Before getting this book I had never heard of John Hennessey and have never been a bit fan of alien books but I was looking for something different to try and ended up with this book on my Kindle.

The book features a group of teenagers who have managed to stay alive on Earth despite billions of other people being mysteriously taken from the planet. I don't want this review to give away the story; but if features plenty of action and has enough twists in the book to keep you hooked, and the main teenage characters all feel like people you've met before or know.

I honestly didn't expect to be as 'into' this book as I got and was eager to see what happened next and if there was going to be a happy ending or not. Would recommend this book happily to other sci-fi or YA readers.

I did receive this e-book as part of the LibraryThing Give-away program from the author and was asked to post an honest review.
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This is a pretty quick and entertaining read that's aimed at the young adult market (it would appear), as such the main characters are teenagers and you've got a bucket load of young adult novel tropes to go along with the story.

First though, what it about? Well, aliens, rather, as the book calls them alions. That's right aliens shaped like lions - so they're dubbed by the teenagers to be alions. These alions have abducted 99% of the worlds population and are now slowly hunting the stragglers, the teenagers are within this straggler group. This is their story.

Trope wise though, we've the classic boy-girl-boy love triangle where boy who pines for girl is crushed whilst trying not to be crushed when he finds out his friend has paired up with girl; but never fear for trope 2 comes along to save the day with him transferring his affections to a new better girl and they instantly bond of the course of a few days and plan to move and live together. Sandwiched between this is the classic, never mind the military has been over run and is losing the battle, a handful of teenagers with world class military training gained from player video games comes along to save the day.

So in closing, if you're after a realistic and intellectually stimulating literary work this isn't the book for you, but if you're up for a far fetched yet entertaining romp through the country side of America whilst fighting lion shaped aliens then maybe it is for you. ( )

At The End: a post-apocalyptic novel (The Road to Extinction, Book 1)

by John Hennessy

Innovation Today Publishing (2012), Kindle Edition, 230 pages

One of the most important, and often overlooked, elements of a useful book review requires that the reviewer decipher who the intended audience is, and what the proper genre of the work is. It would be senseless, for example, to compare Paradise Lost to American Psycho. Well, I suppose it could be done - but it would be an academic exercise in literary theory, and not a very helpful indicator of whether or not a reader might enjoy Milton or Bret Easton Ellis.

At the End targets a young adult action-hungry audience raised on video-games and desirous of diverting entertainment. These types of stories are important, despite lacking literary "heft." Sometimes, we need a little break from the stresses of everyday life, and a good romping shoot up the aliens invading earth adventure can scratch that itch. If this is what you crave, At the End is fun, if occasionally a bit implausible (teenagers suddenly professing eternal devotion and trying to cop a feel in the midst of outer-space battles push the boundaries of my suspension of disbelief, but, again, this doesn't mean can't be fun). There is a great deal of "telling" and not "showing" in the narrative style, and it does read like a second-tier video game. The characters are not terribly sympathetic. They are clearly average teenagers, and the experiences of battle and survival do not appear to mature them or endow them with greater understanding. A bit more time developing the character's relationships to each other and why they band together would be helpful in increasing the reader's sympathy. These attributes do not mean it can't be entertaining; they do mean that an deeper, metaphorical thematic foundation is missing.

There are, in my opinion, two general types of science fiction / fantasy / horror, and both have a place on our bookshelves. Authors such as Asimov or King or Verne use their genres as metaphors for current cultural conversation and debate. Authors such as Meyers, Collins, and Harris use them for fun and pleasure. At the End fits in the fun category. So, if you're looking for fun and not mentally demanding, At the End might satisfy your urge.

For more information:

Life Descending (The Cry of Havoc, book 1)

Darkness Devouring (The Cry of Havoc, book 2)

http://www.johnhennessy.net

This review first appeared on irevuo.com ( )

I was lucky enough to be gifted a copy of this book, but that will not have any impact upon my review. . .

I enjoyed this book, which surprised me a bit, as I am no longer into the super scary (of anything). I must have OD'ed on scary as a child reading Steven King's books under the blankets with a flashlight - when I was eight.

Anyhow - the author does a nice reveal of the plot to the reader through the main characters' experiences. Imagine waking up one day to an almost totally silent world - no cars, planes, televisions, radios, birds, barking dogs, and most importantly, no other people. This is what happens to the first of the main characters we meet. The three of them are a close-knit group, with some of the usual dynamics that happen in any mixed-gender trio of teenagers. The introduction of that side-line helps keep this story grounded in reality, or at least enough reality that the story remains more believable than it might otherwise have been.

Our intrepid trio - IQ, Tortilla, and Jelly (their nicknames for each other) wake to find the world as they knew it gone. So they go in search of each other. Once they've connected they search for an older friend with a telescope, as they want to see if there really is an alien invasion.

Soon the four of them, as they force Jacob to come with them rather than leaving him behind to just give up. And he is a good person to have join them since he has a large stash of weaponry. And they all have some type of experience with guns, being hard-core gamers.

The story moves along at a decent clip, and the main characters are soon joined by another rag-tag group of kids who turn out to be siblings (all in their teens or younger). The new kids consist of an older brother, Mike, and slightly younger sister, Penelope, plus Amanda & Jane, the two much younger sisters. During one of their first nights as a combined party the group dynamics shift again, as one of the teens is killed. Suddenly they are a core group of four teens - two girls and two boys, and all heterosexual. This causes old & new relationships to adjust accordingly, and continues to add a realistic tone to the story.

Not only do the kids battle mightily just to survive, they soon discover that the aliens aren't the only ones they need to avoid if they want to survive. Their many different adventures are interesting, as are the characters themselves. They are well developed, though the two youngest have the least 'face' time, at least in this book.

IQ comes up with a great name for the aliens early on, which I won't name to avoid any spoilers! There was a very fascinating point when everyone learns how the invasion came to be, and to be such an overnight success (@ least by the aliens' standards).

By and large the book is entertaining and leaves me wondering what will happen in the second book in the trilogy. A fun read for anyone aged 12 and up, though there is enough violence that you may want readers to be a few years older before beginning the trilogy.

My only negative that is strong enough to have me mentioning it is a verbal tick of Jelly's. He repeats the same sound/word incessantly. And it is not a pretty sound, nor a useful one. While it may have originally come about as a vehicle for showing his personal neuroses, it rapidly became heavily over-used. Luckily not enough to ruin the book for me. But I would be very happy if he loses that particular habit by the 2nd book.c ( )

This book is a War of the Worlds for YA readers. The plot kept me turning page after virtual page. Each character was believable in that young adult reader kind of way. The book played out like a script for a movie. I could picture this being an excellent film. Kudos, I love sci-fi, so this book really made my day! ( )