The stand-alone sequel to David Kazzie’s bestselling IMMUNE series…
Thirteen years have passed since the Medusa plague wiped out nearly 99 percent of the world’s population and pushed humanity to the brink of extinction.
Climate change triggered by nuclear skirmishes in the last fevered days of civilization decimated agriculture and livestock, and the hardened survivors battle for what few resources remain.
Rachel Fisher is one of the lucky ones. In her small community in Nebraska, she and her family have access to food, clean water, weapons, and medical care.
And her 11-year-old son Will is the only child known to have survived infancy since the plague.
But everything changes when someone comes looking for him.
The Living is a worthy follow up to The Immune. We leap ahead 13 years to find Rachel Fisher surviving, but only that, in a community in Nebraska. With so much of humanity dead, food supplies dwindling, and crops failing, there is little to hope for. Especially since any babies that are born soon die, succumbing to the Medusa virus. But one child has survived--Rachel's son, Will. Now 11 years old, Will, for many, is special, a sign of hope that there is a future to be had. And that makes him very valuable to the wrong people. Kazzie continues the thrilling story line from The Immune and adds more of the unexpected. Good read!
Loved the first Immune books. I really liked Adam and was disappointed that he was killed off early in this book. Its a very depressing book of gloom and doom. Not much hope out there. I wasn't a fan of the ending of this book. I feel like there should be more. Maybe another book will come out.
It’s thirteen years later, since the last page of The Immune. The world is more brutal than what we last saw. Much more. During the Medusa virus outbreak, several countries felt threatened by enemies, and launched nuclear attacks, causing a weather calamity. Crops failed, livestock and game died from lack of food. The food crisis is extreme. There are those who will kill for a single meal.
This is the world that Dr. Adam Fisher must navigate after rescuing his daughter, Rachel, from The Citadel in the previous book. But this is Rachel’s story, not her father’s. Rachel has a 12-year-old son, Will, and a husband, Eddie. Rachel and Eddie are at odds about pretty much everything, and only stay together because there are limited places to live. On the other hand, Rachel loves her son beyond reason.
There have been many babies born in the years since Medusa struck, but they all died within days...all but Will. Women now tried hard to avoid pregnancy, the loss was far too painful. Rachel, having the only surviving child, redefined the term “helicopter mom”. She guards and protect him from everything, including his lukewarm father. They have established themselves in a small community they call Evergreen, where they have a bit of food security, but nothing lasts in this brutal world.
Word has spread to,outsiders that there is a surviving child in the Evergreen community. Others want him, with the idea of discovering how he survived when no others had. A group led by a woman named Priya approaches and eventually attacks Evergreen, destroying their food supply and killing many. Rachel grabs Will and escapes. But now she also wonders why she, her father and her son all survived Medusa. So few had, and there are no known family groups who were immune to the virus. Except the Fishers. Three generations. After Rachel knew for sure that people would kill and die to discover why they all lived, she‘s determined to learn the secret herself.
And there begins the real tale. David Kazzie has created a story that reduces the world to its most basic level. Simple survival. It’s almost too realistic. The possibilities. Brilliantly written, this is a look at humans at their worst...and their best. Grab your copy and...
I give this book 2.5 stars. This book has a lot of problems. Its a hot mess, and really annoying. Did no one edit it, or even read it before publishing? The story isn’t bad. I enjoyed the four previous books, that’s why I felt I had to finish it. There are glaring errors and contradictions everywhere in this book. An example, they are in a car, driving from Lincoln, NE to Denver. The book states, the car goes no faster than 30 mph, so they drove 400 miles in 10 hours (page 253, I actually looked it up to double check, and yes, that’s what it says). Hmm, obviously the author is not very good at math! Also, it is 500 miles from Lincoln to Denver, they drove 400 miles in one day, yet it took them 4 days to get there? These are the type of errors I find very annoying in a book, and there are many in this one. Something else that was weird, all the windows,in all the houses are broken due to weather? Seriously, are these all paper windows? This is repeated in all the houses they visit. The plants are another confusing issue. No plants grow, or have grown since the end of the world, but the roads are falling apart due to weeds, bushes and trees growing in all the roads? The grass and weeds are waist high, but no plants grow? I don’t think so. Make up your mind! Either stuff, plants, trees grow or they don’t. Seems he wants it both ways. I don’t understand what happened between the first four books and this one. This book felt like an afterthought, or something forced that someone didn’t want to do. How did no one point out the many errors in this story when editing? The only thing that saved this book from a 2 was the story itself. If you are reading this book without having read the first 4, don’t. Skip it. If you are reading this book, like me, to finish the series, good luck! Reading this book is like reading someone’s first draft, that what it’s like!
