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The Remaining #2
Aftermath
Nothing has gone according to plan.
To Captain Lee Harden, Project Hometown feels like a distant dream and the completion of his mission seems unattainable.
Wounded and weaponless, he has stumbled upon a group of survivors that seems willing to help. But a tragedy in the group causes a deep rift to come to light and forces him into action. In the chaos of the world outside, Lee is pursued by a new threat: someone who will stop at nothing to get what he has.
"The Remaining: Aftermath" is the second book in the popular "The Remaining" series. The third book is on the way.
To Captain Lee Harden, Project Hometown feels like a distant dream and the completion of his mission seems unattainable.
Wounded and weaponless, he has stumbled upon a group of survivors that seems willing to help. But a tragedy in the group causes a deep rift to come to light and forces him into action. In the chaos of the world outside, Lee is pursued by a new threat: someone who will stop at nothing to get what he has.
"The Remaining: Aftermath" is the second book in the popular "The Remaining" series. The third book is on the way.
203 pages, ebook
First published August 27, 2013
292 people are currently reading
1984 people want to read
About the author
D.J. Molles
45 books1,431 followersD.J. Molles became a New York Times and USA today bestselling author while working full time as a police officer. He's since traded his badge for a keyboard to produce over 20 titles. When he's not writing, he's taking steps to make his North Carolina property self-sustainable, and training to be at least half as hard to kill as Lee Harden (his most popular protagonist).
Molles also enjoys playing his guitar and drums, drawing, cooking, and “shredding that green pow” on his Onewheel.
Most nights you can find him sitting on the couch surrounded by his dogs and family, trying to stream an hour of Netflix with his really sketchy satellite internet connection.
Are you interested in becoming a writer? I've started a video series called "Lessons in Writing" which you can find on all my socials.
Follow on IG & FB @djmolles
TikTok @djmollesauthor
Molles also enjoys playing his guitar and drums, drawing, cooking, and “shredding that green pow” on his Onewheel.
Most nights you can find him sitting on the couch surrounded by his dogs and family, trying to stream an hour of Netflix with his really sketchy satellite internet connection.
Are you interested in becoming a writer? I've started a video series called "Lessons in Writing" which you can find on all my socials.
Follow on IG & FB @djmolles
TikTok @djmollesauthor
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 328 reviews
October 2, 2018
So yeah, zombies, right? Lots of survival among zombies, right?
Well, no, not so much. This is very much like The Walking Dead, where we have long stretches of dealing with live people and the crap they bring to the table rather than stocking up on tons of ammunition and going to work on all the living dead.
Well, yeah, this is very much like the Walking Dead. Perhaps a better, faster version where tons of supplies ARE to be head, big bads are closer to the fore, and we have all the locations we have grown to love and hate from the comics (or tv show, for you non-purists) written large, fast, and big.
And did I mention fast? It's the zombie apocalypse, yo! Let's follow Lee and his Mil-SF trope all the way through the wasteland and see if he brings civilization back to the poor folk here! :)
Well, no, not so much. This is very much like The Walking Dead, where we have long stretches of dealing with live people and the crap they bring to the table rather than stocking up on tons of ammunition and going to work on all the living dead.
Well, yeah, this is very much like the Walking Dead. Perhaps a better, faster version where tons of supplies ARE to be head, big bads are closer to the fore, and we have all the locations we have grown to love and hate from the comics (or tv show, for you non-purists) written large, fast, and big.
And did I mention fast? It's the zombie apocalypse, yo! Let's follow Lee and his Mil-SF trope all the way through the wasteland and see if he brings civilization back to the poor folk here! :)
December 15, 2013
Review: The Remaining: Aftermath
This is a strong follow-up to the first book, and if you liked the first book you'll like this. All the mayhem and zombie apocalypse continues, with a serious dose of trouble from the redneck warlord faction to make it all that much more dramatic and ratchet up the stakes and the danger.
This gets only two stars from me, though, because of two things: It seriously needed and editor, and it's just so rah-rah soldier and testosterone.
First, the editor: There are so many places where words are spelled incorrectly or simply the wrong word is used that I lost count. Molles frequently writes "bare" when it should be "bear," for example, "staid" instead of "stayed," "pale" instead of "pail," "stare" instead of "stair," etc. Sure, these homophones will make it through a spell checker, but a spell check is completely different from a meaning check, and that's why a good writer needs a good editor.
The plot also has some serious problems which an editor could have pointed out and given the author a chance to address. The biggest plot hole is Lee's side trip to Smithfield. It makes no sense that Lee would finally make it to his bunker, finally get a load of supplies for the people at Camp Ryder who are on the verge of starvation, and instead of going back there w/the supplies immediately would instead head off into the middle of an infected city on a completely different mission that might very well get him killed. No. I don't buy it. It's just dumb. If he's as smart and savvy as he's otherwise portrayed, he would have made sure the supplies got back to the people who needed them, and *then* gone on his mission. If he'd done that, Camp Ryder would have loved him and would have given him many more men and resources so he would have been much better able to accomplish the goal of checking on Maria's sister/looking for other survivors in Smithfield.
And even if we believe he's going to go off on this fool's errand before he makes sure the supplies get to Camp Ryder, it goes completely against his mission not to at least take some steps to ensure that the supplies get there w/o him. He wouldn't take the supply truck and all of his little team into the infected area. That was just stupid. Sure, it ended up making for some good drama, but stupid.
And the whole Doc subplot was also implausible. I can buy that this Doc guy was a spy for Milo and was trying to deliver Lee to Milo all in order to save his girlfriend, Nicole. Fine. But if that's what he was doing, then why, when Lee said he was not going back to Camp Ryder but was instead going into Smithfield, why would Doc say "I'm going with you?" How would that have helped Doc's plan to get Lee to Milo? Are we to believe Doc thought he might capture Lee and drag him to Milo somehow on his own? Again, makes no sense. Not plausible.
So while it all comes together in the end, how we get there needed more thought, and a good editor would have helped encourage Molles to think about this plot a little more and smooth it out before it went to press.
Finally, on the rah-rah: If Molles is not former military himself, he's done a great job on research because the details of the weapons and the gear and tactics and terminology of a special forces military operator seem very realistic and convincing. This is great, but it comes along with a sort of military boosterism that just bugs me. It could be worse, so it probably won't bother most readers. It's just not for me.
The fact that I'm already reading the third installment in this series shows that I'm enjoying it and have become engaged enough with the characters and the situation that I want to find out what happens to them. That, alone, is no small achievement and reason enough to consider giving these books a read.
This is a strong follow-up to the first book, and if you liked the first book you'll like this. All the mayhem and zombie apocalypse continues, with a serious dose of trouble from the redneck warlord faction to make it all that much more dramatic and ratchet up the stakes and the danger.
This gets only two stars from me, though, because of two things: It seriously needed and editor, and it's just so rah-rah soldier and testosterone.
First, the editor: There are so many places where words are spelled incorrectly or simply the wrong word is used that I lost count. Molles frequently writes "bare" when it should be "bear," for example, "staid" instead of "stayed," "pale" instead of "pail," "stare" instead of "stair," etc. Sure, these homophones will make it through a spell checker, but a spell check is completely different from a meaning check, and that's why a good writer needs a good editor.
The plot also has some serious problems which an editor could have pointed out and given the author a chance to address. The biggest plot hole is Lee's side trip to Smithfield. It makes no sense that Lee would finally make it to his bunker, finally get a load of supplies for the people at Camp Ryder who are on the verge of starvation, and instead of going back there w/the supplies immediately would instead head off into the middle of an infected city on a completely different mission that might very well get him killed. No. I don't buy it. It's just dumb. If he's as smart and savvy as he's otherwise portrayed, he would have made sure the supplies got back to the people who needed them, and *then* gone on his mission. If he'd done that, Camp Ryder would have loved him and would have given him many more men and resources so he would have been much better able to accomplish the goal of checking on Maria's sister/looking for other survivors in Smithfield.
And even if we believe he's going to go off on this fool's errand before he makes sure the supplies get to Camp Ryder, it goes completely against his mission not to at least take some steps to ensure that the supplies get there w/o him. He wouldn't take the supply truck and all of his little team into the infected area. That was just stupid. Sure, it ended up making for some good drama, but stupid.
And the whole Doc subplot was also implausible. I can buy that this Doc guy was a spy for Milo and was trying to deliver Lee to Milo all in order to save his girlfriend, Nicole. Fine. But if that's what he was doing, then why, when Lee said he was not going back to Camp Ryder but was instead going into Smithfield, why would Doc say "I'm going with you?" How would that have helped Doc's plan to get Lee to Milo? Are we to believe Doc thought he might capture Lee and drag him to Milo somehow on his own? Again, makes no sense. Not plausible.
So while it all comes together in the end, how we get there needed more thought, and a good editor would have helped encourage Molles to think about this plot a little more and smooth it out before it went to press.
Finally, on the rah-rah: If Molles is not former military himself, he's done a great job on research because the details of the weapons and the gear and tactics and terminology of a special forces military operator seem very realistic and convincing. This is great, but it comes along with a sort of military boosterism that just bugs me. It could be worse, so it probably won't bother most readers. It's just not for me.
The fact that I'm already reading the third installment in this series shows that I'm enjoying it and have become engaged enough with the characters and the situation that I want to find out what happens to them. That, alone, is no small achievement and reason enough to consider giving these books a read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2013
I'm a big fan of the post apocalyptic genre. I'm also a big fan of zombies. Not all zombie books are post apocalyptic, but this series seems to be what I would consider the best of both worlds.
I really like the characters, and the pace of the books is excellent. Truly masterfully told.
Dialogue is something that I tend to notice as being weak, or unnecessary filler in a lot of books. Certainly not this series. It seems very well done.
The plot kept me interested the whole time. Always wondering what the next chapter had in store.
And I dare say, as far as zombies go, this series does it better than anything I've seen so far. Zombies don't live on endlessly, crawling around with half a body. They're people. They lose enough blood, they die. It's so much more realistic than most of what you see out there.
I love how the zombies (never actually referred to as zombies, which I like) function. I love how terrifying they are compared to anything else I've read. They truly are the most horrifying zombies I've ever seen, and I love it.
I consider The Remaining series among my top 3 favorite reads of all time, right up there with WOOL and Ready Player One.
I hope this series never ends. I'm very impressed by D.J. Molles incredible ability to create and tell a truly unique, captivating, and gripping story.
I really like the characters, and the pace of the books is excellent. Truly masterfully told.
Dialogue is something that I tend to notice as being weak, or unnecessary filler in a lot of books. Certainly not this series. It seems very well done.
The plot kept me interested the whole time. Always wondering what the next chapter had in store.
And I dare say, as far as zombies go, this series does it better than anything I've seen so far. Zombies don't live on endlessly, crawling around with half a body. They're people. They lose enough blood, they die. It's so much more realistic than most of what you see out there.
I love how the zombies (never actually referred to as zombies, which I like) function. I love how terrifying they are compared to anything else I've read. They truly are the most horrifying zombies I've ever seen, and I love it.
I consider The Remaining series among my top 3 favorite reads of all time, right up there with WOOL and Ready Player One.
I hope this series never ends. I'm very impressed by D.J. Molles incredible ability to create and tell a truly unique, captivating, and gripping story.
April 28, 2013
While this is not the best book in the world, I would recommend it for when you don't have the energy to think and need some brainless reading. On the negative side, it's not the best written, and it's clear the author thinks women are fragile creatures incapable of protecting themselves. On the plus side, it's pure action from one moment to the next, so it's a quick read that won't bore you. Just don't expect much intelligence.
could-not-finish
January 1, 2024Ugh! This is the wimpiest soldier that is supposed to save mankind that I have ever read. I can't take it! Done!!
July 9, 2019
5 awesome talented stars audio
5 action packed gruesome riveting stars story!! moving on to book 3!!!
5 action packed gruesome riveting stars story!! moving on to book 3!!!
February 12, 2014
About a 3.5. Good enough that the third in the series is already on my list.
January 8, 2014
This book, like the one previous is a quick moving action packed and thrilling ride. The characters feel fairly realistic in terms of their motivations and behaviors and in that sense they are dynamic and diverse. With that said, this is pretty much where the diversity ends.
The women are all pretty much the same. They're the typical nurturing, strong via attitude, people whose roles are to comfort, cook, and nurse. This is getting old as far as I'm concerned. Angry and with attitude does not equate strength in a woman any more than nursing wounds and cooking food and giving sweet doe eyes. Good lord I want to vomit.
We've met a little Arab boy and there was a black guy we saw in passing. Molles has introduced the readers to dozens of survivors from different camps and walks of life and yet no one of consequence is Asian, or black, or Hispanic, or from any of the countless other racial and cultural designations. No one has been identified as gay, or handicap. This has been a very homogeneous story thus far and that too has gotten old.
A little more than half way through this story I was about to put it down and stop listening. I was getting bored. Fortunately we got to meet a nasty little nemesis who stirred things up. He is now dead and no doubt, if Molles wants to keep the readers engaged, he'll introduce another in the next book. There was also a nice little surprise twist that helped renew my interest. Nevertheless, I'm not certain that I'm willing to stick through this series for the long haul.
There are tons of deeply detailed descriptions of guns and extensively described shoot outs that make this a pretty heavy testosterone trip. The main character Lee, is likable enough but he isn't exactly memorable. Lee has righteous anger and a need to save the people that seems so odd to me. I know that this is what he is trained to do, but he never has a moral slip. There's never a time wen he gets tired and thinks, "maybe I should just take care of me and let these doubting annoying whining useless jackasses take care of themselves." Hell, I know that would be wrong, but it would at least be realistic. Instead, its almost as if Lee has been programmed. He's just too "good", which equals not quite human, which equals not relatable.
Molles has written a fairly engaging tale. No one is perfect, so I'm not expecting that. I've read and listened to a load of zombie books and stories and with the flood of them on the market these days few are unique. Molles has done a good job within the niche, but he hasn't really produced a story that would stay with me, as a non-former military, white male in his 20-30s.
Unique would be able bodied women, a world with more diverse characters from diverse backgrounds, people with more and interesting skill sets, a protagonist not plucked from every run of the mill video game.
It's been fun but you can only ride the roller coaster so long before you're ready to try a different ride.
We will see.
The women are all pretty much the same. They're the typical nurturing, strong via attitude, people whose roles are to comfort, cook, and nurse. This is getting old as far as I'm concerned. Angry and with attitude does not equate strength in a woman any more than nursing wounds and cooking food and giving sweet doe eyes. Good lord I want to vomit.
We've met a little Arab boy and there was a black guy we saw in passing. Molles has introduced the readers to dozens of survivors from different camps and walks of life and yet no one of consequence is Asian, or black, or Hispanic, or from any of the countless other racial and cultural designations. No one has been identified as gay, or handicap. This has been a very homogeneous story thus far and that too has gotten old.
A little more than half way through this story I was about to put it down and stop listening. I was getting bored. Fortunately we got to meet a nasty little nemesis who stirred things up. He is now dead and no doubt, if Molles wants to keep the readers engaged, he'll introduce another in the next book. There was also a nice little surprise twist that helped renew my interest. Nevertheless, I'm not certain that I'm willing to stick through this series for the long haul.
There are tons of deeply detailed descriptions of guns and extensively described shoot outs that make this a pretty heavy testosterone trip. The main character Lee, is likable enough but he isn't exactly memorable. Lee has righteous anger and a need to save the people that seems so odd to me. I know that this is what he is trained to do, but he never has a moral slip. There's never a time wen he gets tired and thinks, "maybe I should just take care of me and let these doubting annoying whining useless jackasses take care of themselves." Hell, I know that would be wrong, but it would at least be realistic. Instead, its almost as if Lee has been programmed. He's just too "good", which equals not quite human, which equals not relatable.
Molles has written a fairly engaging tale. No one is perfect, so I'm not expecting that. I've read and listened to a load of zombie books and stories and with the flood of them on the market these days few are unique. Molles has done a good job within the niche, but he hasn't really produced a story that would stay with me, as a non-former military, white male in his 20-30s.
Unique would be able bodied women, a world with more diverse characters from diverse backgrounds, people with more and interesting skill sets, a protagonist not plucked from every run of the mill video game.
It's been fun but you can only ride the roller coaster so long before you're ready to try a different ride.
We will see.
June 3, 2013
I had mixed feelings while reading this book, but now that I've finished, I definitely enjoyed it.
Let's start with what I enjoyed about this book: 1. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time, never a dull moment. 2. The infected use objects as weapons to kill people. I've read a fair share of post-apocalpyse books and not once did an infected/zombie/whatever pick up a shovel to try and bash someones brains in. Now that's fucking scary.
The two things that bugged me about this book were: 1. NOTHING ever went right. Seriously, not a damn thing. You couldn't so much as pick up a graham cracker crumb without having a horde of 500 crazies find you and tear you apart, and if you did end up getting away, you'd end up running into Milo and having him torture you to death (this didn't really happen, but you get what I'm saying). But I guess that's also what kept me so into the book, it was one crazy situation leading into an even crazier situation. 2. Some of the decisions that were made that were completely illogical ::this will contain a spoiler, heads up:: So Lee and a few of the guys from Camp Ryder get hold of a bunch of supplies (food, water, medical equipment, etc) from one of the bunkers and are about to bring them back to the camp. Keep in mind, Camp Ryder has completely used up all their food, so not getting these supplies back will be detrimental. But Lee made a promise that he would check to see if he could find any survivors, specifically the sister of one of the girls at Camp Ryder. So before going back to camp with all the supplies, they go on a possible suicide mission to the big city (filled with the infected) for the possibility of maybe finding this sister, risking everyones lives and the supplies that people are relying on. ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!!? Just take the supplies back FIRST then go another day for fucks sake. That was annoying.
Ok even though I just wrote much more about what I didn't like about the book, I want to reiterate that I did enjoy this book. I just got frustrated with some of the characters.
I highly recommend this for anyone who reads post-apocalyptic books.
Let's start with what I enjoyed about this book: 1. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time, never a dull moment. 2. The infected use objects as weapons to kill people. I've read a fair share of post-apocalpyse books and not once did an infected/zombie/whatever pick up a shovel to try and bash someones brains in. Now that's fucking scary.
The two things that bugged me about this book were: 1. NOTHING ever went right. Seriously, not a damn thing. You couldn't so much as pick up a graham cracker crumb without having a horde of 500 crazies find you and tear you apart, and if you did end up getting away, you'd end up running into Milo and having him torture you to death (this didn't really happen, but you get what I'm saying). But I guess that's also what kept me so into the book, it was one crazy situation leading into an even crazier situation. 2. Some of the decisions that were made that were completely illogical ::this will contain a spoiler, heads up:: So Lee and a few of the guys from Camp Ryder get hold of a bunch of supplies (food, water, medical equipment, etc) from one of the bunkers and are about to bring them back to the camp. Keep in mind, Camp Ryder has completely used up all their food, so not getting these supplies back will be detrimental. But Lee made a promise that he would check to see if he could find any survivors, specifically the sister of one of the girls at Camp Ryder. So before going back to camp with all the supplies, they go on a possible suicide mission to the big city (filled with the infected) for the possibility of maybe finding this sister, risking everyones lives and the supplies that people are relying on. ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!!? Just take the supplies back FIRST then go another day for fucks sake. That was annoying.
Ok even though I just wrote much more about what I didn't like about the book, I want to reiterate that I did enjoy this book. I just got frustrated with some of the characters.
I highly recommend this for anyone who reads post-apocalyptic books.
August 8, 2013
This series remains very solid with the second installment -- it's a roller-coaster ride with a very credible storyline and not much unnecessary fat to go with it. The characters are engaging, and the overall tone makes for a very compelling story.
With the popularity of The Walking Dead TV series, I find myself wondering why someone such as HBO or TNT or SyFy hasn't looked into picking up this series for TV. It plays on the same zombie themes that make The Walking Dead so popular, and the characters are easily as engaging as those in The Walking Dead, but the premise and storyline is more purposeful, lending itself to have more of a post-apocalyptic/societal collapse/rebuilding themes, somewhat along the lines of other shows like Revolution, Under The Dome, or Jericho.
As with the first book, there is some clunky editing in a couple of spots but nothing too egregious -- just a few obvious examples of where automatic spell checking was relied upon more than an actual copy editor or alpha readers with an editorial eye.
