Scan barcode
wyvernfriend's review against another edition
4.0
Alex is hiking through the wilderness, wondering what to do next with what's left of her life. A cancerous tumour is taking over her brain and she's not sure what to do, the treatments haven't worked. And then an electromagnetic pulse destroys modern civilisation, and changes some people's brains, making them into zombies. Alex is going to have to do something with her life, she recovers and gains a sense of smell.
There are a lot of twists and turns in this story and I found it very interesting, I'm not a fan of zombie stories but this one sucked me in and kept me reading.
There are a lot of twists and turns in this story and I found it very interesting, I'm not a fan of zombie stories but this one sucked me in and kept me reading.
lorilaws's review against another edition
4.0
Where do I even start? With the good...or maybe with the bad? I think I will start with the good...or should I say the amazing? I read 260 pages in this book in a matter of hours. I was hooked from page one. It was the epitome of unputdownable. I was utterly addicted. Phrases like 'best book of the year' and 'the most intense thing I have ever read' were going through my head. Now I guess I should tell you why I had those thoughts...
Ashes kicks off with a bang. Or a zap. The action starts from the very beginning with a totally awesome WTF situation. Alex was amazing. She was smart, she knew how to take care of herself and she handles this horrible situation superbly. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to handle Ellie. She was bratty and whiny, but she grew on me the same way she grew on Alex. As a whole, all of the characters were great. There were a few times I wanted to smack Alex, but I can't hold that against her.
The book revolves much more on action than romance. I had absolutely no problem with that. I did really, really like Tom, though. That's all I'm going to say on that issue because it would be very easy for me to spoil some things and I want you to get the full affect while reading this.
The entire plot, the EMP, the Changed, and the mountain setting were completely amazing. It was freaky. It was one of the creepiest things I have ever read. I honestly think it was Stephen King creepy. It was awesome. Be warned that it's also pretty gory. I'm not bothered by those things, but some of it was a little shocking. Don't let that put you off from reading it! Maybe just skim those parts? I don't get freaked out very easily, but Ashes scared me just a little. It really was one of the most intense things I have ever read...if not the most intense.
So, what was the bad I mentioned above? Well remember when I said I read 260 pages in a couple of hours? I had to make myself stop reading and go to sleep. I was full of regret that I didn't start the book earlier in the day so that I could read the entire thing, but I didn't so I forced myself to go to bed. Sometime while I was sleeping someone switched the utterly amazing book that I was reading with another one that wasn't nearly as good. That's what it felt like anyway. The second half when compared to the first half was boring and uneventful. Maybe I was just still too in awe of the first half. I don't know, but it stopped me from giving it 5 stars and naming it my favorite book of the year.
It was still good...it was just nothing like the first 300 pages. I can't really get into what disappointed me without spoiling lots of things. So I will only say that I still highly, highly recommend this book. The first 300 pages was some of the most compelling writing I have ever read. And the ending left me very excited for the next book. I think it will be just as gripping and freaky as the beginning of this one. Definitely read this one!
Ashes kicks off with a bang. Or a zap. The action starts from the very beginning with a totally awesome WTF situation. Alex was amazing. She was smart, she knew how to take care of herself and she handles this horrible situation superbly. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to handle Ellie. She was bratty and whiny, but she grew on me the same way she grew on Alex. As a whole, all of the characters were great. There were a few times I wanted to smack Alex, but I can't hold that against her.
The book revolves much more on action than romance. I had absolutely no problem with that. I did really, really like Tom, though. That's all I'm going to say on that issue because it would be very easy for me to spoil some things and I want you to get the full affect while reading this.
The entire plot, the EMP, the Changed, and the mountain setting were completely amazing. It was freaky. It was one of the creepiest things I have ever read. I honestly think it was Stephen King creepy. It was awesome. Be warned that it's also pretty gory. I'm not bothered by those things, but some of it was a little shocking. Don't let that put you off from reading it! Maybe just skim those parts? I don't get freaked out very easily, but Ashes scared me just a little. It really was one of the most intense things I have ever read...if not the most intense.
