Shock

Virals #0.5

by Kathy Reichs, Brendan Reichs

Just in time for the release of the final book in the Virals quintet comes a riveting short story that takes us back to the beginning.

A dazed Tory Brennan steps off the plane in Charleston. Reeling from the recent death of her mother, and nervous about meeting her dad for the first time, she could hardly be less excited at the prospect of starting this new chapter of her life. With its balmy weather and relaxed Southern atmosphere, South Carolina feels like a foreign country compared to Tory’s native New England. But her worries begin to fade once she lays eyes on rugged, mysterious Morris Island, and three quirky boys who are as lively and curious as Tory herself. Maybe—just maybe—this new home has something wonderful in store for her after all.

In this glimpse into the world of the Virals before they became Virals, sometimes what seems like an ending is only the start.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Novella

66 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 10, 2015

About the author

Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec. She is one of only fifty forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. A professor of anthropology at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her Ph.D. at Northwestern. She now divides her time between Charlotte and Montreal and is a frequent expert witness in criminal trials.

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best First Novel (1998): Deja Dead

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Tory Brennan walked from the plane after leaving the only home she had ever known, to the cloying heat of Charleston in South Carolina, she was confused, distressed and nervous. She was about to meet her father for the first time; a father she hadn’t known had existed until the very recent and heartbreaking death of her mother. And when he wasn’t there to greet her; oh how could he be late to meet his long lost daughter for the first time?

But arrive he did; Kit Howard was her dad – a professor at the research centre on Morris Island; but Tory had no idea she would be living in such an isolated area. As she began to settle in she found the incredible views, the tranquillity of the nearby ocean and the smooth white sands were soothing; when she met up with three boys her own age on the sand dunes who made her feel welcome she felt more at ease within herself than she had for weeks. Maybe her new home wouldn’t be so bad…

Shock by author Kathy Reichs is a prequel to the Virals series. It tells of the very beginning, before each of the events in the series. An excellent short story, it gives an insight into Tory’s life before it all began; how she came to be living with Kit and how she first met her friends. I loved it – there were quite a few laugh out loud moments and I was sorry when the story was over. Highly recommended.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Reichs twosome offer up a great short story prequel to the Virals collection, a month ahead of the series finale. As Tory Brennan arrives in South Carolina, she is not sure what to expect; humid conditions, a father she's never met, and isolated from the life she's known. By the time Kit arrives to pick her up, Brennan's tired and totally unsure what the future holds, still trying to come to grips with her mother's death. Things begin awkwardly as Kit makes his first impression, which only gets worse as Tory discovers her new environs are nothing like Massachusetts. Exploring Morris Island, she stumbles upon a threesome of young boys who will become her Virals compatriots in the coming months. As Brennan and the boys grow closer, no one is fuy aware how important this group will be and how young adult readers will latch onto their every move. A great teaser to lighten the blow of the impeding end of the VIRALS series.

Backtracking on a well-established series can be a gamble for any author, especially those who write for the fickle young adult reader. Reichs succeed masterfully, laying some previously unknown storylines as they relate to Tory and the rest of the Virals crew. Even in this short story, the characters develop nicely and the setting suits the larger series well. This story fits nicely into the larger series and could easily have been added to the early part of the first book, effortlessly. Brennan makes her off-beat impression in the opening paragraphs, as she has through the entire collection. A perfect way to hold off antsy readers who want to see how Reichs and Reichs terminate the Virals, and what form that might take.

Kudos, Mr. and Madam Reichs. What a great treat you've served up ahead of closing the proverbial book on the VIRALS.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Nancy The book junkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review coming soon!

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In "Shock" the reader is swept back in time to Tory Brennan's arrival on Morris Island near Charleston South Carolina after the death of her mother. Unsettled about meeting her estranged father Christopher "Kit" Howard her discomfort is further intensified by the isolation of her mysterious new island home until she meets three unpredictable but animated friends- Hiram, Shelton and Ben.

The plot's fast-paced and the characters engaging as the rugged, mysterious landscape sets the stage for the Virals series. Strands of this snapshot in time follow not only Tory's introduction to the three boys in the pack but a turtle crisis and the discovery of an ancient abandoned rebel bunker which later becomes the Virals headquarters. The mood of the story quickly changes from Tory's apprehension to a relaxed, easy-going camaraderie which is further enhanced with each adventure in the series.

Although I enjoyed Kathy Reichs fluid writing style and the realism of the story, I didn't think this novella added anything to the storyline as much of the information has been regurgitated from her novel Virals.

[♡Julalicious Book Paradise♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

review to come.

[Laura.has.too.many.books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short ( around 50 pages) story about how Tory met the guys from Morris Island and how they became fast friend after that. This story includes the first meeting between Tory and her dad after years not knowing about him it is written quite cute and realistically.

As this is stuff is not included in the first book, it is quite nice to have the extra information as it is quite often referenced. All in all a nice little story.

[AngryPixi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. The meeting of Kit and Tory for the first time was hilarious and heart warming, Whitney was like the sound of nails on a chalk board as usual and Tory and the boys meeting for the first time and instantly becoming 'super best friends' was just perfect

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cute and quaint telling of the pack's first meeting

[Kara Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was entertaining, but I didn't feel like it contributed much to the story of the series as a whole. That's probably why I like the Temperance Brennan novellas better, because every novel is contained, so it feels like it contributes without having to the problems that always come with novellas (people being able to avoid reading it etc). Whereas the Virals series is much more connected plotwise, so the novellas fall a bit flat. I don't know how else to describe it, but I'm glad I've read it anyway!

[nate:) · Rating 3 out of 5]

So just to recap. I have just finished Seizure and the next book in the series is Code, but i loaned both Virals and Seizure from Quill. So now I have to borrow Code from my local library. But because I'm me, I decided "oh I'm actually going to read the prequel and short stories while reading the series". so yea that's the tea sis, and that's also why i read Shock and now next in line, is Shift.

Yes, next time I will see you is when i have completed Shift, hopefully, you guys are enjoying your holiday break because I sure am.

once again... I really enjoyed something a little different from what I normally read, and I'm super excited to read Shift next!
Thank you Kathy Reichs, for making Virals, Seizure and now Shock a great adventure that I could become apart of.

Sincerely
Nate

[P.S. Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this pre-qual to the Virals series, we get a peek into Tory's life before becoming a Viral. With the fresh loss of her mother and her first in-person meeting with Kit. As she literally crashes the party and meets the boys on the beach when she is exploring her new home. It also includes the bunker find, an important place in the books to come. Since this book wasn't out the first 5 or so times I read the series you can read through without this one but it does give some emotional insight into the characters.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant short story that fills in the gaps from the start of the novel series, and explains how Tory came to live with Kit (though not very in-depth), their first meeting, how she met her ‘crew’ and how they discovered the bunker. I wish this was the beginning of the first novel, but better late than never.

[Day Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shock is a short story set before the Virals series begins that shows us Tori's arrival to South Carolina and meeting the rest of her crew we later know and love. Featuring awkward Kit, the beginning of trust to form between the islander high schoolers and the finding of their beloved bunker this was a nice little addition to the series.

[Hyperactive · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story was great! After reading the whole series I was quite interested to learn how the group actually met and how they found their hidden bunker and this answered all of that. The part where Kit met Tory was interesting to and honestly just perfectly encompasses how he is as a father in the rest of the series.

[RavenT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella does an effective job of introducing the reader to the teenaged protagonist and her newly discovered father as well as the boys who will be her friends in her new island life. It has some dramatic tension to make the introduction interesting. Three and a half stars rounded up because I now want to read the first book in this YA series.

[Dannelle Castellano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun prequel. It did a good job of setting the stage for a new reader to get a glimpse of the start of this series without going in too deep. It's also a fun read to see how things all started and came together for those readers who have already read the series. Short, sweet, and to the point.

[Leeann · Rating 3 out of 5]

The origin story of how Tory met her pack. Sweet story, but the characters in this short story do not quite seem to have the same demeanor as they do in the novels-they are more caricatures than characters.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

A cool yet sad start to the whole thing..it's the start of Tory's story and how she came to be with Kit and how she made the friends she has. Its the start of her first day on Morris Island and the adventures she's about to begin

[Lacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tory Brennan meets her father, who is now her guardian, after the death of her mother in a car accident. She also meets three boys she seems destined to become fast friends with.

Just an introduction.

[Myra Aspero · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is supposedly the first book you should read before jumping to virals.


i read this after I finished reading the whole series lol.


an introductory to virals series


ps. tory and ben has a thing ever since lol

[Dpucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but sweet. Should be read before the first book as a pre-quel. Information in this shortie introduces you to the characters in a pre-viral stage.

[Carmel McKenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable

Stories getting better not as long winded. Like the loyalty between the group of kids too. Keep up the good stories

[Ashley Sabatka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked seeing the beginning of the Virals friendship!

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listed as a short story it is the beginng of Tory's story. Meeting her father, moving to the island, Meeting the boys who become her pack.

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved to read this short story, of Tory meeting the guys, and finding the bunker! Great short story!

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it 💛

[Bryna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story, may read the others - enjoyed the simplicity of the story however it wasn't what I'd call a page turner (like a Bones storyline)

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great YA series. I recommend the audiobooks too.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent prologue to the series! I couldn't put it down... start to finish just a short time... LOVE IT!

[Cathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good short story

I have been a Tempe Brennan fan for years, but just got around to checking out the Virals series. It seems that it will not disappoint.