Customer Reviews

The Survivors: Book One (Life After War)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I don't usually write reviews for books I've read, but I just had to share. I have read all 3 ebooks (it is also in print an all-in-one). Hooked in the very first chapter. I am glad that I am blessed with a vivid imagination. I can easily see this as a mini-series somewhere.

Marines, Magic and devastation. Survivors come together with a strong sense of Patriotism and Community. One man's vision for a new America (and a SECRET that he must guard at all costs) and the people who are willing to die to make sure that it happens. The characters are both well developed and likable, though some aren't. Likable that is. Some survivors will become heroes, some will be villains in this new world as they were in the old, but much worse and some will discover a strength in themselves that they never new they had.

Book three ended right when a major battle for survival was nearing. The 1st chapter of book 4 has made me impatient for what will happen next.

I give it 4 stars because I really loved the way it not only drew my attention but kept it (I read late into the night). I literally couldn't put the Kindle down! It would have been 5 stars, but for the typos, weird sentence structures and odd punctuations. It was a little annoying.

I happen to be a nut for end of the world fiction, movies and books and this vision of the future is truely chilling. I loved it. It was so realistic! From the nuclear blasts to the way society simply collapsed. Great writing, very vivid. I could almost feel the sparks between the Mother an the Father and there's a lot of action. Tornadoes, sand storms. Just a great read. Can't wait to dig into book two, on the road.

The Survivors by Angela White is the story of people trying to survive after a large nuclear exchange. When society breaks down there is no shortage of selfish people doing horrible things to those that are weaker than them. The book puts a pretty graphic face on some of the happenings and is not suitable for young or easily offended readers.

There area couple of things that set this book apart from a lot of other post apocalyptic stories. The first is the mystery hidden behind everything. Several points in the book hint that characters have some important secrets hidden away and that sets a bit of a hook to get the interest of the reader early. The other thing is the presence of magic. Generally it is not an extremely powerful aspect to a person, but there are a few people who seem to have some subtle abilities and one woman who has a much higher capability with it.

Having some many characters play important roles at times seems to dilute the story a bit as it leads to a lot of scene jumping, but I believe as the series progresses these characters will be together leading to a smoother flow. I will also say that there were several characters I didn't like and even the people deemed "good" guys are survivalists. There really is not a black and white to morality the "good" guys do some fairly reprehensible things in order for their group to survive. To me that aspect lends a bit of a boost to the story, it's great for morality to be black and white in a book, but with only the bare minimum of society left that doesn't seem reasonable.

One other thing I will address is the editing. I received a first edition from the author and read and half of it. It left a lot to be desired, but she sent me an updated copy (which is what this review is based on) and it was worlds better. It's not perfect, but it is totally readable for me. Final verdict 3.5 stars with a prediction of a gradual increase as the characters begin to join together through the series.

Review copy provided by the author.

I won't review the plot as its been done many times here, however the book had me hooked from the second page. The grammar and use of words do leave a great deal to be desired but as a lover of end of the world novels I was far to engrossed in the characters and the development of the story than to have more than a mild annoyance when I came across these errors. I always find it hard to believe that a publishing company would put out a book with the grammatcial erros but I am so greatful to have come across the book. I am off to download book 2 - On the Road!

I live in the middle of one of the world's largest nuclear missile fields and therefore I am very interested in reading books related to nuclear war, which is why I bought this book. I have to admit that I could not finish reading the book, for three reasons. First, the author doesn't know basic grammar skills; second, the author doesn't know the most fundamental facts about nuclear war; third, the author doesn't understand basic geography. Regarding grammar, the writer falls into the camp that believes one should use an apostrophe any time a word ends in the letter "S" as in: "Lookout! Here come's an S!" This drives me batty, especially coupled with other grammatical errors. She also doesn't grok narrative points of view. If you're going to write a book from a first person point of view, stick with it for the entire book. If you're going to write from the third person point of view, stick with it for the entire book. This book jumps back and forth, sometimes several times per page, which is distracting. Then there was the description of the nuclear damage, in an event where basically every nuclear warhead in the world goes off all at once. In a nuclear explosion, the bomb detonates in the air above the ground and the damage comes from the heat, the shock wave, and the radiation-- but a nuclear bomb does not impact the actual surface of the earth other than to scorch the items sitting on top of it. Here the author has the nuclear bombs causing the New Madrid fault line to rupture in a devastating earthquake, and then (in a demonstration of her lack of geographical knowledge) has the nuclear bombs that fall in Michigan causing the "Salt Lake" to suddenly inexplicably flood the eastern U.S. and drain into the Gulf of Mexico. I know she must have meant the Great Lakes, and not Utah's Great Salt Lake, but even so, nothing outside of a cataclysmic world-destroying meteor impact is going to cause the Great Lakes to empty into the Gulf of Mexico. In a work of good fiction, the reader must enjoy "suspension of disbelief" but the problems in this manuscript prevented me from doing so.

