The Seventh Day

by Scott Shepherd

Seven years after the Strangers decimated the planet, Joad is one of the Remaining, the few left unharmed when most of humanity was obliterated. He was halfway around the world when disaster struck and has been trying ever since to get home to Nemo, where he prays his wife waits for him.

Days from his destination, Joad’s thrown off-course by four merciless brothers who glide across The Flats in a pirate ship. In his escape, Joad reluctantly gains new companions. Together, they journey through a landscape equally beautiful and haunting, mysterious and magical — including The Fields, the deadly territory between them and Nemo. Filled with hope, horror, and wonder; The Seventh Day presents a world we haven’t yet encountered but could just be around the corner.

Genres: Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic

500 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2015

About the author

Scott Shepherd is a veteran writer/producer/show-runner with years of experience running network series; his production and screenwriting credits include The Equalizer, Miami Vice, The Outer Limits, Haven, and Quantum Leap. Born in New York and raised in Los Angeles, he currently teaches television writing at the University of Texas in Austin. The Last Commandment is his first mystery novel.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with another Reviewer, Melissa Faith. It's a shame I didn't read her review before I picked this up, but at least it was only 99 cents and a day of my life...

I liked it, but I won't read any follow-up. I assume there will be a follow-up since this book ends with the setup for the next in a series.

Personally, I don't care for a sci-fi story with a religious slant. If you like religion in your fiction, give this book a try.

[Melissa Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise was pretty cool. I'm glad this was a $.99 kindle special bc it turned out to be more than a bit religious-themed and that is absolutely not my thing, and a lot of the writing was awkward. An extremely rare case where even though there's a huge cliff hanger (which was obvious to me from like 25% into the book, ugh), and I liked the storyline, I'm just not going to be reading the next book.

[Jamie Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Seventh Day (Kindle Edition) by Scott Shepherd

An amazingly well written tale!
Wowzers, did this ever draw me in! What I first thought to be an unassuming post apocalyptic quick read, turned out to be quite the story! I loved the subtle humor, and sometimes the not so subtle humor. The characters are all quite layered, and very textured, and nobody was all good, nor all bad. Not the you had a difficult time with figuring out who the baddies are. But as the characters develop, and drive the plot, they also get filled in with back stories that brings them to life.
This definitely a page turner, and not to be missed! There is a lot of stories in just the one book, and you do not want to miss any of them.

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alien space ships have come to Earth and knocked what's left of the human race back to the stone age after they remove all electronics and machinery. In their place, human beings now manifest super powers. In between that and the horror, gore, violence, and foul language, it's really not that great of a story. Then, just when you're glad you've completed the task of reading this book, it ends on a cliffhanger. My best recommendation is to just not start, because you'll regret it.

[Anton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent post-apocalyptic novel with excellent characters, awesome plot line and strange but believable world set. It is admittedly a bit more thoughtful than many post-EoW novels, but I really liked it for that too. By the way, some mysteries are still not resolved so please, author, give us part 2 ASAP.

[Foodleech · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book quite enjoyable. Interesting characters and a fun twist on a post apocalyptic world.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Nice twist on a dystopian novel.
The story line was solid. The flashbacks made sense, connecting the dots between the past and the present and all the people involved in the story.

The Apple tree (and the seeds) reminded me a lot of "Swan Song".
But the author might also have used it as a symbol from ancient mythology, where the Apple is a sacred tree and stands for good health and future happiness.

I didn't like the open ending, as it indicates a sequel.
The book read more like a script for a movie than a novel. A little more could have been done with the characters.

[betty c. spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Good Concept Spoiled

In the hands of a better craftsman this could have been a very good read. It fails because of hackneyed cliches, bad grammar and an utterly incompetent editor. The heavy hand of hint slaps us with the need for a follow-on book but this was more than enough.

[whats6 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on world ending events! Visitors from another world taking almost everything on earth with them when they left. I would have enjoyed learning much more about the post apocalyptic world itself. The lone female (for the vast majority of the story) was annoying and I wish there was at least one strong adult woman in the group of characters.

[margaret holmes-middleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I expected

A bit different from the usual so fine story
Enjoyable a little armature in the language in some places .where you could hear the writer not the story .but on the whole a good read

[PapaTrain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go where U must, but help when U may.

Well filled characters doing their best to live in a world changed by unknown beings for unknown reasons, given physical or mental gifts for unknown purposes. Totally interesting.

[Josile Reigle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very different and good

I enjoyed this story very much. It's not your typical post apocalyptic story and I look forward to the next installment

[prg835gmail.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book did make a good reading.

Keeping curiosity alive till end. Though the imagination seemed quite wild many a times. But considering that it is a fiction , that is alright

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Definitely a different kind of sci-fi

[Elaykins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted a bit more after the ending. But otherwise I enjoyed the book

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little violent for my personal liking and had a strangely religious twist at the end. It also had a pretty big cliffhanger at the end. I wouldn't say it was a bad book, but I don't think I am the audience in mind for it.


"Joad dismounted from his horse and dropped behind a huge sand dune. He made a quick hand motion and grunted a command. The horse immediately lay down by his feet, and Joad was thankful he had spent so much time teaching and coercing his longtime companion to do his bidding."


"But isn't having someone, even just for a little bit, even if you don't remember them really well—isn't that better than never having them at all?"


"Joad had grown weary of taking other men's lives in the name of the almighty flag, and had been desperately searching for a way out."

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not my usual read. I read very little science fiction/fantasy. The Seventh Day started as an Amazon serial--one chapter delivered a week. It is now available as a book. The story takes place in a post-apoclaypse future in which there are very few survivors, some honorable and some evil, living in a very surrealistic world and trying to find what they need to survive including "family". It reads much like a movie or TV series. The scenes are very visual and captivating. The characters and story drew me in immediately. When I read the last chapter I wasn't done with the story or characters. I'm definitely hoping there's a sequel or a movie/tv series forthcoming.

[Ani Teter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not want this book to end

I did not want this book to end

This was the best book I have read in a long, long time. The characters are so well developed that you really feel you know them. In a field that has become glutted with post apocalyptic tales, this is a gem.
Anyone who liked "The Stand" by Stephen King or "Swann Song" by Robert MacCammon will definitely enjoy this. I hope another serial with further adventures of Joad and Fixer is somewhere in the not too distant future.

[Wyatt Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books are just words (duh!), but sometimes, a book paints a completely unique fantasy in my mind. I can't really explain how this book did that, but I think it started with the ludicrousness of a pirate ship sailing across the plains. After that, the names, the dialogue, the style, all of it, gave me a wild picture in my head that developed as the story did.

I really hope that cliffhanger at the end isn't just one for me to ponder on, and foreshadows another book in the series! Either way, it was a great read, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Anathea Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It reminds me a lot of Stephen King's writing in his non-horror books. I was on the edge of my seat, or the edge of my bed really because this book kept me up at night because I couldn't stop reading. The worst part of this book is getting to the end and wishing there were more! Hopefully there will be a sequel!

[Gina Basham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating. I can't wait for the next one. Would have made a great TV series. The author should continue to shop it around. It was exciting and the post-apocalypse was done with a twist. The characters are well evolved and engaging. I am intrigued by the gifts and where the plot is going. I would recommend this book.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this story and the concept. I'm still waiting for more explanation on some of the topics, which could be very enlightening. I enjoyed all the characters, even the very dark ones, but again would like more info. The ending leads me to believe there could be another installment to this story. I hope that's true because there is much more that these characters are waiting to tell us.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was alright. The plot was interesting and he kept it moving along pretty well. The main character was likeable but I did feel he was a little bit of a cliche lone ranger type hero. The other characters were alright and sometimes interesting. He did not do a great job with the female characters though - they came across rather flat and boring, and overly similar.

[Vmoney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

Good

I liked the characters in this book but it seemed to drag on a bit. It was interesting and kept my attention but seemed long. There was no warning that the book wasn't completed so it was frustrating to find I found I wasnt done when I got to the last chapter.

[rnagy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope there's a sequel!!

Very imaginative story line. All characters are well conceived with appropriate depth capturing the readers interest. The author's writing style of exploring the past to enrich the ongoing story line is refreshing. Please write the sequel soon!

[Lisa Zimmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this as a free monthly selection from Kindle for Samsung, but would definitely pay for a sequel. I enjoyed the post-apocalyptic sci-fi world and the cliffhanger at the end. It does have some stereotypical characters, but the character development was such that I still cared about them.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I think it was a clever ending. And the story lifted many answers and questions.

[Lincoln Quirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable dystopia with magic. Not much science.

[Lonnie J. Box, I · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great novel

I enjoyed this book because of the story line. I hope the others are as well written. if you are a fan of end of time stories this one is for you.