What the world dreads most has happened. Now, there is only a quest for survival.
Graham Morgan is back in book two of the Graham's Resolution series. In the tiny town of Cascade, Washington, the members of Graham's camp endure a severe winter season. Meanwhile, the prepper community remains dedicated to isolation and maintains their benevolent relationship. Tensions rise when tragedy strikes. The human traits of community and compassion are pitted against instincts to survive. Are their efforts doomed to coexist?
Pros: Great characters! They are so life-like that I feel like I could pick up the phone and talk to them! Character checklist: Fully fleshed out ✔ believable ✔ endearing ✔
Plot: Clear and steady plot-progression ✔ Unexpected twists ✔
Emotionally engaging: ✔ ✔ ✔ This episode brought me to tears of joy and tears of sorrow.
Cons: Needs another round of editing. Missing words(usually pronouns).
The rush to have every survivor paired off in a relationship. Honestly that got on my last nerve in this episode. It is not the end of the world if a person is and remains single. I feel the 'pairing off' took away from this story as it seemed rushed and forced.
Overall, this is an exciting and emotionally moving post apocalyptic book/series that is enjoyable for all ages.
If you liked The China Pandemic,, you'll like the sequel, The Cascade Preppers. Appealing characters and an intriguing, pathogen-based post-apoc scenario with what seem to be well-worked out implications.
I was hooked from book 1, The China Pandemic, and now I am fully invested in this series. Everything revs up in this second instalment. What could go wrong, does go wrong! I read this over 2 days. Life came to a halt in my reality as I lived in the reality of The Cascade Preppers.
This novel is better than the first and man o man, does this leave you exhausted and stressed by the end, just like all the characters in this novel after what they have been through! I am impatient to get into book 3, but I need a rest and to take in all I just read!
Just like the characters need to rest and regroup from all the events in this novel, so do I!
Shaw shines in this novel. I bought the remaining 3 in the series and the freebie debut of her other post-apocalyptic series, Dawn of Deception.
Engaging, compelling, absorbing, entertaining and engrossing.
Definitely enjoying these books. I like the characters, the struggles and the story. It reads quickly and it doesn't dwell too much on the minutia of daily survival, though it certainly does more than other genres.
I didn't heed my own advice and read the book anyway.
After a disappointing book 1 (The China Syndrom), book 2 was no better with similar complaints. The book picks up after the first book with the "carriers" - those who are immune but still carry the plaque - living in one community and the "preppers" who avoided the plaque by being isolated but still susceptible to infection in another camp. Although the two groups are at peace with one another there are very strict rules for either group going into the other's territory.
Like the first book, things just appeared to be too easy. Both groups are surviving and seem to have unlimited resources including medicine. Graham is portrayed as a dumb man who has no clue his girlfriend is pregnant. There is the whole "should we bring a child into this world - or abort" thing. Should they put the 16-year-old twin girls on birth control? Sorry, I didn't tune in for this kind of story. It reads like a "day-in-the-life of" story.
The 5-year-old orphan acts and behaves like a 15-year-old. The young plaque specialist is working on developing a vaccine. Pre-COVID, this may have been plausible, but after seeing the effort it took by the medical industry to develop a COVID vaccine - how could we possibly think that someone with a microscope and a stand-alone computer would be able to develop a vaccine.
Shaw tries to introduce some tension through the various calamitous events where people go missing or some lives are placed in peril, but it never really got too exciting.
There are more books in the series, but this time I will listen to myself and not read the next book(s).
The quality of book one in this series carries on, though I dropped star because I am feeling as though I haven't been reserved enough with my fours lately. It is higher than a three though, a good 3.5. The characters are likeable and believable, you'll be rooting for them all.
The second instalment was not as exciting as the first one, but it was still a good read. Was very sad about the departures of some characters but it had carried the plot lines well!
Graham continues to take care of his now adopted family after 98% of the population is killed by the virus. As expected, they encounter their share of apocalypse scumbags and people driven nuts by the collapse. Despite that, Shaw does a good job of keeping the virus itself as the main antagonist.
His group has an interesting dynamic with the neighboring prepper group holed up in their compound. Graham and his group are immune survivors, but the preppers are just a group of normal people who acted quickly enough to avoid exposure. But, that makes them extremely cautious about contact with the outside world as only a single person or mistake could potentially infect their entire group. Since none of them have been exposed, there is no way to know who among them may be immune. With only 2% immunity rate, they can't afford to take any chances.
Despite that, they went out of their way to help out Graham's group, thanks to some somewhat-invasive monitoring of their neighbors. As a result, the small adopted family nearby has become the living replacement for their long dead TV soaps and dramas. After breaking protocol to help them in an emergency the two are now in constant contact and mutually supporting (as much as can be.) Once again things go to hell in a handbag for everyone at the same time. But now, they can't afford to help out after the last time saw one of their own infected, though luckily immune, but now sepperated from his daughter as he was forced to move in with Graham. When a fire breaks out at the prepper camp, Graham doesn't come back from town, and emergencies pop up in every direction... things escalate to a crazy degree for everyone.
In the first book, the setting and main characters were introduced well enough that I cautiously approached the sequel. After all, I’ve read so many dystopian books that there just seems to be a formula. And maybe that’s still at play in this 2nd of 5 books. But this sequel was actually better than the first. I know there has to be some formula left to come, but if there were never another book to read with these characters, I could be happy with their ending, too. But since their story continues, I’ve decided to follow it further (breaking my self-imposed “read your library!” rule.) I’ll come up with the excuse later. Now I just want to read more.
Much better than the first book in the series. Coherent plot and good character development.
Over a year into a global pandemic that kills 98% of people who catch the virus, would the electricity still work? Quite possibly- in that part of the country, much of it is hydroelectric. It will eventually break down from lack of maintenance, but it could run for years before that happens.
What about antibiotics and other medicines? People won't be making them, but if you have a nurse or doctor in your group of survivors, you can raid abandoned hospitals and pharmacies.
This is a great series two books in.i really like Graham and his gang. She even makes you feel bad for the villains. (I found it very hard to dislike campo). Side characters are great. I even sorta enjoy when she veers of for a chapter with them. Wich I usua my dislike more then two point of views.
My negative. I think Daltons a pos. I also have a slight dislike for clarisse. Those two would have acted eventually. And the selfish douche didn't even let his wife's body go cold before he had clarissa in his bed.
The story progresses ~ I'm interested in how they're surviving . . . . and I'm pretending that the first 4 books are combined into one decent-length story! ;-0 It's kind of obvious how every person they meet FINDS a 'mate in the pack' . . . a little too obvious for my tastes. Sometimes individuals want to remain individual . . . even Sam isn't really happy being alone, but he's still mourning his wife. So . . . I'm reading a book a night without staying up late, at all!
This is the second book in this series and unlike many second books it does not spend time explaining what happened in the first so I would recommend you starting at the beginning.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, loved getting to see what happened after the initial horro of the pandemic.
"If it can go wrong it will go wrong" never a truer word spoken when it comes to this book. Emergencies and disasters abound!
I enjoyed this book even more than the first. It was so full of twists and turns and yet again I got so invested in the drama. What I really enjoyed was the cliffhangers and then moving onto another group, you did just had to keep listening. Yes there were a few glitches in the production but it didnt really matter.
The narration so suits this genre and I could listen to him for ages, just adds something to the story.
This is a realistic story of how humanity might struggle and survive in a rapidly spreading and highly virulent viral pandemic. The well developed characters and the various scenarios they live out ring true. Other than a few minor editing errors, it’s a great read! Looking forward to continuing the read the stories of the characters I have come to know so well in the next volume. Well done!
I've read numerous allocations and this series is my favorite. It was well wriiten, the characters came alive and the stories were exciting and heart warming. Most of all, it doesn't leave the reader feeling depressed like most others do.
This episode had a lot of excitement and action. The author introduces us to new characters and older characters are developed more fully. The swearing suddenly added to the text half way was unexpected and unnecessary. I am so disappointed. This could have been a 5 star book.
I absolutely enjoyed reading this series so far. The characters are memorable and easy to follow! Take the time to read this very different take on the series. Different in so many ways that I can not tell you without giving it away. Just go for read it! I promise you will love this series that is so different!
I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this book after enduring this pandemic for 18 months. BUT! This book is about the people that kept their faith in each other and had prepared for the worse. It has all the feeling, highs, lows, family and even love. It was quite brilliantly written.
I love all of the Graham's Resolution series. I have read all of them and must have forgotten to place this one in my have read library. Well worth checking out for realistic, heart stopping action in a world gone mad scenario. There are lots of apocalyptic books out there. But this one is especially chilling considering the current world we reside in. A.R.Shaw is one of my favorite authors!
I really have enjoyed books 1 and 2 and starting book 3. These first of 2 have the right mix of danger and excitement along with prepper a and the poorly prepared. Hope brings survivors together when the could have so easily turned on one another.
Just finished this the second book. Bought the series as soon as I finished the first book. Read this one almost straight through. Story line is scary and believable as are the characters. Now to start the third book!!
This has been a good balance of survivors dealing with resurgent nature as well as some human survivors who are short on humanity. Often these stories treat survival as strictly one warring tribes with nature barely in the mix.
A really great read. I enjoyed reading every page!.
This second book in the series was just as mesmerizing as the first book. I truly enjoy A. S. Shaw's writing style, and have enjoyed reading her last two books. I cannot wait to start the third book in this series.
At first, I thought the story might lag at this point. I was wrong. The book continued to hold my interest with its descriptions of its characters and their daily trials. It is a fast read and it was hard to put it down.
With the way that the world is going this pandemic thing is a possibility. Congress and the Senate can't get their head out of their asses. Working against the people instead of for them. Build the wall and protect our boarders!
The pace was not as frantic as the first installment, but the well developed characters are a joy. Had my emotions pulled several times by a range of life events that flowed nicely with the story line. Overall another very enjoyable read.
Never in my life had I been so engrossed in a book while also trying to put it down constantly. There is so much sadness and so much tragedy that it seeps into your own heart. I loved this book so much but be ready for some strong emotions.
More adventures trying to survive. Another page turner. Has Clarissa developed a vaccine? Will it be in time? A fire in the Preppers camp, a misadventure on a hunting trip, a trip to town gone terribly wrong, anew member of Graham’s group & a missing child.