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The Defectors #1
The Defectors
First came the virus. Then came the Collapse. The only way to contain the epidemic is mandatory migration across the northern border of the United States. Each vaccinated citizen is identified by a tiny microchip — the most intelligent piece of technology ever to be implanted in a human being that tracks and analyzes your every move.
Twenty-year-old Haven Allis is in the her Citizen ID tracks her location, conversations, Internet activity, bank account — everything. Any suspicious activity is warrant for arrest.
But for those who are undocumented, life is much worse. Illegals are taken to the prisons in Sector X and made to disappear.
When her best friend Greyson is captured and arrested for his undocumented status, Haven must go off the grid to save him. Life outside the city has its own carriers of the virus lurk everywhere, and the Private Military Company is rounding up illegals. On her mission to rescue Greyson, Haven will discover a revolution in motion and be forced to question everything she believes.
Twenty-year-old Haven Allis is in the her Citizen ID tracks her location, conversations, Internet activity, bank account — everything. Any suspicious activity is warrant for arrest.
But for those who are undocumented, life is much worse. Illegals are taken to the prisons in Sector X and made to disappear.
When her best friend Greyson is captured and arrested for his undocumented status, Haven must go off the grid to save him. Life outside the city has its own carriers of the virus lurk everywhere, and the Private Military Company is rounding up illegals. On her mission to rescue Greyson, Haven will discover a revolution in motion and be forced to question everything she believes.
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First published September 19, 2013
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About the author
Tarah Benner
39 books346 followersTarah Benner is the author of more than 25 books, including Witches of Mountain Shadow, Mountain Shadow Mysteries, The Fringe, the Elderon Chronicles, the Lawless Saga, and more.
She lives and writes in sunny Colorado with her two dogs, a cat, a toddler, and her beloved partner in crime. When she’s not writing, she enjoys breakfast, hiking, yoga, and martial arts.
She lives and writes in sunny Colorado with her two dogs, a cat, a toddler, and her beloved partner in crime. When she’s not writing, she enjoys breakfast, hiking, yoga, and martial arts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
May 20, 2016
2.5 Stars
Nothing terribly wrong with this book. I think the author does a very good job of creating a world that despite being far-fetched has an element of believeability about it. I find this to be a refreshing change within the post-apocalyptic/dystopian genre. In this particular series, a virus is wiping out the population which is pretty standard, but the dead aren't rising and the change isn't instantaneous. Rather, symptoms start out vaguely flu-like and progress over the next few months causing victims to become increasingly sick and increasingly violent as their brain function begins to deteriorate. At this point in the series, it remains unclear as to whether this virus was naturally occurring, or possibly something created which either accidentally or intentionally went seriously wrong. The government has developed a vaccination for the virus, however the average person doesn't just get to receive it without a catch - it comes with the insertion of an implant which allows the government to track the whereabouts of each individual. So maybe that's a bit out there, but still not so far out there as some and really it does sound like something a bunch of sinister politicians might dream up.
So for me, the world-building wasn’t really the issue. The story starts out with Haven, who is vaccinated and chipped, and Greyson her best friend who refuses to be vaccinated in a grocery store getting ready to steal supplies. This is where my irritation begins. There was nothing wrong with the characters personality-wise. They weren’t quite as layered as those in the author’s more recent works and there is one particularly strong female supporting character who was nicely-done and didn’t exist to serve only as competition for the main character Haven. The issues I had with these characters were simply choices and actions that just seemed idiotic at worst and illogical at best. I have no idea why both of them would choose to go into the grocery store. Greyson with his illegal undocumented status should have stayed hidden somewhere, as it is almost impossible to avoid the scanners, or rovers as they are called, especially in a public place. But instead they get noticed and chased and Greyson lets himself get caught so as to give his friend Haven a chance to get away. So now it’s goodbye to plans of heading west where there are rumors of virus-free groups of people living outside of the government’s control. No, now Haven must journey east towards the prisons where the undocumented illegals are kept. And she’s gotta do it alone and on foot. Lucky for her when she’s just about on her last leg, she stumbles across a group of defectors, those who have cut their chips our and refuse to be controlled, who patch her up and give her a place to stay. Once again, the setting was fine. But soon we are introduced to a group of rebels, those who are actively attempting to overthrow the PMC – the enforcers for the new government.
