The Scattered and the Dead (Book 1) - Post Apocalyptic Fiction

Definitely had me hooked from the first page ~ voraciously read the entire novel within a week! Every page had me salivating for more! However, was a bit of a letdown on the ending! I'm a big zombie fan so yes I'm biased but there's an actual storyline & makes you think! No spoilers here ~ go get your own copy!

One of the coolest things about the Scattered and the Dead Book 1 is that it combines everything post-apocalyptic enthusiasts love about the genre--death, fighting, TEOTWAWKI, the struggle to survive without modern niceties like electricity, and oh yeah, freakin' zombies!--with the contemplation of why humans cling so hard to The World As We Know It in the first place. Why do we fill up our lives with products and meaningless entertainment? What problem does a large Number 5 with cheese solve? How is being ironic on Instagram or Twitter enriching our lives? What lessons are we imparting to the next generation by spending our time in front of a television, ereader, computer, or phone screen? How much time and energy before and after The End are we going to expend trying to keep ourselves numb to the world around us?

Zombie plagues and food for thought. Pretty awesome, right? And you haven't even met the cast yet.

There's Mitch, the dad at the end of the world, who's turning into a zombie and only has hours left to prep his sons for the apocalypse they never thought would come. Erin, a teenager taking care of an eight-year-old while learning to survive in the world After. Travis, raiding the ruins of the world for all the booze, cigarettes, and pills he can find so he never has to feel again. Baghead, on a one-man publisher on a mission to preserve the memory of the world Before. The slick former televangelist, the lone sadist, the mysterious Five...the list goes on and on. Somehow the all-star team of Vargas and McBain managed to weave all of these story lines and ideas into a single book that takes us into, through, and out the other side of the apocalypse.

The feeling I got as I read was one of all these story lines working toward a singularity, of disparate threads coming together, and without giving away any spoilers, I was not disappointed. The Scattered and the Dead Book 1 is epic on so many levels. It's the first full novel in the series, but I would say it could almost be read as a self-contained story. There isn't any cheesy cliffhanger; the ending is satisfying and awful and just right. I can't wait to see what happens with the characters and the world in the rest of the series.

To compare this tedious, unoriginal, pedestrian drivel to The Stand is an affront to Stephen King and his fans. This book is WAY too introspective from the character's point of view. It becomes repetitive and just plain b o r I n g. Want good post-apocalyptic fiction? Read The Passage, The Stand, or The Road. I've read menus more compelling than this.

ephen King?! Hardly. I'm torn on this review. At least with Kings masterpiece, you are able to cheer on and watch the characters grow, and you grow with them. But not here. You start to cheer for a character, and then...boom. dead. I *might* try the following books

Some of the characters are very interesting their stories are interesting and unpredictable, others not so much , but on the whole I would recomend it, the writers covered all the angles of an apocolypse and all the emotions that come with it. its a good book.

Truly enjoy the writing of these two authors. I'm completely hooked on the universes created in all of the books they write. I enjoyed the different story lines, the EOTWAWKI take they have, and how we might or could behave as humans. Just read it and anything else they write.

I read Steven Kings " The Stand" every couple of years. It is one of my favorite books.

This is kind of the same story as Stephen Kings the STAND. But less powerful and different. This had zombies and that is an interesting contribution. The writing is little scenes and jumps from character to character. Good character development. Actually care what happens to them. I have read two of his books. The only negative seems to be the authors are alway setting up the story to sell the next book. One part of the story will seem to complete but some stories are set to continue in the next book, and next, and next. The Stand is like a 7 cause dinner, everything is there. This is like a nice dinner at a dinner, not as complete but still enjoyable.

This writing team had me hooked with their first series of books, Awake in the Dark. They didn't stop there; they steamrolled ahead to plant that hook deep in my brain with their new The Scattered and the dead series. This awesome pair of writers must scare one another with how fluidly they transist from voice to voice. It's like they are each living in the corner of the others psyche!
If you have not yet picked up one of their books, don't wait another minute! There is no time to lose! Lose yourself in the incredible story telling of this fantastic writing duo! :) :)