So, what was the bad I mentioned above? Well remember when I said I read 260 pages in a couple of hours? I had to make myself stop reading and go to sleep. I was full of regret that I didn't start the book earlier in the day so that I could read the entire thing, but I didn't so I forced myself to go to bed. Sometime while I was sleeping someone switched the utterly amazing book that I was reading with another one that wasn't nearly as good. That's what it felt like anyway. The second half when compared to the first half was boring and uneventful. Maybe I was just still too in awe of the first half. I don't know, but it stopped me from giving it 5 stars and naming it my favorite book of the year.
It was still good...it was just nothing like the first 300 pages. I can't really get into what disappointed me without spoiling lots of things. So I will only say that I still highly, highly recommend this book. The first 300 pages was some of the most compelling writing I have ever read. And the ending left me very excited for the next book. I think it will be just as gripping and freaky as the beginning of this one. Definitely read this one!
booksforourminds's review against another edition
4.0
Al principio se me hizo bastante pesado. Pero a medida que avanzaba la cosa es ponía interesante y luego se hizo terriblemente adictivo.
Hacia mucho que no leía un libro de este estilo y había olvidado lo mucho que me gustan.
4/5
Próximamente reseña en el blog.
Hacia mucho que no leía un libro de este estilo y había olvidado lo mucho que me gustan.
4/5
Próximamente reseña en el blog.
sssalute32's review against another edition
4.0
2:53 am
I had to take a breather because I just read the part where a zombie threw the collie like a rag doll on a tree and ripped open a collie's mouth and pulled its tongue out!
I'm a big fan of the zombies, but when it comes to dogs being hurt. I just simply turn all Mama bear and get angry and then feel sory for the poor fuzzy creatures.
It's a definite good read. Got me gripping the edge of my ereader hard!
I had to take a breather because I just read the part where a zombie threw the collie like a rag doll on a tree and ripped open a collie's mouth and pulled its tongue out!
I'm a big fan of the zombies, but when it comes to dogs being hurt. I just simply turn all Mama bear and get angry and then feel sory for the poor fuzzy creatures.
It's a definite good read. Got me gripping the edge of my ereader hard!
oliviarogers98's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
rakesrogues's review against another edition
4.0
I was a non-believer. I knew that there was a ton of hype surrounding this book in the blogosphere, but the cover didn’t appeal to me. I was wrong. ASHES is hype-worthy. I can’t even count the number of times that I said “Yuck!” out loud. In a good way, of course.
ASHES is a non-stop sensory overload. And that’s how you know that Ilsa J. Bick is a fabulous writer. It’s one thing to see a scene unfold right before your eyes, but it’s on a whole different level when you can actually smell and taste what’s going on. She’s an unbelievably descriptive writer especially when it comes to the gruesome zombie scenes. The book gets quite graphic and violent so if you tend to get queasy, I wouldn’t pick this up… but then you’d be missing out.
One of the many reasons why I loved ASHES was the fact that Bick tries to get the characters to come to a scientific reasoning as to why everything is happening. Bick doesn’t take the easy way out by saying that everything happens just because she says it did. Alex’s knowledge is limited to what she knows from her AP Bio science class and random tidbits that she’s picked up over the years. She may not be a scientist, but she’s also not an idiot. I think it gives ASHES a more realistic feel because I think that people would definitely try to figure out what on earth is happening if they were in this situation. You can’t always be running from zombies. There’s definitely a lot of time to think about what’s going on. As to the question of if this can really happen? I’m not sure about that. I’m no science expert, but Bick’s writing definitely makes me hope that it never does.
Believe it or not, there’s actually a love triangle in this book. Uh oh. But for once, I can actually say that I did not mind. I know we’re all tired of the silly and unnecessary love triangles that are taking over the YA market but it actually works in ASHES. Why? Because ASHES does take place within a few months and SO MANY THINGS happen in that amount of time. I’d hate to give out spoilers, so trust me when I say that it works and it’s quite a dilemma.