This book finishes the Immune story. It starts 13 years after book 4 ends. We find out how Rachel is immune and has a child. This is where the story’s timeline falls apart. Better editing and proofreading could have made this a great finale to the Immune story. Timeline mistakes happen several times and change several characters backstory within single chapters. If you can ignore these glaring errors, it’s a great read. I wish they had taken the time to get these glaring issues handled and then it would have been at least a 4 star if not 5 stars. Good editing can make or break a story.
Sooo much post-apocalyptic realism here...I think most of us who wonder with secret longing about what life would be like in a world with far fewer people, imagine it to be an adventure, with less stress in many ways. This story is nothing like that. The authors clearly put a lot of thought into what such a world would be like and it is not pretty. This book was very enjoyable but be sure to read the Immune first.
This book certainly lived up to being the sequel to The Immune Omnibus. After the virus almost totally destroys the world, those who remain, who are the "living" have to face so many more challenges than they originally thought. The heroine, who has the only child who appears to be immune to the virus and lives to be a young boy becomes a target and the Mom's struggle to keep him safe becomes a true struggle. Amazing author uses emotions about as well as any other author I've read. The ending, as in The Immune Omnibus, just blew me away. Great read.
This is the sequel to David Kazzie’s post-apocalyptic thriller The Immune. I really enjoyed this journey which begins a decade after the Medusa virus wiped out >90% of the population. Again, he shows the horrors that mankind inflict upon each other and the struggles that would be encountered by trying to survive in this dead new world. I had a hard time putting this book down and can’t wait for more from David Kazzie.
A great follow-up to The Immune. In The Living, David Kazzie shows us how much pure grit and determination can count for in one person's quest to protect the one she loves. Recommended for readers of The Immune who want to know what kind of world developed in the wake of that story, as well as anyone looking for a story about someone fighting back against man's darkest impulses after civilization has fallen.
Truthfully, I didn't actually completely finish this one, I've got about 25% left, but I've put the book down so long now that I've forgotten whats going on in it. I do know that I did enjoy it, I just got tired of that particular drama, the stuff that happened I wasn't ready for and didn't particularly want to happen, then I started reading a string of easy fluff happily ever after books and didn't feel like going back to it.
So glad that there was another book with a kind of ending. This book begins 13 years after the events that happened in the other books and I again enjoyed it. A very quick and fun read.
Why I have the need to read books like this while we are now in the coronavirus times where here in my country the restaurants and bars have been closed for a while and life is so different for many a people. I know! Probably because I can now think it is not that bad. Look what could have happened! LOL
I made the mistake of reading some reviews before reading this. It seemed a few people didn't like the father dying. I actually found the book a bit more realistic than most. In a post plauge world there would still be horrible people and others ould become more base. With what is going on at the moment you can already see this behaviour. I like the fact that its not all happy endings but life is hard and harsh sometimes. Definatly worth reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I loved these two books by David Kazzie. It was nonstop action, and never lagged in the middle like some books. I would recommend it to anyone who likes post apocalyptic stories. The only thing I wish was different is that I would have liked an epilogue explaining what happened to Rachel and WilI. I give the book five stars because it really was an exciting book. I hope he writes another in this series.
While I enjoyed reading this book and the first book in this series, I didn't like stumbling around misspelled words and incorrect grammar. The story itself was interesting as were the characters. It reads easy. It was fast paced, which kept my interest. However, the story was cluttered with too many "feelings" and "past thoughts." Given its few flaws, I would still recommend it to others who enjoy a good sci-fi story.
After reading the first book in this series, "The Immune," I was anxious to start this book, the second in the series. The author's take on a post-apocalyptic world is gritty, intense, and feels legitimate. Humans will fight to survive, no matter the odds, and it seems few will retain any semblance of humanity in the new world. I don't give many novels five stars, but both this one and the first one have earned five stars from me.
Although this book can stand on its own, I recommend reading The Immune first. As with many sci-fi books you need a degree of suspension of disbelief to fully enjoy these books. I found The Living as strong as The Immune with a good storyline and a satisfactory ending - perhaps room for another book? The characters are well drawn and believable and the plot line is horribly believable. A really good read.
I love apocalypse books that don’t have zombies and this whole story from book one to this one has been incredible reading. I love the fact the author has wrote this book a decade after the virus wiped out most of humanity. It’s interesting to see how they were living/surviving. Brilliant book brilliant read. Highly recommend
Rachel survives 13 years of brutal life raising her 11 year old son in world without other children. Other groups what her son but a mother much protect him and make tough choices along the way. This thriller and the rest of the story would make a great flick on the big screen.
These books were very good the “I cant put it down” kinda of book. The only thing I did not like was the views and disrespect of God. Also the swearing using Gods name and Jesus name. Otherwise extremely well written book. I give 5 stars even though the software only let me give one.
Very much enjoyed this series. Characters and story line were great. My favorite is there were no zombies. I love this genre, but every story depends on the zombies and gore. Thank you, Mr. Kazzie for proving that those two elements are not a necessary part of apocalyptic America.
There are survivors struggling to find food, water and somewhere to live without being robbed or killed. One child is born and lives, WHY! Why did some people survive a virus that killed so many within hours of being infected? Who made and released the deadly virus and most of all where are these people now?
This book was worse than the prequel, the Immune, in so far as the rambling that the author uses to "fill up" the pages. The scenarios are fine, even good at times, but Kazzie has a terrible habit of writing meaningless paragraphs that add nothing to the story. It's just wasted words. I don't recommend reading this book.
This book was so depressing. Somehow it’s easier to read about a world wide plague than about the endless deaths of characters you’ve come to know. I liked the first 4 books much better.
The first 4-books I read in a special 500+ page volume, No sense of forcing myself to plod through the pages.It was packed with action.A horrific worldwide pandemic was wiping out society.I was captivatedh with the very first page of Immune. Even though the genre and storyline have been written about many, many times in the past 20 years, this seem to have a different mission, I was engaged with the author and really didn’t want for the story to end. I was excited to know that there was a sequel called “The Living”. Well, Out of deference to the author who writes so well, this story continued, And continued, and continued……The sequel was well written but didn’t contain any exotic apocalyptic dystonian morsels I could sink my teeth into. But I didn’t have to muddle through it; I enjoyed it regardless, it just didn’t maintain The Immune’s fast, fast pace. However, the last fourth of the novel was abolutely riveting and wrapped the entire story together. I am so glad I didn’t give up the Read midway through the sequel. I just wish there was more “meat” to the story. I don’t know if the author got stuck during writing the sequel but 1/2 of the sequel was too slow. I apologize to the reader for not completing this review well, however, I am losing my sight and my eyes are way too tired to fight this broken iPhone that has given up on grammar and spell check.I wanted, while my mind was fresh from the Read, to put my thoughts on paper and explain the dilemma I had with enjoying and finishing the sequel to “The Immune”. I am so glad I stuck with it.
Great book to fill out the last one because why would you want a happy ending? I enjoyed the grim reality within the story. And I could feel Racheal's all consuming maternal love for her son. Look forward to more.
Don't really know why it took me so long to finish this. It's a really good story following Rachel and life after the outbreak. There is so many great twists to this story. Although the ending was a little bit open ended it gives you a chance to imagine what you want.
Wow, I just loved this series and David Kazzie does not disappoint in the sequel which is fast-paced with solid characters and lots of shocks and surprises, twists and turns. I wasn't really satisfied with the ending, but I'm hoping there will be more to the story to tie up the loose ends.
This is the second book in a series that give me hope for the future of our world. Immunity to a worldwide plague that was manufactured by madmen and the resulting struggles of those who remain ends healthy proposals to go on.