Rhiannon Frater

Read in April, 2012

Read for Fun
Overall Rating: 5+
Story Rating: 5+
Character Rating: 5+

NOTE: I feel the need to start my review with a note this time. I have read (and rated) 468 books and have only given 40--5 star ratings. Both The First Days and Siege got 5's from me. I can not stress how well written, brilliantly executed, and boldly told this series is. You must read it even if you don't like zombies. It is a story of humanity, heartbreak, and hope!

First Thought when Finished: That is a show more way to end a trilogy!

What I Loved: When a series comes to an end, I look for 2 things: closure and hope. As a reader, I need to feel closure for both the characters and myself. I need to know that this particular phase (emotional, physical, challenge) has been met and that the characters are off to face a new phase in their lives. I also need hope. I need to feel like their world goes on and that they embrace the life that they have been given. That this life (yes I realize it is fictional) they have is worth fighting for and the future (no matter how bleak) holds hope for a better tomorrow with loved ones. These key elements allow me to feel that I was lucky to have shared this part of the characters journey and for now we part ways. Rhiannon Frater managed to break my heart, sew it back together, scare me to death, and finally leave me with hope that these characters that I have come to love would move on from now and into the future! I could not ask for more from a story than what I was given in Siege. It was a very fitting end to what will be one of my favorite trilogies EVER!

What I Liked: My favorite thing about Rhiannon's writing (both series that I have read) is her ability to create complex characters in all shades of grey. However, with this series it was her ability to build a world that was compelling and believable. It is not often that you get both compelling characters and a world that almost counts as a character all its own!

Final Thought: Both The First Days and Siege received 5's from me. I stand behind those ratings 110% and recommend these books to anyone who enjoys a really good story told with a ton of courage and alright just a bit of gore (really there is gore--I have to mention it LOL)! Get thee to the bookstore! You won't be sorry!

PS: I am not leaving out Fighting to Survive--I gave it a 4.75! This is probably the highest rated series (outside Harry Potter) that I have given. Truly it was just brilliant! show less

I don't read a lot of horror. Well to be honest, I don't read any horror. But Giselle at Xpresso Reads really loves this series, and I've been meaning to read it for a while. When I discovered my local library has a copy of The First Days, I rushed out to grab it. This action filled book does not disappoint, cleverly managing to portray all the horror of the zombie apocalypse without freaking me out. It features very real relationships and raw human emotions as the characters struggle to show more survive in a world gone mad.

The two female protagonists of the this book are a powerful and witty duo, who ensnared my heart early on. They have both been through hell and are now one another's only source of support. In the gritty and horrifying first chapter we meet Jenni, who has watched her husband eat, yes eat, their toddler and attack their teenaged son, and now her whole family is trying to kill her. She is rescued by Katie: a strong, stubborn woman who hears her screams and picks her up. Thus begins the ultimate test of survival for our leading ladies.

I liked Katie a lot. She is the person I want around me when the zombie apocalypse comes - one is almost guaranteed survival because of her quick thinking and lightening reflexes, combined with her seemingly unending compassion for those around her. Katie is also gay, which throws a lot of people. I love how Frater explores the misconceptions and sometimes idiotic ideas people generally have about the homosexual community in a gentle and yet clear manner. Some people around Katie treat as though they have nothing in common with her or that they expect her to act irrationally or something and it's really bizarre but also eye-opening.

However, I found myself quickly tiring of Jenni. She is like a vine, needing someone strong to hold her up and provide with a sense of self worth. She has almost zero self esteem, but discovers early on that she has a knack for shooting the undead in the head. She wrings between extremes of emotion and generally acts more than a little crazy, earning her the nickname 'Loca'. She is easily attracted to any strong man she meets, and becomes jealous at the mere sight of any female. Jenni is possessive of Katie, not wanting anyone else to become Katie's friend and always seeking to reassure herself that she is still Katie's best friend, like a ten year old.

The plot of the book is amazing - while there aren't many lulls, it doesn't seem like things go wrong just for the sake of providing action for the plot. Everything that happens is explained and has plausible causes. A lot of the horror in the book comes not from the zombies, but from human moments with the survivors. These moments highlight how much the world has changed and how horrible it all is. The zombies eating and killing and being killed is gory, but I did not find it particularly scary.

If you're tired of repetitive story lines in YA or looking for an explosive read, I highly recommend The First Days to you. I think a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised by this book, and it's definitely fresh in its subject matter and outlook, which I love. I have requested copies of books 2 and 3 from my library, so hopefully I can continue this wonderful series in the near future.

You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. show less

It's not really a new idea for a zombie book, as it is pretty straight-forward zombie killing and surviving, but I feel that Rhiannon Frater really made it her own. One of the greatest aspects of this book is that the protagonists are two women. It is a wonderful thing to read about two strong women doing what they must to survive and battling back zombie hordes on their own. These two ladies, Jenni and Katie, are lucky to make it through the first wave of the zombocolypse. After living show more under the thumb of a domineering and abusive husband, Jenni has difficulty standing on her own two feet. She clings to the safety and strength that Katie provides for her as they travel across Texas looking for a safe haven away from the big cities. While Jenni is determined to rescue her stepson, Jason, to make up for the loss of her other two sons (which she witnessed being eaten by her former husband), Katie is dealing with the regret that she harbors over losing her beloved wife Lydia that same morning. These two women quickly form a bond that is insurmountable by anything going on around them. They are their new family now and will take care of each other no matter the cost.

Once they get to the refugee town of Ashley Oaks, the reader is introduced to a whole new cast of characters. Every one of them is so distinct in their personality. The group tries to form a new life as best they can in the fortified town, but as time goes on, there is a distinct personality shift in both Jenni and Katie. While Jenni turns into female Rambo, wanting to kill everything in sight and ask questions later, Katie becomes extremely depressed once she actually has time to breather and realize that she has lost her one true love.

The First Days is an action-packed, no frills, zombie novel. I think that if you are a fan of zombie movies, than you will most certainly love this book. It is disturbing and gory at times, but what can I say, that's what I love about it. It isn't afraid to be real, and I can't help but feel that when the zombocolypse does come, this is how its going to go down. I am happy to have this book right next to Zombie Survival Guide on my shelf, and I absolutely cannot wait until the next in the series comes out to find out what happens to the people I feel like I've been through this entire ordeal with. I applaud Ms. Frater for never giving up and her original fans for getting the word out on this amazing internet sensation. show less

The First Days by Rhiannon Frater is the first book in her zombie trilogy, As the World Dies. It’s been awhile since I have read a “zombie book” and I have to say that I quite enjoyed this one. I find these kind of fantasy/thrillers very good escape reading. While Frater really didn’t bring anything new to the genre, she provided an exciting, page turning story and a group of characters to root for. Two women are front and centre in this story, Katie and Jenni, and it was fun to see show more how they grew from terrified victims to kick-ass, gun toting, zombie bashing heroines.

The story follows Katie and Jenni as they escape from a heavily populated city and find sanctuary in a small, roughly fortified Texas town. With the men outnumbering the women, and many of the man being young and single, it isn’t long before romance breaks out. Things don’t always run smoothly however, as both Katie and Jenni are recovering from the zombie death of their spouses. While the book doesn’t end on a cliff-hanger, there are enough unsolved issues that have me looking forward to the next book.

While The First Days deals with zombies in a very familiar way, and there isn’t a lot of emotional depth to explore, I still found the story compelling enough to clear my mind of the real life difficulties we are currently facing. show less