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 Kelsenator on

5 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I started this book, but I ended up loving the story and the characters. I mean who doesn’t love two girls who can kick Zombie butt?

The two main characters, Jenni and Katie find each other the morning that the infection spreads. At first everyone says it’s a riot that’s spreading, but then people start eating other and coming back to life. The government and the CDC keep switching between saying it’s a virus or the reanimated dead.

Not knowing what is going on, and having lost most of their loved ones, Katie rescues Jenni and they band together to try and survive and find somewhere safe. On the way they rescue Jenni’s step-son, Jason, and find their new dog Jack. They truck it through the wilderness of Texas, and end up in a man-made fort. The Zombies keep coming to the walls, and they must figure out ways to get rid of them, and keep the people inside safe. Of course there will always be casualties.

The girls also have to deal with the emotional journey of mourning for their lost families, most of who became the undead, while trying to move on and be strong. Katie especially seems to be suffering at the loss of her wife Lydia, and Jenni at the loss of her two youngest kids. They bond together, and depend on each other for support and strength. Juan and Travis were also pretty awesome characters, but I really loved Nerit and Ralph.

I have slowly been getting into Zombie books, reading lighter reads of this genre. This one put the action right out there, with new things developing along the way. It was full of zombie goodness, but it wasn’t over the top or too much. The zombies were just perfect.

I highly recommend this series for Zombie fans!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 11 June, 2012: Finished reading
  • 11 June, 2012: Reviewed