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Lambs: World Gone Down (Survivors: Volume 1): A thrilling novel of dinosaur apocalypse and the brave men and women fighting for survival in a savage new world
World Gone Down ( Volume 1): the thrilling debut novel from Benton Ford, the hottest new name in post-apocalyptic science fiction, a masterful tale of a civilisation on the verge of collapse.
On a warm summer’s afternoon, something goes wrong. The power goes down, bombs falls from the sky, and monstrous creatures begin stalking the streets.
As the people turn against each other, the survivors must come to terms with this new world and their own place within it. Teacher Claire Hopgood must save a group of schoolchildren from monsters both with wings and those who walk and talk like men. Unassuming nurse Alan Graf must battle to protect his dying father as the world collapses around them. And escaped convict Mark Raine faces a race against time to get back to the family he loves.
Nothing for any of them will ever be the same again. All they know is that the world they had known is gone, and that in this new world, they are no longer top of the food chain. No longer the predators, now they are nothing more than lambs…
World Gone Down ( Volume 1) is a thrilling tale of survival that will keep you on the edge of your seat in the same way as The Walking Dead, only with dinosaurs.
On a warm summer’s afternoon, something goes wrong. The power goes down, bombs falls from the sky, and monstrous creatures begin stalking the streets.
As the people turn against each other, the survivors must come to terms with this new world and their own place within it. Teacher Claire Hopgood must save a group of schoolchildren from monsters both with wings and those who walk and talk like men. Unassuming nurse Alan Graf must battle to protect his dying father as the world collapses around them. And escaped convict Mark Raine faces a race against time to get back to the family he loves.
Nothing for any of them will ever be the same again. All they know is that the world they had known is gone, and that in this new world, they are no longer top of the food chain. No longer the predators, now they are nothing more than lambs…
World Gone Down ( Volume 1) is a thrilling tale of survival that will keep you on the edge of your seat in the same way as The Walking Dead, only with dinosaurs.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 20, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 15, 2025
My heartstrings
If you love a book where you have unanswered questions and like having your heart played with, well this is the book for you. I just hope he survives the whole series
If you love a book where you have unanswered questions and like having your heart played with, well this is the book for you. I just hope he survives the whole series
October 10, 2024
Disappointing
How do you mess up an apocalypse...with dinosaurs?! Lambs, Lambs is how. The first character we meet, in the first chapter, was nearly enough to put me off this book by himself. But I figured hey, dinosaur apocalypse, the human monster will get his! Nope. That guy is probably the worst, but of the way too many characters, most of them are unlikable if not outright awful. And none of them get better. There's barely any character growth. But that's because there's also no plot. This is a dozen or so points of view of the same couple of days of a countrywide event with nothing propelling it forward or tying it together other than the general "shared apocalypse" concept. I can't even call them short stories because there's no beginning or end to most of them. Just PLOP, here is yet another miserably unpleasant human being trying to build mystery by pretending these "giant lizard monsters" aren't dinosaurs because...reasons. Some of that may have been intended as future story fodder or later world building but there is a limit to how much you can "save for later."
I forced myself to finish reading in hopes that the third act might improve something but it was more of the same.
Not recommended.
How do you mess up an apocalypse...with dinosaurs?! Lambs, Lambs is how. The first character we meet, in the first chapter, was nearly enough to put me off this book by himself. But I figured hey, dinosaur apocalypse, the human monster will get his! Nope. That guy is probably the worst, but of the way too many characters, most of them are unlikable if not outright awful. And none of them get better. There's barely any character growth. But that's because there's also no plot. This is a dozen or so points of view of the same couple of days of a countrywide event with nothing propelling it forward or tying it together other than the general "shared apocalypse" concept. I can't even call them short stories because there's no beginning or end to most of them. Just PLOP, here is yet another miserably unpleasant human being trying to build mystery by pretending these "giant lizard monsters" aren't dinosaurs because...reasons. Some of that may have been intended as future story fodder or later world building but there is a limit to how much you can "save for later."
I forced myself to finish reading in hopes that the third act might improve something but it was more of the same.
Not recommended.
