Eden Rising (Eden Rising Trilogy Book 1)

i read eden lost before eden rising[the second book] and it answered a lot of questions that i had. i enjoyed this one and i'll be looking for more books by this author and hope he writes a third book on eden.

This book was a very good read. Very realistic without alot of "Hollywood" BS to fill in the pages. The characters were exciting and well thought out, the 2 main characters (Ben and Lila) were great and you get to know them well and even the secondary characters are well played . I think this is one of the better post-apocalyptic books that I have read, and I have read alot of them.
I can't wait for the next book in this series!

With how well written this book is and how good the story is, it should have cost more than the $2.99. I have paid more for books that are not even close to being this good!

While high credits go to the author for his clear, concise writing abilities and his production of characters that are easily identified, little else in this novel are worth its perusal. First the plotline is very old and highly over used by other writers and, being so, it follows a well-trodden trail to an inevitable conclusion. Boy meets girl, their world is destroyed, boy nearly loses girl, they set the world straight, they live happily ever; the reader knows this familiar storyline before starting chapter two! Secondly, an EMP that is powerful enough to destroy the neurons of humans would do the same for all other animal species. More importantly it would also be strong enough not to have a walk-in freezer cease its impact. To have this occur is similar to saying that you can avert the ills of a hurricane by simply staying under your rain umbrella! Thirdly, wisdom comes from a lengthy process of experiencing life and learning its many lessons along the way. It is not attained simply by two teenagers quickly deciding that they were going to become philosophical survivors after an apocalypse. A teenage mentality would more likely have run and hid under their beds while calling for their Mommies to come help them! And they certainly would not become legends that spread throughout the Northeast. That is simply a Marvel Comics delusion. Lastly, while we have had a number of questionable Presidents throughout my lifetime, none of their dire legacies come close to a President who would purposely destroy the world such that he/she could reign over the rubble left behind. In sum, in order to create a good dystopic novel one must first create a plot that has a reasonable level of believability or else you are left with a dubious product that can only be compared to one of Bela Legosi's asinine movie portrayals........

While we cannot predict the type of emergency we need to prepare for, economic, terrorist, natural, emp or solar disaster, this book give a fairly realistic idea of things we will be up against. No one life after a real disaster will be alike. You will either have the drive to live or... not! While we can never be 100 percent prepared, we can read up, gather emergency preparedness items, talk to your families for a meeting place, a plan and practice. This book will open you eyes if you are just starting your er prep. If you have been prepping for a while this will let you gleen ideas, changes you might want to make to your personal prep, reinforce other ideas, plans etc. The more you read and prepare, the better chances you'll have of staying alive if that's your choice.

Uplifting end of life as we know it tale. Writing is smooth, crisp (not wordy) and descriptive. Author puts each main character's inner thoughts and observations in italics separate from the story narrative - a very nice device. Gives me hope that if the world were to "end" things might still be OK. Refreshingly different from other end of the world stories. A very satisfying read.

Seemed a bit slow at first then quickly picked up speed. I found it a bit hard for a couple of teenagers from current times being that mature coming from an average lifestyle.
But a good read over all and I would recommend it to anyone who is into end of days books.
Enjoy.

Living in the twenty-first century, Eden Rising reads more like fact than fiction. The very first chapter drew me into a story that had me walking through the "what-if" of a world gone mad as the teenage protagonists, Ben and Lila, struggle to survive a global disaster leaving very few people alive. The book is emotionally hard to read, but impossible to put down (I read it in one day!). The main characters became a part of me and I experienced first-hand their remarkable transition from innocent children to grit-filled responsible adults in a very short time. Five stars to them and to Mr. Cunningham for a story we all need to pay attention to. I anxiously await his next publication.

"Eden Rising" turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me, a post-apocalyptic book that kept much of its focus on the two protagonists (Ben and Lila) without running off on a tangent about preparedness, politics, etc., that seems to be the theme of many similar releases. As such it was a fast pace, with plenty of action and excitement as the two teens seek to not only survive the end of the world as they knew it, but to create a new life and a new way for themselves (I suppose this might make it a "coming of age" story.)

Make no mistake, the book is very much an escapist fantasy, and it shows; Ben and Lila shift essentially from two ordinary suburban teens to badass in a relatively short time and many of the action scenes are somewhat over-the-top, so you have to do a bit more suspension of disbelief, but the ride is worth it. Given the low price ($1.99 at the time) this was definitely a worthwhile read.

A massive EMP, which kills billions of innocent people but perhaps gives the survivors a chance to do it differently. But Eden or Utopia we're not achieved in book 1, the evil did seem to suffer somewhat of a setback.

I have become very interested in the new genre of "climate change" novels. This does not exactly fit that scheme, but it was a good read. Mr. Cunningham's writing is very believable, and his plot logical. It is definitely good entertainment and worth the read.

Here, an EMP wipes out modern civilization and destroys the electrical impulses in human brains, wiping out most of humanity to boot. Two survivors just happen to be a boy and girl who coincidentally like each other.

Everyone in the book who talks about God is either a nutjob or faithless and suicidal. The main girl and boy have premarital intimacy. The main girl rails about how she hates God and thinks nothing has any meaning and the cosmos is out to get them but they'll survive and then turns right around and prays...to the universe. Her lack of morals comes in handy when she commits adultery and assumes it's ok because she and her husband had to do violent things to survive and this companionship is just another thing she "needs" to survive.

They forage the stores and obviously find everything they need. Most people they come across are hostile and attack them for the girl, or are helpless and need saving.

The transition from average modern teens to apocalypse survivors and legends in their own rights was interesting but the philosophical discussions over the meaninglessness of everything except the human-earth connection, and spite against religion was too annoying.

Thankfully this book gets right to the point. I've read quite a few where the same scenes keep happening over and over with different people. This has some of that, but then none of that. Will get the 2nd book. Hope its as good as the first. Thanks to the author.

I am biased and prefer female author because male authors tend to get the emotional relationships and character building wrong. However, Andrew Cunningham got it just right. At times I questioned how quickly the relationship between Lila and Ben developed, but in a post apocalyptic world, nothing would be as expected, and countless examples are explored in this novel. Well done, sir. Well done.

I love reading Stephen King novels. While reading another set of books by Brett Battles titled "The Eden Project", I accidentally stumbled onto this author. The title of the last book in the series has the same name. "Eden Rising". I purchase books on my kindle and was at first upset that this was not the final book of the series I had been reading. But continued to read it anyway and was taken in. Great reading. It had me in a trance and found at times I could not put it down. Waiting for more good reading from this great writer.

Full disclosure: I am a friend of the author but likely would have picked this title up anyway as I am a fan of dystopian fiction (not just your standards like The Hunger Games, but also lesser known titles including The Enemy series by Charles Higson, The Line by Teri Hall, Ship Breaker and The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi – all favorites of mine.)

Eden Rising ranks with and at times surpasses these other titles. It is a gritty, realistic take on a world gone mad after an unknown (later explained) event wipes out over 95% of the world’s population. It is dark, and at times graphically violent. Rape and gun violence rear their ugly heads as they indeed would after such a cataclysm. While this might make the book inappropriate for younger teens, its realism should deservedly make it more appealing to the adult reader than your average teen fare. I read the entire book in two days, and given that I am not a voracious reader this speaks volumes. Give it twenty pages and you will find it hard to put down, with many scenes so gripping they will have your heart in your throat. Kudos Mr. Cunningham!!

This was a superb addition to my post-apocalyptic library. Ben & Lila are wonderful characters and I "enjoyed" their adventures which ended up a few miles from where I live (!), in western NC. The action and the evil people were well done. My only criticism might be that the book told similar 'tales' (or episodes) and that all revolved around Ben & Lila's separation. But the stories were well told and the excitement palpable.

EDEN RISING, the first in the author's planned Trilogy is a fast-paced, adrenaline-thumping, action/adventure detailing the lives of 17-year-old Ben and 16-year-old Lila after a planet-devastating EMP. The worldwide EMP, which killed 95% of the world's (human) population and adversely affected the Earth's climate and seismology is the catalyst of the story. The protagonists mature and harden and undertake death-defying and believability-stretching (so common with the SHTF genre) feats as 'warriors', 'leaders' and uninitiated 'survivalists'. But, if you like TEOTWAWKI 'survival fiction', as I do, then EDEN RISING is definitely for you and in a similar vein to titles such as TIMES WHAT THEY ARE, WAR'S END, THE BORROWED WORLD, and A GIFT UPON THE SHORE.

From the onset of reading this book, I suspected it was going to be well within the YA apocalyptic genre. I don't normally get wrapped up in these kinds of reads where the story line is way below my age level; however, the more I read, the more enticing the story became.

I believe the author did a fantasic job at portraying two totally naive teenagers facing a catastrophy where they are thrown into a world of immediate death. Two kids, who don't have a clue as to what just occurred and not knowing what to do. Granted, I think the author could have depicted them with more of a panicked and emotional mindset lasting much longer than it did and brought out more realism in how teenagers would have responded, let alone, some adults. Nevertheless, the premise and concept of the story line is entertaining, filled with excitement, action, aspects of reality and survival.

