveting continuation of 'As the World Dies' that held me in a fierce undead embrace. As with all great stories of survival against the odds, this book is full of raw emotion, brutality in the name of necessity and lust, betrayal and love. One small human outpost contends with the worst of the living and the undead, daring all in its struggle to survive."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The awesomeness continues!! April 26, 2012

By Amy L. Fournier

Format:Paperback

The second book in the First Days series could not have been any better!! OMG!! I thought that I loved The First Days, but this was even better!! They are still trying to settle into their new life in the fort, and keep safe and alive. As if it's not hard enough to keep safe from the zombies, now they have to try to keep safe from the bandits too! As they go out on rescue missions and scavenger missions, they need to keep an eye out for the crazy bandits and zombies. And let me tell you, these guys are no joke. They are smart, dangerous and completely sick in the head. Besides the threats outside of the fort, they have their issues within too. It becomes hard to know who they can trust, and how to punish people when crimes are committed. In this installment of the As The World Dies series, emotions are running higher, and the danger level is through the roof. It is an intense story that keeps you completely engaged and NEEDING to keep going until the last page.

I have grown to love the characters so much. Jenni, Katie, Travis, Juan, Nerit...almost everyone!! I feel so close to all of them. And as much as I love most of the characters, the ones that I hate, I really hate. OMG!! Blanche is the biggest bitch ever, and Shane...don't get me started on Shane. He is awful!! I really can't say enough about the character connections though. I love how they mean so much to each other and they need each other. Katie and Jenni are just so great! They are each others strength. More than anything, the behaviors, attachments, and emotions are so real!! I feel like I am right there with them.

There was a ball in the pit of my stomach the whole time I read this book, which admittedly was very fast for me because I could. Not. Stop.... I usually go to bed pretty early since I wake up early, but I was up until 2am to finish this book while wildly tweeting Giselle @ Xpresso Reads and Rhiannon Frater the author of the series. There is so much going on in this book. They are trying to build up and expand since they are bringing in more survivors. They are planning to go out on missions to either rescue people and get supplies. Some of the survivors they have been in contact with are now unreachable. It makes the tension very extreme. People are also in fear of the Vigilante, afraid to screw up and be the next one to be thrown out to the zombies and the bandits have become a major threat.

Without going into too much detail, this book was just freaking amazing!! I really can't even wrap my mind around what I want to say without saying something I shouldn't. I loved Jenni so much more in this book. She is so kick ass and has the best lines ever. Her sense of humor along with Juan's kept some of the more tense moments a little lighter. This book was for sure a very intense read!! I had a super death grip on my nook, especially the last 1/3 of the book. Now that was intense!! I was frantically reading almost unable to breathe at times. My heart was threatening to beat right out of my chest. So in short, just read this series!! Seriously! You need this zombie epicness in your life! Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like horror, zombies and characters that will permeate your heart, you must read this series. April 25, 2012

By A. Hoffenberg

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Interest in the book: Rhiannon Frater sure knows how to open up a story! She has blown me away with her opening scenes in this series. It will both horrify and hook you. You will have no choice but to find out the fate of the characters you have grown to care for. After I read The First Days, I could not help but think about how it felt like I was reading a movie, if that makes any sense. I seriously pictured the scenes in my head. The tragedy, the terror, the camaraderie, the will to live. I became so invested in the character's lives that I had to continue on the journey with them. I had to know what happens.

World-building: Texans will most likely love this series (as long as they love zombies too). This series is set in Ashley Oaks, Texas, and it takes place after the zombie apocalypse. For the most part, the world is set up. Survivors are holed up in a fort they have built around the county building, a hotel and various small businesses. In this book, the characters are ready to clear out the hotel because the survivors are beginning to outnumber the accommodations. The leaders of the group have been ridiculously freaked about entering the hotel, as it could packed full of zombie fun. The scenes that take place in this hotel are nothing short of horrific brilliance. Rhiannon also adds completely different threats that are just as menacing and dangerous as the zombies. You are on the edge of your seat throughout this entire book!

Characters: I love that Rhiannon writes from multiple viewpoints, which adds to the "reading a movie" feeling. You get snippets of what the survivors are thinking/feeling, putting the reader in an all-knowing type of position.... But, this doesn't detract from getting to know the characters, as you are able to see how characters view one another, their biggest fears, what they allow outsiders to see. Pretty much, the reader gets the dirt and the hurt firsthand.

