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The Plague #1
Beginnings
June, 2012: A couple of small bombs are exploded in a Rio de Janeiro favela and Tijuana, Mexico; few casualties but riots and looting follow.
July, 2012: A mysterious plague which turns normal humans into flesh-eating cannibals destroys Central and South America and decimates large swathes of Europe and Asia.
August, 2012: Governments worldwide collapse, chaos ensues and the plague mutates into something much more than anyone could have anticipated.
Join a group of survivors from Europe and the Americas as they search for a way to patch their lives back together while dealing with personal issues from their former lives which continue to haunt them. Nothing lasts forever, not even the beginnings of the plague.
July, 2012: A mysterious plague which turns normal humans into flesh-eating cannibals destroys Central and South America and decimates large swathes of Europe and Asia.
August, 2012: Governments worldwide collapse, chaos ensues and the plague mutates into something much more than anyone could have anticipated.
Join a group of survivors from Europe and the Americas as they search for a way to patch their lives back together while dealing with personal issues from their former lives which continue to haunt them. Nothing lasts forever, not even the beginnings of the plague.
- GenresZombies
ebook
First published February 5, 2012
1 person is currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Danielle Blanchard Benson
21 books2 followersAlso see Elle Chardou and Danielle Blanchard.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 25, 2012
A rogue scientist sells a specially engineered virus to rid countries of undesired populations. The rich would be vaccinated, the poor would die. Or would they? The brilliant plan backfires as the virus travels the globe creating zombies in its wake.
What a scary world this is. It is incredible how quickly the virus spreads from country to country. Lawlessness ensues and governments fall. The scientist that brought about this plague Charles Jessup begins to feel a little remorse for his actions.
The book focuses on Charles’ family: Caroline his young trophy wife, their teenage son Jonas, and Charles’ older son Bradley. A few other characters round out the cast as their paths cross early in the book: Florestana, a Brazilian porn star, and the IRA couple Cillian and Nieve.
I did like some aspects of this book. The author captured the complete devolution of society well. The despair, the panic, and the utter chaos was well done. The characters’ journey through France to Ireland highlighted the total devastation and danger brought about by the plague. The plague’s unintentional side effects were also original: the vaccinated person could still contract a form of the plague if bitten. They became sociopathic and lost their humanity. Interesting twist.
I had several issues with this book. Why did the characters need to travel from France to Ireland to get guns and ammunition? Surely there would be armories somewhere in France. There were a few uncomfortable moments for me in the novel. Both instances were rape scenes. The first rape scene had the character join up with her rapist and become lovers later on. The second was an unexpected rape scene that just seemed unnecessary to me although I understand why it was placed where it was. I found some of the dialogue did not flow naturally and a few phrases were repeated several times.
This is a gory zombie book. Not for the faint of heart. Recommended for people who enjoy brain and body part eating zombies.
Book provided by the author for review.
Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.
What a scary world this is. It is incredible how quickly the virus spreads from country to country. Lawlessness ensues and governments fall. The scientist that brought about this plague Charles Jessup begins to feel a little remorse for his actions.
The book focuses on Charles’ family: Caroline his young trophy wife, their teenage son Jonas, and Charles’ older son Bradley. A few other characters round out the cast as their paths cross early in the book: Florestana, a Brazilian porn star, and the IRA couple Cillian and Nieve.
I did like some aspects of this book. The author captured the complete devolution of society well. The despair, the panic, and the utter chaos was well done. The characters’ journey through France to Ireland highlighted the total devastation and danger brought about by the plague. The plague’s unintentional side effects were also original: the vaccinated person could still contract a form of the plague if bitten. They became sociopathic and lost their humanity. Interesting twist.
I had several issues with this book. Why did the characters need to travel from France to Ireland to get guns and ammunition? Surely there would be armories somewhere in France. There were a few uncomfortable moments for me in the novel. Both instances were rape scenes. The first rape scene had the character join up with her rapist and become lovers later on. The second was an unexpected rape scene that just seemed unnecessary to me although I understand why it was placed where it was. I found some of the dialogue did not flow naturally and a few phrases were repeated several times.
This is a gory zombie book. Not for the faint of heart. Recommended for people who enjoy brain and body part eating zombies.
Book provided by the author for review.
Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.
April 27, 2012
As seen on -> http://readingbythebeach.blogspot.com...
When I first started reading Beginnings, I have to be honest and say that I couldn't get into the story. I found the bouncing around from each different person too distracting, never giving me a connection to any of the characters. I set it aside for a couple of days then picked it back up determined to finish and find something that I liked. I mean, zombies? Yes! I will forever be a fan of zombie books, so when I say I was determined, I was determined!
I must have been able to switch my brain off and just let the story lead me, because once I picked it up again, I became a fan. The multiple POV's became insightful and needed with so many different characters coming and going. The zombies, of course, were a huge plus and the mystery had my interest piqued.
I'm not a huge fan of political reads, there's nothing wrong with them, they just aren't for me. Beginnings delves into politics and conspiracies. Oddly, it never bothered me, it made the story and continued to add to it. I did find it a little odd that every single character was well versed in the worlds politics. Each character comes from different backgrounds (American, Brazilian, Irish, French, and many mixed) yet they ALL knew soooo much about the politics of most continents, nations and governments. This never subtracted from my reading experience, just something that I found odd.
There are so many characters in Beginnings that I can't and won't talk about each one. I'll highlight: they were all well-developed. I never found them lacking in any major way. I did have some issues with the dialogue, it was good for the most part, but some conversations just didn't roll out naturally. Mostly, it was when someone would talk about love or their feelings, it seemed forced and took a little bit away from the story, but not enough to greatly disappoint me. Just mildly. And along those lines, the most natural character (in my opinion) was Rousin. Everything about her just flowed in such a natural way, she quickly became my favorite.
I'm excited to continue the series! The ending will have those wheels in your head spinning as you try to decipher which way the story will go. Reader discretion: There are some scenes that might make some readers uncomfortable. Definitely an adult read, but one that shouldn't be missed out on!
When I first started reading Beginnings, I have to be honest and say that I couldn't get into the story. I found the bouncing around from each different person too distracting, never giving me a connection to any of the characters. I set it aside for a couple of days then picked it back up determined to finish and find something that I liked. I mean, zombies? Yes! I will forever be a fan of zombie books, so when I say I was determined, I was determined!
I must have been able to switch my brain off and just let the story lead me, because once I picked it up again, I became a fan. The multiple POV's became insightful and needed with so many different characters coming and going. The zombies, of course, were a huge plus and the mystery had my interest piqued.
I'm not a huge fan of political reads, there's nothing wrong with them, they just aren't for me. Beginnings delves into politics and conspiracies. Oddly, it never bothered me, it made the story and continued to add to it. I did find it a little odd that every single character was well versed in the worlds politics. Each character comes from different backgrounds (American, Brazilian, Irish, French, and many mixed) yet they ALL knew soooo much about the politics of most continents, nations and governments. This never subtracted from my reading experience, just something that I found odd.
There are so many characters in Beginnings that I can't and won't talk about each one. I'll highlight: they were all well-developed. I never found them lacking in any major way. I did have some issues with the dialogue, it was good for the most part, but some conversations just didn't roll out naturally. Mostly, it was when someone would talk about love or their feelings, it seemed forced and took a little bit away from the story, but not enough to greatly disappoint me. Just mildly. And along those lines, the most natural character (in my opinion) was Rousin. Everything about her just flowed in such a natural way, she quickly became my favorite.
I'm excited to continue the series! The ending will have those wheels in your head spinning as you try to decipher which way the story will go. Reader discretion: There are some scenes that might make some readers uncomfortable. Definitely an adult read, but one that shouldn't be missed out on!
December 15, 2012
This gory, intense and obscenely graphic apocalyptic zombie novel held within its pages one heck of a thrilling ride! From a virus gone incredibly array, to the crumbling of our modern society, this story held my attention from the start.
The characters were raw, real and very well written. You’re given a very unique insight into each one of them, as the story is told through each character’s point of view at different times throughout the book. The author put them in situations that showed their true colors, no matter how ugly they may be. While I didn’t find myself particularly fond of any of them, I did appreciate the true to life creations of the author.
An interesting aspect of the book was the involvement of politics. The setting takes place in Europe, and as the world around the characters deteriorates, you’re given the opportunity to learn about the way that the governments there work. It was fascinating!
Overall, I enjoyed this first in what sounds like a very promising series. However, I feel as though I must warn you that this is not a book for the faint of heart, as it does contain very graphic gore and two scenes involving rape. Otherwise, as a fan of horror, I recommend this book to all of the zombie lovers out there. You won’t be disappointed!
reviewed by Marie
The characters were raw, real and very well written. You’re given a very unique insight into each one of them, as the story is told through each character’s point of view at different times throughout the book. The author put them in situations that showed their true colors, no matter how ugly they may be. While I didn’t find myself particularly fond of any of them, I did appreciate the true to life creations of the author.
An interesting aspect of the book was the involvement of politics. The setting takes place in Europe, and as the world around the characters deteriorates, you’re given the opportunity to learn about the way that the governments there work. It was fascinating!
Overall, I enjoyed this first in what sounds like a very promising series. However, I feel as though I must warn you that this is not a book for the faint of heart, as it does contain very graphic gore and two scenes involving rape. Otherwise, as a fan of horror, I recommend this book to all of the zombie lovers out there. You won’t be disappointed!
reviewed by Marie
June 29, 2012
I enjoyed the first part of the book but had a hard time after that. To be fair to the author this is more my fault as I'm not as versed on European societies, culture or geography. This made it more difficult for me to envision the settings in my mind.
Overall the book was an interesting read - who doesn't love zombies - and the plot has major potential. I know this is only the first book of a series and it'll be interesting to see where the books go.
Like some others I did have problems with some of the dialog. It seems stilted in places and sometimes a little "in your face". But that is only my opinion and others may not find this to be true. To be honest, I have to say that I don't like any of the characters. At least not at this point, perhaps after I read the next book I'll find one I do like. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the author does a good job of bringing out their character flaws and I'm sure their good traits will be further developed in her next book.
Overall, if you enjoy books mainly set outside of the USA and you enjoy zombies, you'll find this book to your liking.
Overall the book was an interesting read - who doesn't love zombies - and the plot has major potential. I know this is only the first book of a series and it'll be interesting to see where the books go.
Like some others I did have problems with some of the dialog. It seems stilted in places and sometimes a little "in your face". But that is only my opinion and others may not find this to be true. To be honest, I have to say that I don't like any of the characters. At least not at this point, perhaps after I read the next book I'll find one I do like. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the author does a good job of bringing out their character flaws and I'm sure their good traits will be further developed in her next book.
Overall, if you enjoy books mainly set outside of the USA and you enjoy zombies, you'll find this book to your liking.
February 8, 2012
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! Another editing project is now a published book! Be sure to check out Beginnings: The Plague, the first in a new series by Danielle Blanchard Benson.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews