Disappearance

by Ryan Wiley

What if you woke up tomorrow and discovered everyone was gone - that you were the only person left on Earth?

Andrew wakes up, only to discover his wife isn't home and the power is out. There are no cars on the road. Soon, he realizes the entire town has been deserted overnight and he's the only person around for miles.

While he has enough food and resources to survive for months if not years at home, his yearning to find his wife, Abby, compels him to look for her.

The more he searches, though, the more he discovers things aren't as they should be. Where did everyone go? How did this happen?

Follow Andrew's journey as he struggles in a world gone missing. A world that's disappeared.

Genres: Fiction

217 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2013

Reviews

[Jeffrey Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to confess that in the beginning I was unsure where Ryan Wiley was going to take the reader in his novel Disappearance. I was reminded too much of The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price or the Omega Man with Charlton Heston; even an episode of the Twilight Zone, "Where is Everybody?" Even more, I hoped that Wiley wouldn't lead me down a road where zombies would be waiting for the protagonist.

Fortunately, there weren't any zombies.

I liked this story. I liked what Wiley ultimately achieves with the story line. Though some reviewers have faulted this book for having a lousy ending, I was particularly impressed with the way he handled the twists and turns in the story and you will too if you give this story and author I chance.

I did.

Thanks for the good read, Mr. Wiley.

[Jerrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book started off interesting but as it went on I quickly figured out what was happening. It could have still been a good story but the ending was so difficult to buy that it ruined a lot of it for me. There were also some other points in the story that were not accurate but again I could ignore them but could not ignore how bad the ending was.

[Jason Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

First 80% of the book -
Too much needless narration. Too much exposition. Pacing too slow.

Last 20% of the book -
Characters act impulsively and speed the plot towards a hurried conclusion that has very little to do with the first part of the book.

I want to read another one of this author's books, I mean everyone can have a bad one off. I'm just scared.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book to anyone whoever dreamt of complete solitude ( for only a couple of days off course). But don't let that cause you to form an opinion on what you think this book is about.........you haven't got a clue. Great story!

[Rudi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ending of this book came across as both "thrown together" and clumsy. You have all this buildup and then the author cops out in the end. Very disappointing.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending simply did not work with the rest of the book. It was almost a cop out.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

I was mesmerized throughout this whole book. It was a crazy, fascinating adventure. I never knew from one page to the next what was going to happen. I highly recommend you read this book. It's a psychological thriller lover's dream book.

[PinbsJP · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amateurish and silly. I was wondering how the writer was going to tie it all up. Maybe try to be clever and say it was all some kind of virtual-reality-gone-wrong scenario...? Nope. Nothing so elaborate. Just a bad dream.. waking up from a coma. Cliche.. Too easy.. So, the author, tries then to shake it up by throwing in a twist or two. If he was going for an unbelievable ending then I think he succeeded in that. It was indeed unbelievable! .. but not in a good way. It felt more like a little kid telling an ad-lib joke leading to a non-sequitur punchline. Perhaps the immaturity of the main character's voice should have been more of a clue. Perhaps the main character's voice is really just the author's .. not very well disguised..? Dunno... I don't really care to test that theory by reading any more of his books.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this as a free Kindle book from one of the services that offers them. When I started reading it I thought it was a post-apocalyptic novel, and those intrigue me, so I continued on. The writing was so poor, though, that I realized I could--and needed to--skim each page quickly. Apparently the author didn't hire a copy editor or proofreader to clean up errors such as "breaks" for car brakes, "fowled" for "fouled," and so forth. Words are spelled correctly in one line and then misspelled in the next line. "Zach" is spelled that way throughout most of the book, and then suddenly it's "Zack." The protagonist also acts so ridiculously stupid throughout the book that my eyes nearly rolled out of my head. I yelled at him more than once to do things that would make his journey so much easier, but even though he claimed to be intelligent, he continued to behave like a dunderhead, and it seemed like the author didn't intend him to be that way--he just didn't know any better. (By the way, the writer refers to Metallica as "metal death music" or something like that. HA.) I kept reading, though (quickly!) to find out how the apocalypse started, etc. (Don't want to give any spoilers here.) The entire book had an immature quality, as if written by a teenager with very little knowledge of the world. When the protagonist, Andrew, declared over and over that he hated dogs, I almost stopped reading--a character who hates dogs gets little or no sympathy from me. The ending was ridiculous, especially the part about the wife. The book seemed to have promise at first, even with the poor quality of the writing, but fell apart quickly. Two stars instead of one because I finished it, hoping it would make sense at some point. It didn't.

[Debbie Winn Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was having some trouble sleeping so I opened up my Kindle app and started reading this book. I was drawn in and loved the book.

Up until the ending. This was THE stupidest ending of a book that I've ever read. Seriously? I would never ever recommend this book to anybody and was highly disappointed.

And then the author says, you know you want to share this with your friends. No, Mr. Ryan Wiley, I would NEVER tell any of my friends to read this book. Sorry.

[Steph L (Read-Write Gold Coast) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gave up reading at the 100 page mark as nothinggggg was happening. I would have given up at the 50 page mark but kept going as I had nothing else at hand to read. I borrowed this book and 'Number One Fan' at the same time and by chance I just happened to read 'Number One Fan' first. As it turns out, that was a wise choice as if I had read 'Disappearance' first I would not have read and thoroughly enjoyed 'Number One Fan' (which is a 5-star read!)

[Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really started off well--very intriguing. "Andrew" wakes up to discover his wife missing, power out and no one else in sight. The tale continues as he searches for her and seeks other human life. The writing style was a little amateurish but the story was absorbing. Unfortunately the ending was clumsy and poorly done so that pretty much ruined it for me.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like mysteries and dystopian novels with great twists, you will love this book.

This was a quick read that grabs you and continues to move through the adventures.

I would recommend to anyone.

[Geri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story starts out one way and then the last quarter of the book it changes completely. I liked the mystery part of the book, but when the story changed, some of it didn't make sense.

Also, there seems to be a cliffhanger. It ends, but it has plenty of unanswered questions.

[Brad Stuhlsatz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting read! It went quickly, right up to the big twist... The writing technique was also interesting- I felt like I was reading a made for TV mini-series... I would read more by Ryan Wiley.

[Sonja Bristow · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very redundant in parts. Main character was so stupid, all he did was annoy the crap out of me, one stupid decision after another. Then the twist gave me a little hope, but the story was so convoluted and just ridiculous, I had to skim to the end. I just needed to end my misery.

[Landpomeranze · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started out really good but the end, the conclusion was just one great big hard-to-follow jumble.

[Holly Hilbrands · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too weird, strange plot

[Otis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read, it keeps you guessing until the very last few pages. If you like suspense I think you will like this.

[Shauna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. That was just awful.

[Gail Volkert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book right up to the last chapter. I don't know how I would have ended it myself, but I found Philip Wylie's resolution a disappointment.

[Jeana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This definitely was a couldn't put it down book. Intriguing story, almost paranormal. Ugh...the end killed me. I think I need a part two :) a cop who suspected Dective Vogul of dirty dealings.

[Stella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an absolute 5 star until the last 20% when everything went into ridiculously unexpected and out of place ending that ruined the superb beginning and middle of the story.