I could write for days on the characters in this series. Jenni, Katie, Travis, Juan, Nerit, Eric, Crazy Calhoun, Ken, Lenore, and many more. The best part of this series is the characterization. Seeing these people struggle to live in a harsh, dangerous new world. You go on their personal, emotional journeys right along with them, and the attachment to them becomes fierce. And I have to thanks Rhiannon for giving Jack the dog a scene. Seeing this new world from his eyes was an awesome, simplistic touch to the story. '

Lasting Impression: What else can I say? While zombies and other threats keep these survivors on their toes, it is the humans that rule this story. The focus on the will to live and the struggle to keep their humanity in the midst of terror keeps you turning the pages.

Favorite Quote:

"It's not going to be good, is it? Juan pushed his cowboy hat back on his dark curls.

"Nerit had her poker face, but Jenni's expression said it all."

"That's my girl. Destined to lose every game of strip poker we ever play." Juan smirked and wagged his eyebrows. Read more ›

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Settling in for the long road ahead. June 3, 2009

By Patrick S. Dorazio VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

In this, the second book of a trilogy that was first produced on the internet, the author moves us past the first few days of the zombie apocalypse detailed in book 1 and on to the nuts and bolts of the survivors living in a construction site in a small Texas town trying to rebuild the world around them...or at least trying to give themselves someplace safe to call their own.
This book is not focused on one particular plot point, as we are given some of the "days of our lives" treatment of what is going on with the survivors as a few things crop up as key elements to move the story along. The first is the survivor's goal to get the hotel next to the construction site under their control. This is good for a few chapters of mayhem as they do a floor by floor search for zombies stuck inside as they desperately try to wall in the outside of the hotel. The second is coping with the mysterious vigilante that has claimed another victim. The third is the bandits that are terrorizing other survivors in the area that those in the fort are trying to save. Overall, this book is more focused on character development than it is on action, though there is a good amount of it. But the author's primary objective here is to show us how these people, in particular our two main characters, Katie and Jenni, are coming to grips with the new world order.
As with my first review, I cannot fill this one with as much adoration as many other folks but I do like what the author is doing here, for sure. The story is entertaining and certainly well thought out and makes sense. The stresses and challenges a surviving community would face under these circumstances ring true in this tale....

Some criticisms I have here are related to some of the extensive details given about the characters thoughts and frustrations. We are regularly reminded throughout the story of how much Katie loved her former spouse, Lydia, and how it is such a challenge for her to love Travis as well. We are reminded several more times about Jenni's ex-husband and children who were turned into the shambling undead and how she must cope with that while trying to build a new life for herself. I realize that some readers might feel it is crucial for us to truly understand what is going through these character's heads but I personally prefer a bit less rehash every time Katie and Travis get together about how much he wants to protect her and how much she wants to love him while coping with the ghost of Lydia haunting her dreams.
Most of the characters are developed fairly solidly and plausibly but I wish the author had been perhaps less willing to fall into stereotyping a few of the more minor characters. It seemed as if she was doing this to save time so we as the readers immediately know what to expect. The wealthy couple in town are predictably snobs who have the audacity to demand a suite in the hotel, for the common folk to serve them, etc. Calhoun, the town crazy, seems like the typical nutjob with a tinfoil hat on his head, ranting on about clones, amazons, and other flights of fancy. I've seen this type before, many times. Finally, the evil characters, like Shane and the bandits, are painfully and obviously evil with a lack of much in the way of common sense or intelligence. I do realize that this, the second book, is leading up to what is quite likely a far more disturbing and hopefully intelligent nemesis for the population of the fort for book 3 (as hinted at in the epilogue) so perhaps the author is working her way up to something more intriguing than the scumbags they had to deal with here.

Criticisms aside, I liked this book. Please don't get the impression that I think that the author did anything but a terrific job in crafting the overall storyline she has come up with. We are still dealing with strong, tough women (besides our main characters Nerit stands out as a prime example) and equally capable males in these books. The author has done a good job of building a saga that will hopefully come to a rousing conclusion in the third book. Read more ›