One must be prepared to suspend reality to some extent in stories like this. For example: An EMP will not kill people as depicted in this story, other than those who are wearing pacemakers or who are hooked up to electronic equipment such as that in hospitals. I understand the premise of the EMP in this story, which seems to be a 'special' kind of EMP that killed everyone who was out in the open. I don't know how it could have ever been proven that such a device exists, so one has to suspend believe for this to be part of the story. Remember...it's fiction, and for entertainment purposes. This story is a great dystopian saga about two teenagers who have to come to grips with what they've been left with.

The two main characters, Ben and Lila, start out with nothing, absolutely nothing. They're forced to use commonsense and rational thought regarding what they need to do, while losing their innocence along the way. This was a refreshing departure from the hundreds of 'end of world' novels where only the wealthy preppers have everything one could imagine, along with being ex-Special Forces, Army Ranger, SEAL, ninja destroyers who are one-man justice systems saving the world from all the "bad guys."

There were some points in the story where I wondered why the author wrote in certain scenes. One of which was rather disappointing, because it just didn't fit within the context of any other part of the story. That was the scene between Lila and Peter. This part, imho, truly tore down Lila's character and made her seem so weak, after being the cornerstone of strength up to that point.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and will continue forward with book 2. It's a different type of read with familiar apocalyptic overtones, twists and turns and plenty of action. But it's also about how two young people grow in their need for each other, find love and become a family in a world where so many died in an instant.

Give it 3.5 stars. the store should really allow people to give 1/2 stars. It was an OK book. Not the greatest I've ever read or the worst. The action could have been a little more fast paced and certain parts were to drawn out. I liked that at the author made it hard on the main characters, just like it would be in real life. But once again another author makes a mistake (in my opinion). Possible spoiler alert! A major event happens and kills off almost the entire population yet the main characters seem to have no problems finding groups of bad people out there. One page they haven't seen another living person in days and then they seem to find them on every turn. I know you want to pack in the action and part of the story is Ben becoming something of a folk hero but I had trouble getting passed the insane amount of bad luck that seemed to follow him. All in all not bad. I will say its easier to read books like this when they are free with Kindle unlimited.

I almost skipped this book because of a unfavorable review. The critic didn't like the author's use of multiple points of view. While it's true the writer did violate the rule, he did it well. He treated The hero and the heroine as equals, reinforcing their becoming one as their relationship deepen ed. I found it refreshing. I found the writer's attitude toward God, church, etc. dispiriting and opposite to my own beliefs, however, and hope to find more spiritual growth in the characters when I read the next book in the series. If not I might just
pray for the author's journey.

The trials and tribulations of two teenagers surviving and persevering after the 'big' one is interesting. The plot is a bit different than most end days scenarios and keeps you involved throughout the book. A few twists and turns added reality to the plot.At first I thought the teenagers finding almost everything they needed a bit too easy but the plot supports it. Without spoiling the basis of the story line the travels of the teens are logical and well developed. Good ending

Having read extensively in the SHTF genre, I found this book to be interesting but not among the very best. However, I already downloaded the second book of the series, "Eden Lost", because book-1 was much better than most in this genre.

Positives: Credible characters and plot; good writing style; and a bonus of very few (less than 10) grammar errors.

Negatives: Even though this book has believable action scenes that strike me as realistic for the circumstances, the story line didn't grab me quite as intensely as my most favorite books in this genre. In all fairness, maybe I've just reached a saturation point. Had I read this book earlier in my TEOTWAWKI reading quest, I probably would have given it 5 stars. There are literally hundreds of SHTF authors (142 of them currently on my don't read list) who aren't even close to Cunningham's skill level; he is many echelons beyond them. This book was definitely a very high 4+ for me.

Overall, I do recommend this book. I certainly hope after I've read book #2 that I will be able to add Andrew to my "Excellent SHTF author list", which now stands at only 13.

EDEN RISING, the first in the author's planned Trilogy is a fast-paced, adrenaline-thumping, action/adventure detailing the lives of 17-year-old Ben and 16-year-old Lila after a planet-devastating EMP. The worldwide EMP, which killed 95% of the world's (human) population and adversely affected the Earth's climate and seismology is the catalyst of the story. The protagonists mature and harden and undertake death-defying and believability-stretching (so common with the SHTF genre) feats as 'warriors', 'leaders' and uninitiated 'survivalists'. But, if you like TEOTWAWKI 'survival fiction', as I do, then EDEN RISING is definitely for you and in a similar vein to titles such as TIMES WHAT THEY ARE, WAR'S END, THE BORROWED WORLD, and A GIFT UPON THE SHORE.

From the onset of reading this book, I suspected it was going to be well within the YA apocalyptic genre. I don't normally get wrapped up in these kinds of reads where the story line is way below my age level; however, the more I read, the more enticing the story became.

I believe the author did a fantasic job at portraying two totally naive teenagers facing a catastrophy where they are thrown into a world of immediate death. Two kids, who don't have a clue as to what just occurred and not knowing what to do. Granted, I think the author could have depicted them with more of a panicked and emotional mindset lasting much longer than it did and brought out more realism in how teenagers would have responded, let alone, some adults. Nevertheless, the premise and concept of the story line is entertaining, filled with excitement, action, aspects of reality and survival.

One must be prepared to suspend reality to some extent in stories like this. For example: An EMP will not kill people as depicted in this story, other than those who are wearing pacemakers or who are hooked up to electronic equipment such as that in hospitals. I understand the premise of the EMP in this story, which seems to be a 'special' kind of EMP that killed everyone who was out in the open. I don't know how it could have ever been proven that such a device exists, so one has to suspend believe for this to be part of the story. Remember...it's fiction, and for entertainment purposes. This story is a great dystopian saga about two teenagers who have to come to grips with what they've been left with.

The two main characters, Ben and Lila, start out with nothing, absolutely nothing. They're forced to use commonsense and rational thought regarding what they need to do, while losing their innocence along the way. This was a refreshing departure from the hundreds of 'end of world' novels where only the wealthy preppers have everything one could imagine, along with being ex-Special Forces, Army Ranger, SEAL, ninja destroyers who are one-man justice systems saving the world from all the "bad guys."

There were some points in the story where I wondered why the author wrote in certain scenes. One of which was rather disappointing, because it just didn't fit within the context of any other part of the story. That was the scene between Lila and Peter. This part, imho, truly tore down Lila's character and made her seem so weak, after being the cornerstone of strength up to that point.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and will continue forward with book 2. It's a different type of read with familiar apocalyptic overtones, twists and turns and plenty of action. But it's also about how two young people grow in their need for each other, find love and become a family in a world where so many died in an instant.

Give it 3.5 stars. the store should really allow people to give 1/2 stars. It was an OK book. Not the greatest I've ever read or the worst. The action could have been a little more fast paced and certain parts were to drawn out. I liked that at the author made it hard on the main characters, just like it would be in real life. But once again another author makes a mistake (in my opinion). Possible spoiler alert! A major event happens and kills off almost the entire population yet the main characters seem to have no problems finding groups of bad people out there. One page they haven't seen another living person in days and then they seem to find them on every turn. I know you want to pack in the action and part of the story is Ben becoming something of a folk hero but I had trouble getting passed the insane amount of bad luck that seemed to follow him. All in all not bad. I will say its easier to read books like this when they are free with Kindle unlimited.

I almost skipped this book because of a unfavorable review. The critic didn't like the author's use of multiple points of view. While it's true the writer did violate the rule, he did it well. He treated The hero and the heroine as equals, reinforcing their becoming one as their relationship deepen ed. I found it refreshing. I found the writer's attitude toward God, church, etc. dispiriting and opposite to my own beliefs, however, and hope to find more spiritual growth in the characters when I read the next book in the series. If not I might just
pray for the author's journey.

The trials and tribulations of two teenagers surviving and persevering after the 'big' one is interesting. The plot is a bit different than most end days scenarios and keeps you involved throughout the book. A few twists and turns added reality to the plot.At first I thought the teenagers finding almost everything they needed a bit too easy but the plot supports it. Without spoiling the basis of the story line the travels of the teens are logical and well developed. Good ending

Having read extensively in the SHTF genre, I found this book to be interesting but not among the very best. However, I already downloaded the second book of the series, "Eden Lost", because book-1 was much better than most in this genre.

Positives: Credible characters and plot; good writing style; and a bonus of very few (less than 10) grammar errors.

Negatives: Even though this book has believable action scenes that strike me as realistic for the circumstances, the story line didn't grab me quite as intensely as my most favorite books in this genre. In all fairness, maybe I've just reached a saturation point. Had I read this book earlier in my TEOTWAWKI reading quest, I probably would have given it 5 stars. There are literally hundreds of SHTF authors (142 of them currently on my don't read list) who aren't even close to Cunningham's skill level; he is many echelons beyond them. This book was definitely a very high 4+ for me.

Overall, I do recommend this book. I certainly hope after I've read book #2 that I will be able to add Andrew to my "Excellent SHTF author list", which now stands at only 13.

It is refreshing to read a post-apocalyptic book that is not about an all action hero, instead the book is narrated by one person an average Joe so to speak. It shows how life is affected after a world wide disaster. The plot is believable as is the characters and once you get into the story it is hard to put down