whisk3ytang0foxtr0t's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
monkiecat2's review against another edition
2.0
This book read like a tutorial on how to write a Mary Sue
poisonenvy's review
2.0
I downloaded this book (well, the omnibus that contains this book) for free from BookBub. It jumped to the front of my queue due to a 2021 reading challenge: read something by an author with the same initials as you.
This book was fine, I guess. The writing was a little repetitive, in a "I forgot what I wrote" kind of way (at one point, a character starts a story stating she was 7 when it happened. After, a different character was like "wow, you must have been what? Seven? Eight?" Some descriptions were repeated). For being told in first person, we get a lot of character slips into what other characters are thinking or their motivations.
The characters were kind of flat. I couldn't tell you a single character trait of Alex, the main character, other than "he was there." The main female character seems badass, until she starts screaming all the time for no reason (wakes up alone in a bunker, with absolutely nothing worrisome happening nearby? Bam, screaming). The relationship with Khloe was... Questionable, at best.
The plot seemed fineish, though hardly original, and the pacing seemed janky.
Previously, I might have continued on with the whole series (or, at the very least, the two other books included in the omnibus), but I'm making a concerted effort to only continue series that I'm actively enjoying (instead of only quitting the ones that I actively hate. This fell squarely in the middle of "meh"), so I will not be continuing the series. Will be nice to be able to delete the whole series off my massive TBR list though.
This book was fine, I guess. The writing was a little repetitive, in a "I forgot what I wrote" kind of way (at one point, a character starts a story stating she was 7 when it happened. After, a different character was like "wow, you must have been what? Seven? Eight?" Some descriptions were repeated). For being told in first person, we get a lot of character slips into what other characters are thinking or their motivations.
The characters were kind of flat. I couldn't tell you a single character trait of Alex, the main character, other than "he was there." The main female character seems badass, until she starts screaming all the time for no reason (wakes up alone in a bunker, with absolutely nothing worrisome happening nearby? Bam, screaming). The relationship with Khloe was... Questionable, at best.
The plot seemed fineish, though hardly original, and the pacing seemed janky.
Previously, I might have continued on with the whole series (or, at the very least, the two other books included in the omnibus), but I'm making a concerted effort to only continue series that I'm actively enjoying (instead of only quitting the ones that I actively hate. This fell squarely in the middle of "meh"), so I will not be continuing the series. Will be nice to be able to delete the whole series off my massive TBR list though.
shadda's review against another edition
3.0
Set in the Nevada Desert in 2060, this series follows a premise similar to that of the Fallout franchise, with the last remnants of humanity pocketed away into underground vaults bunkers or living as scavengers in small towns. Lest you think that the Wasteland Chronicles are a rip off of Fallout, I will remind you that Fallout is inspired by the earlier Wasteland games. Whether West chose this title in homage or not, I can not say, but rest assured this book is not some half-hearted attempt at copyright infringement, and the dangers Alex faces are far more brutal than radiation.
Apocalypse gets off to a strong start. West introduces the world, its history and dangers, in enough detail to keep you interested but without becoming an exposition dump. Fifty years ago, the world was devastated when an asteroid struck the surface of the Earth, throwing enough dust up into the atmosphere to cause a nuclear winter and bringing with it the “xenovirus”, a virus capable of infecting plants, animals, and microbes to create something between a zombie and a fungus. His protagonist, Alex Keener, is the only son of the bunker’s head doctor/biological researcher. He is just on the cusp of adulthood: old enough to take part in recon missions but still a student, and therefore not much help in the lab. He introduces Khloe, Alex’s maybe-kinda girlfriend, and Chan, the justifiably-draconic safety officer of Bunker 108. Later, Alex will meet Makara, a beautiful bunker-dweller turned wastelander, Brux, Makara’s psychopathic gang leader, and Samuel, the kind scientist. Lest I exhaust my entire supply of adjectives, I will end the list here, but suffice it to say that Apocalypse has a host of good guys and bad guys, and that the good guys don’t always win.
Read more at ASP Reviews
Apocalypse gets off to a strong start. West introduces the world, its history and dangers, in enough detail to keep you interested but without becoming an exposition dump. Fifty years ago, the world was devastated when an asteroid struck the surface of the Earth, throwing enough dust up into the atmosphere to cause a nuclear winter and bringing with it the “xenovirus”, a virus capable of infecting plants, animals, and microbes to create something between a zombie and a fungus. His protagonist, Alex Keener, is the only son of the bunker’s head doctor/biological researcher. He is just on the cusp of adulthood: old enough to take part in recon missions but still a student, and therefore not much help in the lab. He introduces Khloe, Alex’s maybe-kinda girlfriend, and Chan, the justifiably-draconic safety officer of Bunker 108. Later, Alex will meet Makara, a beautiful bunker-dweller turned wastelander, Brux, Makara’s psychopathic gang leader, and Samuel, the kind scientist. Lest I exhaust my entire supply of adjectives, I will end the list here, but suffice it to say that Apocalypse has a host of good guys and bad guys, and that the good guys don’t always win.
Read more at ASP Reviews
lautzenheiser's review
4.0
Interesting read
Having picked this up on a whim I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find a novel that while it doesn't have a huge amount of depth, did manage to pull me in and make me care about the characters...most of them anyways. I enjoyed this enough that I will be checking out the next book soon.
Having picked this up on a whim I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find a novel that while it doesn't have a huge amount of depth, did manage to pull me in and make me care about the characters...most of them anyways. I enjoyed this enough that I will be checking out the next book soon.
aforestofbooks's review
4.0
For some reason I've been into dystopian novels recently. This book was pretty good, considering the fact that most post-apocalyptic books these days aren't that creative or unique. Apocalypse is a fast-paced, death packed novel. Honestly, so many people died within the first few chapters that I was a little shocked and felt so sorry for the main character Alex. I'm excited to read the rest of the series and see what happens next!
michelleheegaard's review against another edition
1.0
I really really liked the plot for this book. I am into the whole apocalypse/dead everywhere thing. But Kyle West did in my humble oppinion really wirte this story too well.I hate it when a writer write everything so 'clearly'. Like; I not you are sad and crying beacuse you lost your family. And; Being able to move on only few days after you've lost every person you ever knew and cared about - that's just not realistic!! I hated that.. and so - honestly - I didn't even finish it all the way, because I just knew that it would keep going like this all the way through.
So yeah. Loved the plot but Kyle West hasd written this book way too straight forward for my taste. I love it when the reader has to figure some things out for herself and not just get it all served on a silver platter.
So yeah. Loved the plot but Kyle West hasd written this book way too straight forward for my taste. I love it when the reader has to figure some things out for herself and not just get it all served on a silver platter.