The Undying
An Apocalyptic Thriller
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
THEY HAVE COME FROM THE STARS…
In this riveting apocalyptic thriller for fans of The Passage and The Walking Dead, a mysterious event plunges Paris into darkness and a young American must lead her friends to safety—and escape the ravenous “undying” who now roam the crumbling city.
Jeanie and Ben arrive in Paris just in time for a festive New Year’s Eve celebration with local friends. They eat and drink and carry on until suddenly, at midnight, all the lights go out. Everywhere they look, buildings and streets are dark, as though the legendary Parisian revelry has somehow short circuited the entire city.
By the next morning, all hell has broken loose. Fireballs rain down from the sky, the temperatures are rising, and people run screaming through the streets. Whatever has happened in Paris—rumors are of a comet striking the earth—Jeanie and Ben have no way of knowing how far it has spread, or how much worse it will get. As they attempt to flee the burning Latin Quarter—a harrowing journey that takes them across the city, descending deep into the catacombs, and eventually to a makeshift barracks at the Louvre Museum—Jeanie knows the worst is yet to come. So far, only she has witnessed pale, vampiric survivors who seem to exert a powerful hold on her whenever she catches them in her sights.
These cunning, ravenous beings will come to be known as les moribund—the undying—and their numbers increase by the hour. When fate places a newborn boy in her care, Jeanie will stop at nothing to keep the infant safe and get out of Paris—even if it means facing off against the moribund and leaving Ben—and any hope of rescue—behind.
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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This postapocalyptic horror novel effectively delivers gross-out thrills. After arriving in Paris just in time for a New Year's Eve party, young Americans Jeanie and Ben wake up to catastrophe. Showers of rocks are falling from the sky, and fires are spreading everywhere. As they trek through the stricken city to rejoin their friends, Jeanie becomes aware of pale, murderous revenants stalking the terrified survivors. The cause of the disaster remains unknown, as does the nature of the growing horde of "undying" fiends they aren't quite zombies or vampires, but that's just another aspect of the horrible uncertainty, which brings out the worst in Ben while purging Jeanie of debilitating depression and prompting her to protect a newborn baby. Debut author Reid keeps the action rushing ahead in hysterical panic with vivid scenes and convincing (albeit short-lived) characters. This one screams for a sequel.
Customer Reviews
Kept me on the edge of my seat!
This novel was incredibly cinematic. Just the way I like my apocalyptic zombie/vampire novels! I could almost see this filmed Documentary style, and the author's visually stimulating writing style really allowed me to immerse myself deeply in this story.
I love how the stage was set for the disaster to come, and the level of emotions in the characters as they began to feel uneasy and nervous, then panicked over the city being overcome with people turning into these strange violent vampiric beings.
Best of all, these creatures were fascinating in their evolution. It became very clear that this was no mindless, violent creature, though many started that way. They began to evolve in their behaviour with each other, and towards the humans. They were no longer just a danger in numbers, but in their intelligent cunning as well. Their increased intelligence made them all the scarier to contemplate and imagine.
From beginning to end, this was a page turner of a novel. Not only was it hard to put down, but I was truly immersed in the grip of this story, occasionally startled to find myself in the comfort of my own living room, and not running for my life, like the characters in this novel. It has been a while since a novel of this genre really got my blood pumping, so it is without a doubt that I would recommend this read to those of you that are fans of this type of plot.
Thank yous to Netgalley and publisher for a complimentary copy of this novel for an honest review.