Normally I enjoy reading about a revolution or an uprising. In this case however, badly executed character actions and events ruined it. I felt like I was reading about a battle between two groups of assholes. The characters were just back and forth and all over the place. Very little of what they did made any sense at all. Haven and Co. make it to the prison and she has almost zero problems getting Greyson out. Seems as if he’s already the leader of a prison riot happening at this very moment and has become very well known to the rebels. This would all be well and good if not for the fact that he’s only been locked up in this minimum security prison for about two weeks. He also has zero plans to head west with Haven and Co. which includes her fellow defector and possible love interest, Amory. Just that fast he’s decided to join the rebels, to stay and fight. So Haven of course won’t leave Greyson. Amory won’t leave Haven and off the three of them go to the rebels’ rally point. Of course once they arrive Greyson has reached celebrity status with the rebels. Is it Greyson? Greyson Frey? The Greyson Frey?? Could it be? And then when I think they are all going to start clobbering each other in their haste to kiss his feet, suddenly Amory’s identity and apparent secret are revealed and all three of them are locked up and slated for torture. Seems like the novelty of Greyson Frey has worn off. All the good he’s done for their cause just pales in comparison to the identity of Amory’s father – a high ranking PMC official. So Greyson’s five minutes of fame are essentially over. He’s guilty by association I guess. So now Haven and Co. are against the rebels. Anyway from this point on to the cliffhanger ending, it just seems like there were a lot of random actions and stupid choices. Also characters just kept popping onto the scene to do or say something that made no sense at all and served no purpose than to spur the characters and the plot in this direction or that. It just seemed like various individuals and groups just kept being reclassified from friend to foe to friend again and again and again. This was one of those books that caused me a severe case of mental whiplash.
Still… I will continue reading to see how it all ends.
Hopefully the characters will stop with all the wishy-washy behavior.
Nothing terribly wrong with this book. I think the author does a very good job of creating a world that despite being far-fetched has an element of believeability about it. I find this to be a refreshing change within the post-apocalyptic/dystopian genre. In this particular series, a virus is wiping out the population which is pretty standard, but the dead aren't rising and the change isn't instantaneous. Rather, symptoms start out vaguely flu-like and progress over the next few months causing victims to become increasingly sick and increasingly violent as their brain function begins to deteriorate. At this point in the series, it remains unclear as to whether this virus was naturally occurring, or possibly something created which either accidentally or intentionally went seriously wrong. The government has developed a vaccination for the virus, however the average person doesn't just get to receive it without a catch - it comes with the insertion of an implant which allows the government to track the whereabouts of each individual. So maybe that's a bit out there, but still not so far out there as some and really it does sound like something a bunch of sinister politicians might dream up.
So for me, the world-building wasn’t really the issue. The story starts out with Haven, who is vaccinated and chipped, and Greyson her best friend who refuses to be vaccinated in a grocery store getting ready to steal supplies. This is where my irritation begins. There was nothing wrong with the characters personality-wise. They weren’t quite as layered as those in the author’s more recent works and there is one particularly strong female supporting character who was nicely-done and didn’t exist to serve only as competition for the main character Haven. The issues I had with these characters were simply choices and actions that just seemed idiotic at worst and illogical at best. I have no idea why both of them would choose to go into the grocery store. Greyson with his illegal undocumented status should have stayed hidden somewhere, as it is almost impossible to avoid the scanners, or rovers as they are called, especially in a public place. But instead they get noticed and chased and Greyson lets himself get caught so as to give his friend Haven a chance to get away. So now it’s goodbye to plans of heading west where there are rumors of virus-free groups of people living outside of the government’s control. No, now Haven must journey east towards the prisons where the undocumented illegals are kept. And she’s gotta do it alone and on foot. Lucky for her when she’s just about on her last leg, she stumbles across a group of defectors, those who have cut their chips our and refuse to be controlled, who patch her up and give her a place to stay. Once again, the setting was fine. But soon we are introduced to a group of rebels, those who are actively attempting to overthrow the PMC – the enforcers for the new government.
Normally I enjoy reading about a revolution or an uprising. In this case however, badly executed character actions and events ruined it. I felt like I was reading about a battle between two groups of assholes. The characters were just back and forth and all over the place. Very little of what they did made any sense at all. Haven and Co. make it to the prison and she has almost zero problems getting Greyson out. Seems as if he’s already the leader of a prison riot happening at this very moment and has become very well known to the rebels. This would all be well and good if not for the fact that he’s only been locked up in this minimum security prison for about two weeks. He also has zero plans to head west with Haven and Co. which includes her fellow defector and possible love interest, Amory. Just that fast he’s decided to join the rebels, to stay and fight. So Haven of course won’t leave Greyson. Amory won’t leave Haven and off the three of them go to the rebels’ rally point. Of course once they arrive Greyson has reached celebrity status with the rebels. Is it Greyson? Greyson Frey? The Greyson Frey?? Could it be? And then when I think they are all going to start clobbering each other in their haste to kiss his feet, suddenly Amory’s identity and apparent secret are revealed and all three of them are locked up and slated for torture. Seems like the novelty of Greyson Frey has worn off. All the good he’s done for their cause just pales in comparison to the identity of Amory’s father – a high ranking PMC official. So Greyson’s five minutes of fame are essentially over. He’s guilty by association I guess. So now Haven and Co. are against the rebels. Anyway from this point on to the cliffhanger ending, it just seems like there were a lot of random actions and stupid choices. Also characters just kept popping onto the scene to do or say something that made no sense at all and served no purpose than to spur the characters and the plot in this direction or that. It just seemed like various individuals and groups just kept being reclassified from friend to foe to friend again and again and again. This was one of those books that caused me a severe case of mental whiplash.
Still… I will continue reading to see how it all ends.
Hopefully the characters will stop with all the wishy-washy behavior.
February 26, 2017
I came into this book with low expectations. The beginning was super slow and I didn't feel a connection to the characters at all.
But then, something changed.
The story picked up its pace and from then on it was pretty good! The only trouble I have is the world-building. It was extremely hard to imagine the scene they were in. There was very little to no world detail so that put a hamper on the story for me. Overall, it was a pretty decent book (3.75/5) and I hope sometime in the future I can finish this series.
But then, something changed.
The story picked up its pace and from then on it was pretty good! The only trouble I have is the world-building. It was extremely hard to imagine the scene they were in. There was very little to no world detail so that put a hamper on the story for me. Overall, it was a pretty decent book (3.75/5) and I hope sometime in the future I can finish this series.
January 19, 2015
The Defectors was written well and the premise was really intriguing. I liked that Haven was driven by her goal to save her best friend and that didn't waver throughout the story. Even more so because the relationship wasn't a romantic one and there weren't hints that it would turn into a romance later on. I also really liked that there was a positive female relationship displayed in the book and there was no petty jealously. I think what let the story down for me was that the carriers, those infected by the virus, weren't used more centrally in the storyline. I adore the zombie genre and to make the carriers violent but not eat people seemed a bit of a let down. There were times when the carriers seemed to be the main threat but the fact that they were simply sick and violent sort of lessened the tension for me.
For the most part I also enjoyed the characters although I did find Logan's back story much more interesting than Haven's and felt that Logan would have made a more compelling POV character. There were times when some of the characters did things that seemed odd considering how they'd been described but that's all I'll say because I don't want to add spoilers. It did suffer from one thing that always makes me roll my eyes and that's when Haven makes a point of describing how toned Amory's body is when she was helping to take care of him after he's been stabbed. I know it's a common means to draw out the beginning of an attraction but I just don't think the priorities are right in this situation.
On the whole, The Defectors was a good read.
For the most part I also enjoyed the characters although I did find Logan's back story much more interesting than Haven's and felt that Logan would have made a more compelling POV character. There were times when some of the characters did things that seemed odd considering how they'd been described but that's all I'll say because I don't want to add spoilers. It did suffer from one thing that always makes me roll my eyes and that's when Haven makes a point of describing how toned Amory's body is when she was helping to take care of him after he's been stabbed. I know it's a common means to draw out the beginning of an attraction but I just don't think the priorities are right in this situation.
On the whole, The Defectors was a good read.
June 24, 2018
Couldn't even make myself finish this one! Complete waste of time!
Forced myself to get 60% through this book hoping that it would somehow get better. It didn't. I decided to read the exerts from books 2 & 3 and knew that there was no way I could invest the time in this series. Every conversation with the characters is so superficial it feels like there is no depth in the plot. It's like the author wasn't sure what she wanted to write about and just kept putting words on paper and jerked the reader around and around. Blah!! So irritating...
Forced myself to get 60% through this book hoping that it would somehow get better. It didn't. I decided to read the exerts from books 2 & 3 and knew that there was no way I could invest the time in this series. Every conversation with the characters is so superficial it feels like there is no depth in the plot. It's like the author wasn't sure what she wanted to write about and just kept putting words on paper and jerked the reader around and around. Blah!! So irritating...
January 3, 2021
Harrowing future with a ruthless government committing atrocities in the name of protecting the public from infected, violent, zombie-like citizens. Lots of people playing both sides, as well as lots of blood and guts and gore. Raises questions of how can we ever know who to trust and how far is it acceptable to go to protect ourselves.
May 28, 2021
Amazing Storyline
This book could very well be the outline to what our world could possibly endure! Very well written! The characters were just perfectly placed in this story of survival. I highly recommend this read !!!
This book could very well be the outline to what our world could possibly endure! Very well written! The characters were just perfectly placed in this story of survival. I highly recommend this read !!!
August 14, 2023
Great first book in the trilogy
It is crazy how this doesn't seem very far off from reality... the first book was pretty good and there was enough action there for me to want to move on to Book 2 right off.
It is crazy how this doesn't seem very far off from reality... the first book was pretty good and there was enough action there for me to want to move on to Book 2 right off.
