White Horse

White Horse #1

by Alex Adams

The world has ended, but her journey has just begun.

Thirty-year-old Zoe leads an ordinary life until the end of the world arrives. She is cleaning cages and floors at Pope Pharmaceuticals when the president of the United States announces that human beings are no longer a viable species. When Zoe realizes that everyone she loves is disappearing, she starts running. Scared and alone in a shockingly changed world, she embarks on a remarkable journey of survival and redemption. Along the way, Zoe comes to see that humans are defined not by their genetic code, but rather by their actions and choices. White Horse offers hope for a broken world, where love can lead to the most unexpected places.

Genres: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Horror, Fantasy, Adult

385 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 17, 2012

About the author

Alex Adams was born in New Zealand, raised in Greece and Australia, and currently lives in Oregon--which is a whole lot like New Zealand, minus those freaky-looking wetas. Her debut novel, White Horse (Emily Bestler Books/Atria) hits shelves April 17, 2012. Her fingers are crossed that the world won't end before then.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

so this is why i hate reviewing advanced readers' copies. after the thrill of "yayyyyy, i have something that youuuu don't have" wears off, i am stuck here with a book that was good, but didn't blow my mind. and now i have to be all critical about it, and it can't even defend itself yet. and it is probably one of those books that is going to be wildly successful and then i will be the lone voice in the wilderness on record as not loving it and all the internet will laugh at me.

not that i lack the courage of my convictions.

it's just hard being me, sometimes.

this is another post-apoc story that wants us to reexamine what it means to be human. okay, i can do that. if only it weren't so frustrating to be asked to do it so often, and so shallowly, all the time.i'm not saying the book is shallow - it has some great moments in it, and a lot of the writing is taut and appealing. but i get so fed up with characters in situations like these who keep trying to hold on to moral structures that no longer apply to their circumstances. seriously, cast of walking dead - recognize that you just cannot rebuild the world that was on top of the embers of the world that is. time to start over. new game plan. stop with the talking and the nicey-nice and man up. and this, too. it is great to have the impulse to save the young blind girl from the creepy advances of the male members of her family, but the reality of the two of you making your way through the blighted landscape with limited resources and "people" who want to kill and eat you? that right there is a burden you have accepted. and if you choose to take on that burden, sometimes you gotta take a life. no? you refuse? interesting choice. hope that doesn't come back to - oh, look out!

it's nice to want to give food to strangers passing by. it is nice to retain the vestiges of humanity. and i am not saying you have to become a blood-smeared warrior with a string of ears on your belt, but at some point this pollyanna attitude become unrealistic. but i suppose it is the impulse of a person who carries around a sealed and unread letter for most of the book. a person without curiosity, who is fine as a literary-person standing in for an idea(l), but i like to read these books for tips i can actually use. no role model for me, here.

the structure is a good call - shifting in between "now" and "then" - bringing the two stories ever closer together. she has a good sense of timing and drama, and it is a book i found myself flying through, wanting to know its secrets. so, a good page-turner. but there are times when you just want to pat her on the head and say, "there, there, dearie, not everything needs to be a metaphor." because it sometimes gets away from her.

he jerks me backwards and pulls me against him until his gut it a stuffed IHOP pancake bulging against my back.

she doesn't know that i'm making it up as i go along. pulling it out of my ass like my butt is a magician's hat.

etcetera.

the less i say about the romantic plot, the better. there is no level on which it makes sense to me.

ditto on the "bad guy." pure horror-movie indefatigable meta-evil that is too cartoonish to be threatening.

but not bad overall, despite my growling. i am probably just being overpicky. i thought it started out wonderfully, but somewhere along the way, it lost itself, and kind of muddled on to an ending that made me shrug and say, "whatever, you win, i give up."

and those of you that have this on your YA shelves?? get it off immediately. go on, do it. this is most definitely not for a YA audience. rape and incest and massive human and animal deaths, cannibalism, mutants, that i can see, but corkscrew-abortion??? that goes one step too far. and i doubt a YA audience would believe the love story, either.

come to my blog!

[Trudi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bottom line, this book has *a lot* to recommend it: it is a dark, dream-like, post-apocalyptic landscape with sharp turns and compelling plot twists. I experienced a few moments of genuine shock (remarkable for a jaded reader like myself) and not once did I ever want to stop reading. I just had to know how it was all going to come out. The only way to really know if this book is for you is to go on this journey with Zoe, our narrator, and see for yourself.

This is one of those books that when I finished it, I sat for a moment and didn't know quite what to do with myself, pondering "what the hell did I just read?"

Zoe is a difficult narrator to get to know. She speaks and thinks in metaphors and similes (more on that later). Part of her story is constructed of remembrances of things past -- the THEN -- the other half is told in urgent tones of events unfolding in the moment -- the NOW. While Zoe's story is sympathetic, it took me a long while to warm up to her, even when the only religion she has in this dead and deformed new world is to hold on to the last remnants of her humanity. This means rushing in to "do the right thing" even when the choice to do so is stupid, dangerous or even meaningless.

But her compulsion brings some interesting people into her fractured life, and some monsters as well.

About those metaphors and similes? This is probably what irritated me the most about the book, for if a strong-willed editor had cut half of the flowery phrases from the myriad of thousands to choose from I could see myself giving the novel four stars no problem. Unfortunately, all of the "like a" and "as a" sentences often took me right out of the story, standing out like heavy oak coffee tables that you stub your toe on in the middle of the night (see what I did there?)

Not all of the language in this book makes you want to howl and curse in pain. Some of it is quite beautiful, poetic, startling even. It creates a pall over the story, a tension and a mystery. Zoe's dreamlike narration made me feel like I was moving through heavy water. When the jolts come (and they do, trust me), they really bite you because you've been lulled into a state of complacency.

I did warm up to Zoe eventually, and I keened for a happy ending. White Horse is the first book of a planned trilogy, but the good news is, it ably stands as a complete and satisfying story for those readers wary of committing to yet another series.

[Tarynwanderer · Rating 2 out of 5]

[This review can also be found on Bookwanderer!]

Alex Adams' White Horse came galloping out of the herd of dystopian fiction earlier this year, accompanied by lots of positive reviews and buzz. I took a bet on it, but unfortunately, for me, what I had taken for a White Horse was, in actuality, a bob-tailed nag.

(Okay, okay...no more horse puns.)

While it initially seemed like a promising example of a post-apocalypse novel, I ended up finishing White Horse solely for the reveals. Even when reading something that I don't entirely enjoy for various reasons, if there are unanswered questions and the twists come fast and furious, I'll still read it. This was the case with White Horse, where though I could tell within the first 75 or so pages that this wasn't going to be a favorite of mine, there were tons of twists.

