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The Wasteland Chronicles #3
Evolution
After two months in Skyhome, Alex and the crew are ready to depart for the next phase of their mission - convincing Emperor Augustus of the Nova Roman Empire to join them in their attack on the Great Blight.
But when they enter the Empire's borders, they find far more than they bargained for - slavers, deadly beasts, and the cunning and powerful Emperor himself. And even the far-reaching Empire is not immune to the effects of the xenovirus and its newest evolutions...
But when they enter the Empire's borders, they find far more than they bargained for - slavers, deadly beasts, and the cunning and powerful Emperor himself. And even the far-reaching Empire is not immune to the effects of the xenovirus and its newest evolutions...
228 pages, Paperback
First published August 3, 2013
95 people are currently reading
898 people want to read
About the author
Kyle West
53 books217 followersI'm Kyle West, author of the Wasteland Chronicles, Xenoworld Saga, Starsea Cycle, and more. I try to write books with lots of action and crazy twists to keep you turning the pages. Every book of mine can be categorized as "science fantasy," blending elements from both genres.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 26, 2024
3 down, and 4 more to go.
This one was pretty good , I wish it kept the science fiction part instead of the waste land political uprising.
This one was pretty good , I wish it kept the science fiction part instead of the waste land political uprising.
January 17, 2014
Characters Samuel and Alex are irritating. On to book, I keep reading them don't know why.
May 24, 2025
Now that it's over I would say this was a good and interesting book. But, during the book I wasn't enjoying myself. And, it's hard to say exactly why I wasn't happy. At the end of the prior book there was a surprise twist in the plot. Once I got over my fear that the new twist was going to ruin the story I relaxed. However, as this book wore on I lost my enthusiasm and even got depressed. By the end everything appeared to have worked out ok though. I guess it could be the mixing of genres that bothered me. I like my post-apocalyptic fiction to stay post-apocalyptic. But, this series has begun mixing climate fiction or cli-fi with sci-fi and Post-apoc/dystopian fiction. I found all this to be stressful, hard to keep up with and not fun.
April 1, 2024
Really enjoying this series! There’s some parts where I’m not a big fan of how the writing is done but overall this is very entertaining and I love getting to know the characters and seeing their progression. Such an interesting idea, I’d love to see this as a tv show
September 30, 2014
The third book of the Wasteland Chronicles series is a step up from the first two. The one thing keeping me back from this being my favorite series is the lack of experience the author has. All of the good ideas are there, it's just at the time of writing this book the author's voice hadn't been found yet. It's almost interesting to see it from that point of view, since clearly this is a amazing writer in the making. I have a feeling by the next book we'll start to see Kyle West's true potential shine forth.
That being said the action was almost non-stop the entire ride. If one thing Kyle West is good at, it's making sure you don't want to put the book down. It really does make you appreciate the times when the cast does get to rest and take a breather. (Which isn't all that often!) Perhaps that is something the cast of characters could of benefited from, since at times the book does feel a little too fast paced. Too much of a good thing isn't always the answer, I know I would of liked to see these characters bond a little more outside of the crazy fight scenes.
On a side note fans of Fallout New Vegas or Skyrim will really like this series. Kyle West must of been a fan of Bethesda games because the similarities between the books and the Fallout universe are very strong. One of the main antagonists factions of this series resembled Caesar's Legion from New Vegas. Link: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Caesar%...
We also have stronger science fiction and fantasy elements this time. It seems like the more this series moves forward, the further away we move from the Post Apocalyptic tone of the series. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because the writer has kept me wondering what will happen next. That being said I wished the writer would of included some dark humor within this book. It wouldn't have to be crude, gratuitous, or perverted. However at times the Fallout games had some light humor which was welcomed sometimes, I felt this serious would of benefited from the same.
Overall I give this book four stars for being a big step up from the first two.
That being said the action was almost non-stop the entire ride. If one thing Kyle West is good at, it's making sure you don't want to put the book down. It really does make you appreciate the times when the cast does get to rest and take a breather. (Which isn't all that often!) Perhaps that is something the cast of characters could of benefited from, since at times the book does feel a little too fast paced. Too much of a good thing isn't always the answer, I know I would of liked to see these characters bond a little more outside of the crazy fight scenes.