June 23, 2026
A little less Dinosaur then what was promised. A lot more characters I didn't come to care for. Throw in a 3 way-civil war in the background and you have a scaled concept which the author tries to put into 250+ pages. Where something like this really did need time to breath and grow.
I am going to be honest, I was done with this book by about half way.
Not to say all of the characters were not for me, but with the perchance that characters may not survive, I find it hard to care for at my count 7+ characters in separate stories set at the "end of the world". Maybe in future books they will come together but for me now, I think I am done. this first instalment didn't hook me enough to come back for a 2nd. Perhaps this is how the author wanted to do his series - All the power to him, doing it and getting it out there. But I do feel this book suffers from lack of cohesion and was just a set of series of events happening. No over arching goal to get to. Don't get me wrong, this in itself is fine. Why does a book need the typical begin, middle and end but if you are going to play with the tried and true way of telling a story you need to make sure what you are telling has a point to bring people back into the next instalment.
I am going to be honest, I was done with this book by about half way.
Not to say all of the characters were not for me, but with the perchance that characters may not survive, I find it hard to care for at my count 7+ characters in separate stories set at the "end of the world". Maybe in future books they will come together but for me now, I think I am done. this first instalment didn't hook me enough to come back for a 2nd. Perhaps this is how the author wanted to do his series - All the power to him, doing it and getting it out there. But I do feel this book suffers from lack of cohesion and was just a set of series of events happening. No over arching goal to get to. Don't get me wrong, this in itself is fine. Why does a book need the typical begin, middle and end but if you are going to play with the tried and true way of telling a story you need to make sure what you are telling has a point to bring people back into the next instalment.
July 19, 2026
Now my review may be harsh having not read the rest of the series, but a book - especially the first in a series - should be able to hold its own. Think Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Sure, it’s the first of 7 books, but if JK Rowling stopped after one, you’d still have a complete story.
This book has an intriguing world that has been teased, a World War Z style multi-perspective narrative, and a lot of action. What’s the complaint? Well, the story feels unfinished! We have no answers about the instigation of the main plot point. We have no resolution for any of the characters, only cliff hangars ready for the sequel. It just feels like the series was written as one long book, and then has been chopped up into separate books.
That being said, whilst I’m giving this standalone book a 3, if the series has resolution and maintains the universe building - there’s no reason I can’t see this score inflating. I am invested (it’s dinosaurs, who wouldn’t be!), and want to know why, and how. But because it didn’t feel whole, I’m still stuck at the what.
This book has an intriguing world that has been teased, a World War Z style multi-perspective narrative, and a lot of action. What’s the complaint? Well, the story feels unfinished! We have no answers about the instigation of the main plot point. We have no resolution for any of the characters, only cliff hangars ready for the sequel. It just feels like the series was written as one long book, and then has been chopped up into separate books.
That being said, whilst I’m giving this standalone book a 3, if the series has resolution and maintains the universe building - there’s no reason I can’t see this score inflating. I am invested (it’s dinosaurs, who wouldn’t be!), and want to know why, and how. But because it didn’t feel whole, I’m still stuck at the what.
April 3, 2026
Power tails, bombs drop, and monster hunt the streets. Teenagers Emily and Kenny, nurse Alan Graff, and convict Mark Raine fight to survive as London collapses and humanity becomes prey.
This is the first sci-fi book I've picked up ir a long time, and I'll admit I was a little apprengive god olin the dup real
characters and seeing how each of them handled the world falling apart around them
The writing style was smooth and easy to get into, which made it a really engagin read. Each chapter also featured cute little doodles as headers, along with some great character art throughout, which I absolutely loved, it added such a fun, unique touch.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be continuing with the series!
This is the first sci-fi book I've picked up ir a long time, and I'll admit I was a little apprengive god olin the dup real
characters and seeing how each of them handled the world falling apart around them
The writing style was smooth and easy to get into, which made it a really engagin read. Each chapter also featured cute little doodles as headers, along with some great character art throughout, which I absolutely loved, it added such a fun, unique touch.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be continuing with the series!
November 22, 2023
What an utterly weird book - somewhat gory yet strangely compelling. Probably not for the fainthearted, yet I would say I don't really like horror, but was fascinated by this unusual and mesmerising book.
There are several threads in the story, and a fair number of protagonists, but it isn't difficult to keep track of them and what is going on.
I don't really like much gore, also, yet this was so quick and lacking in description that it wasn't really off-putting.
If you like weird books, mild horror, fantasy, dystopian or apocalyptic, and don't mind too much gore, then this one is worth a try!
There are several threads in the story, and a fair number of protagonists, but it isn't difficult to keep track of them and what is going on.
I don't really like much gore, also, yet this was so quick and lacking in description that it wasn't really off-putting.
If you like weird books, mild horror, fantasy, dystopian or apocalyptic, and don't mind too much gore, then this one is worth a try!
September 2, 2025
An interesting apocalypse...
Lambs: World Gone Down, volume 1 of the Survivors series, is the story of some kind of event, nothing explaining 'how", results in dinosaurs, civil unrest and lots of uncertainty tearing apart the U.K. The characters run the gamut, from children to convicts, all of whom are struggling to figure out the rules of the new reality and how to survive it. We don't get to know the characters well, but we get enough background on most of them to understand their actions. Overall 4/5 stars. I'm hoping more information about exactly what occurred and is occurring will be present in volume 2....
Lambs: World Gone Down, volume 1 of the Survivors series, is the story of some kind of event, nothing explaining 'how", results in dinosaurs, civil unrest and lots of uncertainty tearing apart the U.K. The characters run the gamut, from children to convicts, all of whom are struggling to figure out the rules of the new reality and how to survive it. We don't get to know the characters well, but we get enough background on most of them to understand their actions. Overall 4/5 stars. I'm hoping more information about exactly what occurred and is occurring will be present in volume 2....
February 13, 2025
I had a difficult time getting engaged in this book. The characters didn't seem to be sympathetic enough for me to care about. Even the two that sort of appealed to me, one died early in the book and the other appears to be dead by the end of Volume 1. I don't think I care enough about the remaining (living) characters to read Volume 2. The premise of the book had a lot of promise, but a story is told through the characters experiencing the events, and I could not make a connection to these.
June 7, 2024
This was very good! The first time I have read this authors work under this pen name, but hopefully not the last! A good start to the series, I think, an interesting selection of characters, all facing the same end of the world but with different struggle & strife! Well written, good energy & action, a really great read!
December 8, 2024
Dinosaurs in London
When the world turns upside down, everyone must figure out how to survive. Follow people from all walks of life that face their fears and the dangers around them to try to protect what is important to them. Some will become takers while others choose to help other survivors.
When the world turns upside down, everyone must figure out how to survive. Follow people from all walks of life that face their fears and the dangers around them to try to protect what is important to them. Some will become takers while others choose to help other survivors.
November 22, 2023
Lambs
I am so sorry. I tried to read it, but the f word was on nearly every page. Even the kids were using it. I gave it one star because I could not finish reading what started off as an interesting story. Will not read any more in this series and that is a shame.
I am so sorry. I tried to read it, but the f word was on nearly every page. Even the kids were using it. I gave it one star because I could not finish reading what started off as an interesting story. Will not read any more in this series and that is a shame.
January 19, 2025
A very outlandish take on EOTWAWKI. Dinos and a civil war. Read Kindle book using Alexa audio asset. Logs of deaths, injuries, and destruction, the story is not overly gory. Purchased this edition on January 12, 2025, for free.
June 30, 2026
Better than expected
At first I thought this was going to be another survival book, just the same as all the others but no. I got that I couldn’t put it down. Not at all what I expected.
At first I thought this was going to be another survival book, just the same as all the others but no. I got that I couldn’t put it down. Not at all what I expected.
January 24, 2025
Five Star
Quite a different take on the end of life as we know it. Very enjoyable. Liked the different POVs and will read the next one
Quite a different take on the end of life as we know it. Very enjoyable. Liked the different POVs and will read the next one
November 29, 2025
Enjoyable end of the world?, surviours story. Even better as set in th UK
May 27, 2026
cliff hanger
July 14, 2026
Lambs, by Benton ford
The author is a very good writer and story teller, but I wish there were more to the ending. A dystopian story set in England that I highly recommend.
The author is a very good writer and story teller, but I wish there were more to the ending. A dystopian story set in England that I highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews