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Ash: Book One in the Rising Ash Saga
Ash Donovan has lived for seven years in a fallen world. When she was just eight years old an unexplained virus killed off most of humanity. She survived with no memory of her prior life.
This book is one of a five part serial.
This book is one of a five part serial.
44 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 7, 2016
3 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 11, 2017
This short book is the first book in a series of four. This wasn't the sort of genre I'd usually go out and read, but I will say, I was pleasantly surprised.
The book is about a fifteen year old girl called Ash, who seems to be living in a post apocalyptic world, surrounded by zombies. This is about her survival, and what she goes through to enable her to do that.
The characters and their relationships seem a little flat, and I think more can be done to develop those. But, overall, this was an enjoyable story.
The book is about a fifteen year old girl called Ash, who seems to be living in a post apocalyptic world, surrounded by zombies. This is about her survival, and what she goes through to enable her to do that.
The characters and their relationships seem a little flat, and I think more can be done to develop those. But, overall, this was an enjoyable story.
August 15, 2017
Ash is such a freaking awesome character, and the storytelling here does her justice. I am very anxious to find out more about her story.
July 10, 2016
This is a lovely story full of nice vivid imagery. Westerman has a smooth, well developed style and everything clipped along at a good pace. The scene setting/world building is good - make that great - rich and evocative, dropping me right into the world. Quite a feat for an indie author and doubly valuable in so short a space.
However, there were some problematic bits of narrative (to my very analytical brain). For example, the main character cannot remember or put together what class photos she sees in an elementary school are, but she knows what a carnival clown is and uses the words orgy and macabre? While this may be feasible due to her apparent memory loss, it made me raise my eyebrows a little. It’s been 7 (ish?) years since the apocalypse but tortillas and cardboard cartons of juice are still good? This kind of thing bothers me in The Walking Dead as well, where they are driving cars around no prob long after all the gas would have gone bad (etc., etc.), so I suppose this is just part of the sub-genre in general. Trying to work around stuff like can result in a washed out and contorted narrative, so I do understand why it’s done.
None of that here detracted from my general enjoyment of the story. The formatting was pretty much impeccable, errors minimal, and I really enjoyed Ash as a character. As the end neared, the intrigue thickened to the point that I’m excited to see where this goes. By the last page, I knew I wasn’t ready to stop reading. Serials aren’t my favorite but this one caught my attention and kept it, and I have been known to make exceptions if I’m interested enough - so this is probably going to be one of them. It's somewhat rare that I really connect with a character, and for such a short story, I'm kind of amazed that I connected so much with Ash. I NEED to know what makes Ash different in her world, learn her origin. I’m invested. I love Ash and can’t wait for the next episode!
Minus 1 star for some questionable plot points and some scattered, slight editing issues. I'd detract one more simply because I'm not all that into serials, but I'm not going to ding the author for my personal preference. Great story, looking forward to reading more from this author.
However, there were some problematic bits of narrative (to my very analytical brain). For example, the main character cannot remember or put together what class photos she sees in an elementary school are, but she knows what a carnival clown is and uses the words orgy and macabre? While this may be feasible due to her apparent memory loss, it made me raise my eyebrows a little. It’s been 7 (ish?) years since the apocalypse but tortillas and cardboard cartons of juice are still good? This kind of thing bothers me in The Walking Dead as well, where they are driving cars around no prob long after all the gas would have gone bad (etc., etc.), so I suppose this is just part of the sub-genre in general. Trying to work around stuff like can result in a washed out and contorted narrative, so I do understand why it’s done.
None of that here detracted from my general enjoyment of the story. The formatting was pretty much impeccable, errors minimal, and I really enjoyed Ash as a character. As the end neared, the intrigue thickened to the point that I’m excited to see where this goes. By the last page, I knew I wasn’t ready to stop reading. Serials aren’t my favorite but this one caught my attention and kept it, and I have been known to make exceptions if I’m interested enough - so this is probably going to be one of them. It's somewhat rare that I really connect with a character, and for such a short story, I'm kind of amazed that I connected so much with Ash. I NEED to know what makes Ash different in her world, learn her origin. I’m invested. I love Ash and can’t wait for the next episode!
Minus 1 star for some questionable plot points and some scattered, slight editing issues. I'd detract one more simply because I'm not all that into serials, but I'm not going to ding the author for my personal preference. Great story, looking forward to reading more from this author.
July 6, 2016
Fast paced, exciting to read, found myself holding my breath a few times...I really want to find out the mystery behind the main character..can't wait to read the next installment (Blaze)
February 16, 2018
This is the first part of a longer novel, "Rising Ash" which explores the life of a young girl in a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies. Her past is a mystery and the world around her filled with danger and uncertainty and she fights not just for survival but also to reclaim her memories, her past and her identity. The novella was well written and fast paced and if the rest of the novel is as good, it should prove to be a great read. I enjoy Westerman's story telling style and look forward to learning more about her title character and the world she lives in.
July 15, 2016
Ash: Book One in the Rising Ash Saga by R.G. Westerman is an interesting read. The series follows a fifteen-year-old girl, Ash, as she tries to navigate a post-apocalyptic world where most of the human population has been turned into zombies. This world is pretty much all Ash has known. On top of that, Ash is struggling with some amnesia issues. She garners fragments of memory as she moves through the story.
I find Ash to be an interesting character. She presents as a tough and savvy zombie hunter as she goes in search of stuff. In this book, what that constitutes the stuff is not revealed in its entirety. It is known that some of the stuff has to do with Ash’s past. However, there are hints that Ash has another side to her. I am happy for this. If all you see of Ash is what is presented in this book, I think Ash would fall a little flat as a believable character. I am looking forward to seeing how Westerman develops Ash more as the books continue.
Another aspect I enjoyed about this book is Westerman’s world building. She doles out enough details to paint a picture of Ash’s world without turning it into an information dump. It is also clear Westerman has put in quite a bit of thought into the world and how it works, including the zombies. The one thing I wonder about in this world is why the zombies move pretty much in straight lines only? I hope there is some explanation for this, or it will feel to me like an easy out for why some of the events happen the way they do in the book.
The one thing I wish could have been different is the characters of Rachel and Marcus. I love the story line they have. They just felt a little flat to me. There is some back story given in this book, so they do not just appear. I would like to have seen a little more complexity to their personalities. Perhaps some of this is omitted due to the brevity of this first book.
Overall, if you love zombies, zombie hunters, and gore, this is a fun book.
I find Ash to be an interesting character. She presents as a tough and savvy zombie hunter as she goes in search of stuff. In this book, what that constitutes the stuff is not revealed in its entirety. It is known that some of the stuff has to do with Ash’s past. However, there are hints that Ash has another side to her. I am happy for this. If all you see of Ash is what is presented in this book, I think Ash would fall a little flat as a believable character. I am looking forward to seeing how Westerman develops Ash more as the books continue.
Another aspect I enjoyed about this book is Westerman’s world building. She doles out enough details to paint a picture of Ash’s world without turning it into an information dump. It is also clear Westerman has put in quite a bit of thought into the world and how it works, including the zombies. The one thing I wonder about in this world is why the zombies move pretty much in straight lines only? I hope there is some explanation for this, or it will feel to me like an easy out for why some of the events happen the way they do in the book.
The one thing I wish could have been different is the characters of Rachel and Marcus. I love the story line they have. They just felt a little flat to me. There is some back story given in this book, so they do not just appear. I would like to have seen a little more complexity to their personalities. Perhaps some of this is omitted due to the brevity of this first book.
Overall, if you love zombies, zombie hunters, and gore, this is a fun book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews