Where There's Hope (Surviving the Evacuation, #15)

by Frank Tayell

[Quirky Cat]

Where There’s Hope is the fifteenth novel in the Surviving the Outbreak series by Frank Tayell, and honestly, it’s almost shocking to realize how long the series has been going on for. I’d happily take another dozen novels in this series, given the chance.
Surviving the Outbreak has been by far one of the most emotional and detailed zombie outbreak series I’ve read to date. It’s easily my favorite out there – by a long shot. One of the shining features of this series is the varied cast of characters, and their stories.
Where There’s Hope continues to follow our ragtag group of survivors and their quest to find a new home. This time the focus is back on Chester, Bill, and Nilda. I love that the series will bounce around like this; giving us a chance to see different perspectives, but having a main focus per book. It keeps things nice and neat (even when I do get anxious to see how the others are doing).


Where There’s Hope was an absolutely excellent read. I may be biased there, given that I’m well and truly hooked on this series. It was action packed and fascinating. Seeing our survivors do everything they can to make do has been thrilling. Frank Tayell has a way of making all of the details in survival fascinating to read.
There are two distinct groups in this novel, though there’s a bonus third perspective added early on, and explained later. The first is Bill and Chester’s group. They’re still working their way back to the main group (remember their disastrous flight?), and naturally, that means they’re getting themselves into a load of trouble along the way.
Meanwhile, Nilda and her group have been forced to make some hard decisions, such as leaving the tower they had hoped would be their home. We knew that point was coming – it had been talked about in previous novels. But knowing it and seeing it are two different things.
The third perspective was interesting, though of course there were questions about how her plot was going to fit in with the main plot. Once that was answered though, everything started to make an alarming amount of sense.
I adore how intricate this series has become. Each new novel adds to the situation, increasing the characters and the complications alongside the details and the charm. It’s a truly unique read. While zombies do exist in this world – it feels like they’re almost secondary to the characters and the survival aspects of the series. It works exceptionally well here.
Honestly, it’s hard to believe that what has been years of reading for us has only been a few months of experience for our characters. It’ll be interesting to see how much longer this series goes on for – I know Frank Tayell has mentioned ending it in the next few books. I’ll be sad to see it go, but I trust his judgment when it comes to a conclusion.
Next book in the series is Unwanted Visitors, Unwelcome Guests, and good news for me: it’s already available to read. That being said, the description mentions that one should read Outback Outbreak first, so that is exactly what I am going to do.


For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks