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Feb 21, 2012

Giselle rated it:

Edit: It's been weeks and I still think about this book. So I figured it deserved a full 5-star for sticking with me (originally 4-stars)!

Zombie stories are my guilty pleasure. They're exciting, full of action, gory, but they terrify me to bits. Surviving a zombie apocalypse is no easy feat. So, as expected, I read this with my heart pounding from start to finish, knowing that these people are most likely doomed no matter what, because zombies always win… always. It was such a rush!! More...

8 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 24, 2011

Ashley - The Bookish Brunette rated it:

OH. MY. GOD. Where do I start? From the very FIRST paragraph- I was hooked!

Jenni- with an 'i' is standing on her front porch staring at "tiny fingers" trying to claw their way out from underneath the front door. Her terror IS MY terror from the very beginning, as she recounts the events of her family being transformed into flesh eating zombies before her very eyes.

Her abusive husband had come home the night before claiming that a homeless man had bitten him, slept o More...

7 comments like (6 people liked it)

Sep 22, 2011

Book Chick City rated it:

"The First Days" is the first book in a new zombie series by Rhiannon Frater. Originally self-published all three books in the series are now being released by Tor US in fairly quick succession. As soon as I heard about this series I knew I had to read it, and squealed with delight when Tor offered me the first book to review - well, you know how much a love the zombies ;)

"The First Days" is an action-packed, character-driven novel and was immensely enjoyable and fu More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 25, 2011

Melankalia rated it:

I cannot understand what everyone sees in this book. I was expecting "Thelma & Louise" plus zombies, and that's...sorta...where it started, but it just got worse and worse as it went along. To begin with, the (somewhat) interesting action scenes did not in any way make up for having to hear about everyone's feelings every three seconds. About halfway through the book, I felt like I'd gone from "Thelma & Louise" + zombies, to "The View" + zombies. I think if it ha More...

2 comments like (8 people liked it)

Sep 29, 2011

Steph rated it:

As the World Dies: The First Days is a fantastically scary zombie read that has you cheering the strong survivors until the end in a "world {that} had slid sideways into hell."

The story begins with Jenni, ...a strange, strange girl in a strange, strange world", muttering to herself while watching "those tiny fingers ... pressed under the door ... tips of tiny fingers raw and skinless". We quickly come to realize that those tiny fingers belong to her now un More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2009

Eva rated it:

I'm almost at a loss as to what to say here because I know next to nothing about zombies or this type of book. I picked this up for two reasons and two reasons only. One was because the reading challenge I'm doing this spring has a task where I needed to read a sci-fi book. I asked my friend Felicia what she would recommend and she sent me this book. I figured that at worst I would be able to plow through it and at best it would be milding entertaining. I've always been way more of a non-fiction More...

12 comments like (5 people liked it)

Sep 16, 2011

Trudi rated it:

If you like fast-paced, action-packed, gore-filled, apocalyptic zombie stories, then this is one you don’t want to miss. I had a helluva good time reading it even though at times a few of the characters (Jenni) and some of the dialogue seriously grated on my nerves.

In Book 1 of a trilogy, Frater offers up a textbook genre zombie story, borrowing a lot from Romero canon (who she gives ample homage to) and a little from Danny Boyle (damn those quick-moving zombies!!) So while there are More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Sunny rated it:

Rating: 4.5 Stars

No Spoilers.

This is a story of Jenni and Katie. Two woman who came together to survive after the world is over come with zombies. This is the first book in the trilogy of this story. Sometimes I hate trilogies. The first one always kick ass. The second one is usually a disappointment. And the third rounds out the epic tell of the long adventure you were on. This trilogy is no different.

This first book was fantastic. Not for the faint o More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 19, 2009

Shanon rated it:

I have never been afraid of zombies - but I am now!

This book is so intense that I ended up with a cramp in my hand because I was holding on to the book so tightly. GOODNESS!

Action packed and fast paced. Readers should be warned that it is fairly graphic in it's descriptions. I found the first chapter to be the most difficult to get through so if you can make it through it then you have no worries about being able to handle the rest.

Loved the characters an More...

6 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 06, 2012

Victoria rated it:

Zombie fiction has become its own sub-genre these days, and this book marked my first foray into this type of fiction. I have seen most of the "classic" zombie films of the past and more recent years, and when I saw that this book was written by a woman, I have to say that I was quite curious to see how it would fit in with the genre. It is the first book of a trilogy (that some may have already encountered in other forms, as it was first online, then self-published), and was packed fu More...

0 comments like

Jan 09, 2012

Melinda rated it:

Author Rhiannon Frater I have one thing to say to you …

THANKS!

I’ve never read a zombie book before, but after reading THE FIRST DAYS in your AS THE WORLD DIES: A ZOMBIE TRILOGY, you’ve got me HOOKED! I cannot wait to get my hands on the other two books in the series: FIGHTING TO SURVIVE and SIEGE. So THANKS! for introducing me to a genre I’ve never read before. I always enjoy trying new things, and I’m glad this “new thing” turned out so well!

THE FIRS More...

1 comment like

Oct 19, 2011

Libby rated it:

This was a very good read. I can see why it went big on the internet. It has everything; love, terror, big trucks and drooling, moaning Zombies! Apparently, it started as a shorter piece, but it does not have that padded feel that so many expanded versions do. The story flows very smoothly from one of the most chilling openings I've seen in a long time. It will be a long, long time before I get the image of those tiny fingers out of my brain. Tiny fingers? OOOOOh yeah! Our story begins with Jenn More...

0 comments like

Sep 10, 2011

titania86 rated it:

On a normal day just like any other, Jenni is making breakfast for her kids, wondering why her abusive husband never came home. Katie is getting ready for court later that day and kissing her girlfriend goodbye. Then disaster strikes and both of their families are torn apart (quite literally). Katie happens upon Jenni as she stands frozen in shock at her zombified children and saves her. Together (along with their dog Jack), the duo become a fierce zombie-killing team and go in search of Jenni’s More...

0 comments like

Aug 19, 2011

Emily rated it:

4.5 stars

http://threedollarbillreviews.com/2011/0...

Fingers sticking out from under a door. Tiny, little fingers. This book opens with Jenni standing on the porch of her house staring at fingers that belong to her infant son. She stands outside the house as the entirety of her family ~ husband Lloyd, sons Mikey and Benjamin ~ try desperately to reach her. To eat her. Her family has been turned into zombies after Lloyd came home with a bite and, as all zombies do, they have on More...

0 comments like

Aug 06, 2011

cecilia rated it:

If ever my faith was shaken on finding another amazing zombie book, THE FIRST DAYS has renewed it tenfold and I am definitely itching for another bloody good time in ye olde zombocalypse! At first, I imagined THE FIRST DAYS as something similar to ZOMBIELAND – a tragically scary Twinkie filled with hilarities for comic relief – but it is actually more DAWN OF THE DEAD where a zombified Bill Murray isn’t necessary to make this unforgettable.

Rhiannon Frater captured my attention from the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 16, 2011

Anna rated it:

I only managed to get about halfway through this. I was really looking forward to reading these books because of the number of highly rated reviews, but I have no idea where these reviews came from, because I found this to be nearly unreadable. I was looking for something thrilling and suspenseful. This was neither.

I found the characters insanely flat, and their dialogue was entirely contrived and it just sounded fake. No one would say these things in real life, zombie apocalypse or n More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jun 10, 2011

Robert rated it:

Rhiannon Frater, As the World Dies, vol. 1: The First Days (Tor, 2011)

Full disclosure: this book was provided me free of charge by Amazon Vine. (Not that I wouldn't have eventually picked it up anyway.)

If you're even a casual fan of the micropress zombie-novel revolution that began back in the middle of the last decade with the runaway success of David Moody's Autumn quartet, then you're probably familiar with the name Rhiannon Frater, whose As the World Dies trilogy (The More...

0 comments like

Nov 05, 2010

Patrick rated it:

Rhiannon Frater has gone where...well, many men have gone before, but very few women. In fact, as I scan my bookshelf that is filled with all sorts of zombie stories I can't really see another female author that pops up there. A few short stories, for certain. When I look at vampire titles there are plenty of women involved in the mix, but as far as the walking dead are concerned, it has been pretty much the boy's club up to this point.
The author provides a fresh, female perspective to the More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 01, 2010

Brainycat rated it:

I bought the trilogy based on recommendations I found on another forum. I made it 64% of the way through before giving up. It really wants to be a great story, but it gets bogged down by over explanations. The character development reminded me of Robert Jordan - give each character Their One Trait, then never pass up a chance to cut'n'paste The One Trait into the narrative, even if it breaks the flow of the story.

The action is thin and predictable, but I kept reading through it expec More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2012

Karen rated it:

I really wanted to like this book. The imagery is striking, but the writing left a lot to be desired. It felt barely edited, and the quality of the writing kept pulling me out of the story. I couldn't stay interested because from the beginning, small details kept confusing me. The whole part with the baby fingers under the door was so convoluted. We kept jumping from the husband to the other kid to the baby and how she felt about the house and random mentions of blood and it felt way overdone. T More...

0 comments like

Jan 06, 2012

Felicia rated it:

Bought for Myself
Overall Rating 5.00
Story Rating 5.00
Character Rating 5.00

NOTE: I picked this up because of Ashley, The Bookish Brunette. She was right this book sticks with you and that is a good thing!

What I Loved: Realism! I wish there was a way to accurately describe just how realistic The First Days truly was. From the moment the story begins until the Epilogue, everything read like a true account of what it was to run into the Zombie Apocalypse. It brough More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 26, 2011

Fallon rated it:

I read “The First Days” as a part of the Goodreads First Reads program.

“The First Days” is a zombie book that follows two women as the world begins to die. It goes places that I’ve often wondered about, like zombie babies, but I haven’t seen much of. It kind of starts out with a nightmare that I’ve often had and goes through a fast paced ride of survival.

I loved this book, it started out intense and was pretty intense for the majority of the story, it lulls in much neede More...

0 comments like

Jan 31, 2012

Sinn rated it:

I first ran across this book back in 2008. I'm not sure if I found it during a casual zombie search of Amazon or if I saw it mentioned somewhere. One way or the other, I was completely and utterly drawn to this book. However, for various reasons mostly focusing on forgetfulness, I never ended up buying it. So, when I decided to host Zombie Month, it was the first book on my list!

First Days follows the story of Jenni and Katie—two women thrown together through unfortunate circumstan More...

0 comments like

Feb 22, 2011

Kim rated it:

I absolutely loved this book. Love, love love it.

In less than a day, the world dies, when it gets taken over by zombies. Yes, zombies. The idea alone made me laugh as well. Until I read this book. My smile faded pretty quickly.

This is the story of two different women, who come from different worlds, who somehow manage to from a bond that runs deeper than blood. Together, they are stronger, smarter, and better. I feel about as fiercely protective of Katie and Jenni as they More...

25 comments like (20 people liked it)

Jan 09, 2012

Karen rated it:

I wrote a review several days ago, but it got wiped out during the site maintenance. So...here's a condensed version of what I remember.

The First Days starts off with a chilling, surreal scene: Battered wife/Mother stands numbly out on the street in her bathrobe staring at her home where an almost 1-year-old's little fingers search for her under the threshold of the door and her husband and another son hungrily bang against the window...hungry for her human flesh. Blood starts to pul More...

0 comments like

Jan 16, 2012

Kaia rated it:

Ah, zombie novels. For months now, I've been searching for a zombie novel I could truly enjoy, without much luck. Then along comes The First Days, a zombie apocalypse novel originally self-published by the author, Rhiannon Frater. It's always interesting when a self-published work gets scooped up by a big publishing house. One inevitably wonders what quality it could possibly have that would attract so much attention, big publishers like Tor would be interested. Well, I can only speak for myself More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 23, 2009

Lenny rated it:

I enjoyed this story immensely.
Donning your “Suspension of Belief” goggles isn’t too difficult with this tale, you know, aside from the zombies and all. This story starts out with the day the dead rise and start chowing down on whoever is slower than they are. The zombies in this book are fast like the zombies in the new Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later. Katie and Jenni find themselves and then some others and fight to survive. I don’t want to go into any storyline specifics other th More...

0 comments like

May 24, 2011

Joy rated it:

The First Days is an action-packed zombie story. In less than a day the world goes from the fairly predictable world we live in to a world where none of the regular rules apply and everyone is struggling to survive.

I really liked how the main characters are mostly female. It's easy to expect strong males in a fighting zombies book, but the two main leads are female and strong in different ways. Although one of them is beyond annoying through the entire book (Jenni), she does find More...

1 comment like

May 22, 2011

Jessi rated it:

So The First Days is a fast paced zombie thriller where the two lead characters are women,running for their lives from very fast and unexplained zombies. The unexplained Zombie is nothing new, a lot of Zombie films are the same,one morning you wake up and an undead person is in your house and if you get bit you will be a zombie,so I will not bitch about how did this happen? and no background and such as this was the girls story and they are cut off from any real news,so we should not know or hav More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 19, 2012

Astrobravo rated it:

I have no idea where all the 4 and 5 star reviews are coming from, but this book was flat-out awful. It is one of only a few books that I literally have not been able to finish, so you might want to take my review with a grain of salt as it is possible (but highly unlikely) that the book gets better towards the end.

Every character is a simplified stereotype. We are initially introduced to Jenni the Battered Wife and Katie the Lesbian. Later Jack the Dog, Ralph and Wife the kindly Gun More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)