April 27, 2025
Great book
I enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure about Haven at first, she seemed a little off but as the book went on we discovered she was smart and figured out how to survive in this new world. I cannot wait to read the next book!
I enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure about Haven at first, she seemed a little off but as the book went on we discovered she was smart and figured out how to survive in this new world. I cannot wait to read the next book!
October 2, 2017
So many plot holes here...
December 21, 2017
I'm glad I picked this book up !!
Amazing mix of action,suspense,drama,loss and budding romance !! I can't wait to finish this series and see where my favorites end up !!
Amazing mix of action,suspense,drama,loss and budding romance !! I can't wait to finish this series and see where my favorites end up !!
October 7, 2020
This is the book that started my absolute addiction to dystopian books! This book was a game changer to me!
December 10, 2023
Get more, couldn't put it down!!
August 17, 2025
This was excellent and I would love to read the rest of the series!
July 19, 2016
So although I gave this book a 4, it’s actually more of a 3.75 or something like that.
When reading the summary of this book, the first thing I thought was that there was going to be lots of action. But honestly? That only ever happened at the end of the book, roughly the last 30% based on my Kindle,
After Greyson got taken into custody, it seemed like nothing interesting happened. Sure, she was all alone in the woods running towards the east to go save Greyson from prison and that all seemed boring to me, especially when she “arrived” to the farm and I was like, so.. the book is about her getting to Greyson and breaking him out of prison, so when does that actually happen? It seemed like it spent a lot of time at the farm getting to know the other people there and learning how to fight rather than her most important goal to rescue her friend. I don’t know, it was like, get your priorities straight, Haven!
I LOVED that this book did not have a love triangle at all! I honestly thought that she would end up falling in love with her friend Greyson after she rescued him I thought they would declare their undying love for each other
One of the things that really annoyed me as I read this, was the number of times the main character Haven said that she can’t lose Amory, she can’t lose anyone else anymore, that she already lost her parents and Greyson and she couldn’t bear it if she lost Amory too. Yeah, I get it! You don’t want him dead ‘cause you like him but are too afraid to admit it. Also, the number of times she mentioned that “something was wrong” “something wasn’t right” like okay, yeah thanks for pointing out the obvious! You’re in a dystopian zombie apocalyptic world; of course something is always going to be wrong! There’s no need to say it every five seconds!
Which goes on to my next point, WHAT ARE THEY EXACTLY? Like seriously, the first time the Carriers were described I pictured a zombie from the Walking Dead and I thought “Cool, a zombie apocalypse book!” but the more I read about the Carriers, the more confused I got. They’re infected and become sort of like zombies- they need food to eat but they don’t attack humans to eat them because they haven’t gone desperate enough to resort to cannibalism, um okay… and then they have sort of like thoughts and are strong enough to fight back. These Carriers are able to plan, think and fight against humans (they attacked Haven and held her hostage), have group mentality (where they send in one to be a distraction while they go for the unattended cow to feast on), are aggressive but don’t eat people (they just attack them and try to kill humans for no reason, I guess. They like to bite humans), there’s apparently a vaccine that can prevent you from getting this “disease” and after they hit stage 5, they die, oh and not to mention that it only affected the US. What in the depths of Lucifer’s blazing internal regions of the abyss in Hell are these Carriers? ‘Cause they sure as hell aren’t zombies!
I was led to believe that they each had a fake name? Cuz the wanted to get rid of their past selves and their identity or something? And Amory, if that’s even his real name , said something about how Haven was going to change have to change her name if she was to stay with them at the farm (although I could be remembering this part wrong) but it never happened! They all kept calling her Haven, yet the other girl in the farm was named Logan, and that sounds like a name made up.
So, all in all, the pacing was kind of slow, with all the interesting action bits happening at the end-there were some huge twists at the end that I didn't see coming at all. The ending was a bit abrupt, but overall it was a great book. Will definitely be looking forward to the 2nd book.
When reading the summary of this book, the first thing I thought was that there was going to be lots of action. But honestly? That only ever happened at the end of the book, roughly the last 30% based on my Kindle,
After Greyson got taken into custody, it seemed like nothing interesting happened. Sure, she was all alone in the woods running towards the east to go save Greyson from prison and that all seemed boring to me, especially when she “arrived” to the farm and I was like, so.. the book is about her getting to Greyson and breaking him out of prison, so when does that actually happen? It seemed like it spent a lot of time at the farm getting to know the other people there and learning how to fight rather than her most important goal to rescue her friend. I don’t know, it was like, get your priorities straight, Haven!
