Other Life (The Weepers, #1)

by Susanne Winnacker

The Other Life: who we were before the virus. How we'll never be again. It's been 3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since Sherry has seen daylight. When things went wrong up above, she was sealed off from the world in a bunker with her family. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage mutant killers. When her dad is snatched, Sherry joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers. But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all? The seeds of first love are sown amongst the death and destruction of a nightmare future in this incredible debut novel. Beautifully formed and gut-wrenchingly gripping, it's essential reading.

• ISBN10: 1409536084
• ISBN13: 9781409536086
• Publish Date: 1 February 2012
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 6 April 2017
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Usborne Publishing Ltd
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

I really enjoyed this story, it was interesting and fun to read. I liked the concept of the world.

But I didn't like that the story line was so basic. Sherry trying to find her father after the Weepers took him. I felt like it was a very basic storyline in such a world that has so much potential. The stakes weren't high enough and I wanted more action, less naivety and stupidity, a deeper story and more reveals. There were a lot of info dumps which made me sad, instead of gradually finding out all of this information we learnt it in info dumps all at once. That made this story a little boring, it wasn't as intense as I wanted it to be.

Still I enjoyed it a lot. I just felt like it could have been a lot better.

[inlibrisveritas]

This book is on that starts out pretty strong and really grabs you. The use of the number of days since the main character did or saw something really gets to you and draws you in. The fact that she knows how many days it’s been since she’s seen th sun, or since she’s had shampoo gives you the perfect mindset for what life is like inside of a bunker. It’s boring, it’s away from the things you enjoy the most, and most of all it’s stark. I loved the way it opened, but my love starts to fade a bit once Sherry and her father venture from the bunker. The Weepers were a pretty cool take on what is normally zombie territory and I found them to be pretty creepy. Though at times I kept picking the Morlocks from The Time Machine and end up laughing. I do like the inclusion of the rabies virus, since that’s always been my favorite zombie reason. The writing was solid and the main character’s voice had no trouble being defined. I did have a little trouble with the time shifts though. They are clearly defined so that wasn’t the problem, the problem was that I didn’t really see the correlation between that particular memory and what was going on. I did like getting a glimpse at her life pre-breakout but for me they placed in odd sections. The plot itself was fairly good though the ending is where it “thickens” so to speak and you find out some really interesting things. I do wish that it was more toward the middle though because having it at the end makes it seem a little rushed when in reality it’s not.

Sherry is a main character that I couldn’t connect to, though I tried. I enjoyed the fact that she kept track of things and that she’s loyal to her family, but she had some flaws that just became annoying to me. To put it bluntly, I found her to be kind of dumb. There were so many things that I want to yell at her about while she was trying to survive, that it just became frustrating. It’s probably not fair to dislike a character based on that, and it’s not fair because I’ve watched so many horror films that I know the outcomes of her “mistakes” but I couldn’t help it. Joshua is an alright character for me, though I couldn’t connect to him either. He’s a pretty hunky guy from what it seems, and he is certainly pretty tough but I think combined with Sherry I kind of shrugged him off a bit. Their relationship didn’t strike me as all that fitting either, but I’m thinking that my lack luster opinion of Sherry is effecting this as well. The side characters are all pretty interesting as well and they bring something different to the table, though Sherry’s little brother definitely does a good job of making me thankful I never had a younger sibling.

Overall it’s an interesting book with a pretty good concept, and I am curious as to what is going to happen in the second one. However to me this fell somewhere around average, I do like it though.

I received this from Marshall Cavendish and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

The Other Life is not your ordinary dysptoian thriller. It's incredibly action packed, fast paced, and cleverly written with wonderful originality. Winnacker paints a world so hopeless that readers will never know what's going to happen next, as she fills the pages with incredible survival, dangerous twists and turns, and intriguing arcs. The story she tells is unimaginably realistic and terrifyingly stunning, filled with stark imagery depicting the gritty and garishly haunting events happening. Readers will be clammoring for more, yet left with many answered and unanswered questions at every turn.

There is a world of total chaos and devestation going on outside the bunker that Sherry and her family have sealed themselves into for the last three years. It's filled with savage genetically mutated killers described as Weepers. They have become infected by a virus that has caused them to mutate into rabid humans that represent Zombie-like creatures who absolutely cannot be reasoned with and are extremely dangerous. They're hell bent on causing destruction and chaos with whatever they come into contact with. Avengers are determined to destory the Weepers, in order to survive living in this post-apocalyptic environment.

Winnacker's characters are wonderfully engaging and incredibly brave, full of survival skills, and determination to stop at nothing to protect those they love. Sherry is a wonderful example of this, such a strong, determined, and brave heroine in all of her attempts to find her father, save her family, and keep Joshua safe as well. She endures a lot, yet she has the tenacity and strength for reaching deep inside herself and pulling as much grit and determination to do what she knows is the right thing - protecting those she loves at all costs. Joshua, is the Avenger that finds her and manages to rescue her. Readers learn that he has absolutely nothing to and no one to lose. He is also fighting for his survival and is fueled by one thing, kill as many of the Weepers that get in his way, as possible. The romance that slowly blossoms between Sherry and Joshua, is very well balanced and developed. It's protective and filled with heartaching passion. It doesn't over shadow the main plot of the book, which is definitely a refreshing element.

The Other Life is wildly gripping and filled with incredible daring suspense and dangerous chaos. It leaves off on a major cliff hanger that will have readers craving more. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dark and gritty dystopian novels or post-apocalyptic story arcs. Fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent, or Article 5 would definitely enjoy this highly suspenseful, intense, and intriguing novel.