However, most of the novel's twists were nonsensical and/or utterly, utterly weird. The explanations given for the apocalypse seem as though Adams liked too many ideas and tried to jam them all in at the same time, rather than simply letting one reasonable explanation stand alone. The novel's villains have no discernible similarities to actual human beings; their motivations are as sketchy as the bad guys from the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons, right down to the dramatic evil villain monologues. In the interests of spoilers, that's all I'll say about that, but you will definitely know which twists I mean when you hit them. While I'm talking about the characters...frankly, even our heroes feel unrealistic. Zoe's companion Lisa is naive to the point of actual stupidity; Nick the therapist should have been reported for unprofessional conduct; protagonist Zoe herself seems to have more lives than a cat, stretching my credulity to the breaking point.

The "then" and "now" narrative construction of the novel was definitely interesting, and it kept the story feeling fresh. There were some nice parallels between Zoe's challenges pre- and post-end of the world, specifically her relationship to those around her, both friend and foe. It also gave the story a vignette-like feel, and (ostensibly) allowed Adams to skip around to the most gripping parts of the story. Despite the unique story framework, though, there was a heck of a lot of walking. My takeaway? Make sure you wear comfortable shoes for the apocalypse.

Perhaps the most buzz has centered on Adams' writing style. And I'm not completely opposed to it: Some individual sentences in White Horse were quite lovely. Zoe's dilemma with the jar, which opens the novel and remains one of its central mysteries, is interestingly done, and makes great use of the unreliable narrator trope. And the very last sentence in the novel, for example, is great--the imagery is evocative and the emotion feels real, and I felt some affection for Zoe in that moment.

Unfortunately, these gems are few and far between. Most of the potential action and advancement of the plot was instead choked to death by the author's complete overuse of similes and metaphors. They were clunky, misapplied, distracting, and INESCAPABLE. I began bookmarking the more egregious ones as I read (which is never a good sign.) Some choice examples:

- "My heart is an elevator with broken cables crashing through the floors all the way to my feet." (56)
- "She's a desperate kaleidoscope searching for a pattern that both asks her questions and answers them with words that will yield comfort." (103)
- "My infrastructure collapses in on itself and I have no choice but to crouch down, one hand reaching out in front to steady me like I'm an unwieldy tripod." (115)
- "My eyes are rapid-filling cisterns." (170)
- "He's a sidewalk in summer." (170)
- "We giggle like silly girls, carefree and alive, until reality begins to lap around the edges like a thirsty cat." (246)

A good editor would have pruned these sentences in order to make them manageable. Because real people DON'T think or speak like this! And I feel pretty confident in saying that real people definitely wouldn't think or speak like this in the middle of a full-blown mutant pandemic. As it stood, however, I was constantly jolted out of the action by our narrator's inane and bizarre descriptive language.

Try not to roll your eyes when you hit the book's end only to be confronted by an excerpt for the sequel, Red Horse (second in the trilogy). With its overly-flowery descriptions, nonsensical plot, and unrealistic characters, I don't think I will be returning to the world of White Horse any time soon. For truly transformative dystopian fiction, read Cormac McCarthy's The Road instead.

I received White Horse free for review from publisher Atria through Netgalley. White Horse was published April 17, 2012.

Bookwanderer Rating: Two out of five stars
Bookwanderer Tagline: "My eyes are rapid-filling cisterns." (Sorry, I had to!)

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was recommended to me as a 'Hunger Games for adults,' so maybe that's where it all went wrong. That excited me way too much.

This book was weird. Odd, disconnected and I didn't see any display of great writing that some of the other reviewers did. I couldn't get into the story or the characters (as I did with 'Hunger Games' and now I'll never be able to stop comparing the two), and it felt way too overtly like a setup book for the remaining trilogy. I didn't find Zoe, the protagonist, likable or even real/consistent. The story was herky jerky, in a bewildering sort of way, and I couldn't locate the thread at all. Yes it's post-apocalyptic, but in SO many ways. Natural disaster? Check. World wars? Check. Disease? Check. Conspiracy theories, zombies, genetic mutations?? Check check and check! I couldn't focus, because the story couldn't seem to either. There were random bits of over-the-top-ness that seemed thrown in for their shock value, but just annoyed and grossed me out.

[Cole Alpaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

You slip into the first pages of WHITE HORSE and are so overwhelmed by the beauty of the writing that you barely notice the horrific events unfolding. Imagine writing that dances across incestuous rape and the noise of cats lapping decomposing human flesh and still makes you want to cry for the beauty of the words. Alex Adams is that good. Her writing leaves you ready to challenge anyone to find a better paragraph, a better page from any of the great authors. It is writing that creates a dilemma - you are tempted to turn out the lights and hear the words as if they were music. But an audio version would mean detachment and the risk of missing Adams’ true voice. The lovely covers don’t matter. The title and jacket copy become as irrelevant as the hype and announcements of astronomical auction numbers. Figures that must have left more than a few cynical people snickering about the author having stumbled into some incredible luck, maybe a literary pet rock or mood ring. Nope. This is a book that makes you turn to your youngest child and wish she was old enough to share. WHITE HORSE is an amazing novel.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pandemic disease is only part of Adams' apocalypse. It also involves war and pesky shifts in global weather. What's more -- and to me most fascinating -- "White Horse" is a pathogen that wreaks its havoc by changing the victim's genetic structure, turning off certain switches and flipping on others. The effects of this sudden evolution range from miserable death (most of the population) to horrific somatic mutations.

A very few people seem to be immune to the plague. One is our heroine Zoe, who arrives home one day to find an enigmatic jar (or urn) in the middle of her living room. Pandora's box, anyone? The giver of this gift is one of the mysteries she must solve as the world starts collapsing around her and her interest in therapist Nick deepens from the professional to the personal.

I came to view the structure of this book as a sort of double helix, the past and present spiralling around each other, joined by causal and provocative links. Far from ruining the pace, this scheme enhanced it. The narrative drive of both "Then" and "Now" is propulsive -- I felt it might have become overwhelming without the braking that frequent switches in time provided. The frequent switches also enhance suspense and avoid abusing the reader's patience by lingering too long (or too briefly) in either narrative line. This aspect of the novel is masterfully handled.

Adams also succeeds in juxtaposing her stalwartly humane narrator with an antagonist who's chillingly beyond humanity. The Swiss consistently creeped me out while keeping me asking with Zoe, "What the fuck's WRONG with you?" Many secondary and minor characters also won me over, including a seemingly invulnerable Army officer, an autistic cub reporter looking to prove himself different in a good way, and the mythically altered Irini whom Zoe meets in the wilds of Greece.

Back to the mutations. Some mutants are truly monstrous -- I was especially terrified by the wolf-like post-humans Zoe and companions find in Italy, often locked into abandoned churches. Others, like Irini's sister, are more pathetic (yet, maybe if you think about it, awesome.) Still other mutations are subtle in their enormity, as we learn near the end of the novel. I get the impression that some mutations will be for the good, will allow for a true rebuilding of the toppled ecosystems.