I am actually writing this review BEFORE I have even gotten half way through the book. Why? Because the authors command of the english language is, to put it mildly, CRAP. I really wonder how someone who can get technical points like what happens in a nuclear detonation correct but then get basic grammar & spelling so wrong. Sadly, the repeated & totally incorrect (& extremely annoying) use of the word drug in place of dragged, drag & sometimes completely unrelated words is baffling & shows a complete lack of an understanding of the english language(as well as a lack of editing.. case in point, the use of the word "eliminating" in a sentence where the word used should have been "illuminated"). Add to that just about constant misuse of "" when highlighting speech is also frustrating as it becomes confusing about where a speech by one character ends & the non speech component begins!

The sad thing is, this book actually has a whole heap of potential, careful editing & some rewriting would make this a highly recommended 5 star read! The descriptions of the post-nuclear war world are excellent... it's just sad it has been so badly let down by such a poor command of the english language.

I'm updating this post.. I have now finished reading the first book & am about to move onto the second. Let me say I have now given this book a 4 star review! Much to my surprise & pleasure, the editing standard improves massively in the last third of the book, making it a wonderful, pleasurable read, especially for a post apocalyptic buff like me!! I see you have two options.. wait until the edited version comes out or perservere with this edition.. I am glad I perservered.. it was well worth it. But thats enough from me, I have to get stuck into book 2!!!

I read works of fiction to be entertained and this series has been thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. I am eagerly awaiting the 4th installment of the series and will purchase it as soon as it becomes available.

The author does an excellent job of developing the characters. I either love them, loathe them or respect them. Character development is the key to getting me to invest in a story and I am invested in this story. Great action, drama, love, tension, emotional conflict, guns, competitions...even a car chase. What else do you need? Seriously, I love the books. If you like good action, give them a read. The price is right too!

I loved this entire series. I would have liked to have the series finished in 3 books, but 4 will be okay if we don't get stiffed (price wise).

What a great story. I really enjoy Post-Apocalyptic/disaster stories, THE SURVIVORS did not disappoint me! At first, because there is so much going on with all the different characters, I had a hard time keeping everybody/everything straight. I would find myself going back and re-reading portions just to make sure I didn't miss anything. However, as the story progressed and I became familiar with everybody, that wasn't an issue anymore. I was surprised at how the story was able to really draw me in. However, I was surprised at the abrupt (to me) ending, but then the author explained on the very next page that the Ebook version had to be split into 3 serial editions due to size. Fortunately, the next in the series can be downloaded in just seconds! If you enjoy Post-Apocalyptic stories with a lot of action and page turning suspense, then you don't want to pass this series of books up!

This is one of the hardest books I've ever struggled through. Aside from it being written like a Harlequin Romance with paper-thin characters, the author seems to know almost nothing about anything she includes in the book.

Some examples:
-Everyone in the military is NOT a "soldier." She calls Marines and Air Force pilots "soldiers." If you really want a bloody nose, go into a bar and call a Marine a "soldier." He'll correct you the first time, and give you a strong reminder the next.

-The author doesn't have the first clue about the effects of nuclear explosions. For example, they don't cause earthquakes, worldwide tsunamis, or, for low altitude bursts, widespread EMP. Only surface bursts create long lasting radiation clouds, and no country with the ability to launch nuke missiles will cause surface bursts because of the reduced damage. For the more effective air bursts, radiation, especially the heavy and more dangerous particles, will "wash out" with rain in a very short period of time. The purpose of nuclear weapons is to destroy war-making capabilities, not to inflict maximum casualties.

-A portable heater powered by D-cell batteries? Oh, come on! There's silly, and then there is preposterous. I'd say "stupid," but I don't want to be insulting.

I wonder if the author ever got past 9th grade English. She doesn't know how to use punctuation properly. Her misuse of commas and use of apostrophes on plural words is terribly distracting. And she doesn't know the difference between homonyms (beech- beach, which- witch). This book is in serious need of at least high school level editing.

And some things are just annoying. Why are all the major characters blue-eyed? And the good guys also have blond hair. I really got annoyed by descriptions of a character's mental state described in terms of his or her blue eyes: "her curious blue eyes," "his furious blue eyes," "her exhausted blue eyes." Arrrgh!

Run into a blockage with the story line? No problemo! Just imbue the character with (oo-oo) magic powers! Problem solved! And it's really cool how people magically figure out how to get gasoline for their vehicles (vehicles which seem to become plentiful after the first part of the book when EMP knocks them all out). It would be interesting to hear how the author thinks the survivors manage to get the fuel out of underground tanks when there is no electrical power for pumps.

My recommendation? If you want a good post apocalypse story, keep on looking. This one is a waste of time.