The Becoming: Outbreak

by Jessica Meigs

The year is 2009. In the heart of the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, a virus capable of causing untold misery is unleashed into the world. Known only as the Michaluk Virus, its effects are widespread and devastating. As civilization begins to crumble under the hoards of homicidal infected, three people -- Ethan Bennett, a police officer with the Memphis PD; Cade Alton, his best friend and former military sniper; and Brandt Evans, a lieutenant in the US Marines -- band together in an attempt to survive the oncoming crush of death and terror sweeping across the southeastern United States. Facing the deaths and destruction of everyone and everything they know, these three people discover that the only thing they can count on is each other.

This is the first novella in a five-part series.

Genres: Zombies, Horror

Nook

First published December 17, 2010

About the author

Jessica Meigs is the author of The Becoming, a post-apocalyptic thriller series that follows a group of people trying to survive a massive viral outbreak in the southeastern United States. After gaining notoriety for having written the first two books in the series on a variety of BlackBerry smartphones, she self-published two novellas that now make up part of the first book in the series. In April 2011, she accepted a deal with Permuted Press to publish The Becoming as a series of novels. The first of the series, entitled The Becoming, was released in November 2011, and was named one of Barnes & Noble’s Best Zombie Fiction Releases of the Decade by reviewer Paul Goat Allen.

In 2019, Jessica began self-publishing again, this time exploring a new universe with The Unnaturals Series, in which a group of government-employed agents discover that the wheels of the Biblical apocalypse are in motion…and they’re the only ones who can stop it.

In late 2020, after obtaining the rights for the series back from the publisher, Jessica began reissuing The Becoming Series in revised and expanded editions. The new editions of the series are available now on all major ebook retailers.

Jessica lives in semi-obscurity in Demopolis, Alabama. When she’s not writing, she works full time as an editor, copyeditor, and proofreader. She can be found on a variety of social media platforms and on her website at www.jessicameigs.com.

If you are an author interested in exploring Jessica’s editorial services, you can check out her editing website at www.editsbyjessica.com.

For rights inquiries, please contact Jessica via the contact form on her website.

Reviews

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, there were a lot of elements to The Becoming that could have made it an excellent story – the zombie lore was obviously well thought out, and the attention to detail in the worldbuilding was very good. Meigs did a great job of creating a horrifying tale set in a very believable present-day setting, which definitely made a few shivers run down my spine. I enjoyed the action sequences, and the practical details of survival. Unfortunately, the pacing felt choppy, the dialogue felt awkward, and the characters just weren’t fleshed out enough to redeem the story for me. That being said, The Becoming definitely has some adrenaline-filled scenes going for it, so if you’re a fan of action-based stories, love a creepy zombie tale, and know your guns, then it’s possibly worth a read. If, however, you’re a character-driven reader like myself, you may want to pass. Not sure? Check out the excerpts on the author’s website. There’s a reader for every book, and this may be just your thing…unfortunately, it just wasn’t mine.

Full length review is up on Dark Side of the Covers

[Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty decent - eager to start the next one tomorrow!

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the sort of thing I would normally choose to read, but once I started I did get hooked on the plot; just like watching a late night horror movie, you just have to find out what happens next.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this 4 stars because 3.5 wasn't an option.