So now that I’ve been properly exposed to a zombie book, I want more! Specifically, I want more ASHES. I felt satisfied once I completed ASHES but I feel an insane urge to find out what happens next. There is no cliffhanger ending, but you will be left with a ton of questions that will be dying to be answered.
Why I’m Biased: I’m almost immediately turned off by anything that sounds remotely dystopian / post-apocalyptic just because there were so many of them this year. I’m obviously way too quick to judge.
ASHES is a non-stop sensory overload. And that’s how you know that Ilsa J. Bick is a fabulous writer. It’s one thing to see a scene unfold right before your eyes, but it’s on a whole different level when you can actually smell and taste what’s going on. She’s an unbelievably descriptive writer especially when it comes to the gruesome zombie scenes. The book gets quite graphic and violent so if you tend to get queasy, I wouldn’t pick this up… but then you’d be missing out.
One of the many reasons why I loved ASHES was the fact that Bick tries to get the characters to come to a scientific reasoning as to why everything is happening. Bick doesn’t take the easy way out by saying that everything happens just because she says it did. Alex’s knowledge is limited to what she knows from her AP Bio science class and random tidbits that she’s picked up over the years. She may not be a scientist, but she’s also not an idiot. I think it gives ASHES a more realistic feel because I think that people would definitely try to figure out what on earth is happening if they were in this situation. You can’t always be running from zombies. There’s definitely a lot of time to think about what’s going on. As to the question of if this can really happen? I’m not sure about that. I’m no science expert, but Bick’s writing definitely makes me hope that it never does.
Believe it or not, there’s actually a love triangle in this book. Uh oh. But for once, I can actually say that I did not mind. I know we’re all tired of the silly and unnecessary love triangles that are taking over the YA market but it actually works in ASHES. Why? Because ASHES does take place within a few months and SO MANY THINGS happen in that amount of time. I’d hate to give out spoilers, so trust me when I say that it works and it’s quite a dilemma.
So now that I’ve been properly exposed to a zombie book, I want more! Specifically, I want more ASHES. I felt satisfied once I completed ASHES but I feel an insane urge to find out what happens next. There is no cliffhanger ending, but you will be left with a ton of questions that will be dying to be answered.
Why I’m Biased: I’m almost immediately turned off by anything that sounds remotely dystopian / post-apocalyptic just because there were so many of them this year. I’m obviously way too quick to judge.
gingerlaura's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Intriguing, that's what this book is.
It's not particularly too exciting, and most of the plot and background stories of characters are vague, yet this book still had me hooked.
Just like the reviews are saying, this book is basically split into two completely different parts. The first part is where disaster strikes and survival is the driving force of the plot. I really liked this, even if it sometimes got a bit monotonous and some things were a little too convenient for my taste.
Then, very abruptly and pretty much out of nowhere, this book takes a sudden turn of events. It's not subtle, it's not gradual, it's very much like I was suddenly reading a totally different book with characters that were vaguely familiar to me. At first I didn't like this, but the second part grew on me and got more and more intense the closer I got to the ending.
For me the ending wasn't actually that much of a cliffhanger, it wasn't that shocking to me. However I am very much interested in how this will progress, so it's very likely I'll be continuing this series.
It's not particularly too exciting, and most of the plot and background stories of characters are vague, yet this book still had me hooked.
Just like the reviews are saying, this book is basically split into two completely different parts. The first part is where disaster strikes and survival is the driving force of the plot. I really liked this, even if it sometimes got a bit monotonous and some things were a little too convenient for my taste.
Then, very abruptly and pretty much out of nowhere, this book takes a sudden turn of events. It's not subtle, it's not gradual, it's very much like I was suddenly reading a totally different book with characters that were vaguely familiar to me. At first I didn't like this, but the second part grew on me and got more and more intense the closer I got to the ending.
For me the ending wasn't actually that much of a cliffhanger, it wasn't that shocking to me. However I am very much interested in how this will progress, so it's very likely I'll be continuing this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cancer, Gun violence, Blood, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Grief
rhrie385's review against another edition
lost the plot and the chapter cliffhangers are annoying