I LOVED that this book did not have a love triangle at all! I honestly thought that she would end up falling in love with her friend Greyson after she rescued him I thought they would declare their undying love for each other
One of the things that really annoyed me as I read this, was the number of times the main character Haven said that she can’t lose Amory, she can’t lose anyone else anymore, that she already lost her parents and Greyson and she couldn’t bear it if she lost Amory too. Yeah, I get it! You don’t want him dead ‘cause you like him but are too afraid to admit it. Also, the number of times she mentioned that “something was wrong” “something wasn’t right” like okay, yeah thanks for pointing out the obvious! You’re in a dystopian zombie apocalyptic world; of course something is always going to be wrong! There’s no need to say it every five seconds!
Which goes on to my next point, WHAT ARE THEY EXACTLY? Like seriously, the first time the Carriers were described I pictured a zombie from the Walking Dead and I thought “Cool, a zombie apocalypse book!” but the more I read about the Carriers, the more confused I got. They’re infected and become sort of like zombies- they need food to eat but they don’t attack humans to eat them because they haven’t gone desperate enough to resort to cannibalism, um okay… and then they have sort of like thoughts and are strong enough to fight back. These Carriers are able to plan, think and fight against humans (they attacked Haven and held her hostage), have group mentality (where they send in one to be a distraction while they go for the unattended cow to feast on), are aggressive but don’t eat people (they just attack them and try to kill humans for no reason, I guess. They like to bite humans), there’s apparently a vaccine that can prevent you from getting this “disease” and after they hit stage 5, they die, oh and not to mention that it only affected the US. What in the depths of Lucifer’s blazing internal regions of the abyss in Hell are these Carriers? ‘Cause they sure as hell aren’t zombies!
I was led to believe that they each had a fake name? Cuz the wanted to get rid of their past selves and their identity or something? And Amory, if that’s even his real name , said something about how Haven was going to change have to change her name if she was to stay with them at the farm (although I could be remembering this part wrong) but it never happened! They all kept calling her Haven, yet the other girl in the farm was named Logan, and that sounds like a name made up.
So, all in all, the pacing was kind of slow, with all the interesting action bits happening at the end-there were some huge twists at the end that I didn't see coming at all. The ending was a bit abrupt, but overall it was a great book. Will definitely be looking forward to the 2nd book.
January 26, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. The world-building confused me a bit... but it seemed to confuse the characters as well. None of them are really sure what the Carriers are. Should they be considered humans? Is it okay to kill them? Do they communicate? No one seems to know why this is only happening in America, and why no other countries are coming to the rescue. What exactly is the PMC? (Not sure if that is the right name, I kind of forget). There are two different problems... the Carriers and the PMC. There are half- brain dead humans wandering around attacking people as well as an overbearing company acting as the government and controlling the citizens' every move. It's confusing as to which is meant to be the main enemy, but I guess that was the point of the book. Then there are the rebels. Basically everyone is the enemy... except for Haven's small group. There is very limited background info to the collapse of America, but that might have to do with the fact that the characters seem to have next to no idea of what's going on, either.
I really appreciated the characters in this book. ROMAN. ROMAN I WAS ROUTING FOR YOU. I know he's not gone for good, and I have a feeling he will redeem himself in the future. MAX. SWEET SWEET MAX. I feel sick to my stomach every time I think of him. Greyson confused me... his character was kind of inconsistent. He seemed all cool in the beginning of the novel and from the way Haven talked about him. But then when they rescued him... I was like what? No. One second he was for the rebels, the next second against. I guess this had to do with what he endured in the prison, but still. His character confused me. Logan also confused me in the beginning. She went from complete bitch to Haven's best friend in a matter of minutes. That quick transition was kind of extreme. Maybe if she took a little longer warming up to Haven, or wasn't as big of an asshole to begin with, it would have seemed more natural. But Logan turned out to be one of my favorite characters, obviously. How could she not? Amory was also kind of a wishy-washy character. I found him to be pretty bland... and I caught myself labeling him as "Haven's love interest". That's never a good sign. I was also confused as to why everyone found Haven to be so special... she's literally as normal as it gets. She never really does anything unexpected... most people would do the same things in her position.
Overall, I loved this book and I recommend it to anyone who is into zombies or an over controlling government-type power. Logan will be a favorite to anyone seeking a kick-ass female role. There's romance, fighting, and thank the lord... no love triangle.
I really appreciated the characters in this book. ROMAN. ROMAN I WAS ROUTING FOR YOU. I know he's not gone for good, and I have a feeling he will redeem himself in the future. MAX. SWEET SWEET MAX. I feel sick to my stomach every time I think of him. Greyson confused me... his character was kind of inconsistent. He seemed all cool in the beginning of the novel and from the way Haven talked about him. But then when they rescued him... I was like what? No. One second he was for the rebels, the next second against. I guess this had to do with what he endured in the prison, but still. His character confused me. Logan also confused me in the beginning. She went from complete bitch to Haven's best friend in a matter of minutes. That quick transition was kind of extreme. Maybe if she took a little longer warming up to Haven, or wasn't as big of an asshole to begin with, it would have seemed more natural. But Logan turned out to be one of my favorite characters, obviously. How could she not? Amory was also kind of a wishy-washy character. I found him to be pretty bland... and I caught myself labeling him as "Haven's love interest". That's never a good sign. I was also confused as to why everyone found Haven to be so special... she's literally as normal as it gets. She never really does anything unexpected... most people would do the same things in her position.
Overall, I loved this book and I recommend it to anyone who is into zombies or an over controlling government-type power. Logan will be a favorite to anyone seeking a kick-ass female role. There's romance, fighting, and thank the lord... no love triangle.
June 25, 2016
It begins with a 21 year girl Named Haven Allis. There seems to be a virus that has infected many people. These people are called "Carriers". The human race that are not infected are obligated to be micro chipped . This microchip tracks and analyses your every move. Haven has been chipped. she has been monitored for everything , phone conversations ,internet , bank acct, etc. If there is anything remotely suspicious it causes a warrant for an arrest. Those people who are not chipped and not infected are considered "illegals". These are taken to prison in Sector X and made to disappear. Her friend Greyson is captured and is illegal an is arrested . Haven's heart is broken and vows to find out where they've taken him. Knowing she must leave the city ,she slowly finds people with knowledge of where they keep illegals. Keeping a low profile she leaves the city on her way to Sector X. Even Haven knows her journey is extremely dangerous. She faces Carriers with an active virus and military forces along the way. Haven is confident and being an athlete a runner. She will know how to pace herself. She travels toward Sector X by day and finds shelter by night. One night thinking she is safe camped out on a rocky edge.. Unfortunately for Haven she settles in for the night ,only to suddenly be awakened and hit on the head. Haven passes out. As she recovers early in the morning, she realizes she's tied up and worse yet by Carrier's. Since its day they are sleeping . Haven somehow finds a way to release her bonds. Sneaking around to get her backpack and dashes into a run. Running a distance trying to put miles between them. Haven then spots a field and runs toward it. As she clears the field she see a house. There are people in it. Feeling very anxious and heads there only to run into a man. Things only get stranger from here. This little band of people are illegals. Now what is Haven to do? Does she continue her journey or does it stop here ? What will happen to Greyson? I really enjoyed this book with it's strange adventures and some romance. I can't wait to read the next one.
August 11, 2016
This is one of those books that is slow to get started (and can be somewhat confusing), but combines interesting characters with a (somewhat) new take on an old theme. It sort of reminds me of The Walking Dead meets (parts of) Divergent.
The "zombies" in this book are never referred to as such, rather they are referred to as "Carriers". In fact, it is mentioned several times that they don't "eat" the living. They do however bite them and kill them in viscous manners.
However, they are not the only threat. The Private Military Company (or PMC), is also a threat, rounding up anyone deemed an "illegal", a "rebel" or a "defector". Basically they are all kind of the same thing, only an illegal has never registered for the mandatory implant, a defector is someone who has, but who has either removed their implant or been erased by the government, and rebels can be any combination of the above. If you are arrested by the PMC, you are hauled off to jail, where there is a good chance you will be tortured for information.
The characters are all unique, each of them harboring their own secrets and motives, and while some of them you can pretty much guess their reasoning, others "former lives" come as a complete shock. When combined with the other elements, it makes for an interesting mix of characters, desires and consequences.
Overall, there is some sparse action throughout the book, but the majority of it does not take place until the last few chapters. There was enough build up in the novel that kept my interest, but this wasn't one of those books that I felt I "couldn't put down".
The "zombies" in this book are never referred to as such, rather they are referred to as "Carriers". In fact, it is mentioned several times that they don't "eat" the living. They do however bite them and kill them in viscous manners.
However, they are not the only threat. The Private Military Company (or PMC), is also a threat, rounding up anyone deemed an "illegal", a "rebel" or a "defector". Basically they are all kind of the same thing, only an illegal has never registered for the mandatory implant, a defector is someone who has, but who has either removed their implant or been erased by the government, and rebels can be any combination of the above. If you are arrested by the PMC, you are hauled off to jail, where there is a good chance you will be tortured for information.
The characters are all unique, each of them harboring their own secrets and motives, and while some of them you can pretty much guess their reasoning, others "former lives" come as a complete shock. When combined with the other elements, it makes for an interesting mix of characters, desires and consequences.
Overall, there is some sparse action throughout the book, but the majority of it does not take place until the last few chapters. There was enough build up in the novel that kept my interest, but this wasn't one of those books that I felt I "couldn't put down".
February 17, 2019
Couldn't stop reading
Exciting YA dystopian story, hard to put down. Narrated by a young girl, Haven, who has lost everything, her parents, her best friend, her home. She sets out to rescue her best friend who has been taken by the new government's agents and imprisoned for being undocumented. Everyone is required to have an ID chip implanted to identify them as documented or they are taken and imprisoned.
Her friend Greyson does not have one.
Haven meets people who were rebels against the government, some undocumented, some have defected and removed their chips. Our heroine becomes a defector to join forces and find her friend, among other agendas she is not so down with.
It is a well written, well edited story. The only thing I can't stomach is Haven's hesitation to defend herself and her friends by killing the enemy who would not and do not hesitate to kill her or her friends. Or torture them. Yet she feels guilty killing them? Huh?
Oh. And did I mention there is originally an infection that slowly turns people into what might be described as zombies. But on their long slow road to living death they are infectious and dangerous, and still functioning enough to plan attacks against people.
I will continue with the next in the series, but I am hoping this girl gets some sense of self defense going and becomes a good warrior, like Logan. Logan is my favorite character in this story so far, beautiful and vulnerable at times but a warrior.
Exciting YA dystopian story, hard to put down. Narrated by a young girl, Haven, who has lost everything, her parents, her best friend, her home. She sets out to rescue her best friend who has been taken by the new government's agents and imprisoned for being undocumented. Everyone is required to have an ID chip implanted to identify them as documented or they are taken and imprisoned.
Her friend Greyson does not have one.
Haven meets people who were rebels against the government, some undocumented, some have defected and removed their chips. Our heroine becomes a defector to join forces and find her friend, among other agendas she is not so down with.
It is a well written, well edited story. The only thing I can't stomach is Haven's hesitation to defend herself and her friends by killing the enemy who would not and do not hesitate to kill her or her friends. Or torture them. Yet she feels guilty killing them? Huh?
Oh. And did I mention there is originally an infection that slowly turns people into what might be described as zombies. But on their long slow road to living death they are infectious and dangerous, and still functioning enough to plan attacks against people.
I will continue with the next in the series, but I am hoping this girl gets some sense of self defense going and becomes a good warrior, like Logan. Logan is my favorite character in this story so far, beautiful and vulnerable at times but a warrior.
April 27, 2014
I loved that this book started out with a lot of action! I also appreciated the survival mode that Haven was in toward the beginning as well as the range of characters on the farm. The whole grocery store thing was never explained properly, in my opinion. I guess I don't understand why they were there in the first place. What purpose would it have served for Haven to be identified and then go on the run? Why didn't they just leave?
I would have liked to get to know Haven better as well. She spent all her time describing what everyone else was doing, missing very obvious clues as to what was going on, but I didn't get a good feel for her character.
It isn't my favorite, but still an enjoyable read!
I would have liked to get to know Haven better as well. She spent all her time describing what everyone else was doing, missing very obvious clues as to what was going on, but I didn't get a good feel for her character.
It isn't my favorite, but still an enjoyable read!
August 27, 2015
Seems to me that the title of this series should be Dystopia 90210. There's something completely common about the whole story, with the notable exception of the characters' names...
Haven, Amory, Logan, Roman, Rulon, Greyson, Kinsley, Mariah, Godfrey, Aryus... You get the idea. Whatever happened to the Amy's and Chuck's of the world? Apparently in the pseudo-zombie apocalypse, none of them made it.
I call it a pseudo-apocalypse because the "carriers" aren't dead and don't eat people. They're just infected, tough to kill, and bite people a lot. That sorta describes the whole series for me. A wanna-be apocalyptic teen melodrama.
That said, it's not all bad. It's just mediocre all the way around. Nothing about it truly stands out from the crowd.
Haven, Amory, Logan, Roman, Rulon, Greyson, Kinsley, Mariah, Godfrey, Aryus... You get the idea. Whatever happened to the Amy's and Chuck's of the world? Apparently in the pseudo-zombie apocalypse, none of them made it.
I call it a pseudo-apocalypse because the "carriers" aren't dead and don't eat people. They're just infected, tough to kill, and bite people a lot. That sorta describes the whole series for me. A wanna-be apocalyptic teen melodrama.
That said, it's not all bad. It's just mediocre all the way around. Nothing about it truly stands out from the crowd.
November 9, 2014
I was a bit disappointed in this book. I was looking forward to reading it. It barely kept my attention. I started to just close the book and not pick it back up... Probably 3 or 4 times. However I have a thing about finishing a book when I start it. I am not sure if it is because the story line seems to ramble along at a slow pace with bouts of action or if I didn't completely connect with Haven.... she seemed distant to me. Amory caught my interest more than Haven did. It is almost as though she has no personality. Will I read the next two? I'm not sure. For now I am moving on to another book completely and will reconsider later if I want to finish the series. Sadness for me... I like to enjoy the books I read and do enjoy them most of the time. This one just didn't happen.
February 23, 2016
This is the 2nd series of Benner's that I have read. I loved the Fringe series (waiting for book 4!) but I was worried a book with "Zombies" would feel played out. I was hooked after the first couple chapters though and the zombies aren't really zombies so it works. I'm excited to see if there is more to the carriers then meets the eye as well. Another strong female lead character seems to set the tone of her books, which is something I always enjoy. I was a bit taken back about how quickly the relationships in the book grew but I've never lived in a dystopian world before, who am I to judge. I was slightly reminded of the "Delirium" series when I was reading which isn't bad, since I loved those books.
February 17, 2015
Good 3.75
I chose this rating because it had everything that makes a end of the world book good. Their was no gore if ur looking for something like that. There is a lot of travel till the fighting at the end. There is not much that I didn't like about the book, and to for the main character to be on the move as much as she was I found it engaging and I did want to continue reading. So if u like end of world books in not to far future of the USA where pple turn into somewhat a zombie without actually dieing, killing, a little love, secrets, and rebellion, u might like this book! I did, somewhat. Will be Buying book 2 for $3
I chose this rating because it had everything that makes a end of the world book good. Their was no gore if ur looking for something like that. There is a lot of travel till the fighting at the end. There is not much that I didn't like about the book, and to for the main character to be on the move as much as she was I found it engaging and I did want to continue reading. So if u like end of world books in not to far future of the USA where pple turn into somewhat a zombie without actually dieing, killing, a little love, secrets, and rebellion, u might like this book! I did, somewhat. Will be Buying book 2 for $3
July 29, 2014
This was a pretty good YA dystopian-type story. It was a fun read. Nothing drastically new, but a fw new spins on similar storylines. It adds in some "zombie"-like characters to the military run US and, of course, some government/military conspiracy. The characters were interesting, if a little contrived (several "mysterious" types that the main character can't get a read on which is a huge foreshadowing for some major-ish reveal later). Overall, it kept me reading and wanting to know a bit more. I will probably check out the next in the series.
December 17, 2015
3 1/2 STARS!!! Good Post-Apocalyptic story
Chaos, confusion and loss reign in this post-apocalyptic tale. A terrible plague has devastated America allowing a tyrannical military regime to take control. Our heroine, Haven tries to resist the system and finds herself on the run as a result and tries to rescue her friend Greyson. Along the way she meets up with other resisters, but in this world you don't know who to trust. She battles the infected- zombie like former humans, the PMC and even the rebels. Good enjoyable read. Happy Reading!!!
Tim
Chaos, confusion and loss reign in this post-apocalyptic tale. A terrible plague has devastated America allowing a tyrannical military regime to take control. Our heroine, Haven tries to resist the system and finds herself on the run as a result and tries to rescue her friend Greyson. Along the way she meets up with other resisters, but in this world you don't know who to trust. She battles the infected- zombie like former humans, the PMC and even the rebels. Good enjoyable read. Happy Reading!!!
Tim
September 26, 2013
This was a refreshing new spin on the post-apocalyptic genre, mixing a zombie-esque virus with a military-run, Big Brother nation. The characters were enjoyable, the plot was fast-paced, and the author actually filled in a lot of details leaving very few plot holes other than those that are required to remain open for books two and three. I'll definitely be reading the remainder of the series; this book was nigh impossible to put down. A fantastic first novel!
December 29, 2015
Excellent new series
I normally don't read ya but this looked really good and so I gave it a chance. I'm glad I did because this was a great story. Haven is a young woman living in constant fear with her best friend Grayson. Things go wrong, Grayson is taken and now it's up to Haven to get him back. Along the way, she meets some new friends that are going to help and some others who aren't friends but are they enemies?
I normally don't read ya but this looked really good and so I gave it a chance. I'm glad I did because this was a great story. Haven is a young woman living in constant fear with her best friend Grayson. Things go wrong, Grayson is taken and now it's up to Haven to get him back. Along the way, she meets some new friends that are going to help and some others who aren't friends but are they enemies?
October 7, 2013
The Defectors was a well written novel about the collapse of society. Government has gone 1984 but with better tech. Zombies lie outside the grid as does the answers and the future. The Defectors was a fast paced thriller with a great deal of dialogue driving the plot. It was an enjoyable book to read.
February 24, 2014
I heard this was the author's first book. Amazing! A smart and very I depth story that makes you feel like you are there with the characters. Great story and the action is so intense!! Must read if you are into post apocalyptic type stories. This a really intelligent story and I could not put the book down!
August 8, 2014
I have ready a ton of the post collapse / post apocalypse style books / series and I must say that this book was a diamond in the rough. Others may not agree, but I like this one because it has a little bit of possible truth to it.
After the end of this book, I am excited to read the next in the series!
After the end of this book, I am excited to read the next in the series!
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