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The Faded Earth #1
Deathwatch
Humanity was on the cusp of greatness when the Fade began to spread. Cities fell during the decades known as the Collapse. The spread of the disease turning human beings into bloodthirsty monsters could not be stopped. It could not even be slowed. Weapons of mass destruction burned half the world down to the bedrock.
Yet some survived.
Using technology meant to take men to the stars and find a new home there, the immune took refuge. They were the seeds of a future not yet written. A hope for a better world. Armed and armored, they set about rebuilding from the ashes.
A century later, North America is all but unrecognizable. Survival has ceased to be an idea--it is almost a religion. The needs of the many outweigh all else. This is a lesson Rebecca Park will learn in the harshest way imaginable.
When her family is torn away from her, she will face a choice unlike any in her short life. Wallow in grief and fade away like so many before her have, or choose to make herself into something more.
Drawn into a fight she could never have imagined, Beck will face the monstrous Pales who have overrun the badlands and the darkest parts of the people around her. It is a life few ask for. A life fewer still make it through to old age.
That is how it almost always ends for those who choose to be the shield for the rest of humankind.
Yet some survived.
Using technology meant to take men to the stars and find a new home there, the immune took refuge. They were the seeds of a future not yet written. A hope for a better world. Armed and armored, they set about rebuilding from the ashes.
A century later, North America is all but unrecognizable. Survival has ceased to be an idea--it is almost a religion. The needs of the many outweigh all else. This is a lesson Rebecca Park will learn in the harshest way imaginable.
When her family is torn away from her, she will face a choice unlike any in her short life. Wallow in grief and fade away like so many before her have, or choose to make herself into something more.
Drawn into a fight she could never have imagined, Beck will face the monstrous Pales who have overrun the badlands and the darkest parts of the people around her. It is a life few ask for. A life fewer still make it through to old age.
That is how it almost always ends for those who choose to be the shield for the rest of humankind.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 21, 2017
59 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Guess
50 books363 followersJoshua Guess (who goes by Josh most of the time, but Joshua professionally because his mom insists) is originally from southern Illinois, but moved to central Kentucky at an early age.
Always a storyteller, his interest in creating began with art. He loved to draw and come up with stories about his pictures.
Then he discovered comic books and novels, and things...took a turn.
Devouring everything from superboy to Stephen King, Josh started to gain a greater interest in writing, making it a hobby during high school and achieving distinguished marks in his portfolio.
Then, life got in the way. College and the struggle to start a life of his own away from home took up most of his time. His love of telling stories took a back seat to the needs of daily life for many years, with the occasional foray into working on one project or another.
In late 2009, Josh buckled down and started work on an idea for a fantasy novel that had been stuck in his head since those halcyon days back in high school. Struggling to find a voice, Josh realized months later after many false starts that he needed to stretch his brain a little, strengthen his writing muscles. So he began another project that had been simmering in the back of his mind, a continuing serialized zombie story, told in the form of a daily blog.
Living With the Dead has given him a measure of success, but more important has imparted new skills at wordsmithing and the drive to complete. 'Bound to Silence', his debut novel, has been released and is available now, as are many collections and versions of Living With the Dead.
Once that tipping point was reached, there was no choice for him but to keep on writing. Much more of Josh's work will be released in the coming months.
I hate writing in the third person about myself. I live an average life and work a full time job. I have three cats, two dogs, two ferrets, and a wife that I'm so in love with it hurts. My goal is to some day have enough success to write full time, and to manage a level of long term financial security that I don't have to worry about money. It's my dream to make a good living doing what I love--telling stories. I hope you enjoy my work. That's why I do it.
Always a storyteller, his interest in creating began with art. He loved to draw and come up with stories about his pictures.
Then he discovered comic books and novels, and things...took a turn.
Devouring everything from superboy to Stephen King, Josh started to gain a greater interest in writing, making it a hobby during high school and achieving distinguished marks in his portfolio.
