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Primal Shift #1-5
Primal Shift: Volume 1
It's July the Fourth, and Americans have slowed down long enough to celebrate their independence - and the day off. But a thousand motorists suddenly abandon their cars on the Golden Gate Bridge and leap to their deaths in a roiling bay. Jets packed with families rain down from the skies above Salt Lake City International Airport, dotting the landscape with orange fireballs. Worse yet, New York City police launch a murderous rampage against those they swore to protect and serve.
Law and order across the globe collapses in less than five minutes, plunging humanity into chaos.
Something is affecting our minds, our sanity. Could it be a terrorist attack? The ultimate virus? Or an experiment gone horribly wrong?
A handful of survivors claws its way out of the ashes of the old world, strangely unaffected by The Shift. Among them, a frantic mother desperate to find her son. A sailor hunting a soulless killer. A former CEO willing to kill for power over this new, feral wasteland.
Together, they'll battle both the hordes of bloodthirsty cannibals who used to be their own families and neighbors, and a dark figure who commands these legions with his every twisted whim.
Someone somewhere must know what happened, where to find safety. And whether those eerie lights shimmering in the skies overhead are an omen of something far worse than even this bleak living hell.
Law and order across the globe collapses in less than five minutes, plunging humanity into chaos.
Something is affecting our minds, our sanity. Could it be a terrorist attack? The ultimate virus? Or an experiment gone horribly wrong?
A handful of survivors claws its way out of the ashes of the old world, strangely unaffected by The Shift. Among them, a frantic mother desperate to find her son. A sailor hunting a soulless killer. A former CEO willing to kill for power over this new, feral wasteland.
Together, they'll battle both the hordes of bloodthirsty cannibals who used to be their own families and neighbors, and a dark figure who commands these legions with his every twisted whim.
Someone somewhere must know what happened, where to find safety. And whether those eerie lights shimmering in the skies overhead are an omen of something far worse than even this bleak living hell.
400 pages, Unknown Binding
First published June 3, 2013
266 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
December 12, 2013
Gripping, fast moving and scarily realistic. This is the kind of book that leaves you with a feeling of uncertainty and a real want for the next part. The characters although no all likeable, feel real and the twists keep you constantly on your toes. Well worth reading, books like this don't come along often!
February 2, 2018
New idea
What if suddenly almost the entire population has no memory? They are suddenly like babies? This is the plot of this book. Very interesting and novel. Starting the next one now.
What if suddenly almost the entire population has no memory? They are suddenly like babies? This is the plot of this book. Very interesting and novel. Starting the next one now.
August 24, 2018
A different story
Earthquakes with Northern Lights in Utah. Most people go nuts (even worse than today) and the few who still know who they are must carry on.
No aliens, no EMP.....just good storytelling.
Earthquakes with Northern Lights in Utah. Most people go nuts (even worse than today) and the few who still know who they are must carry on.
No aliens, no EMP.....just good storytelling.
February 8, 2018
Good read
This box-set was very good. Storyline was interesting and enjoyable. Written well and fun to read. I highly recommend this set!
This box-set was very good. Storyline was interesting and enjoyable. Written well and fun to read. I highly recommend this set!
December 13, 2018
Good read
Good read will keep you busy turning pages. Story line is perty good and the characters aren't too bad...believable. will see what happens next.
Good read will keep you busy turning pages. Story line is perty good and the characters aren't too bad...believable. will see what happens next.
April 28, 2019
It was just okay. Plot wasn't tightly woven. Could have better.
June 11, 2019
Interesting
The premise of this book is one of my favorites, and enjoyed the story but a few questions occurred to me. Magnetic shift? Rainbowland? Fiction is stranger than truth.
The premise of this book is one of my favorites, and enjoyed the story but a few questions occurred to me. Magnetic shift? Rainbowland? Fiction is stranger than truth.
March 7, 2014
My review for Volume One is going to be rather similar to my review of Part One; this is not a bad thing, per se, as I enjoyed the first part and as a result I have enjoyed the first volume.
In a similar style to the superb Yesterday's Gone: Season One series by Sean Platt and David Wright, Hayes has started an episodic post-apocalyptic series.
The set up is very similar to Platt and Wright's series, where we are introduced to differing characters from across the United States and how they initially cope with the events that are occurring around them. I have really come to enjoy and appreciate episodic books now so I'm comfortable with the set up and the progression of the story.
I read this in January 2014 and so I apologise profusely to Mr. Hayes for my lateness in reviewing this volume.
The edition that I read, though well written, did have a spattering of typo's. One that really stood out for me was the spelling of "frickin'"; it was consistently misspelled as "frikin'" throughout but I still thought it looked bizarre. Since I read this volume however, I have been reliably told that it has had a fresh edit by Jason Whited, the same guy who edited the aforementioned Yesterday's Gone so I trust that he has done as good a job with Hayes work as he has with that series.
There are similarities with Platt and Wright's episodic series, but also with Stephen King's The Stand. Hayes has set up the story wonderfully with the epidemic of people reverting back to their most basic, childlike selves. There is a good atmosphere throughout the series, and decent, varying descriptions about how different people are affected and what they do, and then the rather terrifying notion that the more weaker and innocent are the ones to perish and the more bolder and cruel are the ones who are triumphant in their "re-learning".
I don't want to give any spoilers but there are some rather disturbing scenes with attempted rape and violence.
The introduction of 'Rainbowland' reminded me of the separate sanctions within The Stand, and as the series progresses, I can only presume that, like King's novel, Rainbowland will emerge as being a lot more sinister than the name suggests. It already has the culty-lunatic aspect to it so I look forward to see where Hayes leads this.
Overall, a very enjoyable series. A few editing issues in my copy but hopefully they have all been ironed out now. I look forward to reading the second volume soon.
In a similar style to the superb Yesterday's Gone: Season One series by Sean Platt and David Wright, Hayes has started an episodic post-apocalyptic series.
The set up is very similar to Platt and Wright's series, where we are introduced to differing characters from across the United States and how they initially cope with the events that are occurring around them. I have really come to enjoy and appreciate episodic books now so I'm comfortable with the set up and the progression of the story.
I read this in January 2014 and so I apologise profusely to Mr. Hayes for my lateness in reviewing this volume.
The edition that I read, though well written, did have a spattering of typo's. One that really stood out for me was the spelling of "frickin'"; it was consistently misspelled as "frikin'" throughout but I still thought it looked bizarre. Since I read this volume however, I have been reliably told that it has had a fresh edit by Jason Whited, the same guy who edited the aforementioned Yesterday's Gone so I trust that he has done as good a job with Hayes work as he has with that series.
There are similarities with Platt and Wright's episodic series, but also with Stephen King's The Stand. Hayes has set up the story wonderfully with the epidemic of people reverting back to their most basic, childlike selves. There is a good atmosphere throughout the series, and decent, varying descriptions about how different people are affected and what they do, and then the rather terrifying notion that the more weaker and innocent are the ones to perish and the more bolder and cruel are the ones who are triumphant in their "re-learning".
I don't want to give any spoilers but there are some rather disturbing scenes with attempted rape and violence.
The introduction of 'Rainbowland' reminded me of the separate sanctions within The Stand, and as the series progresses, I can only presume that, like King's novel, Rainbowland will emerge as being a lot more sinister than the name suggests. It already has the culty-lunatic aspect to it so I look forward to see where Hayes leads this.
Overall, a very enjoyable series. A few editing issues in my copy but hopefully they have all been ironed out now. I look forward to reading the second volume soon.
April 26, 2023
Primal Shift: Season 1 / Volume 1 is a post-apocalyptic thriller that takes 5 novellas and collects them into an incomplete boxed-set, because there are more seasons / volumes. I fail to understand the need to make the set seem episodic. To me, there is no rhyme or reason for the divisions, which is why I put this as a 3-star. I really loathe incomplete stories. It goes against my obsessive need to reach the end, and so I get annoyed with authors' need to continue the story in another volume (especially when it doesn't make sense.) In Primal Shift, the reader learns of an apocalyptic event that causes the rewiring of some of humanity's brain waves with the result being altered behavior in the majority of the population. Obviously, with the new paradigm, new societal clusters form and there are conflicts that arise as a consequence of diminishing resources. Despite the distinct extinction level event, what we essentially have is a zombie apocalypse with its obvious, contingent story beats. Not terrible, but despite the attempt to dress the story in a new paradigm, it's still a zombie apocalypse novel that ends with a cliffhanger. When I bought this as a boxed set 10 years ago (in 2013), I thought I had the complete story. I hate when that happens. This is my boxed set #4 of 10 for my 2023 reading goal.
October 31, 2013
Primal Shift was a decent post apoc story with a touch of zombie, a hint of conspiracy and even a bit of spirituality tossed in. In some cases, it felt like TOO much was stuffed in. It also read way too similarly to The Stand. Complete with the hard case gathering his wiper minions to him in his Salt Lake hideout, and the "good guys" who, bizarrely, have their Rainbow Land nearby. We even have a char named Larry on the "good side" who has a definite evil streak in him. The story opens with a "shift" that disrupts the entire world, and follows various characters until they meet in one of the two locations (good or evil). The good side even has their Mother Abigale figure, only he is named The All Father, and the some key players share the same vision.
All in all, it was an ok book. I've liked other Griffin Hayes books far more. This one really felt too familiar with the similarities with The Stand and Land of the Dead.
All in all, it was an ok book. I've liked other Griffin Hayes books far more. This one really felt too familiar with the similarities with The Stand and Land of the Dead.
January 28, 2014
While I initially enjoyed the series, which is pretty standard of it's genre - motley group of survivors from world annihilating disaster, it became a bugbear that 3 episodes in, none of the characters had developed a personality, and none of them actually learned. They stumbled from one situation to the other, repeating the same mistakes. For instance, one Mother abandons one of her kids to reach safety, then abandons the other to attempt to rescue the first? It's also not good value for money, when you realise that each episode only has a few dozen pages, and by the time the next instalment is published a few weeks later, the characters were so weak you didn't actually care if they made it through the cliffhanger at the end.
Just my opinion, but I do like a story to develop as I read. I struggled to finish the first series, before making the decision not to continue. Life is too short for this kind of tale.
Just my opinion, but I do like a story to develop as I read. I struggled to finish the first series, before making the decision not to continue. Life is too short for this kind of tale.
December 31, 2014
I picked up Primal Shift: Volume 1 believing it was another zombie series, but I was mistaken. This was a story about a shift in our planet’s magnetic poles that caused a mass mental reboot amongst the population, meaning the population’s minds had been erased. But it seems that a handful of people escaped the massive amnesia, and this story is about what they faced while discovering what caused this event along with finding a safe place to call home, since the human race has returned to caveman mentality. I was looking for another zombie series, but what I found was Primal Shift by Griffin Hayes. A great accident!
November 28, 2014
I read the first part separately. That set the scene. We met the main characters spread across the US as something happens to wipe the memory of nearly everyone. After this, everything rapidly descends into confusion and violence.
The rest of the novel is about these people seeking sanctuary. They quickly converge. As this happens we get hints of the cause and elements of mysticism and religion creep in.
This is the bit that I don't like. The way it is done fails, or at least doesn't appeal to me. I think I would have preferred either a purely technological reason or no explanation.
A good read but I don't know if I will read the rest of the series.
The rest of the novel is about these people seeking sanctuary. They quickly converge. As this happens we get hints of the cause and elements of mysticism and religion creep in.
This is the bit that I don't like. The way it is done fails, or at least doesn't appeal to me. I think I would have preferred either a purely technological reason or no explanation.
A good read but I don't know if I will read the rest of the series.
December 6, 2016
Compelling end of the world series
The author mentioned that this is a homage to Robert McGammon's Swan Song. Personally I loved this and thought it was true to the style of Swan Song and think the previous comment was a little harsh. The writer has a smooth style, and great characters that are easy to relate to and make you care what happens to them. The decline of society is rapid and they need to adapt and survive but with an ancient evil pulling the strings in the background it was never going to be easy.
The author mentioned that this is a homage to Robert McGammon's Swan Song. Personally I loved this and thought it was true to the style of Swan Song and think the previous comment was a little harsh. The writer has a smooth style, and great characters that are easy to relate to and make you care what happens to them. The decline of society is rapid and they need to adapt and survive but with an ancient evil pulling the strings in the background it was never going to be easy.
August 19, 2013
This book has a special place on my shelf and in my soul! It is an absolutely crazy and horrific tale about the strangest apocalypse situation I have ever heard! Some people remember nothing but retain basic abilities some remember everything and others...well the others are like cavemen! please check this book out it is AMAZING!
April 2, 2014
Won't hit the best seller list
Won't hit the best seller list
I have read a number of novels about the 'end of the world' (all better than this one), but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless. I am not a fan of t h e supernatural and t h at may have influenced my judgment. I will pass on the sequels.
Won't hit the best seller list
I have read a number of novels about the 'end of the world' (all better than this one), but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless. I am not a fan of t h e supernatural and t h at may have influenced my judgment. I will pass on the sequels.
May 10, 2016
Meh. Very reminiscent of The Shining, but not as well written or plotted. The characters aren't very interesting, and the explanation of what happened just doesn't cut it. It's just too big a jump in scale for me to accept it.
September 29, 2013
This had an unusual twist to the apocalyptic event. This kept my attention and I look forward to the next "season".
November 2, 2014
Good read
Intriguing story and different to the other post apocalyptic books out there.. had to buy the second volume of the book
Intriguing story and different to the other post apocalyptic books out there.. had to buy the second volume of the book
November 30, 2014
This book cost me .99 on Amazon and was well worth it. I will probably read the rest of the series.
March 11, 2015
It wasn't bad but I didn't feel good enough about it to finish it
April 19, 2015
I guess this is a serial? It was just the beginning/setting the scene. I didn't realize that. I haven't decided if it was interesting enough to read the rest. I will say it's well edited though.
April 14, 2015
My only complaint with this book was that…it was far too short!
This was very well written and very enjoyable. I can't wait to read more from Griffin Hayes
This was very well written and very enjoyable. I can't wait to read more from Griffin Hayes
July 16, 2015
Enjoyed book will read volume II
August 15, 2016
Weird
This book is both weird and interesting. It starts out weird then gets interesting and then gets weird again. It's well written but not one I would read again.
This book is both weird and interesting. It starts out weird then gets interesting and then gets weird again. It's well written but not one I would read again.
June 27, 2014
Very enjoyable read. Good characters and story.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews