Transmutations

by Ed Gosney, Travis Perkins (Illustrator)

Young Danny Mitchell’s life seems to be falling apart. First his father died, then his mother moved them away from his life in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to the small river town of Martins Ferry, Ohio. Yet when he finds his father’s boyhood journal, things start looking up as he and some neighborhood kids begin exploring the haunts of his late father.

But Danny’s life is about to get an even bigger shock. Barbas, one of The 88, has destructive plans for North America that will start in the Ohio Valley region, from Pittsburgh to Martins Ferry. Jealous of the other members of The 88 and hoping to unleash something worse than the rest, Barbas has brought Dr. Ramachandran into his confidence, an Indian scientist who conducted experiments on captured Pakistani’s a decade ago and is now a hunted man. Together with Captain Merritt of The Black Hand, Barbas and Ramachandran release a mist that genetically alters humans at a physical level, changing them into strange human-insect hybrids that have the ability to spread this alteration to others.

As hordes of the changed victims spread across the Ohio Valley region and beyond, Danny and his friends, along with a few other unchanged people they meet along the way, struggle to maintain their humanity in a world gone weird.

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 18, 2016

About the author

Ed Gosney grew up in the small river town of Martins Ferry, Ohio, near Wheeling, West Virginia. He claims it was a magical place that helped mold his imagination, as he spent countless hours roaming the hills, playing in a cave, and hanging out at the Ohio River with his childhood friends.

Ed is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in English Education, and served in the Army, becoming a Journalist and the editor of the Army post newspaper. After being honorably discharged, he entered the corporate world to write business proposals, working for several different banks and at times managing proposal teams.

Currently living in Copley, Ohio, Ed has been married to Melissa since 1987 and has three children, Renee, Ed, and Brynn.

http://www.leighgendarium.com/2016/05...

Reviews

[Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wickedly fun and eerie novel that is a twist on the zombie apocalypse genre. The story gives off a "Stranger Things" vibe that will fill anyone's heart with nostalgia. Quite the page-turner!

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the Audible version of this book which is thoroughly entertaining. A zombie novel that centres around a group of kids in small town mid-America which gives it a light-hearted feel in spite of the scary and disturbing content. Think Stranger Things but with zombies.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the Audio Version
This was a nice adventure although the pace was quite slow, narration helped keep it going and i would be interested to see how it proceeds.
The main characters are i think spot on and very believable as is the inner goings on within the enemy camp.
Could maybe have done with a little more action but as it is mostly kids i can see how the author brings it across.
Narrator is new to me but did a good job on the different characters some almost seamlessly.
Overall i found it a worthwhile listen especially if its on a deal or such.

[Ashley Hedden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transmutations was a good read by Ed Gosney. Danny Mitchell’s father died and his mother moved them away from the life he knew. While in his new home in Martins Ferry, Ohio, he finds his fathers journal from when he was a young boy. Along with the neighborhood kids, they begin exploring the haunts of his father. One of The 88, Barbas, has plans to destroy North America and it will start in the Ohio Valley region. Barbas is jealous of the other members of The 88 and wants to unleash something worse than the rest. They release a mist that genetically alters humans physically, it changes them into strange human-insect hybrids. They can spread the alteration to other humans. Danny, his friends and some other unchanged people struggle to maintain humanity. This was a good read and I cant wait to read more by the author.

[Marion Buehring · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a bit disappointed

The short story Strange Change on the Apocalypse Weird website was one of the first things I read in the universe. It was a great short story, and maybe I expected too much from this book.