Then, life got in the way. College and the struggle to start a life of his own away from home took up most of his time. His love of telling stories took a back seat to the needs of daily life for many years, with the occasional foray into working on one project or another.
In late 2009, Josh buckled down and started work on an idea for a fantasy novel that had been stuck in his head since those halcyon days back in high school. Struggling to find a voice, Josh realized months later after many false starts that he needed to stretch his brain a little, strengthen his writing muscles. So he began another project that had been simmering in the back of his mind, a continuing serialized zombie story, told in the form of a daily blog.
Living With the Dead has given him a measure of success, but more important has imparted new skills at wordsmithing and the drive to complete. 'Bound to Silence', his debut novel, has been released and is available now, as are many collections and versions of Living With the Dead.
Once that tipping point was reached, there was no choice for him but to keep on writing. Much more of Josh's work will be released in the coming months.
I hate writing in the third person about myself. I live an average life and work a full time job. I have three cats, two dogs, two ferrets, and a wife that I'm so in love with it hurts. My goal is to some day have enough success to write full time, and to manage a level of long term financial security that I don't have to worry about money. It's my dream to make a good living doing what I love--telling stories. I hope you enjoy my work. That's why I do it.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 20, 2018
My rating 4.2
First book of the series Deathwatch (The Faded Earth Book 1) by Joshua Guess is a very solid beginning of the story that leads us to the dystopian world after one hundred years of infection with Fade. The surviving cities are guarded by Deathwatch. Deathwatch is unfortunately not a favorite in that society because it removes all those who are infected with the virus. But what people do not know is that they are the only protection from infected people who are constantly attacking the city. The story begins with young Beck, whose family is infected with the virus. Though they know what will happen to them, they knowingly sacrifice to save their daughter Beck and they report to the authorities that they are infected and Deathwatch is coming. Her mother, father, and younger brother die to make Beck live. After several days of testing, she goes to her father's friend who gives shelter. After some time, a member of Deathwatch Eshton is coming to visit her, he asks Beck to join Deathwatch. After long persuasion, she still accepts to join Deathwatch. Her world will turn upside down; she will enter the special unit of Deathwatch and find her in the whirlwind of hidden secrets. Hidden secrets will come out on the surface and only that selected group Deathwatch will have to figure out how to stop the threat. If you are a fan of science fiction mixed with the post-apocalyptic world of dystopia, this is a book for you.
First book of the series Deathwatch (The Faded Earth Book 1) by Joshua Guess is a very solid beginning of the story that leads us to the dystopian world after one hundred years of infection with Fade. The surviving cities are guarded by Deathwatch. Deathwatch is unfortunately not a favorite in that society because it removes all those who are infected with the virus. But what people do not know is that they are the only protection from infected people who are constantly attacking the city. The story begins with young Beck, whose family is infected with the virus. Though they know what will happen to them, they knowingly sacrifice to save their daughter Beck and they report to the authorities that they are infected and Deathwatch is coming. Her mother, father, and younger brother die to make Beck live. After several days of testing, she goes to her father's friend who gives shelter. After some time, a member of Deathwatch Eshton is coming to visit her, he asks Beck to join Deathwatch. After long persuasion, she still accepts to join Deathwatch. Her world will turn upside down; she will enter the special unit of Deathwatch and find her in the whirlwind of hidden secrets. Hidden secrets will come out on the surface and only that selected group Deathwatch will have to figure out how to stop the threat. If you are a fan of science fiction mixed with the post-apocalyptic world of dystopia, this is a book for you.
August 8, 2018
What a killer opening to a series. DW #1 brought together all of the elements of science fiction that I love; dystopia, robotics, hackers and zombies, just to name a few. The book features a fabulous female protagonist who is so well developed as a character you feel like you know her as a friend. You want to know her as a friend. The story opens with the feel of a western, sparse, bleak, excellent world building all around... and her Fade infected family is being murdered by a member of the mysterious and feared Deathwatch. The Deathwatch agents are the defenders of this author's vivid dystopian society. On the outside, they are nameless, faceless killers in advanced robotic suits of armor enforcing a harsh system of laws put in place to ensure one thing: humanity's survival. On the inside, they are men and women... and therein the deeper complexities of this book form. There is plenty of action, blood and zombie suspense (these are the fast, strong, intelligent zombies - not the mindless walkers of TWD), but the relationships that form, and the mysteries those relationships uncover, are the real magic here. It's not about humans fighting zombies. It's about humans fighting human nature. This is one of my favorite books of 2018.
December 30, 2017
A future world we wouldn't recognize after a horrible world wide plague has not only shaped those infected and those who survived but shaped and continues to shape the very fabric of life, from the common man, to political structures and cultural norms.
We meet Beck as she experiences personal tragedy and it becomes the smoldering embers that shape her life in a direction she never could have imagined.
Wonderful read, beautifully written.
We meet Beck as she experiences personal tragedy and it becomes the smoldering embers that shape her life in a direction she never could have imagined.
Wonderful read, beautifully written.
March 30, 2018
Unique and a good read!
Characters and storyline are well developed and interesting. The technology and struggle against an unusual style plague that decimated society forever changing the values and way of life. This was such a different story and I appreciated the uniqueness and creativity. Recommend for those that enjoy post apocalyptic, sci-fi, techno thrillers. Good pacing that keeps you interested!
Characters and storyline are well developed and interesting. The technology and struggle against an unusual style plague that decimated society forever changing the values and way of life. This was such a different story and I appreciated the uniqueness and creativity. Recommend for those that enjoy post apocalyptic, sci-fi, techno thrillers. Good pacing that keeps you interested!
January 24, 2018
Exhilarating and unique
Loved this book, the story and the characters. Excellent character building. An interesting take the post apocalyptic genre. It's a new, fresh story in a saturated market. Joshua Guess sucked me into yet another one of his amazing writings. Eagerly awaiting the next one!
Loved this book, the story and the characters. Excellent character building. An interesting take the post apocalyptic genre. It's a new, fresh story in a saturated market. Joshua Guess sucked me into yet another one of his amazing writings. Eagerly awaiting the next one!
January 27, 2018
A NEW TALE OF OLD STUFF IT IS...
Hello, this story just didn't do it for me. Same old story with only minor differences from most of the other books out there. People way too young outsmarting people a lot older than them. If that's the case, then let's give teenagers ultimate power and see how well that works out. Thanks.
Hello, this story just didn't do it for me. Same old story with only minor differences from most of the other books out there. People way too young outsmarting people a lot older than them. If that's the case, then let's give teenagers ultimate power and see how well that works out. Thanks.
June 22, 2018
When I see Joshua Guess' name on a book...I have to read it. I know that he will grab me, and take me kicking and screaming into his world.
Deathwatch is #1 of the Faded Earth series.It is 100 years after the apocalypse.
It is different than the run-of-the-mill apocalyptic stories.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of them.
Deathwatch is #1 of the Faded Earth series.It is 100 years after the apocalypse.
It is different than the run-of-the-mill apocalyptic stories.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of them.
April 2, 2018
To be fair I would have rated this higher except I am just not a big fan of zombies as a setting. However, if you like zombie stories, this one has a nice twist on the whole situation, and the zombies are more background to the future/sci-fi/sociology stuff. Enjoyable.
May 6, 2018
Really good!!
This isn’t a book I normally would’ve read. But I’m a huge fan of Joshua Guess, so I decided to give it a shot. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a very good book and I am looking forward to the next in the series.
This isn’t a book I normally would’ve read. But I’m a huge fan of Joshua Guess, so I decided to give it a shot. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a very good book and I am looking forward to the next in the series.
July 16, 2024
Good initial book for a new story line.
This was a good initial story to introduce the story line and some of the initial primary characters. Decent read.
This was a good initial story to introduce the story line and some of the initial primary characters. Decent read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews