The First Days by Rhiannon Frater

The First Days (As the World Dies, #1)

by Rhiannon Frater

Rhiannon Frater's As the World Dies trilogy is an internet sensation. The first two books, The First Days and Fighting to Survive, have won the Dead Letter Award for Best Novel from Mail Order Zombie. The First Days was named one of the Best Zombie Books of the Decade by the Harrisburg Book Examiner. AmericanHorrorBlog calls Rhiannon Frater "a writer to watch."

The morning that the world ends, Katie is getting ready for court and housewife Jenni is taking care of her family. Less than two hours later, they are fleeing for their lives from a zombie horde.

Thrown together by circumstance, Jenni and Katie become a powerful zombie-killing partnership, mowing down zombies as they rescue Jenni's stepson, Jason, from an infected campground.

They find sanctuary in a tiny, roughly fortified Texas town. There Jenni and Katie find they are both attracted to Travis, leader of the survivors; and the refugees must slaughter people they know, who have returned in zombie form.

Fast-paced and exciting, filled with characters who grab your heart, The First Days: As the World Dies is the beginning of a frightening trilogy.

Reviewed by Amanda on

3 of 5 stars

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Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2011/11/30/review-the-first-days-by-rhiannon-frater/

Despite not being a zombie fan, I am most definitely a Rhiannon Frater fan. From the opening lines, Rhiannon Frater draws you in with chilling descriptions and a sense of foreboding that refuses to dissipate. Reading The First Days left me feeling on edge, waiting for the next catastrophic event to happen. I found the characters to be interesting — flawed, but honest and real, even if the characters occasionally got on my nerves.

In many ways, Jenni and Katie are complete opposites. And yet, the two of them have been thrown together — by chance and luck, no less — and form a strong bond. The adage that opposites attract works well for the relationship between Jenni and Katie. They both fulfill an important role in the other’s world. Eventually we meet more people who will become central to our characters: Jason, Travis, Juan, Ralph and Nerit, all of whom are vital to the story in some way.

I found myself putting the book down a lot, though I suspect the reason for this is has to do more with me than anything related to the book. The post-apocalyptic genre doesn’t quite appeal to me. If you do like this genre, or you like zombie horror stories, The First Days will a book you do not want to miss.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 5 October, 2011: Finished reading
  • 5 October, 2011: Reviewed