Before the End

The Apocalypse Blog #0

by Melanie Edmonds

This is a picture of the girl that once was, before the bomb went off and changed everything. The is the prequel to the adventure that altered the world.

After betrayal by her best friend, Faith MacIntyre starts a new blog, trying to turn the page to a brighter future. She makes war with terribly normal foes: an ex-boyfriend who broke her heart; a retail job in Christmas crowds; an intimate mistake with an old friend.

She doesn't know that the end of the world is coming. She doesn't know about the fight for sanity and survival that will be thrust upon her.

Soon, Faith will be wishing that boyfriends, customers and cash registers are all she has to worry about.

Soon, this blog will be all she has left of her current life.

Genres: Horror, Apocalyptic, Zombies, Science Fiction

23 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 22, 2011

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a love/hate relationship with post-apocalyptic stories. I'm always fascinated by the beginning, the how it happened, and those first few days, and the adjustments to not just surviving but rebuilding a world. A lot of stories, however, seem to immediately shift to some tin-pot megalomaniac and overthrowing that person instead of the question of survival. I guess there always needs to be a Boss to defeat.

The Apocalypse Blog, however, (or at least book one of it) has focused refreshingly on the parts of post-apocalyptica which I enjoy. I liked the voice of the narrator, and was caught up in wanting to know what happened next - and having reached the end of the volume, _still_ want to know what happens next. Always a good thing.

The read was not without some niggles: If the bomb had an EMP which fried the car engines, how did all those ambulances and fire trucks run? What kind of acid melts flesh and bone but leaves shirts? And didn't the shift from survivors to named gangs happen very quickly?, but these were easily pushed aside. Definitely picking up the next volume.

[Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to rate as it really is a very short intro that has little meaning disconnected from the rest of the story.

[Paulette Waters · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not care for it

[Aussie bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this series with the prequel which did not really grab me with the drama, but decided to buy End of the old anyway and I am so glad that I did, I am going to go purchase the next one now. I could not put it down, instead of just starting with the horror of an end of the world scenario, we get thrown into the drama of people trying to save others when there seems to be no hope and no safety. Instead of leaving people to die Faith tries her hardest to help everyone she comes across. and toward the end the cliff hanger leaves you wanting more. I didn't read any reviews or blurbs on this novel which is unusual for me, so I spent a lot of time wondering what type of end of world story this will be and once I got to accept that it was just them trying to survive, we get crazy people trying to eat others so now I want to know if this is turning into a zombie story. very intriguing and looking forward to the rest. thank you.

[Zombie_Phreak · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did an Amazon search for "Zombie Apocalypse" and this popped up. It was free so I downloaded it to check it out and man what a mistake that was.

This book is not about zombies or the apocalypse. This is about a 20 something year old who has problems with her boyfriend, her job, her best friend and her father. On the very last page she vaguely mentions that "they" are under attack. Whose they!?! Humans? America? Her apartment complex? Her family? A little clarity would be nice.

This book is barely 20 pages long and it was free, I don't have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is that the next book is $2.99 and the two after that are $4.99 a piece. Are you friggin' kidding me!?! If the first one was this bad and misleading, what the heck makes the author think I'm going to PAY her for the next installments!?!

Look, this isn't a book or a story. This is just some whiny girl's blog posts that she is trying to pass off as a book.

[Kristy Ivie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Suspicious of 4 and 5 star reviews

Apologies to the author but this is not a five star book. The characters are barely written and I don't know much more about them than their names . Even the blogger doesn't tell you much about herself . There is very little dialogue instead just a recap of discussion that doesn't let you get to know other characters . There are many apocalypse stories that are much better written and I have enjoyed . This is written too technically and dry. There is also no explanation of what bomb hit where or anything to tell you what's going on nor seemingly no desire for the characters to find out . Just a telling of cleaning up to debris end minimal description of gathering food, extremely boring.

[MsBDiamondDiva1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the blog writings of a 22 year old lady named Faith MacIntyre; she has just found out that her best friend was sleeping with her boyfriend. And she is trying to start life over and move on, what comes next is just this young lady look for closure and trying to deal with the hurt that has came from the people she thought loved and cared for her. Needless to say, these are the post on her blog that occur before the zombies arrive :-) It is just a look into the day before the apocalypse :-)

[T.W. Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not wanting to rain on this 5-star parade, but there just was not a lot here. I get that this is an introduction. However, I just did not get that invested in the narrator. Nothing much really happens other than some moaning and complaining. I think if this story really wanted to draw you to the next installment, there should be at least one zombie encounter that gives you an idea of what to expect.

Sadly, I just can not get too excited about Melanie Edmonds' The Apocalypse Blog: Book 0.

[J.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. I know this is an intro but I felt as if too much was left unsaid, and the end was very abrupt. The character's voice was a bit whiny too (it fit the story, but that's probably the main reason I don't read blogs in real life). I would've liked more of a build-up to whatever it was that happened in the last entry (I assume it's the apocalypse hinted at in the title). I know this is short, but at this point I don't care enough for the main character to read more.

[Andrea]

Really only a taster, but it did make me want to get the next book!

[Doreen Dalesandro]

Kindle freebie.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of the boring things that define life before the world ends.

[Cathy]

Hard to rate this! It was really a teaser. I do want to get the next installment, I almost wish they would have all just been one or two books....

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little read; I like that it's set up like blog posts.

Very interested in learning more about Faith and her past.