Only Human

by Corey J Burns

When a monumental calamity destroyed the moon and brought Earth to ruin, the human race found itself nearly pushed to extinction. Survivors limped on through new dark ages and bloody wars, their former glory always out of reach, for their shattered world now belongs to creatures able to condense millennia’s worth of evolution into a single generation and humankind hangs on to what little hope remains.
After Taoru saves a stranger, he quickly finds himself on a journey that could bring humanity back from the brink. Rejected by his village, he sets out to redeem himself and piece the world back together. But as he, Van, and unlikely companion Shirasa head east, they find it's not only the dangerous creatures known as gen they must watch out for, but religious zealots, deadly terrain, and something much darker and far more sinister than anyone could know.

386 pages, Paperback

Published November 11, 2021

Reviews

[Peter McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

An alien invasion from the moon has descended upon the world. The gen, as the invaders are called, comprise a range of different hostile species, capable of evolving with each new generation into more threatening versions of themselves. Human advancements in technology and weaponry have evolved to the point where the only way to stop the invasion is to literally blow themselves back to the Stone Age, obliterating the majority of their own population in the process. Now, an unlikely trio must set out on the adventure of a lifetime to save what little of mankind remains, struggling to survive in a dangerous world overrun with gen and around every corner is a new threat looking for an easy meal.

“Only Human: A Shattered World” was an excellent introduction to what promises to be a fantasy series to look out for. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Corey J. Burns’ characters and how they each felt unique and had their own voice. A few well placed twists kept you guessing about certain character’s true intentions and made things even more interesting. The story never lacked for action, keeping me on the edge of my seat for the length of it and the enemies that our heroes encountered along the way were wholly original and terrifying, some even just downright creepy. I particularly liked the group of humanoid gen in the badlands that made my skin crawl. I’ll absolutely be checking back on future books in the series.

[Raelene Baas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I shall begin with saying that while I have mostly positive things to say about this novel, it sadly wasn't a novel for me. It may be that because I'm not a native English speaker, or simply that my preferences lay elsewhere, but the choice of words and sentence structure took too much focus to grasp that I failed to lose myself in the novel.

But as I've had the opportunity to read the book, I still read quite a bit just so that I could judge and review it properly.

Despite me failing to lose myself in the story, I absolutely love the incredible detail in world building, it isn't overdone, I don't have to read half a page to understand where we are, yet despite the short description I still have a very clear view of how the world may look.

The characters I have encountered are well written and seem very much alive, they feel human, their expressions, thoughts and acts make me feel like they're people I could encounter when I venture outside.

The novel also has very wide word variety and great sentence structure, while this is sadly also why I was unable to lose myself in it.

Overall I would greatly recommend people that love exquisitely written fantasy tales to pick up this book as me myself being an aspiring writer, it gives me great inspiration

[Joshua Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corey Burns gives us an exciting look at a different post-apocalyptic world in Only Human! The world has been devastated by the destruction of the Moon, many years of war, and beings called gen, creatures that can cram hundreds of years of evolution into a short time. Yet there is hope when Taoru rescues a mysterious ally, departing his village in an adventure across the wasteland that could save everyone. I really enjoyed Burns’ world as it captured all the gritty charm of post-apocalyptic lit with its crazed zealots and dangerous mutants, but it really shines in its almost fantasy element of its quest and mystery! The characters and monsters were great, and the world building even better. I was pleasantly reminded of Horizon: Zero Dawn. If you love post-apocalyptic worlds with interesting creatures and twists, definitely come explore Only Human!

[Jeremy Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great first entry by an indie author! Can’t wait to see what he does next. Corey has clearly crafted a world he put deep thought in to.