The overall action is gritty without prurient dwelling on the violence and nastiness. Even so, this isn't a book for those with delicate sensibilities or a cheerful outlook on the extent to which humanity under dire stress can retain the civility bolstered by, well, civilization.

Not to give anything away, but there may be some patches of sunlight in this dark world. If so, Zoe's determined to find them, and what reader can't get behind that?

I have minor quibbles with some of the figurative language, which is noticeably pervasive. For the most part, it works, but it can also draw too much attention to itself, to the detriment of the narrative flow. A couple of Zooey's interactions with prominent figures also strained my credulity, as did a few of her "this I believe" speeches.

But overall, a read I'd recommend to all of us mutant-loving cynics with a sneaking streak of optimism. I think there will be sequels? I hope so! This world's got a lot more to show us.

[Jamie Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you survived the end of the world, what would you become? Surely you don't imagine you'd remain the very same you, the you that you've come to know and love (and self-loathe at intervals.) Would you become a hero? A hermit? Or perhaps a looter, or a lunatic?

What is there left after every achievement you've gained in life becomes meaningless and you're stranded on the ashy other side of all you've ever known? Once someone (or something) has pushed the reset button on civilization, who will you be? And what will you cling to?

Hopefully, these kinds of questions are all just hypothetical exercises for us here on Goodreads, but as I've always said, fiction is the best way to exercise your mental muscles for empathy, outrage, compassion, judgment, and interpretation. As such, Alex Adams' WHITE HORSE is one hell of a workout.

In her debut novel, Adams treads a tightrope of excellent words over an abyss of death and destruction. And what little umbrella does she employ to balance against the gusts? Hope.

WHITE HORSE tells the story of Zoe Marshall's trek across a world ravaged by a disease dubbed White Horse. She goes through wicked trials in her trans-Atlantic journey, fighting despair and digging for decency and dignity in her darkest moments. She risks all that's left in the search for the man she loves, in the hope that he has somehow survived the plague. Zoe jousts villains and collects allies from those who remain - the small percentage of people who have natural immunity from the virus, and also the others, a scattering of the changed: the ones who didn't die, but didn't exactly survive, either - not recognizably as themselves, at any rate.

This isn't for the squeamish. But what apocalypse really is, if we're being honest?

Highly recommended.

[☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) · Rating 5 out of 5]

White Horse is the first novel in the White Horse trilogy and shares the beginning of a post-apocalyptic dystopian world and its downfall. It is dark, gritty, and eerily real. Adam shares with us the many facets of man at his best and worst. She immediately captured my attention with her riveting world-building and her raw, fleshed out characters. This tale immediately made me think of the Passage by John Cronin and the awesomeness I felt while embarking on that journey. Within the first few pages I knew I had in my hands a novel I would not soon forget.

The tale introduces us to Zoe, a thirty one year old janitor at Pope Pharmaceuticals. The President of the United States announces humans are no longer a viable species as a mass epidemic begins to wipe out the population. Slowly the world around Zoe crumbles and she begins to lose loved ones and friends. She begins to witness horrible changes and suspect that her employer is involved. When she is left alone, she embarks on a journey that will take her half way across the world. She travels for hope, and a secret she carries. Along the way she encounters both horrors and humanity at its best. She uncovers truths and learns that we are what we choose to be. The tale that unfolds is enthralling and engaging.

Zoe is flawed, complicated and very intelligent. She chose to work as a janitor, since it required little thinking and Adams does an excellent job of fleshing her out. Zoe became real, and I understood what compelled her. The transformation of her character, her compassion and her capacity to love endeared her to me. Nick was a therapist before the outbreak, went to war and returns to find everyone he loved is gone. He reconnects with Zoe his former patient and they lean on each other. Their relationship was complicated, and compelled Zoe to act. Other characters added to the tale, like the evil Swiss who made my insides curdle.

The story Adams shares has a realism to it that is both horrifying and riveting. Her writing style compels you to read on as she brings both the characters and landscape to life. The tale flowed wonderfully and the tension built as we dare to hope with Zoe. We are presented with the tale in two parts as we travel back and forth between “Then” and “Now”. While in the then we get a better understanding of the world, the epidemic and Zoe. We begin to understand why she has embarked on this quest to travel half way around the world. When we are in the now we face the brutal and dark reality of the new world. Each transition was labeled, and not once did I mind traveling back and forth as I found them equally compelling. With Zoe we travel by air, by land and sea and along the way we encounter humanity at its best and worse. Some humans were immune to the virus, but others survived and it changed them. The transformation was both fascinating and creepy! If you are familiar with the chapter of Revelations in the Bible, then the title of this book will not be lost on you. In the tale an evangelist declares the virus is the first horse of the apocalypse, often referred to as the White Horse. Adams brought all of the threads throughout this novel together and gave me an ending that excited me, and has me anxious for the next chapter. While all of my questions were not answered, those that were wowed me and have me eager to learn more.
I want to thank Simon and Schuster for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Samrat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes people ask me why I read young adult books. I mean, there's this sense that you read books for children when you're a child and then you progress to middle grade chapter books and young adult and you move on to things from the proper fiction and nonfiction shelves by the time you're out of college. At some point, I know should graduate to staid biographies and home repair manuals and Moby Dick or some shit. But then I read something shelved for adults and I remember why I don't.

So many books for adults are depressing as shit.

And not just the darkest nights before your highest highs or whatever. Like, irredeemably sad. There's not nearly as much rape in YA.

I say that facetiously sometimes, but really I can't see how it helped me to have Lisa's character included in this book. There's rape, so much rape, by her family, then the Swiss. Then Zoe judgin' on her for all of it. She cries a lot and gets stuck in stupid situations and then she gets yelled at and then she gets killed. All to... teach Zoe to be more compassionate, let her know she can't save everyone, something or other blah blah. Her one-note characterization as "vulnerable" felt like the laziest fucking plot device to drag the capable Zoe to her disaster.

And can we talk about the therapist/boyfriend? What was that, you said, having our protagonist develop reciprocated feelings for her therapist might strike some people as majorly squicky? What are they, robots? Everyone will love Nick, even though we don't plan on showing them any love story until the last few chapters. Everyone will love Nick, even though he's made it pretty clear that he wants to fuck her and counsel her simultaneously, a really gross abuse of power. And also this whole I'll make you enjoy hair pulling scene on page 222, which falls like in the middle of her therapy session for maximum creepiness and signs of abuse. I kept expecting the Swiss to somehow be Nick after this scene. Everyone will love Nick, even though it's an outrageously thin plot device to have Zoe walk the ends of the earth and never lose hope because she never opens the letter saying he's dying. Though it doesn't really matter because he'll be alive two chapters later anyways.

This is not hope. This is lousy plotting. This is the kind of shit I will put up with on a 60-minute television episode but feel just a little cheated by after investing days reading your stupid, depressing book. Like, who among Zoe's friends was gaslighting her so into thinking the appearance of a jar in her apartment was a delusion requiring therapy rather than a very real crime perpetrated by someone creepy and obsessive? I mean, this whole transcontinental love story only happened because Zoe's response to home invasion was I must be crazy. That's really sad.

Speaking of big reveals I feel cheated by: The Swiss is actually a woman!! Oooh, and her overt misogyny is all internalized misogyny -- don't worry, guys, no one can hate a woman as much as she can hate herself... gag.

And one thing I never did get: Why should Zoe feel so reluctant to kill the Swiss? From the first pages, he asserts himself as someone willing to kill her or anyone she cares about out of sadistic pleasure. Then he does that. Over and over. He kills her companions only to hurt her. I'm kind of nervous about declaring things moral imperatives, but I think the less moral action would be to refuse to kill him. Zoe's hesitancy to kill the Swiss undoubtedly resulted in his ability to kill more people. You can hardly wait around for a courtroom after the apocalypse. And though I know this book is some sort of meditation on losing your humanity and all that, self-defense is a very human action. The fact that the Swiss survived to taunt her in the last pages was both predictable and surprising in that I didn't expect the author to be so predictably boring.

Whew. At some point writing this review, I needed to downgrade my rating to a single star because I realized I didn't really like anything about it. Here are more things I didn't like about it:

Things were left (intentionally? stylistically?) vague. Maybe there were more landmarks given and I'm just not observant enough, but it was really weird how I couldn't identify Zoe's hometown. I guess it was to give her an everyman character? For me, it just contributed to the genericness surrounding everything and made me care less. Who's the war with? Why again? What was with this climate stuff and how was it related to the jar? And what was Pope on about anyways? Did his business plan start and end with "do evil shit"?

I didn't like the main time jumping narrative conceit, that we're following Zoe's story from a midpoint and the beginning, her accounts working their way towards each other to form a cohesive whole. I wasn't emotionally invested in the characters because I didn't have their backstories. By the time I got them, I didn't like the characters enough anymore to care. Sometimes I didn't want to invest in the characters because they were only there to be killed abruptly by the Swiss or Pope or sometimes the disease or suicide - for fun! I thought there were just too many idiotic deus ex machina moments needed to string the plot together anyways.

I didn't love the metaphor heaviness. Descriptions that were supposed to be lyrical felt really cliched. Let's end with my least favorite:

Hope is a four-letter word rotting in antique dictionaries between hop and hopeless.

[Chris Blocker · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the first 100 pages, White Horse was well on its way to being a five star read. That's not to say it didn't have problems, it did. * But the story was entertaining. The structure was highly effective. The tale of two girls, one blind, trying to make it in this post-apocalyptic landscape worked well. It was The Road meets The Hunger Games. %

The next hundred pages the book dropped to a 4 for me. My patience was beginning to wane. Too many convenient events coming together. A fight, an explosion, a fight, an earthquake. The novel went from a reflective, but paranoid stroll along the desolated European countryside to an action-based novel moving much too fast.

In the last 100 pages, White Horse plummeted to three stars. Characters who were believable antagonists became larger than life nemeses. Shock for the sake of shock. Decapitations and raining cats in an attempt [?] to recreate Kafka on the Shore.

The novel's concluding pages could've dropped the book to a two had the beginning not been so strong. Everything conveniently wraps up (odd considering this is the first of a trilogy.) In the final pages, the story becomes ridiculous and cloying. I must credit the author for giving the story a nemesis that—when revealed—is a surprise. No one will see it coming. That's because it is so far from left field that it makes no sense. It's something you expect from a poor Star Trek novel.

I didn't have much expectation for White Horse, but I was blown away from the beginning. Though it had some juvenile writing, it had so much potential. I don't know what happened. It just fell apart. It was the story of a believable end of the world and then it became sci-fi melodrama. Unless someone reads the second book in the series and tells me it is a wonderful return to the opening chapters of White Horse I won't bother. What a sad end to a beautiful world.

* For the author's many talents in creating characters that resonate, using imagery that clarifies, creating a storyline that largely is entertaining, she has an issue with metaphors. A few work. Most of them do not. The first bad one was so jarring that I had to reread it three times to makes sure I'd read it right. He jerks me backwards and pulls me against him until his gut is a stuffed IHOP pancake bulging against my back. None that follow are as poor as this one, but there are many that should have been eliminated before the book saw print. ^

% Despite the publisher's attempt to sell White Horse as another Hunger Games this is not a YA novel. ^

[Libbie Hawker (L.M. Ironside) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up in a very religious family that was, to state things mildly, a little obsessed about "the End Times." Being constantly immersed in a culture of anticipating the Apocalypse with glee did something of a number on my head, a trauma which even well into my skeptical and atheistic adulthood can sometimes still rear up and give me a case of the cold sweats or worse. That's why it took me four months to finish this book: because it's so vividly written that I found myself having to put it down again and again and give myself long breaks, or risk a long string of debilitating panic attacks.

Reader beware.

Adams creates a plausible and frightening near-future world in which humans have become...no longer human. Or most of them. I don't want to spoil it for you. And through this non-human world, one woman and her companions move and try to retain their human-ness in the face of some terrifying and bizarre circumstances.

It's gorgeously written, combining the best aspects of literary and science fiction into one delectable wordfeast. But it's not all about the words, either. The book moves at a tight pace, pulling the reader along (unless she has to take forced sanity breaks for her own good.) A less traumatized reader could easily find herself totally unable to put this one down. I had to really be mindful of my mental health as I read, and shut the book away where I couldn't find it until my overheated noggin could cool off and stop panicking.

As you may expect, I don't read a lot of Apocalyptic or Dystopian fiction. Two I have read and loved were The Road and The Hunger Games. While White Horse really isn't in the same realm as The Hunger Games (it is decidedly adult, not YA, and it's less reliant on action and more on inner struggles...though don't get me wrong, there is plenty of outside action for protagonist Zoe and her companions to face), it ought to appeal strongly to adult fans of Suzanne Collins' series. It is much more comparable to The Road in its believable and vivid portrait of society falling apart, but unlike The Road, it has, thank god, an ending full up uplifting promise, leaving the reader eager for more (and more is forthcoming.)

[MischaS_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5 I'm not sure if I love it, but certainly it's good idea.

[Kayt O'Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

...I kinda hate it when summaries misrepresent their book. Scratch that, I totally hate it. That might not reflect on the book's story or quality, but somewhere in he publishing process, someone made a decision to lie to potential readers. And then someone probably approved it.

So no, the book is not, as it would seem, about "everything is normal until BOOM the president announces we're all gonna die and now everyone is disappearing and we have to run or we'll never survive!"

The president doesn't come mumbling in until later. People are disappearing because they're dying from a plague called...White Horse. The main character is less on the run than on a journey in a post-apocalyptic world. I can't summarize worth beans, but surely there is a way to write a summary that doesn't flat-out lie to me.

As for the book itself, at first it was jarring. I was getting a YA vibe that clashed with the obviously-intended adult audience. It felt simple, short, annoying, and slightly crude. That changed as the story went on--from an improvement in writing or just my brain getting used to it (and away from expectations based on the stupid summary), I don't know.

I really enjoyed the format, which splits the story between the now and the then, showing us how everything went wrong even as we see the results. I found it a very effective way of storytelling, and better than a ton of flashbacks.

Overall, a fairly good book. It doesn't have the speed-filled thrill of a lot of other apocalyptic/dystopian books (or the chase the stupid summary--have I mentioned how much I hate that thing?--would like you to believe exists), but it definitely conveys the weariness of the main character, on the road just trying to stay safe.

A review copy was provided by Goodreads' First Reads.

[Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Free through First Reads.

I've been sitting on my review for a while trying to figure out the reasons for my dislike of White Horse, and it comes down to plot, pacing, and prose.
tl;dr - The premise is fine but the characters never behave like actual humans; the pacing is glacial; the prose is purple.

Fans of dystopian fiction might as well give this a go. It's readable. Parts held my interst; just not the same parts that held the author's interest.

Plot: The premise is sound for the genre - biologial apocalypse kills off most of humanity, those that are not killed mutate horribly, and a super special few are totally immune. Plucky heronie is one of those lucky few, and she sets off on an epic quest around the world to reunite with her one true love. I'll read that.
The only problem is, the book ,also wants to be a mystery. Not only do we get the "why did this happen" mini-tangent which would be logical for the A plot, we get a serial killer type randomness B plot. Yawn. The threat of flesh-eating creatures and the "will-I-be-next" fear vanishes into thin air, and we're left with deranged murderer whos big reveal at the end makes little sense, and a cast of misunderstood mutants that come to the rescue.
Note to killer - if you want a baby, then it is best not to beat the shit out of the pregnant mother, blow up the boat she's one, etc. Also, c-sections should be performed when the fetus is viable. Note to writer: It's okay for a person to just be sick and evil. Trying to make a villain have a reason for being sick and evil is also fine - just not when the sick and evil behavior will prevent the villain from ever attaining that goal.
The tangental plot involving the mad scientist is annoying - he literally acts like a n old-school Bond villain. He contructs elaborate plots involving one poor person, pretty much just to fuck with her because seriously, not the simplest way to go about your master plot, asshole; and then at the end, when his sniper fails to kill Zoe, he confesses ALL. Quitter.
Back to the A plot - back when I thought all victims of White Horse turned into ravenous monsters, it made sense for people to kill themselves or run away when they were infected. However, when sometimes all that happens is you grow an extra finger or whatnot... big deal. Wait and see what happens. Hopping on a boat to Greece is idiotic. Why did loverboy run away? Because the author needed a reason for Zoe to wander. Not because it made any sense. At all.


Pacing: Suspense is not created by refusing to reveal anything - it's created by tension. The author was unable to create any tension so she just delayed writing the next actual events for pages and pages. The stupid jar of doom is contemplated for a ridiculous amount of time before we find out it is filled with mouse bones. By then, I did not care. Flashing forward and back in time is a great device and it can work - as long as things happen. Only a few things happen in this book - the majority is just waiting. And waiting.

Prose: Oh boy. I could maybe have forgiven both points above if the book was written well. I have never read anything so florid in my life. It might have been fine if it was not written in the first person - real people do not talk/think like that. When they open a jar of doom, they do not describe it in haiku. To get through it, I assumed that Zoe was not immune to White Horse - her symptoms were just ridiculous, disconnected thoughts.

[Chris Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"White Horse" by Alex Adams is one of the best books I've read this year. I have to give the book 4.5 stars for a couple of minor points at the end of this post.

The overall writing style is absolutely top notch with gobs of original and evocative prose. The story is a familiar one among contemporary writers; post-collapse survival, hazardous journeys and perils at every turn. But there are several key elements in this work which make it stand out, head and shoulders above the rest. Think of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" but with a less fatalistic tone, better prose, and stronger characters.

The characters in the book are positively VIVID and real. The primary protagonist, Zoe, is as authentic a character as any I've ever read. Strong yet compassionate, a pragmatic realist who never loses her humanity in a world of post humanism, the reader cannot help but be moved along with the plot.

The narrative plot twists and turns like a serpent from start to finish and is engrossing along the way. Adams takes the old adage of "make bad things happen to good characters...and then make it even worse" to heart in almost every chapter. I cannot rave enough about the pure mechanics and construction process of the plot. Really top shelf stuff.

Finally the author has a talent for mind-blowing prose. Word choice, syntactical symmetry and other points which far too few authors pay attention to are given (what I suspect is) great attention. Descriptions of burnt out cities, choked highways and the infrequent encampments of humanity are utterly chilling.

I had only two minor gripes / observations which prevented me from giving it a full 5 stars. I'm sort of a stickler when it comes to 5 star reviews.

1. Too many flashbacks, done too frequently: While the construction of the chapters led to a very satisfying closed loop wherein the past events meet and "catch up" with current narrative, I found the bursts of flashback content to be distracting at times. I think I understand why Adams chose to layout the chronology in that specific order so the narrative would work, but it was just a TAD too jumpy from time to time.

2. There were one or two coincidences in the last several chapters which strained credibility. Not to the breaking point, but brushing up against the ceiling of suspension of disbelief. What could've been a "holy crap WTF!" moment turned into "Awww. Come on." instead. No spoilers here. You have to read it to see what I mean.

One more thing. The final paragraph of the book sent shivers up and down my spine. That hasn't happened in a very long time...

[Flora Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this courtesy of FirstReads.

This was one of those books that I really had trouble putting down once I started it. I love dystopias and apocolyptic type books and this fit those categories perfectly.

Zoe is a janitor in a pharmaceutical company when one day all the mice at work dies and she comes home to find a mysterious jar in her apartment. Things tend to go downhill for Zoe after that. People start dying from a mysterious disease. Its later learned that if you didn't die from this disease that it changes you. Some people mutated into horrible monsters others the changes were more subtle. Humanity tends to be survivalists, and in the midst of this turmoil she finds love only to have it taken away. Nick leaves her to go find his family and she soon pursues him.

Told in a woven together from scenes of the past and scenes of the present. We see enough of a scene to tease us into want to know more but at the same time wanting to go back to the other time frame to find out whats happening. I love the cast of characters. Zoe is a strong resiliant woman who fights to hold on to what it means to be human in the face of everything. Nick is the perfect man, strong and supportive at all the right times. And we ache for Zoe when he is gone. The evil people are very evil and we want to scream "Die already!" The lesser characters are also imporant: Lisa the blind girl at the mercy of her father, Irina the Medusa woman. And when the mystery is solved about how this all happened and who some people actually are you definitely don't see some of it coming, at at the same time some of it is obvious. My only issues was that in a few places it was over descriptive and I ended up skimming those paragraphs. But it wasn't enough for me to dislike the overall story.

Overall I really liked this book. I would recommend it to anyone who loves apocolyptic/dystopian literature. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this series as this is the first of a trilogy.

[Sarah B · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book I didn't like at all for several reasons. I will name those reasons...

The first is that I just found the overall story rather gloomy, depressing and yet at the same time boring. There was no suspense or anything to keep me interested in the bizarre situation the main character, Zoe, found herself in. I should care about her but I just didn't. Plus add in the fact the story is about a disease outbreak with everyone dying (or mutating) and well it's too much like what is going on now. Except it's far worse in the book.

Two is the story kept jumping from the past to the present. I found that very annoying. I wanted to know what was going on now not in the past. It should have been written in chronological order - maybe then the story would have packed more punch? Normally stories written this way don't bother me but in this one it did: it just bugged me.

I guess it's a sort of Pandora's Box story or that's what it wants to be. Except its an ancient vase and not a box. It was supposed to create mystery I think but I didn't find it mysterious at all and it didn't get me curious.

The scenes with her talking to the therapist didn't interest me either. The whole story just drags. Perhaps parts of this would make an OK novella if it was edited and cut to the parts set in the "now" and not the past. Maybe then there would be suspense, tension and zing, especially the bits near the end between Zoe and the Swede.

[Shellie (Layers of Thought) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original review posted at Layers of Thought.

The first in a planned trilogy, it’s a stream of consciousness styled apocalyptic tale with alternating timeframes. The novel features an illness that horrifically decimates and changes the human population, and an intriguing mythic thread with a heroine’s journey - where a young survivor travels on a heartfelt mission to find the father of her unborn child.

About: Zoe is strong, intelligent and reflective. In transition, she is working at a local research facility where she does janitorial work while trying to figure out what she will do with her life. In the process she visits a male therapist in an attempt to find herself and to figure out what appears to be a slight problem she is having around a jar that has “magically” appeared in her apartment - which the therapist thinks is in her imagination. She is at once scared, curious and concerned, about this metaphoric Pandora's box.

When everyone starts becoming ill and dying from similar symptoms, with the survivors changing bizarrely, Zoe remains unaffected physically. Yet emotionally she struggles to contain some part of a greater humanity while many that are left are loosing theirs. She is left with one option, which is to head out on a heroic journey to Greece to find her unborn child’s father. During her journey she finds the most animalistic, insane, dark yet conversely self-sacrificing aspects of human nature.

Thoughts: Although I really do not like to compare new novels to older very popular ones, this was very reminiscent of The Road by Cormac McCarthy. You can’t have the world fall apart without loosing your mind, however strong the character, which both books exemplify. However, White Horse has a strong female heroine (which I really liked and could relate to), rather than a male, a fabulous mythic thread that McCarthy’s book did not, and some interesting insight into human nature - which is a key aspect to any good apocalyptic fiction and an element of both books.

Thinking about the author’s writing, it’s insightful and has unusual language. However, its “stream of consciousness” style and alternating timeframes sometimes made it feel choppy and confusing. I had to struggle to keep track of events and puzzled over whether what was happening was Zoe’s “stream of consciousness” delusional dream experiences and imaginings or if it was actually happening. Though I should mention that my version was an ARC so this “choppiness” may have been edited out; or perhaps it’s a trope used to create a surreal feel. I am thinking the later, since at the end of the world even the strong are going to loose their minds, even if it’s only partially.

Beyond my quibble, the best part of the novel and one which I really really liked was a spectacular thread that contained myth. I would have loved to see more of a discernable link in the first three quarters of the novel to the disease and its name, but then perhaps the book would have become trite? However, this is a terrific story with some exceptional elements. If you enjoy good apocalyptic stories and/or have an interest in mythology, this will be great read for you. In fact I think it may be one of those books which will be a perfect book club selection and that is probably worth a second read. I am curious what Alex Adams will do with the mythic element in the next two planned books for the series – Red Horse and Pale Horse. Despite my small concerns I enjoyed the novel and think it deserves a 4 star rating – definitely recommended.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found White Horse very interesting but irritating at first. The format is a little off putting with "Now" and "Then" being used throughout to tell the story of the present and the past, with very short passages between each one, which interrupted the flow of the story. Then there was the 'jar'. One of the most intriguing aspects to White Horse and one of the most frustrating.

A mysterious jar turns up in Zoe's apartment, with no note and no reason. And whereas you or I might just throw it in the recycling bin without too much thought, Zoe leaves it in the middle of her room, looks at it, discusses it with her friends and even has therapy because of it - I found this difficult to understand. I wanted to know what the jar was all about, but at the same time not knowing irritated me and I just couldn't understand Zoe's actions.

So, after the first 80 pages or so I was ready to give up.

And then the unforeseen happens. White Horse switches from a possible did not finish (DNF) to one of the most surprising reads of the year. What was at first annoying becomes the driving force of the novel and the reason for the unrelenting pace. It was now the reason I didn't want to put the book down. I was fascinated, perplexed, captivated. What's wrong with the world? What's the meaning of the jar? Why has all this happened? And who is Swiss? Thankfully we are rewarded answers to these questions at the end.

The world is a very desolate place. The worst traits of the human race is prevalent; rape, murder, selfishness.There are many disturbing scenes such as incestuous rape, abortion and suicide. Everybody we meet seem to be beaten down or have the worst traits of human kind, which made this a very dark and depressing book to read.

The main character, Zoe, isn't much better, thinking only of herself until she meets Lisa, a blind young English woman who Zoe saves from an existence of continuous rape by her father. Although the world is a depressing place, Zoe begins to meet inspirational people on her journey to find the man she loves and the father of her unborn baby. These people care, still human with the best traits. It must rub off on Zoe as she begins to grow as a character, helping others along the way, being selfless, kind and compassionate.

Very slowly we learn that the world was exposed to a disease called White Horse and now humans are mutating, changing into something else, or die. They aren't described very much until the end of the book when you begin to get more of an understanding of what those who are infected have become.

The Swiss, a man who attaches himself to Zoe and Lisa on their journey hurts them physically and mentally. He's a totally vile human being and has no morals, no sense of right and wrong and no lingering humanity. But when we finally find out Swiss's own story, it's completely unpredictable, although a tad unbelievable and even slightly cheesy compared to the rest of the novel.

The ending feels complete and doesn't lend itself to a sequel, but being part of a trilogy there's obviously more to come. I'm looking forward to finding out what that is.

A brilliant debut, White Horse surprised and delighted me. It's wonderfully written with complex characters and visually descriptive prose of a post-apocalyptic landscape. What started out as a contender for the did not finish pile, found its way to my pile of best books of 2012. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

So where to start - ok I think the first thing is to say that a lot better people and reviewers have commented about this book so if you are after a hint at what this book is like I suggest you read them I doubt I can do them any other justice than to let them say their piece.
But what do I think - well I am not sure and let me explain why. I struggle with books which try and present a moral superior person, even the best of us gets angry and traffic jams and shop check outs - so when you see a someone put through what Zoe endures I struggle to relate and connect with her, that coupled with a character who seems harder to kill off than the mould in my bathroom I just think that sometimes the book is trying to make a point rather than actually tell a story which i feel is a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong I am not for extremes or for mindless action for the sake of it.
That said there is a lot going for it - the two story lines - NOW and THEN being told and slowly converging is not only a good touch but also incredibly difficult to bring off which is admirably done here. The slow death of the world I think is extremely well portrayed as many a commentator has said - the world will die in a whimper rather than a bang and this tells it perfectly.
So yes now you can see why I am not so sure.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to tell you that this novel pulled me in from page one and held me to the very last page. Adams writes a story of a post apocalyptic time. I could not help but wonder the whole time I was reading what I would do if I woke up one day and had to face what Zoe, the main character, had to face. She is powerful and her experiences are graphic, unsettling and simply irresistible. This page turning novel takes you not only on a journey of survival, but a journey of the human condition when faced with adversity at its highest level. This is a novel that will be emotional to read. You will experience the fear, hopelessness and anguish that Zoe feels. I am so excited that this engrossing novel is part of a trilogy and that I have two more books to look forward to. I rate it 4.5 stars.

I do want to warn my readers that it is a graphic novel containing some violent physical and sexual situations and other situations that may be unsettling to some readers. It has been advertised as the Hunger Games for adults and I must agree with that statement. When you sit down to read this novel to prepared to read for a while, this novel will suck you in!

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had such a cool premise and was really looking forward to read this destopian series and get both horrified and entertained but didn't end up getting neither feelings. However I might pick the next book up to see if ai get more invested in the story

[Cecily Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because I picked this book solely for the title purpose for a reading challenge, I did not have any idea what the book was going to be about but I was pleasantly surprise and liked it from beginning to end. It was a bit predictable once it got going I just didn't expect it. Don't ALWAYS judge a book by its cover.
Good Read!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just want those of you that read my blog regularly know that this is not my regular fare. But I had to post my review here because I know a lot of you do read adult fiction. This is a book that shows an apocalypse before during and after. Something that's so frighteningly realistic that I wonder that it hasn't happened yet or if it will happen in my life time. The people are dying so rapidly that they have to burn the bodies. A war was being fought but it was forgotten when the sickness came on hard and fast and those that came home, came home to no one. Zoe for some reason along with a small portion of the population is immune to the sickness. And when everyone she loves, cares about, dies, she decides to go in search of the one person who may or may not be alive that means something to her.

Zoe is determined. God is she determined. And she has hope. She doesn't believe in God. She thinks he's left them all. But the hope she has, that is what keeps her going. Hope. Four little letters but they have such strength in them for her. They help her rescue a blind girl from a rapist. Help her escape monsters, drowning. When she is too tired to walk she keeps walking. She finds companionship with the most unique living things. And hope is what helps her believe that somehow she'll reach her destination. That's a whole lot of hope.

I did not feel very hopeful reading this novel. I was pretty sure humans were done for and most of the time I thought Zoe was going to die. Do not read this if you're depressed. It isn't uplifting even if Zoe has a lot of hope. It doesn't spill over. Adams throws one hurdle after another in front of Zoe until she seems to be superwoman to be able to continue. There is no time to mourn or hold hands and have a pity party. She's likely to be killed. Keep moving forward. That's Zoe's motto and she does, no matter who her companions may be. I sat here and read this straight through not stopping for meals, children, dogs or phone calls. I could not put it down. It was gripping and totally consuming. I had to know if Zoe made it, if all that hope was for nothing, if all the monsters were bad, if she'd find anyone at the end of her journey. I promise, despite it's graphic sexual violence (and you do finally understand it) and the general doom that comes with an apocalypse you will not be able to put this book down. It is an unbelievable story. It was almost too much for one book and I think I"ll have to read it again to absorb it. But when I read the last line of the novel I immediately wanted the next book in the series (this is a planned trilogy).

The story is written in a "Then" and "Now" type of timeline and that works very well for the story. It doesn't give away too much up front nor does it keep us too much in the dark. The wording was a little jarring at times. "Horns are the spice sprinkled over relentless traffic. Bodies form an organic conveyor belt constantly grinding along the sidewalks." (p.14ARC) I had to pause and read these sentences a couple of times because they didn't read easy. There are many sentences like that and it took a while to get used to her way of writing. It's unique and I like it, but unusual. But as I said, I read the almost 300 page book in less than a day so it didn't bother me too much!

I highly recommend this novel, a strong start in the series, to anyone that enjoys apocalyptic stories.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher in return for an honest review.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

If White Horse brings to mind a knight in shining armor coming to rescue the princess you're far from what this book is all about. If White Horse brings to mind Taylor Swift's song you're even further from it than before & you might as well give up & just read the book to find out. I loved everything about this dystopian/post-apocalyptic story. Where other books about similar topics fail this one triumphs: Zoe, the protagonist is extremely likable & as you read you want her to survive, to have a happy ending, whereas in other books the protagonist chick is always a whiny, cliched idiot whose interests lie more in whatever muscled lug is the hero of the story than in anything else & you half hope she gets eaten in the end or something. I liked that Zoe was strong but not unbelievable so, she had her vulnerabilities. She hurt, but worked through it in order to survive & help those she loved, she suffered losses, but they made her cling to her humanity more strongly rather than giving in to the darkness that took so many others. She loves, she fights, she protects, she grieves, she questions & most importantly she's humane & kind & persevering. The evil in this story is one of the best baddies I've encountered since The First on Buffy. It was evil but scary smart & sometimes even a bit funny, best of all it surprised me, I didn't guess who it was entirely & the outcome of its evilness on the population was a great sci-fi/horror type deal that was as interesting as it was creepy. To compliment a great story was fantastic writing. Adams has a way of phrasing things that flow so smoothly & made me actually reread certain sentences because they were so poetically fascinating. The last page brought the hugest smile to my face & the last sentence made me gasp out loud. Great ending! That there's 2 more books in the series is a great joy but it comes with a certain amount of trepidation. There's so much more that's bound to happen to Zoe. Sigh. As much as I look forward to reading the next 2 books I kind of wish it could just end here for Zoe & she could finally rest. The book is certainly good enough to stand alone without 2 more following it, but because I loved it so I'll await the next 2 anxiously.

[Luanne Ollivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

My secret passion is dystopian fiction. I usually indulge myself with young adult offerings, but the opening lines of Alex Adams' adult debut novel White Horse drew in and had me settled into my favourite reading nook (for a very long time)

"When I wake, the world is still gone. Only fragments remain. Pieces of places and people who were once whole."

I am always intrigued by what authors imagine our future might be.

Our protagonist is Zoe - a young widow who works as a cleaner at Pope Pharmaceuticals. Zoe's story is literally told in a Then and Now fashion. (which really worked for me) We start at the beginning with a mysterious jar appearing in her apartment, then cut to Zoe already on the move, trying to get to what she believes will be a safe place. The narrative cuts back and forth, from people getting sick, sicker and the world we know slowly disintegrating to almost two years in the future as Zoe makes her way across a world hardly recognizable. Ninety percent of the population is wiped out, five percent are mutating in horrific ways and the remaining five percent seem to be immune. Zoe has no idea why she hasn't succumbed to the plague, named White Horse - a reference to one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.

White Horse was a very different read. I was horrified, yet mesmerized, repelled, yet drawn in by Adams' tale. She paints a brutal, raw picture with her prose. But those prose completely capture a world turned upside down. Fair warning to gentle readers - there are scenes and descriptions that may offend some.

I'm still not quite sure how I feel about Zoe. She comes across as a very strong character, both physically and mentally and we know that she will survive. I applaud her efforts to try and hang on to her humanity and ideals in this new world. While I find her a strong lead character, I never felt fully engaged with her, despite cheering for her to beat the odds. I'll have a chance to bond with her in future books - this is the first in a planned trilogy. I want to see where Adams takes Zoe next - the last line in White Horse is a gotcha.

White Horse is a strong debut from a new author and was definitely an addicting read for me.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

To say this post-apocalyptic dystopian story is bleak is putting it mildly. This is not a tale for anyone looking for light entertainment, but it is an extremely well-written piece that really sneaks up on you.

When I started reading, I was impressed with Adams' prose, which draws you in and establishes the scene and characters without being flowery or wordy. The offshoot of this is that it takes a while before you really process just how dreadful events are and that, I think, is what makes this book: the way it sucks you in first, establishing your interest, before launching the horrors on you.

I loved how the story was told by alternating between past and present. It really helped maintain the tension and revealed new elements of the story and the history of White Horse gradually, always giving you new things to think about. You could also see how the past influenced Zoe's actions in the present when you saw them presented side by side.

When my copy arrived, I was in the middle of another book and my husband happened to pick it up, asking what it was. After a brief flick through, he retreated to the sofa with it and I realised I wouldn't get it back until he had finished it. He read it over two days and told me he'd enjoyed it and would want to read the next book in the series.

The same is true for me. I was captured by both the story and characters and I am keen to see how Adams will continue the tale and what is in store next for Zoe and her companions. This truly is a startling debut from a very talented writer.

I would recommend this book to dystopia fans (older teens and adults) and literary fictions fans who love a well-crafted and beautifully presented story. This is not for the faint-hearted, though, as it is a very bleak tale - more so than any of the YA dystopia currently around. But it is not entirely without a sense of hope, so all I can say is: Read and discover this book for yourself.

I received this book as a free ARC from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

“White Horse”
Alex Adams

“White Horse” is the story of thirty-eight year old Zoe, a janitor at Pope Pharmaceuticals, who leads an ordinary life until the President of the United States announces that humans are no longer a viable species and the end of the world is at hand. Zoe sees everyone she loves disappear in the disease, war and completely crazy weather destroys the world and the people in it. Zoe starts running and ends up in a farmhouse in what uses to be a farm in what used to be Italy. In this house live 2 brothers, and the daughter of one of them. She is on her way to Greece, and from there, on again.

Just as she is about to leave the house, she realizes that the daughter is being used by both her father and her uncle for sex. Although she has to fight to do it, she decides to take Lisa with her. Taking all the food they can carry, they begin the journey. Before they have gone a day, they find a deserted church filled with corpses with horns and then an explosion roars behind them. The world has gone crazy. Monsters clad in human skin. The White Horse plague killing indiscriminately, the very earth changes shape. The few humans left have lost their humanity in the fight for what they hope is their survival.

The novel is jerky and disjointed as it switches from “then” and “now”. The purpose apparently is to put a more human face on the monsters of “now”, but it fails. After just a few pages, the characters and story line is so disturbing and downright evil, that reading further is too distasteful. The main plot of one man infecting the entire world with a virus known as White Horse never really explains what Pope hopes to gain from this experiment.

If you are a fan of the dystopia or apocalyptic genre, perhaps this will appeal to you – if you have a strong stomach and a tolerance for horror. It is a chronicle of death. Cassandra

[Kristina Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the premise is relevant for the era we live in (if not played out at this point), the utter and complete fakeness and ridiculousness of the actual (mediocre) writing ruined the entire effect.

First, some sort of man made end of the world has finally come (about time!) and people are dropping dead everywhere, yet no one seems to feel the need to gather supplies or investigate what is going on. With people in this much denial, I would have been happy to let Darwin take over. People in general are not THAT important, especially the bland and useless characters portrayed in this book.

Oh, and don't forget the required 'zombies' that are being created by this doomsday mutations. Really, zombies? Why not throw in some vampires and ghosts to make it uber predictable and trendy?

The main character is a completely average person, though she holds herself in high esteem for no apparent or logical reason. Certain other people in the story do as well, though she does nothing to garner such attention. She, like most of the characters, are completely unlikable. Also, for her to 'hook up' with her therapist, is the ultimate unethical situation. Only a completely dysfunctional scumbag would do that with a client.

I was hoping the main character would be killed off quickly and someone worthy would step up into the narrative role.

The narrator also seemed to have no interest or history in sports, working out, or martial arts and was basically starving, but she was able to kick the ass of big guys twice her size. Yeah, right.

And, of course there was the expected 'one in a million' pregnancy, and 'bad guy' stalker. Yawn.

A truly dull read that goes nowhere fast. Moving on...

[Sommer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The world is in ruins after a disease has killed most of the planet and a young woman is in search to find her love while everyone around her is dying of a mystery virus...yada yada yada. It's your basic post-apocalyptic, everyone-is-dead-or-dying story. Love the premise. The darker the better. And this one is dark...lots of people die...it's great. It cleverly goes back and forth between the "Then", when everything started going to hell, and the "Now", where our heroine travels halfway across the world to find her lover boy. Eventually everything comes together nicely...almost too "are you serious?!" nicely if you ask me. I was resigned to a tragic ending which would've went well with the rest of the story, but then was punched in the face with a hasty, thrown together "where the f*@$ did that come from" happy ending that did not fit...at all. Well, if you like getting punched in the face, you'll also enjoy the endless punches of completely overdone imagery. I get it, I get it...there's a rusty lock on the door. But must you dedicate an entire paragraph to it..."A rusted padlock is a broken arm dangling from and equally oxidized latch...which leaves me with the door and hinges so old they'll sing soprano at the first touch." Yikes. Oh, that's nothing, here's another one: "His smile unfurls slowly until I'm awash in it's beam, but it's like sunshine on a winter day, impotent to the thaw of the growing freeze inside me." Did I stumble into a poetry reading?? Half the time I would forget what the hell was going on, the imagery was so darn distracting. But by all means, if you like your descriptions to take you to far away places (and by that I mean OUT of the story), you'll love this one.