Five months into the zombie apocalypse, seventeen-year-old Stephen Hart lived in a society where rules and humanity had left him for dead. The remaining survivors clung feverishly to whatever hope remained—maybe it was a family member, or a religion, or a destination. But in less than one week, everything changed. (And so the cycle repeats.)
A year later, his ramshackle settlement has been compromised, as evidenced by the hordes of the undead swarming inside the gates... and Stephen is to blame. Instead of running, he takes to the airwaves, using the transmission in the now-abandoned radio station to broadcast his story via speakers to his fleeing citizens. This way, maybe he won't look like such a total monster.
With the clock running out, venture into Stephen's post-apocalyptic world, where circumstances can make us become something other than ourselves.
So I generally don't read a lot of novellas, in fact I think this must be the second one I've ever read, but I really enjoyed it! I read the entire short story on my plane journey to Portugal and it definitely kept me interested and held my attention. As it's a short story, I don't want to say too much about the plot as the events unfold pretty quickly. However, I will say that I would recommend it to fans of The Walking Dead or other zombie enthusiasts and anyone whose looking for a short, easy but exciting read this summer.
Maybe it's just the fact that I'm not used to reading novellas but I did find the story a little rushed and found myself wishing that it had lasted longer! I felt the characters weren't very well developed and I didn't feel myself empathising with them but I understand that it is difficult to give characters the room to grow in a fast-pace action-filled novella. The plot itself wasn't the most unique and original story I'd ever read but it was still full of shocking and surprising moments so I never felt particularly bored with it. Despite all of this, at the end of the book, my opinion of everything I had just read completely changed. It's a plot twist I definitely never saw coming and my view of everything I had just read was turned on its head in an instant! I don't want to give away too much and spoil what was really the most thrilling part of the book but take my word for it when I say that it's worth hanging in for the huge plot twist!
6/10
