Noah Porter (1811–1892)

Silver Valley (Volume One)
Author: Noah Porter
Date: 2013
Pgs: 40

REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
The fire took the sky. Darkness as electric light died. And man fought over the remaining fuel and food. The world settled into an Old West-ish apocalypse where people barely scrape by. And the veneer of civilization disappears. Anna rides northwest. She believes that the rains up there may be holding the drought at bay. Here the drought is a worldbreaker. Hardscrabble life in a hard pan. Before she finds Sophie, a flower in the dust. And on the verge of settling down, darkness falls...again...in the form of men.

Genre:
Apocalypse
Fiction
Science fiction
Survivalist
Western

Why this book:
What’s it about? What caught my eye?
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The Feel:
Anna feeling safer on the road is definitely one way of looking at this world. Another may be that if you don’t settle down, you don’t have to deal with your feelings about the world that died around you.

The firestorms in the skies, California burned to a crisp, and massive, destructive tornados. No power gird. No communications. No media. The hope that there was still some place where things were better. That hope feels like it sets Anna up for when she finds Sophie and her little valley. Anna seems easily willing to consider giving up her wandering ways and settle down.

Favorite Scene / Quote:
Silver Valley quickly builds an awesome post apocalyptic world.

Opening on strangers riding toward a shattered farmstead and what happens when they come together is surprising in their end of the world setting. Didn’t try to kill or rape or eat one another, shared a meal and some companionship amidst the ruins and then she rides away in the morning. Can already see that he has been alone for too long.

Pacing:
The pace was good.

Plot Holes/Out of Character:
The cliffhanger sucks. Bad. Horrible place to leave this.

Meh / PFFT Moments:
20 pages and two sex scenes. Did Ian Fleming write post-apocalyptic, climate change Westerns?

So we leave it on unconscious rape...that’s our cliffhanger. Really?
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Last Page Sound:
Pfft. Well that was a waste of my time.

Author Assessment:
Nope.

Editorial Assessment:
Should have been given some advice on this cliffhanger. It blows what was good about the story all to hell. Horrible place to leave things. I don’t feel inspired to run out and get Volume Two, at all, in any way. Gah.

Knee Jerk Reaction:
why did I read this

Disposition of Book:
e-Book.

Would recommend to:
no one
______________________________________________________________________________… (plus d'informations)

Stumptown Survival is a collection of four shorter stories that recounts the story of a group of survivors of a zombie apocalypse in Oregon. The stories focus more on the group dynamics of the survivors, the choices they have to make and their survival techniques. We do not really get to find out how the outbreak happened, how it spread, or even if it ends.

The first story opens into action, our group of survivors is fighting their way out of their last stronghold. There are quite a few characters (about a dozen) to try and get to know right off the bat, and not a lot a character development is happening in the first story. The second story goes back a bit and takes place just before the outbreak happens and we do get to know a few of the characters a little better and see how the group formed. The last two stories continue the groups survival through the beginning of the outbreak.

Some of the characters that we do get to know well are quite interesting. There are army veterans, a kick-butt female firefighter, a thief and a character with an even more unsavory profession who we only get to know as Mason. One thing that this series could have benefited from is a main character, and that character should have been Mason. He is by far the most interesting, has a mystery surrounding him, a great skill set for zombie killing and the most interesting interactions with other characters. Also, the e-copies that I received could have used some editing in the spelling and grammar department.

This collection of stories was received for free in return for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)