Title: First Light (The Zombie Prophecies #1)
Author: Adam Sigrist
Genre: Horror, Zombie, Apocalypse
Age Group: Adult
Rating: 4 stars
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.
Worldwide plague? Government conspiracy? Bioweapon disaster? Hell set loose?
You’re not even close…Struggle alongside Donovan and his friends as they desperately cling to survival in a world ravaged by the undead, monsters and other horrors. After being bitten, Donovan is led towards a flashing light in the distance. Does the beacon offer salvation or merely a new challenge for him?
Zombies, monsters, secrets and lies. All of these things hurt, and kill, indiscriminately; finding you no matter where/who you are. The Zombie Prophecies begins with these horrors and a mysterious light calling survivors to a ruined apartment complex. Familiar, expected causes behind a zombie apocalypse are absent, replaced with a fresh, horrifying view on the end of our world.
At first, I struggled with First Light. The opening chapter was a little odd, and I had trouble getting into the story. The perspective switched so often in the beginning that I almost gave up on it. That is, until Donovan and his friends enter the picture. I figured almost right away that they were the actual focus of the story, and the opening chapters had been just to give us a glimpse of what was happening – but I would’ve perferred one glimpse, not several, before we got into the action. The POV switches are hard to read through, and the writing is also less good as it is in the rest of the story.
Once Donovan and his friends come in, the entire story gets a lot better. There’s more action, the writing is better, the pacing is faster, and we really get to know the characters. I thought, originally, that this would be just another zombie stoyr, and hadn’t really minded because I haven’t read all that many zombie books yet. But there’s a lot more going on here than simpy a zombie apocalypse. For instance, not all people bitten get turned. At first, it appears quite random who turns and who doesn’t, but in time, it becomes obvious there must be some mechanism behind it. There’s also a lot of mythology and background story that really makes this book stand out.
The .pdf copy I got was 140 pages, so I expected it to be a quick read – but it reads more like a 300+ pages book. There’s a lot of stuff on one page. When I looked it up on Amazon, it’s actually 306 pages in paperback format. So there you go. Don’t be fooled by the .pdf size, it’s actually quite a long book, but the pacing is fast, so that definitely helps.
I liked the original elements Adam Sigrist included in his novel, as well as the characters. You really get to identify with Donovan and his friends as they struggle for their lives, and as Donovan tries to hide he’s been bitten.
An excellent book for fans of horror and zombies. I will keep my eye out for more books by this author, especially the second part to this series.
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