On a side note fans of Fallout New Vegas or Skyrim will really like this series. Kyle West must of been a fan of Bethesda games because the similarities between the books and the Fallout universe are very strong. One of the main antagonists factions of this series resembled Caesar's Legion from New Vegas. Link: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Caesar%...
We also have stronger science fiction and fantasy elements this time. It seems like the more this series moves forward, the further away we move from the Post Apocalyptic tone of the series. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because the writer has kept me wondering what will happen next. That being said I wished the writer would of included some dark humor within this book. It wouldn't have to be crude, gratuitous, or perverted. However at times the Fallout games had some light humor which was welcomed sometimes, I felt this serious would of benefited from the same.
Overall I give this book four stars for being a big step up from the first two.
September 5, 2014
A Little More Work Gets You to the Meat!
You would think it would be difficult for Mr. West to raise the stakes after introducing us to a post-apocalyptic world with hideous infections and an open invasion on the way.
Think again.
As with all of human life in any stage of development, to quote the "Fallout" video game series: "War....war never changes." Mr. West introduces the a new human element to his saga in the third installment of "The Wasteland Chronicles": The Nova Roman Empire.
Alex and his friends must now gather the forces of a war-torn Earth to prepare for the arrival of the Xenos, but Emperor Augustus has ambitions of his own. The reader is taken to an entirely new place with bloodthirsty customs in an already lethal world.
The xenovirus is developing as well. How much longer before it is unstoppable?
Mr. West introduces new friends, new enemies and catapults us further in the battle for a barren Earth.
Admittedly, there are portions of the book where you may struggle with overburdened exposition and wordy and unrealistic dialogue between characters, but in true Kyle West fashion, he'll sweep you up in the action in just a few more pages.
Give this one a read. Give the whole series a read. You won't be disappointed!
You would think it would be difficult for Mr. West to raise the stakes after introducing us to a post-apocalyptic world with hideous infections and an open invasion on the way.
Think again.
As with all of human life in any stage of development, to quote the "Fallout" video game series: "War....war never changes." Mr. West introduces the a new human element to his saga in the third installment of "The Wasteland Chronicles": The Nova Roman Empire.
Alex and his friends must now gather the forces of a war-torn Earth to prepare for the arrival of the Xenos, but Emperor Augustus has ambitions of his own. The reader is taken to an entirely new place with bloodthirsty customs in an already lethal world.
The xenovirus is developing as well. How much longer before it is unstoppable?
Mr. West introduces new friends, new enemies and catapults us further in the battle for a barren Earth.
Admittedly, there are portions of the book where you may struggle with overburdened exposition and wordy and unrealistic dialogue between characters, but in true Kyle West fashion, he'll sweep you up in the action in just a few more pages.
Give this one a read. Give the whole series a read. You won't be disappointed!
January 2, 2022
This series just keeps getting less and less interesting to me. I did finish this book, but it was painful to do so. I can't continue on with this world. There were good elements in Book 1 to build on, but they seemingly destroyed all of that promise in favor of this new direction which is too boring to keep me awake.
February 14, 2022
This is the third book in the : Wasteland Chronicles Book Series .
This another intense action packed thrill ride and what a ride it was . Almost all the pieces are on the board but there are still two enemies that are unknown . The reapers leader and the all mighty voice whom I believe that Anna actually knows who this voice entity is . This is my theory the only member of there team that they know nothing about is Anna . I think that Anna was sent out as a spy by her mother /the voice here me out Anna mentioned how she and her Mother use to wonder the Blight . But Anna never mentioned what happened to her mother I'm thinking that everyone just assumed that the mother was killed during that time that's why Anna is alone . But I think that Anna's mother was infected and became the hive queen of the Exovirus . And the reason why Anna insisted on coming with the crew is she thinks that they may be able to either cure her mother or she can find a way kill her . Anyway I look at it Anna is Suss and our boy/young man is gonna get his heart broken .
This another intense action packed thrill ride and what a ride it was . Almost all the pieces are on the board but there are still two enemies that are unknown . The reapers leader and the all mighty voice whom I believe that Anna actually knows who this voice entity is . This is my theory the only member of there team that they know nothing about is Anna . I think that Anna was sent out as a spy by her mother /the voice here me out Anna mentioned how she and her Mother use to wonder the Blight . But Anna never mentioned what happened to her mother I'm thinking that everyone just assumed that the mother was killed during that time that's why Anna is alone . But I think that Anna's mother was infected and became the hive queen of the Exovirus . And the reason why Anna insisted on coming with the crew is she thinks that they may be able to either cure her mother or she can find a way kill her . Anyway I look at it Anna is Suss and our boy/young man is gonna get his heart broken .
May 22, 2024
I tried....I wanted to like this....I just can't do it anymore. Our whiny crew of "heros" become slaves to the Empire after (of course) professionally parachuting from a space ship piloted by (of course) a professional skydiver who happens to have a bunch of ready packed sport rigs. Right before they are captured on another "suicide mission" they receive close air support from the spaceship (of course) They find a helpful slave who seems to have all the insight into the Empire's functions. Most slaves are very keen with inside scoop of their captors right? Our heroes rescue their pal, and naturally get captured to become gladiators, because they Empire believes in "Bread and Circus." Of course, they kick everyone's butt, including the wild jaguars. The Emperor suddenly digs them and lets them go, but not before they run into DRAGONS, which our close air support spaceship quickly dispatches.
Oh brother......I can't do it anymore.
Oh brother......I can't do it anymore.
September 20, 2020
The meeting became a larger battle than the crew ever thought. An interesting storyline. A view from the mind of a teenager, growing up, and becoming who he is destined to be. We've all gone through trials which pulled our strengths out of us, but a continual fight for life most can thank God was not part of it.
Alex is learning the history of his family, and young love. Now that he has bounded with his new group of friends, he learns the world is larger than he expected, and he meets new friends also becoming part of the group.
Alex is learning the history of his family, and young love. Now that he has bounded with his new group of friends, he learns the world is larger than he expected, and he meets new friends also becoming part of the group.
February 7, 2018
It's a decent read, but the 2nd book from the series is much better due to the story.
I don't want to add spoilers, but it feels like a lot of action in this book is added to make a book out of the short story the author had. For example, the adventure in Skyhome, unless it has a good tie up with the rest of the books.
I really hope the 4th part of the series has more things happening instead of random non-value added adventures.
I don't want to add spoilers, but it feels like a lot of action in this book is added to make a book out of the short story the author had. For example, the adventure in Skyhome, unless it has a good tie up with the rest of the books.
I really hope the 4th part of the series has more things happening instead of random non-value added adventures.
June 23, 2020
Enjoyable yet annyoing
I liked the first book better. The inexperience of Alex made his decisions explainable. But now that they and his friends have "trained", I cringed every time the group would prepare for a mission, and within a short while lose or leave their supplies. Also, why don't they set watches at night. This way they don't get surprised. Getting past the jumps in logic the story was enjoyable.
I liked the first book better. The inexperience of Alex made his decisions explainable. But now that they and his friends have "trained", I cringed every time the group would prepare for a mission, and within a short while lose or leave their supplies. Also, why don't they set watches at night. This way they don't get surprised. Getting past the jumps in logic the story was enjoyable.
March 2, 2021
Great book
Third book in the series and it continues to keep me glued to each page. I love the storyline and the characters, finding them easy to identify with. I really like this book and I highly recommend it.
Third book in the series and it continues to keep me glued to each page. I love the storyline and the characters, finding them easy to identify with. I really like this book and I highly recommend it.
May 9, 2017
It started out good and then it just started to slow out so much that I could barely finished it. I don't know if I can continue reading the series.
May 6, 2024
From a dystopia to a sci-fi to a fantasy—man, these aliens are CRAZY.
August 12, 2024
Same as the first two. Got tired of the story.
October 1, 2016
The whole series should be called 'Deus Ex Machina' because of the ludicrously fortuitous ways that the characters move from problem to problem. Case in point from this one: needing to get into a city unseen it turns out that the old professor is an expert skydiver, that a spaceship has a set of skydiving chutes (not just the round, land-anywhere safety chutes from planes), that they are so good that they do near perfect solo jumps with no training, etc. The series just takes any elements from other genres and stories that the author thinks is cool (Fallout, Mad Max, spy novels, Sci-Fi, now dragons) without even thinking about how to fit them together coherently - or even whether it is possible.
The characters are all pretty one-dimensional and unsympathetic, with a single, leaden 'voice' that doesn't ring true for any of them (an aged professor constantly saying 'you guys', the overly-formal, stating-the-obvious dialogue from the teenage characters, etc.)
I've now read the three books that were in the omnibus edition I bought, and given that they have got progressively worse, I won't be reading anything else by the author.
The characters are all pretty one-dimensional and unsympathetic, with a single, leaden 'voice' that doesn't ring true for any of them (an aged professor constantly saying 'you guys', the overly-formal, stating-the-obvious dialogue from the teenage characters, etc.)
I've now read the three books that were in the omnibus edition I bought, and given that they have got progressively worse, I won't be reading anything else by the author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2017
Yeeeaahhh, I'm done with this series. I was about done once the whole space aspect was introduced in book 2, but thought I'd give it at least 3 books to see how things panned out.
Pretty much nothing significant happened until the end, so until then there's a lot of over explaining things, boring dialogue, and unrealistic fights.
Every time there's a fight scene everyone gets the perfect shot they need, with minimal effort it seems. The biggest enemies, huge Behemoths, take less time to dispatch than the regular mutant humanoid. At one point there's a dragon, a freakin' dragon -- it's introduced and then defeated on the same page. sigh
There are a couple injuries, but they get better so no worries there.
I think maybe with a heavy handed editor these first three books could make for a decent duology. But as they stand currently, they're kinda tough to get through while maintaining interest.
Pretty much nothing significant happened until the end, so until then there's a lot of over explaining things, boring dialogue, and unrealistic fights.
Every time there's a fight scene everyone gets the perfect shot they need, with minimal effort it seems. The biggest enemies, huge Behemoths, take less time to dispatch than the regular mutant humanoid. At one point there's a dragon, a freakin' dragon -- it's introduced and then defeated on the same page. sigh
There are a couple injuries, but they get better so no worries there.
I think maybe with a heavy handed editor these first three books could make for a decent duology. But as they stand currently, they're kinda tough to get through while maintaining interest.
March 30, 2016
The Wasteland Chronicles Book 3 In Book 3, Evolution, the Wasteland survivors, Samuel, Alex, Anna, Makara & Dr. Ashton, are continuing their preparations for their final battle to stop the Xenovirus and save the Wasteland and the entire planet. This was another awesome story. The series just keeps getting better and better. There is always lots of action so you'll never get bored reading this series. Also, in each book West has thrown in unique curves in the plot that I didn't see coming. There are also setting changes in each book that were unexpected but very cool. He definitely keeps you on your toes which is one reason I like his writing style so much. I can't wait to see what he has in store for us in the next book, Revelations.
February 18, 2014
So don't get me wrong the book was Amazing as the others! I just felt like there was to much filler! Could have gone without some of the mere descriptions! However it's still a page turner and the plot thickens! I need to read the next two books but I'm going to have to wait just a little becuase I already spent to much money on books this month! With the series 2.99 a book it is defenitly going to bankrupt me lol doesn't mean I will stop thinking about it! The story is invading my dreams when I sleep! Not kidding the last 2 nights I dreamt I was in the Wasteland running for my life!
March 18, 2014
The story just keeps getting better and better. The characters seem to keep evolving with the situations that they are thrown in. I just wish that the books were longer as I am now over half done with the series.
November 6, 2014
Another great installment in this series.
Action, gore, excitement, sickly disgusting haunting creatures, great main characters - what more could you ask for?
I highly recommend this series. Yes, it is lengthy with seven total books, but they are fairly short books.
On to number 4. :)
Action, gore, excitement, sickly disgusting haunting creatures, great main characters - what more could you ask for?
I highly recommend this series. Yes, it is lengthy with seven total books, but they are fairly short books.
On to number 4. :)
April 23, 2016
At this juncture, the third book is by far the best of the first three. The series really starts to settle in and find identity. As a reader, I was completely enthralled by this point. The introduction of the city of Nova Roma was epic. A turn of adventure on every page. Loved this book!
February 26, 2014
Great installment in a great series.
May 31, 2014
Love this series
characters keep getting deeper and the plot thickens and thickens. Will keep reading the rest of the series without a doubt
characters keep getting deeper and the plot thickens and thickens. Will keep reading the rest of the series without a doubt
June 15, 2014
Great book
I enjoy reading these books. I can't put them down. Great characters and story. it like everything is coming together.
I enjoy reading these books. I can't put them down. Great characters and story. it like everything is coming together.
January 12, 2016
Hints of Fallout in a interesting book
August 12, 2024
Same as the first two. Beginning to get tired of the story
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews