Jump to ratings and reviews
The final volume of Bill Wright's journal, from the Bestselling series 'Surviving The Evacuation', (78,000 words)

Billions died.
Civilisation collapsed.
Zombies rule the Earth.

But there is safety, so Bill and Kim are told, in a small village on the Irish coast.

If they can just cross hundreds of miles of undead wasteland, to a rendezvous on a Welsh beach, there is a boat willing to take them there. But first they must travel back into London to rescue Annette and Daisy.

If they can find and rescue the children, and get them somewhere safe, even then Bill’s journey will not be over. It can’t be, not until he’s confronted his past and chosen between his old family and his new one.

Please Note: This final volume of Bill's journey features characters who first appeared in the short story Zombies vs The Living Dead.

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 5, 2014

Loading...
Loading...

About the author

Frank Tayell

58 books493 followers
Author of post-apocalyptic and near-future science fiction, with a focus on democracies struggling against dystopia.

For more information, or to join the mailing list, please visit; www.FrankTayell.com, facebook.com/FrankTayell, or facebook.com/TheEvacuation

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
1,183 (39%)
4 stars
1,168 (38%)
3 stars
541 (17%)
2 stars
95 (3%)
1 star
23 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
Profile Image for carol. .
1,818 reviews10.4k followers
August 29, 2018
It would be years before I would connect an Extra Special Vacation Episode of Happy Days with the phenomenon known as 'jumping the shark.'


description
Actual video of this is viewable on my blog at https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2018/...

Alas; for me, the shark was well and truly jumped in book three of the 'Surviving the Evacuation' series. Book one was about Bill coming to terms with the changes in the world and working out how he could survive. Book two was about discovering other people, throwing in a political wrinkle about how zombies came about. In this, book three, Bill and his tiny band of survivors head toward the coast, following rumors of a large group surviving on an island. They eventually reach a half-way house and discover far more about international apocalypse politics than anyone wanted to know.

The plot continues to be filled with odd plot points--thank you very much; I'm aware I'm talking about a zombie book--that result in deux ex machina solutions. In the midst of plain ol' survival issues, Bill decides discovering if he is a 'carrier' of the virus is an important issue. Oh, and maybe we can create a vaccine out of his immune status if he isn't. As if mere survival wasn't enough, the undead have started to gather into hordes, like wildebeest in the savannah. The discover that competition over nuclear submarines is still a thing. But helpfully, Sholto, Bill's brother, appears to have been trained by Jason Bourne. There's more, of course, but these are the kind of plot points that move an apocalypse book past the exploration of what survival means into a bizarre kind of war movie. Can you even have international politics when we don't know if other nations survived?

Everything that inspired curiosity and appreciation in Book One was well and truly gone by the end of this one. Perhaps I am wrong, and perhaps Bill is essentially the same person from book one, trusting in his childhood friend and responding with remarkable naivete to his situations, hoping for the best. But now having survived in the wider world with months of the zombie apocalypse under his belt, he displays no further planning, analysis, or, as it's euphemistically called, 'situational awareness.' Far from the Girl Scout mentality he first displayed, he waits until he's in a fight before realizing his knife is ineffective: "The weight was too much, the balance wrong. Without the two fingers from my left hand I couldn’t handle the weapon properly." This was the same person that made his own spear, practicing with it until it became relatively safe. But somehow, Bill pretends he's learned his lesson, if only it wasn't repeated ad nauseum 75% of the way into the story:

"What I said next was cruel, but it was necessary. I was starting to get a measure of this place, and it was dawning on me that I’d made a big mistake going there so unprepared."

I found myself outlining passages, marking a 'TSTL' more than once. I ended up setting the book down for some time and might have left it for good if it weren't for that annoyingly completionist drive I sometimes have.

The first book in the series was fabulous, an 'I Am Legend' type story that captures all the complexities end-of-the-world stories are capable of exploring. The last two books, however, have been steadily sinking. Still, I'd recommend the first book, with the caveat of stopping after. Yes, I know it's hard. Yes, I know there are more stories/episodes/seasons. Yes, Happy Days continued. Just Don't Do It. Save yourself the shark experience, and treasure a perfect memory instead.


