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The Wretched #2
Wretched Culling:
The Human Race Is In The Fight Of Their Lives... And They're Losing. In the first 24 hours, the Reapers have already begun to shift the balance of power in their favor. Inside their own ranks, one creature rises to become their undisputed leader.Hiding in the rural suburbs of Philadelphia, Malcolm Foster has gathered The Wretched, a rag tag group of survivors, and gone underground in hopes of avoiding the Reaper attacks. But it doesn't take long for Foster to realize the Reapers have sprung a new A targeted culling of those who protect Americans. If they succeed, then those who are left behind will be nearly defenseless and unable to stop the Reapers from taking over. Can Foster find some way to stop the Reapers before they succeed?
- GenresPost ApocalypticHorror
312 pages, Paperback
First published March 22, 2019
137 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 3, 2020
Just keeps getting better and better! Loving those Reapers! Fresh and exciting with well developed, strong characters (many of whom I have become attached).
Definitely continuing on with this series!
Definitely continuing on with this series!
July 16, 2019
I'm very disappointed with this. I've been searching through my newly purchased (trial period) of Kindle Unlimited trying to find some good books in the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it type genres. I'll take any of them. Zombies, Pandemics, aliens, meteors, nuclear war, dystopian themes just about anything, as long as its decent writing. I'm not even going for 'good' anymore, just decent. I think I already discovered and read every good author in these genres, and I'm losing hope of ever finding a truly exceptional, talented author in any of these genres again. I found a few and I suppose I should consider myself lucky there were a few. I'm a huge sci-fi/fantasy fan and those genres are packed to the brim with excellent authors and series so I guess it is rather selfish to want more of the same in other genres, although sci-fi and fantasy definitely overlap many of the end-of-the-world genres. Justin Cronin is a master at blending them together.
I mentioned Cronin because I think E.G. Michaels was using Cronin's Passage series as a model. The Passage and the other novel sin that series were beyond good. They were incredible. Michaels didn't pull that off. He didn't even come close, and I can't even finish this book. I read the first one and it started out well. I was interested. It sounded exciting, even though I could tell it was a Cronin clone attempt from about the 4rth chapter of book one. There aren't that many truly original ideas so I wouldn't hold that against an author if it wasn't blatant copycatting. Michaels tried to make the story his own, but he just doesn't have the ability to pull it off.
We know from the first book that monsters were created using a chemical developed by a lab, and at least one of those monsters is a man on death row that was used as a guinea pig against his will. That doesn't sound familiar or anything. Even worse, when we finally get the few pages of backstory, one of the doctors involved in the fiasco that created Beaks, and some other prisoners that were his cellmates, was killed. Somehow, that doctor was alive when Pak injected himself and turned and the doctor had no idea what would happen. Thats impossible. The doctor could have not died twice, and how could he be clueless of the effects of the serum if he had already created reapers with it accidentally? That is a very glaring inconsistency and it is also just lazy. The author could have fixed those scenarios easily if he had taken 5 minutes to do so. This book really needed an editor. The first one did too. I spotted numerous incidents of characters speaking or asking questions just to have several sentences of the conversation or the same question/answer only a few pages later. I don't think the author even proofread on his own. If he did, he missed a lot.
The Reapers sound very much like werewolves. The 'secret weapon' is (what else) silver. Not really a spoiler since we learned of Foster's magical dagger and its amazing silver alloy in the first book. Silver. Werewolves. Really? I knew where that was headed the second the group walked into the museum. I was hoping I was wrong and the author wouldn't really use such a tired, lazy cliche. The author used the tired lazy cliche. He also employed endless cliches on useless government that went from funny 'eye-roll' social commentary into 'this is absolutely ridiculous' very quickly.
Every single human character is shallow and can't stop making smart remarks. Sams doesn't know how to talk, or whisper, or yell, or encourage. He only has one tone. He snarks. Sams snarks. He snarks 8-9 times per page sometimes. It's grating. That was one of the main reasons I gave up 45% of the way through this one. I was thinking of forging through to the end but I just could not handle one more 'Sams snarked.' Everyone else snarks too. None of them have any personality beyond smart remarks, and they all make extraordinarily stupid decisions. Silver kills our Reapers, and it doesn't have to be a fatal blow. Non-terminal hits kill them too, so why are these morons so obsessed with silver bullets? Make them into knives. Top arrow heads with melted silver. Create traps with sharpened knives or poles made of silver alloys. There is no reason to worry about making all the silver into bullets. They could have done so many things that would have left their silver recoverable to use again, but no. There are also tons of medical supplies and creams containing silver. Its an anti-microbial that works against bacteria and fungus. Microbes can't develop resistance to it, and very, very few people are allergic to silver. The hospital would have been well-stocked with silvadine cream, and they already knew about the silver when they were at the hospital in the first book. They could have used silvadine to coat other weapons. Nope. Can't do that. It has to be made into bullets and somehow the doctor and nurse of the team don't know about silvadine and other medical products containing silver.
The other aspect of this book that made me give up and delete it is the attitude towards the silver. It was blatantly obvious what the author planned but the main characters are still acting like they made some incredible discovery and they have to think about getting the word out. The Reaper leaders in charge of their 'families' also refer to silver as a dangerous weapon and hidden knowledge they must keep hidden at all costs. So, silver kills Reapers. People are referring to Reapers as 'werewolves' but no one tried silver besides Foster with his stupid dagger? No. That is unbelievable. No credit at all for choosing something so stupid and cliched then trying to make it out to be mysterious and very important so no people will never think of it on their own.
I just noticed before I got rid of this stupid book that the author claimed the US had a population of 3 billion. Obviously, that is bunk. There are about 3.5-million people in the US. A very, very far cry from 3 billion. If our population increased that much, the country would be unrecognizable. That had better not ever happen. I don't want to see the US turned into a stinking cesspool of overcrowded humanity, which is exactly what it would be with 3 billion citizens. I hope we never top 500 million. To be honest, I wish it would never get any bigger than it is now. We could actually do that. Our nation could keep its population size exactly as it is if we weren't letting in immigrants. The US fertility rate is stabilized, but an open border will destroy that in a hurry. The country roads, small towns, and quiet homes in the woods the author uses in his plot wouldn't exist if we had a nation crammed full of 3 billion people. Everything would be crowded with humanity. there would be no nature left and life would be quite miserable enough without adding Reapers to it.
I mentioned Cronin because I think E.G. Michaels was using Cronin's Passage series as a model. The Passage and the other novel sin that series were beyond good. They were incredible. Michaels didn't pull that off. He didn't even come close, and I can't even finish this book. I read the first one and it started out well. I was interested. It sounded exciting, even though I could tell it was a Cronin clone attempt from about the 4rth chapter of book one. There aren't that many truly original ideas so I wouldn't hold that against an author if it wasn't blatant copycatting. Michaels tried to make the story his own, but he just doesn't have the ability to pull it off.
We know from the first book that monsters were created using a chemical developed by a lab, and at least one of those monsters is a man on death row that was used as a guinea pig against his will. That doesn't sound familiar or anything. Even worse, when we finally get the few pages of backstory, one of the doctors involved in the fiasco that created Beaks, and some other prisoners that were his cellmates, was killed. Somehow, that doctor was alive when Pak injected himself and turned and the doctor had no idea what would happen. Thats impossible. The doctor could have not died twice, and how could he be clueless of the effects of the serum if he had already created reapers with it accidentally? That is a very glaring inconsistency and it is also just lazy. The author could have fixed those scenarios easily if he had taken 5 minutes to do so. This book really needed an editor. The first one did too. I spotted numerous incidents of characters speaking or asking questions just to have several sentences of the conversation or the same question/answer only a few pages later. I don't think the author even proofread on his own. If he did, he missed a lot.
The Reapers sound very much like werewolves. The 'secret weapon' is (what else) silver. Not really a spoiler since we learned of Foster's magical dagger and its amazing silver alloy in the first book. Silver. Werewolves. Really? I knew where that was headed the second the group walked into the museum. I was hoping I was wrong and the author wouldn't really use such a tired, lazy cliche. The author used the tired lazy cliche. He also employed endless cliches on useless government that went from funny 'eye-roll' social commentary into 'this is absolutely ridiculous' very quickly.
Every single human character is shallow and can't stop making smart remarks. Sams doesn't know how to talk, or whisper, or yell, or encourage. He only has one tone. He snarks. Sams snarks. He snarks 8-9 times per page sometimes. It's grating. That was one of the main reasons I gave up 45% of the way through this one. I was thinking of forging through to the end but I just could not handle one more 'Sams snarked.' Everyone else snarks too. None of them have any personality beyond smart remarks, and they all make extraordinarily stupid decisions. Silver kills our Reapers, and it doesn't have to be a fatal blow. Non-terminal hits kill them too, so why are these morons so obsessed with silver bullets? Make them into knives. Top arrow heads with melted silver. Create traps with sharpened knives or poles made of silver alloys. There is no reason to worry about making all the silver into bullets. They could have done so many things that would have left their silver recoverable to use again, but no. There are also tons of medical supplies and creams containing silver. Its an anti-microbial that works against bacteria and fungus. Microbes can't develop resistance to it, and very, very few people are allergic to silver. The hospital would have been well-stocked with silvadine cream, and they already knew about the silver when they were at the hospital in the first book. They could have used silvadine to coat other weapons. Nope. Can't do that. It has to be made into bullets and somehow the doctor and nurse of the team don't know about silvadine and other medical products containing silver.
The other aspect of this book that made me give up and delete it is the attitude towards the silver. It was blatantly obvious what the author planned but the main characters are still acting like they made some incredible discovery and they have to think about getting the word out. The Reaper leaders in charge of their 'families' also refer to silver as a dangerous weapon and hidden knowledge they must keep hidden at all costs. So, silver kills Reapers. People are referring to Reapers as 'werewolves' but no one tried silver besides Foster with his stupid dagger? No. That is unbelievable. No credit at all for choosing something so stupid and cliched then trying to make it out to be mysterious and very important so no people will never think of it on their own.
I just noticed before I got rid of this stupid book that the author claimed the US had a population of 3 billion. Obviously, that is bunk. There are about 3.5-million people in the US. A very, very far cry from 3 billion. If our population increased that much, the country would be unrecognizable. That had better not ever happen. I don't want to see the US turned into a stinking cesspool of overcrowded humanity, which is exactly what it would be with 3 billion citizens. I hope we never top 500 million. To be honest, I wish it would never get any bigger than it is now. We could actually do that. Our nation could keep its population size exactly as it is if we weren't letting in immigrants. The US fertility rate is stabilized, but an open border will destroy that in a hurry. The country roads, small towns, and quiet homes in the woods the author uses in his plot wouldn't exist if we had a nation crammed full of 3 billion people. Everything would be crowded with humanity. there would be no nature left and life would be quite miserable enough without adding Reapers to it.
May 23, 2022
Read :May 23, 2022
Rating :2,5 Stars
There are literally lines in this book that were also in book 1, the exact same dialogue and that's a little toi much of bad editing for me.
I tried to read this since I did really like the idea behind them but the editing and the terrible decision making of our crew got me so fed up that I just can't read more.
The same things that annoyed the shit outta me in book 1 (the dude leaving a, presumably, skilled retired ranger asleep instead of waking him up to get this wife together and with more effective guns) happens in this one too and I don't like the story enough to forgive this constantly.
Rating :2,5 Stars
There are literally lines in this book that were also in book 1, the exact same dialogue and that's a little toi much of bad editing for me.
I tried to read this since I did really like the idea behind them but the editing and the terrible decision making of our crew got me so fed up that I just can't read more.
The same things that annoyed the shit outta me in book 1 (the dude leaving a, presumably, skilled retired ranger asleep instead of waking him up to get this wife together and with more effective guns) happens in this one too and I don't like the story enough to forgive this constantly.
October 16, 2021
Good book
I enjoyed this story a lot. Action packed and intense. Interesting characters and easy to read and understand. Definitely going on to book 3.
I enjoyed this story a lot. Action packed and intense. Interesting characters and easy to read and understand. Definitely going on to book 3.
November 30, 2019
Wretched Cullin is even better than the first book. It's fast-paced, thrilling, and the action is ramped up significantly. The Reapers are relentless, slaughtering the police, army, and lawmaker— those who protect society. Police precinct, the military base, including federal government properties, are all strategically attacked. As the scale continues to shift, the Reapers gain a foothold in the major cities all the while humanity's fate grows grimmer by the hour.
E.G. Michaels has written an engaging tale that will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time. The concept that the creatures maintain their intelligence has made this series genuinely exciting. Topped with a great plot, characters, and a brilliant narrator, this series is an excellent choice.
Once more, the narration was outstanding. Brian Callanan did an exceptional job bringing the book and characters to life. Aside from applying distinct tones for different characters, his performance is packed with all the emotions and intensity found in the scenes. Entirely absorbed, I literally forgot that only one person was narrating this audiobook.
Overall, this was a fantastic listen, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and highly recommend it.
E.G. Michaels has written an engaging tale that will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time. The concept that the creatures maintain their intelligence has made this series genuinely exciting. Topped with a great plot, characters, and a brilliant narrator, this series is an excellent choice.
Once more, the narration was outstanding. Brian Callanan did an exceptional job bringing the book and characters to life. Aside from applying distinct tones for different characters, his performance is packed with all the emotions and intensity found in the scenes. Entirely absorbed, I literally forgot that only one person was narrating this audiobook.
Overall, this was a fantastic listen, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and highly recommend it.
February 26, 2020
Ok so some of this is silly but the story is still really good.
I can’t believe they would let Olivia a 12 year old girl walk home. (I think that was her age) I will add that she had just been chased by reapers. It was never explained why they ignored everyone else and only chased her.
Other things are bothering me a bit too. The reapers are a bit mindless and dumb one second but know random things the next. I guess you should make them dumb or intelligent. Not mix it the way this has been done.
I’m still enjoying the books because the human characters are extraordinarily well written.
The ‘Alpha’ reapers are a bit comical, wanting power and to take over the world but eventually their food source will run out. Again a smart reaper but also stupid. Think comic book villain.
Narration by Brian Callanan is spectacular.
I was voluntarily provided this review copy at no charge by the author, publisher and or narrator.
I can’t believe they would let Olivia a 12 year old girl walk home. (I think that was her age) I will add that she had just been chased by reapers. It was never explained why they ignored everyone else and only chased her.
Other things are bothering me a bit too. The reapers are a bit mindless and dumb one second but know random things the next. I guess you should make them dumb or intelligent. Not mix it the way this has been done.
I’m still enjoying the books because the human characters are extraordinarily well written.
The ‘Alpha’ reapers are a bit comical, wanting power and to take over the world but eventually their food source will run out. Again a smart reaper but also stupid. Think comic book villain.
Narration by Brian Callanan is spectacular.
I was voluntarily provided this review copy at no charge by the author, publisher and or narrator.
March 24, 2019
Fast Moving and Exciting
This second book in the Wretched series did not disappoint. Foster a Philly police officer is still leading a group of survivors including to rangers. He has discovered his ancient dagger made of silver not only causes the beasts intense pain but can kill them. Berks is the leader of the Wretched. He is able to control them telepathically which makes this series more exciting. The Wretched are attacking military and police first to get rid of the protectors of society. Berks wants Foster before he can let others know of the harmful effects of silver to his creatures. Having smart creatures has made this series fast moving and exciting. Impossible to put down. My only regret is waiting until Fall for the next book. Well worth the read!
This second book in the Wretched series did not disappoint. Foster a Philly police officer is still leading a group of survivors including to rangers. He has discovered his ancient dagger made of silver not only causes the beasts intense pain but can kill them. Berks is the leader of the Wretched. He is able to control them telepathically which makes this series more exciting. The Wretched are attacking military and police first to get rid of the protectors of society. Berks wants Foster before he can let others know of the harmful effects of silver to his creatures. Having smart creatures has made this series fast moving and exciting. Impossible to put down. My only regret is waiting until Fall for the next book. Well worth the read!
October 2, 2024
The second book in this series was good. With lots of action and more depth than the first. The core cast of characters remained intact and we got to spend more time with them than previously. Learning about them was nice despite the plot moving at a much slower pace. The POV’s outside the main cast were a little weaker in my opinion. The political and military side stories didn’t track my attention as much as the mayor’s story that converged on the main cast in book 1. The series is still solid and I’ll get around to the other two books in the future. I would say I enjoyed the first book better, but the second is still good and sets up nicely for an interesting third installment.
7.1/10
7.1/10
August 9, 2019
This is the second in this series. A medical experiment gone wrong that created a group called the reapers. The reapers kill and eat people unless they bite someone, then they turn into a Reaper. A small group is on the run and is fighting the reapers. This is a page turner with a lot of action. This was hard to put down after I started reading.
September 15, 2019
Okay, while I said in my review of book 1 that I would read book 2, I only got halfway through it. I had enjoyed book 1 despite many issues, but book 2 is just more of the same lame dialog and same poor decisions. I just can't. Especially when Deputy Do-Right doesn't offer or want to go help his "bed partner" and has to be guilted into it. Not much redeeming after that.
March 13, 2023
I like the story, but the author…wow
This is a good story plot and full of action, but wow, the dialogue is too much and at one point I realized the author took an entire scene from book one and copied it exactly, only changing a few characters names… which was the only way I knew I was… yes, I was reading book two and not one.
This is a good story plot and full of action, but wow, the dialogue is too much and at one point I realized the author took an entire scene from book one and copied it exactly, only changing a few characters names… which was the only way I knew I was… yes, I was reading book two and not one.
September 13, 2019
The action ramps up quickly as the reapers spread across america
If you enjoyed book one this was even better
Once again Brian’s narration was great
Looking forward to book three
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
If you enjoyed book one this was even better
Once again Brian’s narration was great
Looking forward to book three
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
August 26, 2023
a must read!!!
I just can't get enough of this series! I've chewed through the first two books in just a few days. Now, halfway until the end, I am getting the first bits of sad remorse for it to be over so soon. I want it to last forever!
I just can't get enough of this series! I've chewed through the first two books in just a few days. Now, halfway until the end, I am getting the first bits of sad remorse for it to be over so soon. I want it to last forever!
April 12, 2019
Exciting, thrilling, edge of your seat thriller!
Foster and all his cohorts are a fun mixture of comedic banter even during the most exciting and dangerous of adventures!
Foster and all his cohorts are a fun mixture of comedic banter even during the most exciting and dangerous of adventures!
July 3, 2019
Review
Enjoyed the read and am looking forward to the sequel. Thought of a number of ways to weaponize silver, curious to see what they come up with.
Enjoyed the read and am looking forward to the sequel. Thought of a number of ways to weaponize silver, curious to see what they come up with.
October 7, 2019
Good Story!
Want the next book to get the rest of the story. I am hooked with the plot. Characters are real and have a sense of humor!
Want the next book to get the rest of the story. I am hooked with the plot. Characters are real and have a sense of humor!
October 23, 2019
I like this series. It is a little different. Good quality.
February 1, 2023
A great series
Lots of actions and great characters to follow. It keeps you turning the pages with the constant action going on!
Lots of actions and great characters to follow. It keeps you turning the pages with the constant action going on!
August 12, 2022
Really got into these books, you just get pulled into the lives of the characters.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews