Bugocalypse

by H Raven Rose

It’s been a crazy day in La La land. Not only didn’t Lacey, an unsuccessful wannabe Hollywood actress, get the part but then she struggles to survive a 7.7 earthquake. Afterward, a disturbing dark hooded figure terrifies Lacey and her best friend Marisol on their way to a Halloween party. Still dealing with Tinsel Town aftershocks, soon cataclysmic world events are all over the news and internet. Birds fall dead from the sky. Tons of dead fish wash ashore in LA and around the world. Post-earthquake fires rage throughout Southern California. Mudslides and flooding follow as torrential rains threaten Los Angeles. World citizens report shooting stars and meteors that stream across the sky, after which villages, towns, and cities are struck down with the black death as hooded messengers of mayhem, purported grim reapers, spray strange mists that cause people to grow sick and die. An unusual cockroach infestation, in downtown LA, follows the earthquake, torrential rains, mudslides and other events, but the media and public officials insist that the reports are mass hallucinations and the events are unrelated. If you love a bug war, you’ll love this escape from LA adventure with Lacey.

Genres: Horror

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 17, 2013

About the author

H bleeds ink. She grew up in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains of Blairsville, GA and now lives in La La land. A screenwriter and author, she writes sci-fi which sometimes has horror elements and supernatural themes. Her stage play 'Dark Eros,' adapted into a suspense novelette of the same title, was staged as readings in Los Angeles, one of which starred Jessica Biel in the lead role as Leila. Visit http://hravenrose.com/ or follow her on Instagram. She wrote her thesis on, “AN EXAMINATION OF TRADITIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE STORY DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUES FOR SCREENWRITERS: In the Context of Creativity and Hemispheres of the Human Brain”. Currently, she is completing a PhD in Sf Screenwriting at Swansea University in the birthplace of story and the poetic in mythical, magical Wales.

Reviews

[Sadsack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the author's style of writing. She manages to marry the ordinary mechanisms of LA life with Dystopian fun successfully and keeps you turning the pages.

Like her other works that I have read, this book is dark and captivating. But even if you don't like dark, you will want to read more about alien invasion, and be fascinated with DNA level changes, not to mention the human to bug mutations.

She creates a very vivid picture of LA and you have to believe that she is from there.

Some things that stood out in the book for me:

Lacy lives in LA and this is how she introduces herself: "I'm Lacey, Stellar Pest-Control of Los Angeles. I heard you have a bug problem."

I don't like bugs but I did learn a lot eg:

"Roaches are also seriously weird. They can live without food for a month. You can decapitate one and it can remain alive, headless, for a week or so."

An easy interesting read.

Heard H Raven Rose has a new book coming out soon. How many sleeps till it's released? A five star read from me.

[Dermot Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a terrific story that builds slowly and competently until all hell breaks loose and the world as we know it starts heading for what we euphemistically would say is going to eventually end up in a hand basket. I love the main character Lacey, not just because she is female (and we don't see enough of this gender in genres such as this) but because she's adorable and sweet and loves everybody and every living thing... except bugs. And trust me, she has very good reasons not to; millions of them, in actual fact:)

[Henry Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sci-fi novel, well-written in the first-person narrative voice of Lacey, an attractive, aspiring young actress who lives in Los Angeles, works part-time as a barista, hangs with friends, and drives a pink Caddy. Wannabe actresses are often depicted as dim-witted and naive, unequipped for survival. Lacey proves otherwise. When L.A. is invaded by gigantic alien cockroaches, she goes to war, quoting Lao Tzu and Machiavelli, improvising weapons based on in-depth knowledge of entomology and pest control methods (dad was in the business).

Strange things happen in this book and, inasmuch as it is only volume 1 of a series, they only go from normal to bad to worse; no happy ending.

At first, I thought it was intended as humorous, misled, in part by this description of a chick who enters Lacey's bar ("a man magnet, stick-thin, long straight thick blonde hair, probably enhanced by extensions, big silicone tatas, and large blue vacuous eyes"), visits the restroom, and is disemboweled by an unseen monster. What I took as dark humor was actually only the beginning of big bug trouble in L.A.

The plot unfolds as Lacey experiences signs of unruly nature (meteors, earthquakes, thunder), weird local events (spooky noises, bad odors, plumbing problems, black mists), odd sightings (space ships, large insects), news reports of large bugs and warnings to avoid.

She eventually experiences the effects of alien invasion first-hand, moving through a landscape filled with human corpses, hiding, escaping, and taking up arms against the onslaught. Toward the end, she kills a bug, fashions a disguise from bug remains, visits the bug lair, moves among the invaders, and hitches a ride on one of their craft.

What happens next? In the final chapter, the story is left unresolved, though Lacey states her determination to pursue the foe by saying, "I was Lacey and my business was pest control."

Was I supposed to laugh?

[J.J. DiBenedetto · Rating 5 out of 5]

H. Raven Rose's "Bugocalypse" is exactly what the title promises: a story of the End of the World, this time brought to us by giant, man-sized cockroaches. Which are exactly as creepy and gross and upsetting as you think they are, if not worse.

It's also the story of Lacey, a wanna-be actress in what she refers to as La La Land, struggling to make ends meet and keep her sanity in a crazy world (and that's before the insect apocalypse). With the help of her best friend Marisol, and the good advice of her father guiding her, she's (barely) keeping her head above water. Then everything goes mad (madder, anyway), and civilization as Lacey knows it comes crashing down. And Mr. Cucaracha shows up. With many, many, many friends.

This is an immensely fun read; it's told from Lacey's first-person POV, and she's got a lively, sassy but also sympathetic voice, and her view of life on the fringes of Hollywood rings true (at least, before the apocalypse changes everything). The supporting characters are great as well, and the writing is very engaging, carrying us along.

This is just the first book in a new series, so Lacey has a lot more adventures to come, and I'm very much looking forward to them. I highly recommend this book - but I take no responsibility for any bug-filled nightmares you may have after you read it!

[Linda S Amstutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buffy slays vampires. Michonne kicks zombie butt. And now there’s Lacey. Lacey’s business is pest control, and by pests, we’re talking cockroaches, and by cockroaches, we’re talking big, mean, man-eating La Cucaracha.

Bugocalypse, written by H. Raven Rose, introduces us to Lacey, part-time waitress, wanna-be actress, best friend of Soli, motherless daughter, and just another hopeful young girl, trying to find her fortune in La La Land. She’s earnest and honest and brave in heart, which is why, when all H-E-Double-Toothpicks breaks out, Lacey fights back.

This book is just the beginning of the story. In it, we meet Lacey and we’re glad to make the acquaintance of such a charming, sassy, level-headed young woman. And we’re there with Lacey as she transforms from survivor to warrior. By the end of the story, we cheer as Lacey starts her cross-country trek to Florida and we know she’s more than capable of “pest control.”

Bugocalypse is a fun read. The characters are full and interesting and the plot, which slowly unwinds, is fresh and fun! I can’t wait to see what happens in the next volume!!

[Burke Hodgson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope. This manuscript has a few bugs in it.

[Vykki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who doesn't like killer roaches and a kick ass bug exterminator. This book was a fun read.