All in all, one of the most engaging series I've read in quite some time.
With the popularity of The Walking Dead TV series, I find myself wondering why someone such as HBO or TNT or SyFy hasn't looked into picking up this series for TV. It plays on the same zombie themes that make The Walking Dead so popular, and the characters are easily as engaging as those in The Walking Dead, but the premise and storyline is more purposeful, lending itself to have more of a post-apocalyptic/societal collapse/rebuilding themes, somewhat along the lines of other shows like Revolution, Under The Dome, or Jericho.
As with the first book, there is some clunky editing in a couple of spots but nothing too egregious -- just a few obvious examples of where automatic spell checking was relied upon more than an actual copy editor or alpha readers with an editorial eye.
All in all, one of the most engaging series I've read in quite some time.
May 21, 2013
From start to finish, this book is such a fun and action packed, well written, amazing-imagery, great descriptions book. After reading DJ Molles' first book, The Remaining, I had to continue, I could not stop reading, literally. Well, the moments when I wasn’t reading I was thinking about the character development, about Doc or Miller, Harper or Lee, just wondering what would ever become of them in such a morphed world where shit hit the fan and rubble, chaos, and FURY infected feral creatures are roaming the land, combing the woods in search of prey--or haunting a church--.
As I mentioned it on my previous review, DJ Molles does a fantastic job in describing the moment, in capturing its essence and giving it to you, the reader, in such a simple yet compelling way that you are immediately transported. Character development is one of this author's strengths and of course, the use of artillery is just fascinating. Can't wait to get to book 3.
As I mentioned it on my previous review, DJ Molles does a fantastic job in describing the moment, in capturing its essence and giving it to you, the reader, in such a simple yet compelling way that you are immediately transported. Character development is one of this author's strengths and of course, the use of artillery is just fascinating. Can't wait to get to book 3.
May 3, 2013
So I read this because I really liked the first of the series; I still enjoyed this book but it definitely went down hill. All the things I found somewhat annoying in the first book were much more ridiculous in the second. The book lacked direction and the main character made absurd choices! He was a really unbelievable, a hard core military man would not just decide to detour and look in on an infected city because someone was curious when 50 lives are depending on your current mission.. sorry, nope, make second trip and come back later. I am obviously going to continue to read these books, even though it looks like they are going down hill fast.. but hey, Ill do anything to avoid studying for finals.
August 24, 2013
This series starts as a little kindling fire and quickly ignites into a full blown blaze. Don't concern yourself with the small price of these books, they are amazingly well written works and continually ratchet up the pressure on the reader.
As someone familiar with military and law enforcement gear and tactics it is an interesting and accurate portrayal of the mission, if "Operation Homeland" really existed. Who knows, maybe it does...
As someone familiar with military and law enforcement gear and tactics it is an interesting and accurate portrayal of the mission, if "Operation Homeland" really existed. Who knows, maybe it does...
September 16, 2012
This book was better than the last (which was still quite good). The story stays compact in terms of scope and timeline. The action is intense. The story wraps up nicely. Can't wait for the next book!
June 12, 2022
An improvement over the first book. The pacing and biological was much better with improved characterization of the secondary characters
November 20, 2012
in the zombie and infected genre of books, you have many styles, from comical, gore, horror, serious, etc.
This is most certainly falling in the serious drama type genre. It is sad, it is at times hopeless, and it is very well written for its category.
Is the story good? Yes, its good. Perhaps for some its a bit too "real". No storybook fantasies of being king of zombieland or having a curiously fun time in the survival of it all. It is just oppressive and has a feel of almost being in a wartorn country...which in all likelihood is the reality of the situation.
The more unrealistic aspects of this narrative is the iron will of the protagonist and his seemingly endless selfless quest to try and bring some order to the chaos. I know most people would simply say f-it all and go hide in the luxury bunkers with a few close friends for a few years until society sorts itself out one way or another. Not to say everyone reacts like that, but most would, which in a way sort of makes the character a bit less connectable to the reader. Not to say it is a poorly written character, Lee is quite well developed, but it seems he lacks the certain selfishness that humanity has in general...and frankly, sometimes the reader is rooting for him to go a bit selfish now and then...take a vacation, relax, and let stuff sort itself out for a bit while he at least heals up.
I highly recommend this whole series of books, with an warning though...be prepared to be huffing a lot. Murphys law is very much in effect here and will make you wonder why at times he simply doesn't just leave or put a bullet in his head..both being justifiable under the endless array of circumstances.
The infected: Not zombies...actually gives you the chills at times because it is based more on just a nasty virus making most people primal verses the shuffling undead.
Think cannibalistic pack wolves mentality with some shreds of their former self still there verses the shuffling dead.
This adds first off a bit of realism, but more importantly, a moral dilemma considering they aren't so far gone that they have simply lost their entire self...I mean, sure, their primary concern is to murder you and eat you (and everything else that isn't one of their own), but there is still something there...in book 1, there is a part where a infected is even scratching out on the ground the word help...which makes the whole concept horrific (imagine being trapped inside a primal brain but not strong enough to get past it).
This sadly hasn't truly been addressed yet to its fullest potential(currently reading book 4), but the scope is terrible, but also adds a slight veil of hope that a cure could happen (not the focus of the book. the focus of the book is try to live till tomorrow).
Complex, well written, good arcs, no supermen but plenty of bravery, and believable reactions (mostly). Definitely one of the better narratives.
But seriously...Lee needs a week off.
This is most certainly falling in the serious drama type genre. It is sad, it is at times hopeless, and it is very well written for its category.
Is the story good? Yes, its good. Perhaps for some its a bit too "real". No storybook fantasies of being king of zombieland or having a curiously fun time in the survival of it all. It is just oppressive and has a feel of almost being in a wartorn country...which in all likelihood is the reality of the situation.
The more unrealistic aspects of this narrative is the iron will of the protagonist and his seemingly endless selfless quest to try and bring some order to the chaos. I know most people would simply say f-it all and go hide in the luxury bunkers with a few close friends for a few years until society sorts itself out one way or another. Not to say everyone reacts like that, but most would, which in a way sort of makes the character a bit less connectable to the reader. Not to say it is a poorly written character, Lee is quite well developed, but it seems he lacks the certain selfishness that humanity has in general...and frankly, sometimes the reader is rooting for him to go a bit selfish now and then...take a vacation, relax, and let stuff sort itself out for a bit while he at least heals up.
I highly recommend this whole series of books, with an warning though...be prepared to be huffing a lot. Murphys law is very much in effect here and will make you wonder why at times he simply doesn't just leave or put a bullet in his head..both being justifiable under the endless array of circumstances.
The infected: Not zombies...actually gives you the chills at times because it is based more on just a nasty virus making most people primal verses the shuffling undead.
Think cannibalistic pack wolves mentality with some shreds of their former self still there verses the shuffling dead.
This adds first off a bit of realism, but more importantly, a moral dilemma considering they aren't so far gone that they have simply lost their entire self...I mean, sure, their primary concern is to murder you and eat you (and everything else that isn't one of their own), but there is still something there...in book 1, there is a part where a infected is even scratching out on the ground the word help...which makes the whole concept horrific (imagine being trapped inside a primal brain but not strong enough to get past it).
This sadly hasn't truly been addressed yet to its fullest potential(currently reading book 4), but the scope is terrible, but also adds a slight veil of hope that a cure could happen (not the focus of the book. the focus of the book is try to live till tomorrow).
Complex, well written, good arcs, no supermen but plenty of bravery, and believable reactions (mostly). Definitely one of the better narratives.
But seriously...Lee needs a week off.
April 10, 2013
The Remaining: Aftermath continues where the previous Aftermath novel ended. Capt.Lee Harden, US Army, has finally rendezvoused with a group of survivors. Known as "Camp Ryder", from the truck plant they occupy, they are few in number and led by an older man named Bus. But there is division in the ranks, notably from a faction allied with Jerry, who had been a successful businessman before The End Of The World As We Know It.
While Harden is recuperating, there is a massive attack on the compound from the Infected. Using his tactical knowledge, Capt. Harden is able to repel the invaders and save the camp. But a young woman loses her life in the attack. Furthermore, an examination of the perimeter fence shows it had been cut. The Infected were lured to the breach with a CD player quietly reading from Moby Dick.
As a newcomer, Harden is the source of suspicion. The only way he can regain the trust of the camp is to venture outside and find supplies. The novel revs into gear as Harden and a few volunteers go forth in search of food, medicine and whatever before the camp residents begin starving to death. The Infected are everywhere. As is the local meth-head warlord, Milo. And Milo may have a traitor on the inside of Camp Ryder.
As in the first novel, The Remaining: Aftermath is one action scene after another. Capt. Harden is either rescuing people or trying to escape from a trap. The feel of the book is relentless again: you can't catch your breath in one scene because another attack is imminent. And, like the previous novel, there is plenty of technical detail about military hardware.
There's some new characters. Notably, Father Jim, a gun-toting priest who takes care of the remains of his flock. Father Jim looks on Capt. Harden as some sort of divine avenger. He's an interesting character and I hope we'll see more of him as the series progresses.
Amongst all the explosions and bullets flying can be found this bit of insight:
"This is a concept drilled into any soldier, from day one as a recruit. It is reinforced mentally and physically, officially and unofficially, through indoctrination and through the military subculture. Nothing you do as a recruit is right, even if you’re right. The instructors are always striving to achieve the sensation of failure, because it is imminent and inevitable that every soldier, every warrior will someday find themselves in a position where even their best efforts were not enough, and the greatest plan in the world still didn’t work out. That failure can bring out two things in a man: forfeit or fight.
A normal man forfeits, where a warrior fights."
And the Infected are starting to evolve. toward the beginning of the book, Harden is nearly trapped by a group of Infected working together. The Infected are starting to exhibit pack animal characteristics.
This is an intense series and I'm curious to see where the author will be taking it.
While Harden is recuperating, there is a massive attack on the compound from the Infected. Using his tactical knowledge, Capt. Harden is able to repel the invaders and save the camp. But a young woman loses her life in the attack. Furthermore, an examination of the perimeter fence shows it had been cut. The Infected were lured to the breach with a CD player quietly reading from Moby Dick.
As a newcomer, Harden is the source of suspicion. The only way he can regain the trust of the camp is to venture outside and find supplies. The novel revs into gear as Harden and a few volunteers go forth in search of food, medicine and whatever before the camp residents begin starving to death. The Infected are everywhere. As is the local meth-head warlord, Milo. And Milo may have a traitor on the inside of Camp Ryder.
As in the first novel, The Remaining: Aftermath is one action scene after another. Capt. Harden is either rescuing people or trying to escape from a trap. The feel of the book is relentless again: you can't catch your breath in one scene because another attack is imminent. And, like the previous novel, there is plenty of technical detail about military hardware.
There's some new characters. Notably, Father Jim, a gun-toting priest who takes care of the remains of his flock. Father Jim looks on Capt. Harden as some sort of divine avenger. He's an interesting character and I hope we'll see more of him as the series progresses.
Amongst all the explosions and bullets flying can be found this bit of insight:
"This is a concept drilled into any soldier, from day one as a recruit. It is reinforced mentally and physically, officially and unofficially, through indoctrination and through the military subculture. Nothing you do as a recruit is right, even if you’re right. The instructors are always striving to achieve the sensation of failure, because it is imminent and inevitable that every soldier, every warrior will someday find themselves in a position where even their best efforts were not enough, and the greatest plan in the world still didn’t work out. That failure can bring out two things in a man: forfeit or fight.
A normal man forfeits, where a warrior fights."
And the Infected are starting to evolve. toward the beginning of the book, Harden is nearly trapped by a group of Infected working together. The Infected are starting to exhibit pack animal characteristics.
This is an intense series and I'm curious to see where the author will be taking it.
June 14, 2012
great action sequences and an engaging story, but I had a hard time buying one of the main premises of this book.
I could have done with fewer hordes of Infected. I find it hard to understand how so many could survive for so many weeks. As top predators they wold run out of food, poor access to water would have lead to a lot of death by dehydration, and they should be succumbing to disease and infection at a high rate. The smaller packs that roam the countryside are more believable, but I can't accept the premise that hordes of infected with hundreds of members would be able to survive for weeks with so little prey. Surely they would starve en mass and be succumbing to disease and not be increasing in numbers. It made an otherwise entertaining book hard to swallow.
August 18, 2012
The action picks up where it left off from the last one. This is a complete rush from start to finish. To be honest, it's pace is so fast that you feel like you are running a marathon, no, a balls out sprint and cannot catch you breath just reading it. Outstanding writing, word-smithing, takes you on a better journey than the first one and leaves you, despite the fact you probably would not survive it, wanting you to go on another one. Read this series of novels if you love post-apocalyptic military stories. This one and the one before is well worth the cash.
James S.
James S.
July 22, 2013
Anytime you're not reading a book, but thinking about the next time you can pick up the book, you know it can be nothing less than a five star rating.
Aftermath, the second book after The Remaining, is a continuation of Capt. Lee Harden's attempt to bring order to the United States after what we would call a zombie apocalypse. (The books never use the term zombie, rather they call them "the infected.") Well written, action packed, well developed characters and eerie surprises at every turn....a must read for those who love this genre.
Aftermath, the second book after The Remaining, is a continuation of Capt. Lee Harden's attempt to bring order to the United States after what we would call a zombie apocalypse. (The books never use the term zombie, rather they call them "the infected.") Well written, action packed, well developed characters and eerie surprises at every turn....a must read for those who love this genre.
June 21, 2012
I loved this book and the fact that there are no super heroes, just normal people trying to survive.
May 6, 2015
Wish I could give this book more than 5 stars. I couldn't put it down!!!
December 8, 2015
Loved this book and series. This one was better then the first. Tons of action to keep you reading. I think this series would make a great tv series or movie.
February 28, 2020
Solid, enjoyable, not too deep but sometimes I don't want it to be. Still intrigued by the world and where this character goes. Will definitely continue when I need a break from more dense reading.
4
4
January 11, 2025
lol.. the military macho stuff in this series always makes me chuckle but I love the discussions I get to have with my dad from reading this with him
July 20, 2014
Lee has his mission to restore society and civilisation to the ruined US, destroyed by the RAGE plague turning people into ferocious, violent zombie-like beings. He’s made it to Camp Ryder but the survivors are wary. They’re surrounded by a rampaging gang that’s more than happy to destroy them and they don’t trust or have the supplies for outsiders
Lee has to prove his worth, prove his loyalty and show the camp he can help – but delivering the supplies that were stashed before society collapsed. At the same time, his mission continues – he’s not there for one group of survivors, but to try and re-establish civilisation itself. Unlike Camp Ryder, he can’t ignore other groups needing help.
This book is, in many ways, an action film in book form. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, I have to say at times I do like to turn off some of the higher thinking and watch things go boom. It can be fun, it can be a good way to relax. It is what it is, and if you like guns and bullets and action and well written, pretty exciting fight scenes with a Big Damn Hero protagonist, then this will work for you. If not? Not.
Personally, I’m kind of caught in the middle. Because I can appreciate a good action book, but this book is pretty simple and devoid of any real nuance. The bad guys? Are bad. Very bad. I don’t just mean Milo’s band of evil killers (who are just that, evil killers, rapists, sadistic torturers, psychopaths), but even people who oppose Lee in the camp as well. There’s a man who speaks against him early on and he’s seen as conniving, weak, lazy and generally unpleasant even by most of the people who we meet in the camp (unlike his mute and nameless supporters) and he doesn’t just question Lee but by the end of the book he’s almost comically unreasonable. There’s no chance of us seeing this guy as having a point or even understanding why he would be doing or saying what he did even if we disagree with him – he’s just wrong.
There’s a guy put into a terrible position and forced to do something awful in the vain hope of saving a loved one. Ah, nuance and understanding? Aw hell no, that man is weak and pathetic and needs chewing out pronto before redempdeath.
And the main character, Lee? Well, in the first book he was a soldier and special forces so we always expected him to be competent and capable. But we’ve gone beyond that – he’s a Hero. He’s tough and his strong and he’s awesome. It doesn’t matter how hurt he is, he will keep on fighting. It doesn’t matter how hungry, he will skip the meal because he’s just that tough. He will back people down with the power of his steely gaze, he will fight on with broken bones and torn ligaments, he will make plans based on him tearing up several of the enemy, because he’s just that awesome. And he’s good and kind when called for, and ruthless and brutal when it’s necessary because he’s a badass with a heart of gold. People who criticise him are wrong and mean or, at very least, misguided. He’s a leader and he doesn’t so much work as a team as order around minions who recognise his awesomeness (and are fairly irrelevant anyway because he’s so awesome. Their main role is to die around him so he can then be noble and sad and have the Guilts because he didn’t save them).
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Lee has to prove his worth, prove his loyalty and show the camp he can help – but delivering the supplies that were stashed before society collapsed. At the same time, his mission continues – he’s not there for one group of survivors, but to try and re-establish civilisation itself. Unlike Camp Ryder, he can’t ignore other groups needing help.
This book is, in many ways, an action film in book form. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, I have to say at times I do like to turn off some of the higher thinking and watch things go boom. It can be fun, it can be a good way to relax. It is what it is, and if you like guns and bullets and action and well written, pretty exciting fight scenes with a Big Damn Hero protagonist, then this will work for you. If not? Not.
Personally, I’m kind of caught in the middle. Because I can appreciate a good action book, but this book is pretty simple and devoid of any real nuance. The bad guys? Are bad. Very bad. I don’t just mean Milo’s band of evil killers (who are just that, evil killers, rapists, sadistic torturers, psychopaths), but even people who oppose Lee in the camp as well. There’s a man who speaks against him early on and he’s seen as conniving, weak, lazy and generally unpleasant even by most of the people who we meet in the camp (unlike his mute and nameless supporters) and he doesn’t just question Lee but by the end of the book he’s almost comically unreasonable. There’s no chance of us seeing this guy as having a point or even understanding why he would be doing or saying what he did even if we disagree with him – he’s just wrong.
There’s a guy put into a terrible position and forced to do something awful in the vain hope of saving a loved one. Ah, nuance and understanding? Aw hell no, that man is weak and pathetic and needs chewing out pronto before redempdeath.
And the main character, Lee? Well, in the first book he was a soldier and special forces so we always expected him to be competent and capable. But we’ve gone beyond that – he’s a Hero. He’s tough and his strong and he’s awesome. It doesn’t matter how hurt he is, he will keep on fighting. It doesn’t matter how hungry, he will skip the meal because he’s just that tough. He will back people down with the power of his steely gaze, he will fight on with broken bones and torn ligaments, he will make plans based on him tearing up several of the enemy, because he’s just that awesome. And he’s good and kind when called for, and ruthless and brutal when it’s necessary because he’s a badass with a heart of gold. People who criticise him are wrong and mean or, at very least, misguided. He’s a leader and he doesn’t so much work as a team as order around minions who recognise his awesomeness (and are fairly irrelevant anyway because he’s so awesome. Their main role is to die around him so he can then be noble and sad and have the Guilts because he didn’t save them).
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October 21, 2014
A week is a long time in politics, but it feels infinitely longer in a zombie apocalypse. D J Molle’s ‘The Remaining’ started a new series of books that followed trained military expert Captain Lee Harden and his mission to rebuild America should the undead hit the fan. As an introduction, ‘The Remaining’ did a great job in creating the world and exploring Harden’s tenacity to stick to the mission, but it ended so abruptly. ‘The Remaining: The Aftermath’ picks up moments later and continues the tale, but does it still deliver a week into his mission?
If Harden is not being chased by virus infected crazies, he is being shot at by unfriendly humans. Either way, it appears he is always out of luck, until ‘The Aftermath’. Harden has now found a stable community that he can build upon to realise his mission of restoring the ideas behind what makes America great. With limited resources, Harden and some of the other survivors set out to find a hidden military bunker full of supplies. All that is in the way is an army of the undead and a few military nutcases – easy.
‘The Aftermath’ continues in the tone and style of ‘The Remaining’ in both a positive and negative way. The pace remains high and the action even seems to hot up in book two as the mindless threat of the undead begins to evolve. This is coupled with a larger and more threatening human presence. Not only must Harden combat the violent groups outside of his own, but factions from within that plan to use old-fashioned politics to usurp power.
Where the series falls down once more is in the episodic style. To say that ‘The Remaining’ owes a lot to ‘The Walking Dead’ is an understatement – they are two similar worlds that are built on similar character and episodic development. Where ‘The Aftermath’ is able to improve on ‘The Walking Dead’ is the fact that the undead are not actually zombies, but infected. This opens up far more potential for Molles to explore his creations as they begin to think in a pack mentality that alters the way the humans must survive.
There is a larger universe to ‘The Remaining’ books that is very interesting, but feels just out of reach. Molles is more interested in telling a snapshot of the story and filling it with action, a reader will have to go through the entire set to get a better understanding of how the world of ‘The Remaining’ came to be. Thankfully, if the action remains as entertaining as in ‘The Aftermath’ this will not be problem as getting the overview will be a joy. Some of the sequences are electric – a struggle for petrol on a quiet road, or the hospital stand-off. I also liked the introduction of a human threat and the way that Molles concludes this book in a way you may not suspect.
All of Molles’ ‘The Remaining’ books should be read in order if you can as although each is a great action science fiction horror, the main series narrative does add to the fun. At times ‘The Aftermath’ just feels like an empty-headed action book, but knowing that it is part of a larger vision really fleshes it out.
If Harden is not being chased by virus infected crazies, he is being shot at by unfriendly humans. Either way, it appears he is always out of luck, until ‘The Aftermath’. Harden has now found a stable community that he can build upon to realise his mission of restoring the ideas behind what makes America great. With limited resources, Harden and some of the other survivors set out to find a hidden military bunker full of supplies. All that is in the way is an army of the undead and a few military nutcases – easy.
‘The Aftermath’ continues in the tone and style of ‘The Remaining’ in both a positive and negative way. The pace remains high and the action even seems to hot up in book two as the mindless threat of the undead begins to evolve. This is coupled with a larger and more threatening human presence. Not only must Harden combat the violent groups outside of his own, but factions from within that plan to use old-fashioned politics to usurp power.
Where the series falls down once more is in the episodic style. To say that ‘The Remaining’ owes a lot to ‘The Walking Dead’ is an understatement – they are two similar worlds that are built on similar character and episodic development. Where ‘The Aftermath’ is able to improve on ‘The Walking Dead’ is the fact that the undead are not actually zombies, but infected. This opens up far more potential for Molles to explore his creations as they begin to think in a pack mentality that alters the way the humans must survive.
There is a larger universe to ‘The Remaining’ books that is very interesting, but feels just out of reach. Molles is more interested in telling a snapshot of the story and filling it with action, a reader will have to go through the entire set to get a better understanding of how the world of ‘The Remaining’ came to be. Thankfully, if the action remains as entertaining as in ‘The Aftermath’ this will not be problem as getting the overview will be a joy. Some of the sequences are electric – a struggle for petrol on a quiet road, or the hospital stand-off. I also liked the introduction of a human threat and the way that Molles concludes this book in a way you may not suspect.
All of Molles’ ‘The Remaining’ books should be read in order if you can as although each is a great action science fiction horror, the main series narrative does add to the fun. At times ‘The Aftermath’ just feels like an empty-headed action book, but knowing that it is part of a larger vision really fleshes it out.
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May 30, 2014I don't use star ratings, so please read my review!
(Description nicked from B&N.com.)
“To Captain Lee Harden, Project Hometown feels like a distant dream and the completion of his mission seems unattainable.
Wounded and weaponless, he has stumbled upon a group of survivors that seems willing to help. But a tragedy in the group causes a deep rift to come to light and forces him into action. In the chaos of the world outside, Lee is pursued by a new threat: someone who will stop at nothing to get what he has.”
I almost didn’t pick this book up after reading The Remaining and seeing what seemed to me to be its rather huge logistical plot holes. The story was pretty good, despite the fact that I occasionally wanted to shake the author by the shoulders and ask what the heck he was thinking. With that in mind, I took the plunge and grabbed this one. Bear in mind that this book is only available in e-book format right now, with the print version not due until late June.
Molles has found his stride in this second book. By putting Harden into a larger and more settled group of people, the author allows him to go from running around aimlessly to actually planning and acting with forethought. It’s a different kind of adventure from the first book, where our hero was bouncing all over the place willy-nilly. This is the point where Hardin really begins to carry out his mission, which suits his character much better. He does have some natural leadership qualities, and having him roaming around the countryside by himself doesn’t work as well.
Also in this book, we get a more concrete antagonist than just the mindless shells of humanity. As with many stories, readers are shown that humans don’t need a rampaging virus to act like savages—we’re perfectly capable of doing that all on our own. While it’s certainly scary to think of zombie-ish creatures wandering around looking for something to attack, I find it creepier to realize that some people would do so carefully, with calm consideration, just because they could. And Molles does an excellent job at portraying people whom you wouldn’t want to meet in a dystopian setting of any kind.
With all of this, the novel feels much more cohesive than the first one, and it also feels more solid. Although the characters are running around the countryside just as much, there’s more of a goal this time around, and this makes the focus of the story work much better.
I liked this book much more than the original novel, and I’ll be picking up the next ones in the near future. Aftermath has plenty of action and all-too-plausible bad guys to make this a book that’s hard to put down once you get started.
This review originally appeared on Owlcat Mountain on April 30, 2014.
(Description nicked from B&N.com.)
“To Captain Lee Harden, Project Hometown feels like a distant dream and the completion of his mission seems unattainable.
Wounded and weaponless, he has stumbled upon a group of survivors that seems willing to help. But a tragedy in the group causes a deep rift to come to light and forces him into action. In the chaos of the world outside, Lee is pursued by a new threat: someone who will stop at nothing to get what he has.”
I almost didn’t pick this book up after reading The Remaining and seeing what seemed to me to be its rather huge logistical plot holes. The story was pretty good, despite the fact that I occasionally wanted to shake the author by the shoulders and ask what the heck he was thinking. With that in mind, I took the plunge and grabbed this one. Bear in mind that this book is only available in e-book format right now, with the print version not due until late June.
Molles has found his stride in this second book. By putting Harden into a larger and more settled group of people, the author allows him to go from running around aimlessly to actually planning and acting with forethought. It’s a different kind of adventure from the first book, where our hero was bouncing all over the place willy-nilly. This is the point where Hardin really begins to carry out his mission, which suits his character much better. He does have some natural leadership qualities, and having him roaming around the countryside by himself doesn’t work as well.
Also in this book, we get a more concrete antagonist than just the mindless shells of humanity. As with many stories, readers are shown that humans don’t need a rampaging virus to act like savages—we’re perfectly capable of doing that all on our own. While it’s certainly scary to think of zombie-ish creatures wandering around looking for something to attack, I find it creepier to realize that some people would do so carefully, with calm consideration, just because they could. And Molles does an excellent job at portraying people whom you wouldn’t want to meet in a dystopian setting of any kind.
With all of this, the novel feels much more cohesive than the first one, and it also feels more solid. Although the characters are running around the countryside just as much, there’s more of a goal this time around, and this makes the focus of the story work much better.
I liked this book much more than the original novel, and I’ll be picking up the next ones in the near future. Aftermath has plenty of action and all-too-plausible bad guys to make this a book that’s hard to put down once you get started.
This review originally appeared on Owlcat Mountain on April 30, 2014.
December 3, 2014
First let me say, this is a good story and worth your time.
BUT...
I have a very hard time believing in the main character. A highly trained soldier who is supposed to bring people together after the plague. But he makes very poor decisions for someone who is supposed to be giving survivors what they need to re-create society. I found myself constantly saying to myself "why would he do THAT?"
For example (intentionally vague so as to not ruin it for you):
1. (book 1) OK. I saved this young kid who is traumatized and unstable. Should I should leave him in my bunker/house playing video games, promise to be back in a few hours and go rescue some people that may or may not be on the roof of their house, on a street that I'm guessing they live on, several miles away. Yes, you should. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?
2. So-and-so suddenly wants to help you save the camp, despite being weak and ineffective, never used a gun, has nothing to add to the mission and could be more useful back at camp? "Sure come along. After all, what's the worst that could happen?"
3. So-and-so asks you to check on her sister in a town that something bad happened in. "Sure I will do that, no matter what. Because you were nice to me, despite my having spent all of two minutes with you. I mean, really, what's the worst that could happen?"
3. I got supplies that will save the entire camp and give us a leg-up on the (known) bad guys. We'll be back to camp in an hour or two. Yay! "But first, I'll just leave them lightly guarded in an unknown town, in a world where people are dying left and right, from infected hordes and bad guys, and go wandering in search of some person that I've never seen, couldn't recognize and is probably dead. What's the worst that could happen?
It got frustrating.
Nevertheless, I got book three. So although the main character is unbelievable (to me at least) he is strong and likeable. The secondary characters are mostly awesome. Other reviewers have pointed out that the author likes his men manly and his womenfolk mostly weak and playing a strictly supporting role - you know, cooking, cleaning and nursing. While it didn't really alter my enjoyment it was a noticeable story flaw. Not once did a woman/girl pick up a gun and actually fight.
Still let me say it one more time: Good book.
BUT...
I have a very hard time believing in the main character. A highly trained soldier who is supposed to bring people together after the plague. But he makes very poor decisions for someone who is supposed to be giving survivors what they need to re-create society. I found myself constantly saying to myself "why would he do THAT?"
For example (intentionally vague so as to not ruin it for you):
1. (book 1) OK. I saved this young kid who is traumatized and unstable. Should I should leave him in my bunker/house playing video games, promise to be back in a few hours and go rescue some people that may or may not be on the roof of their house, on a street that I'm guessing they live on, several miles away. Yes, you should. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?
2. So-and-so suddenly wants to help you save the camp, despite being weak and ineffective, never used a gun, has nothing to add to the mission and could be more useful back at camp? "Sure come along. After all, what's the worst that could happen?"
3. So-and-so asks you to check on her sister in a town that something bad happened in. "Sure I will do that, no matter what. Because you were nice to me, despite my having spent all of two minutes with you. I mean, really, what's the worst that could happen?"
3. I got supplies that will save the entire camp and give us a leg-up on the (known) bad guys. We'll be back to camp in an hour or two. Yay! "But first, I'll just leave them lightly guarded in an unknown town, in a world where people are dying left and right, from infected hordes and bad guys, and go wandering in search of some person that I've never seen, couldn't recognize and is probably dead. What's the worst that could happen?
It got frustrating.
Nevertheless, I got book three. So although the main character is unbelievable (to me at least) he is strong and likeable. The secondary characters are mostly awesome. Other reviewers have pointed out that the author likes his men manly and his womenfolk mostly weak and playing a strictly supporting role - you know, cooking, cleaning and nursing. While it didn't really alter my enjoyment it was a noticeable story flaw. Not once did a woman/girl pick up a gun and actually fight.
Still let me say it one more time: Good book.
January 25, 2014
Part 1: the non-spoiler reason that a sequel book is not always better.
I will say first off, that I enjoyed The Remaining more. I would only give this book 2.5 stars. I has its good points, but it also had its very predictable and not so believable points. Captain Lee Harden this time around, should be cloned for all the beatings he takes. The storyline is simple.. another mission goes wrong and how will Lee Harden get through. The second book reads more like Cussler-esque but recipe fiction than the first book. It was entertaining, but certain points in the story make you laugh out loud like in an action movie where the hero gets hurt... a lot.. and continues on superhumanly.
Part 2: DJ Molles loves thumbs.. trust me.
I counted 20 uses of the thumb by Captain Lee Harden in this book. Mostly they were thumbs up reactions to other characters. I got comical by the end of the book as I read. I also have a hard time believing another action book where the main american military character is near invincible. Lee recovers from major muscle tears in his back (from the first book) in a magical 24 hour period before off on another part of his mission. He is mostly underfed, under-hydrated and falls from three floor elevator shaft drop (suffering ligament damage, fractures and infected bullet wounds) and keeps going. Mind you I love thrillers, great action and suspense, but all I ask is to stay in the realm of human limits and believability and I'll stay true with you all the way. And the last chapter is unnecessary and could easily start the third book instead. People who devour quick action books will like it. Those who prefer believable unpredictable suspense may not. I have read worst though, and the theme of the alternative to zombies (being clever and predatory) is enjoyable.
I will say first off, that I enjoyed The Remaining more. I would only give this book 2.5 stars. I has its good points, but it also had its very predictable and not so believable points. Captain Lee Harden this time around, should be cloned for all the beatings he takes. The storyline is simple.. another mission goes wrong and how will Lee Harden get through. The second book reads more like Cussler-esque but recipe fiction than the first book. It was entertaining, but certain points in the story make you laugh out loud like in an action movie where the hero gets hurt... a lot.. and continues on superhumanly.
Part 2: DJ Molles loves thumbs.. trust me.
I counted 20 uses of the thumb by Captain Lee Harden in this book. Mostly they were thumbs up reactions to other characters. I got comical by the end of the book as I read. I also have a hard time believing another action book where the main american military character is near invincible. Lee recovers from major muscle tears in his back (from the first book) in a magical 24 hour period before off on another part of his mission. He is mostly underfed, under-hydrated and falls from three floor elevator shaft drop (suffering ligament damage, fractures and infected bullet wounds) and keeps going. Mind you I love thrillers, great action and suspense, but all I ask is to stay in the realm of human limits and believability and I'll stay true with you all the way. And the last chapter is unnecessary and could easily start the third book instead. People who devour quick action books will like it. Those who prefer believable unpredictable suspense may not. I have read worst though, and the theme of the alternative to zombies (being clever and predatory) is enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 328 reviews