Awake

by Edward J. McFadden III

Agent Don Oberbier is trapped in the quarantine zone as a virus that transforms its victims into ravenous maniacs rages out of control. What is causing the disease? How is it transmitted? Can the infected be saved? Don and his ragtag crew must find out, but they’re outgunned, outnumbered and running out of time. The need for a pure sample of the pathogen leads them into the Everglades, where the fate of the world, and their lives, will be decided. With each passing minute the virus spreads, and to survive they must stay AWAKE.

234 pages, Paperback

Published March 26, 2017

About the author

Ed cut his teeth reading John Christopher, Tolkien, Poe, Brooks and Zelazny, and graduated to Joe Haldeman, Allen Steele, Arthur C. Clark and Jack Vance. For the last twenty years he’s done a deep dive on apocalyptic fiction, and he really enjoyed learning at the feet of Elmore Leonard, Philip K. Dick, Lawrence Block, Ray Bradbury, Carl Hiaasen, Stephen King, Joe Lansdale, and F. Paul Wilson. His recent publications include Hell Creek, Too Much Grit, The Cryptid Club, Keepers of the Flame, Quick Sands, Sandbagged, Dogs Get Ten Lives, Barracuda Swarm, Dinosaur Red, Drop Off, and Jurassic Ark. His sea thrillers, The Breach and Shadow of the Abyss were Amazon #1 Best Sellers and the audio version of The Breach was a #1 Hot New Release. His other novels include Throwback, Sea Tremors, Primeval Valley, AWAKE, The Black Death of Babylon, and HOAXERS. He lives on Long Island with his wife Dawn, and their daughter Samantha.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

DNF at 44%. I thought the story, characters, the writing quality, etc were all good. I’m just not a huge fan of this type of story. It reads like a multi-perspective military operation, which was what the premise was supposed to be, so there were no surprises. I kind of liked Don the most and anticipated him being the lead throughout, but, again, it shifted around, which was probably good to keep things from getting stale. The creatures were pretty fun, and varied in their appearance and abilities, which I enjoyed, too. So this was just a mismatch for me, but in no way, shape, or form reflects on the author or his writing skills. For fans of post-apocalyptic plots and military-heavy action, this is for you. And if you enjoy this, I would also recommend Eric S Brown for a similar series of books, too.

[G. Munson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just a great book. I've read works by McFadden before, and had to read it when I learned the protagonist was the same Don Oberbier from The Black Death of Babylon (another incredible book). The story at face value seems like a standard end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it, but thankfully it sets itself apart pretty quick. Yes there's a virus changing people. Yes they're zombie-like (but not zombies). Yes there's a group of survivors trying to escape ... but if you didn't have that you wouldn't have a story either.
The familiar is far outweighed by the new, as this reads less like a zombie apocalypse and more like a detective story in bizarro world. Don't get me wrong, zombie apocalypse fans should love this as well, as they won't be disappointed by the hoards of "sleepers" swarming through Miami. But the overall feel of the story is familiar enough to be comfortable, yet surprising enough to keep you awake.

[Lou Canning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad.

This book was ok. I read it in a few days and it did keep me interested. However there was a few parts where I just didn’t agree with what was happening, it just didn’t sit right. Like I felt that it’s not what would’ve been done or they wouldn’t have acted like that…
Having said that overall it’s a good read. I particularly liked the ending. I wasn’t expecting that.

[Kathryn Boelter · Rating 3 out of 5]

To 😢

Hero shouldn't give up. He left the dog alone. It needed a better ending after all they went through. Done.

[Dane Hatchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWAKE stands out among apocalyptic tales with its interesting characters, twists, and just darned good writing. McFadden hits his stride as he paints a world gone mad, and it’s up to agent Don Oberbier to find answers.

The story reads much like a detective novel laced with harrowing encounters of virus stricken maniacs. The infected are unique from typical zombies, which keeps you on edge as you’re unsure what might happen next.

Don is competent at what he does but he is by no means a superman. His human frailties mixed with his unwavering code of honor really has you admiring him. Without any spoilers, let’s just say you really won’t know how much he’s touched you until you read the ending.

But the story isn’t just from Don’s point of view. There’s another group who picked the wrong place and time to go on vacation. We get to share in their terrors too as the story progresses and the answers to the virus gets closer.

There’s a reason there’s a dog on the cover of the novel and a reason that it’s named AWAKE. It’s all part of the fun of reading it, though. 5 stars all the way!