One-and-a-half sharks, rounding up because I finished.
Profile Image for Tracy.
718 reviews37 followers
February 7, 2019
I liked this a bit better than the second book but less than the first. Three and a half stars because of the things I didn’t like. One of the things I did like was Kim, she had a bit more character development and her motives became more clear. Of course she was missing from the final third of the book. I also loved George, that conniving wily old man and I wish there was more of him. I loved the short story Zombies vs. The living dead and I was really happy to see him again.

I found that a lot of the plot still hinged on coincidence, the rescue of Annette and Daisy seemed illogical. I really doubt that they would have ever really found them. Also Quigley was clearly deranged. He was the villain definitely but the setup at Caulfield smelled and I thought Jennifer was incredibly stupid not to see that. I was glad to finally have a reason for the whole mess, even though the reasons Quigley did what he did were selfish and short sighted.
The truth is you are better off rebuilding society with farmers, teachers, medical professionals and skilled tradesmen than you are with politicians and their spin doctors and the wealthy elites.

I thought this book suffered from some of the problems that The Walking Dead suffers from. It looks at ways to create drama, the big bad if you will to create drama in ways that don’t make sense. The fact is that if you don’t find a way to start growing crops, creating food eventually you will run out things to scavenge and you will starve to death. Without access to vaccines, and antibiotics you will die of infections that don’t kill us now. Of course antibiotics don’t work as well as they used to either. Unfortunately a book or a tv series about really re-creating a society from the ruins of the old one isn’t as exciting, although I like to think it is more realistic. Although mankind’s ability to destroy himself and everything around him can’t be underestimated.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Zero (semi-hiatus).
908 reviews24 followers
June 26, 2022
June 2022
September 2025

Family concludes the original trilogy, although the series continues from other characters perspectives. This is one of the best post-apocalyptic series that I have read and it was a lot of fun. I'm excited to continue the series and see what else is in store.
Profile Image for Terry Tyler.
Author 36 books582 followers
April 26, 2015
.... and so it continues. Episode three sees the removal of those who had double-crossed Bill and Kim, and the reunion with those for whom they'd been searching, together with the journey to the beach in Wales where Sholto is sure lies the beginning of their rescue.

This was a mixed one for me. I read the free short story, in which we are introduced to George Tull, the (relatively) young and sprightly resident of an old peoples' home. This story takes place just as the outbreak starts, and is very, very good - go read it! Some of the conspiracy uncovering and resolving stuff I found a little bit too outlandish, coincidental and not in keeping with the realism of the rest of it (if talking about realism when referring to a zombie apocalypse novel doesn't seem too daft), and also a little information-heavy; George didn't seem to bear much relation to the old chap I'd met in the short story. There was too much long conversation which was all there just to impart the background and subsequent cover-ups to the reader, it wasn't that interesting to read.

However! There were also some splendid bits. There's a truly shocking episode around the middle, when the group have come through a fairly zombie-free few miles, only to look over a hill into the abyss - literally millions of them, all on a shambling march to nowhere. I won't say how they hide from them because it'll spoil it if you read it, but the descriptions of this, their escape and how the horde of moving undead turn the countryside into something like the face of the moon were so good I read it twice. There's also a balloon ride that I read twice, too, and I loved some of Bill's thoughts about the world and the situation they were in.

To sum up - some bits were a bit tedious, but I still really liked it, and am still going to start book 4.... now!

Profile Image for Lora Milton.
620 reviews
September 20, 2021
This is book 3 of a series that's up to 18 now! I'm not a big zombie fan, but I really enjoyed book one and do not hesitate to say Frank Tayell can write. Book two was also good, but a plot line involving kidnapped children, another thing I generally avoid, started and has continued into this third book. For those two reasons, I don't intend to continue the series. It's just not what I want to read about.

Someone who enjoys high tension, well written zombie stories will love this series!

I would happily read something else from Tayell if it didn't involve zombies. He has two other series, both with end of the world scenarios. I have the first book of an AI takes over scenario and the other is a new series that looks far too much like real life just now.

Anyway, Tayell's writing is full of originality, suspense, well-written tension and surprises. If you want to read about survival in very trying circumstances, he should be at the top of your reading list.
Profile Image for Seb.
558 reviews138 followers
July 17, 2022
I got through it!

Man was it tedious at times. The first hundred pages were boring and I almost DNF but I hung on, on my wife's incentives.

She was right for the story improved at last and finally offers a real ending to those three books that're Bill's journal.

That closure is most welcome and is a good way for me to part from this series I won't read further.

3.5 stars rounded up.
Profile Image for Severina.
936 reviews7 followers
February 17, 2022
The third book of the Surviving The Evacuation series concludes Bill's story, as he and Kim search for the kidnapped girls and seek safe harbour, while Bill also looks for closure on the political front. There's a lot of good zombie action in this one, even if some of the character's choices are a little absurd. The journaling format continues, though, to hold the reader at arm's length. And I realized what was bothering me in another way. The characters never speak to each other unless it's to exchange important information. Making a plan, telling what happened when they were apart, arguing about a decision. It's a bit better in this one because filling in the backstories almost feels like legit dialogue.

Apparently the next story in the series features new characters. I'm hoping it ditches the journal format as well.
Profile Image for Kirsti.
2,512 reviews107 followers
March 18, 2022
Ohhh this one was genuinely scary at parts! It's all well and good when a zombie comes out you alone, or just a few. It's all well and good if there's a few lurking in a house or the woods, but what if there are millions congregated together, swarming the land? how do you avoid certain death then?

I actually really liked the ending, and the wrap up of the political elements as well. I might leave this series for a while though as it does move on to other characters and I'm still a bit stuck on Bill. I think he was a great protagonist, and this story was definitely a little different and interesting. Four stars.
Profile Image for Rin McKenzie.
231 reviews3 followers
July 21, 2014
This series did not disappoint. I stayed up until 3:30 am to finish this book. This is book 3 in the series. The main character, Bill, has been through hell and back. But so has his companions. The burning question in Bill's mind is ,WHY? He goes to great lengths to answer that. Will that answer be enough to allow him to settle down and know he's safe? Would you after 5 months of life and death survival? I wish there were another book. I would love to have seen an epilogue. I would recommend this series to anyone who likes Zombies, Post Apocalyptic and new beginnings.
Profile Image for Justin Larimore.
125 reviews6 followers
May 2, 2022
Really cool series. I've read all the books in the series, including the two Here We Stand books. I'm currently on book 11, Search And Rescue and am bummed that there's only book 12 left before I'm done.
I love the writer's style of writing. Story line(s) are hard to predict. Recommend anyone who loves a good zombie/dystopian read. Note: Most challenging part is keeping track of the many characters so if you like that, this book series is for you.
Profile Image for Mima.
514 reviews36 followers
July 8, 2018
Kirja jatkaa edelleen Billin päiväkirjamuodossa. Kolmannessa osassa Bill ja Kim jatkavat etsintää pitkin Thamesia ja Lontoon hylättyjä katuja. Etsintä tuntuu epätoivoiselta mutta kun mahdollisuus löytää tytöt ilmenee he tekevät kipeitä päätöksiä ja aloittavat vaarallisen suunnitelman.

Bill saa selville että jossain on turvapaikka, jossa heilläkin olisi mahdollisuus aloittaa uusi elämä tai ainakin tarjota tytöille prempi elämä tässä rikkonaisessa maailmassa. Bill ei kuitenkaan saa rauhaa menneisyydeltä vaan haluaa vastauksia. Hänen omat tekonsa aiheuttavat hänelle syyllisyyttä ja se kaivertaa hänen ja Kimin välejä.

Matka turvapaikkaan on pelottava ja ahdistava, koko tuhon laajuus selviää kun he törmäävät jättimäiseen zombie-laumaan. Löytyykö turvaa mistään ja onko pohjoisessa todella odottamassa laivue joka veisi heidät turvapaikkaan vai onko kaikki vain valetta jonka eräs henkilö heille on syöttänyt. Totuus selviää lopulta ja Bill saa vastauksia kysymyksiinsä. Ei ehkä selllaisia kun hän odotti mutta lopulta hän saa jonkinmoisen rauhan.
Profile Image for Tory.
221 reviews7 followers
September 12, 2020
This was fantastic, the entire first 3 books of the Surviving The Evacuation series as one story are great. I was uncertain how it would continue after this since it wraps up the protagonists story arc nicely and took a look at the description apparently the next book starts a new characters story. While that sounds exciting I'm uncertain how it will work with the journal format which from book 2 on wasn't exactly perfect, so I'm uncertain about believe-ability if another survivor just happens to be journaling in the same format. Though honestly I'm not sure what format the next book takes. The series is good so far so I'm torn between the desire to continue and the satisfaction of this story arc ending. I guess if I was really concerned about believe-ability I wouldn't be reading zombie books (one can only hope). Anyways this story has lots of hints at the larger character story and a larger global plot and the way it's worked out is fantastic. All I can really say is books one through three are worth a read.
Profile Image for Susanna Bloderer.
273 reviews14 followers
February 9, 2023
Synopsis:
In Part III of "Surviving the Evacuation", Bill Wright, his newly-found brother Sholto and the woman he previously rescued, Kim, go on quest to find the kidnapped children Annette and Daisy, while trying to avoid the hordes of zombies roaming the countryside. Things change when they find new survivors that know something about the whereabouts of Bill's childhood friend and politician, Jennifer Masterton.

Even after reading Part III, I still haven't changed my mind on the series: it's a solid, average or slightly above-average zombie book (or books). Here, particularly, we find out that kids truly are the future, that being elderly doesn't have to be a disadvantage when you have the right strategy and that good intentions don't always lead to good results. I am not going to spoil the plot though, you have to read the book for yourself. I'd recommend this/these book(s) for anyone that's a die-hard zombie apocalypse fan.
Profile Image for Ann.
1,083 reviews2 followers
September 11, 2017
This is the final book of Bill's journals. I had the feeling it was a bit rushed. A lot happend very quickly and I felt a bit lost sometimes with all the twists and lies.
I have read book 0.5 with George Tull beforehand and I don't know if it helped or in contrast, got me more confused about his character. As mentioned, the end of the story comes too quickly, after four months of traveling through a wasteland England many things seemed too constructed to fit.

But all in all, I loved these books but I will take a break from it now. Whenever I'll feel the urge for a good apocalyptic zombie story I definitely will pick up the other books
Profile Image for Jason Brock.
178 reviews1 follower
May 17, 2020
Awesome...just awesome

Frank thank you for sharing the first 3 books and the scary reality of the secrets of government experiments...as I believe covid 19 is....among many others...but sadly I can't afford books wish could read the other14+ books in the series....these 3 were damn good zombie appocolypse/survival/triumph of the human spirit as well as our darksides novels...maybe someday I will get the chance to read the rest of the stories...for now i have you other 2 starters that branch off from the main series to enjoy....and enjoy them I know I will...again my sincerest thanks for the first 3
Profile Image for Kazz Mossman.
Author 38 books208 followers
December 21, 2023
This is book three of the Evacuation series, and the first three books are free to download.

This is such a compelling and easy to read book, the first two were just the same. Bill is alone at the start, and in the second, he meets Kim. Together, they find thirteen year old Annette, who had rescued baby Daisy. Lastly, they pick up Bill’s brother and they become the family of the title. On their journey they meet other survivors, hatch plans, and meet and kill zombies.

Overall, it’s a well written zombie book. Entertaining with some great characters.
Profile Image for Leanne.
948 reviews16 followers
December 30, 2018
Disappointing finish to what had been a good series. It felt like the author lost interest. Plenty of proofreading mistakes, which is sad because the first two were so well edited. Weird change of format (skipping the diary entries to just tell a story firsthand) and it might just be me, but I felt like I was missing big chunks of information.

Undecided on whether to continue with the second part of the books. :(
246 reviews2 followers
May 2, 2020
Another great book in this series. Continue to love the English setting, and the character development.

Perhaps not as good as the first two, and I agree with some other reviewers, some of the story arches wrapped up too quickly, especially compared to the more steady but still tense pace of the rest of the books.

My biggest gripe is that this appears to be the end of theses characters story lines, and I want more, I don't have closure!
Profile Image for Kathleen.
84 reviews
June 16, 2024
The end of the first trilogy wraps things up, but still leaves a door open for a sequel

This one had a satisfying ending. I read the first 3 books of this series back-to-back, and overall, I think they do a pretty good job of really fleshing out (no pun intended) the downfall of a country, a people, an empire through the eyes of one man with some knowledge of what is happening. Its way different than The Walking Dead but just as compelling.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews