Clare and Dorran may still be alive against all odds, but relief is only temporary.
Dorran is sick, and rapidly worsening. Clare fears the only way to save him lies in the mysterious Evandale Research Station, supposedly one of the few remaining human refuges. But the station is three days’ journey away, and Clare isn’t certain their small group can endure that long.
Because the danger they’re facing comes not only from the ravenous hollow ones… but from each other.
This terrible new world has left scars, and only some of them are physical. As Clare fights to protect the most precious people in her life, she begins to realize a horrible truth: Not everyone can be saved.
And sometimes the worst monsters wear a human smile.
Tags: horror, suspense
- Format: ebook, paperback
- Size: 480 pages
- Publisher: Black Owl Books
- Publication Date: 01 August 2020
- Links: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51328308
Why Apocalyptic Fiction Fascinates Us
If there’s a way the world could be destroyed, I can guarantee someone has written fiction about it. Fantastical scenarios like zombies and alien invasions exist alongside very real possibilities like EMP blasts and deadly viruses. Prepper fiction and YA Dystopia. Asteroids and environmental collapse.
I think it’s fair to say we have a minor obsession with the end of the world as we know it.
Why?
There’s definitely an element of wish fulfilment. The modern world is a complicated, stressful space. There’s something appealing about stripping away the instant coffee and angry clients, the broken wi-fi and the fluorescent lights, and returning to a world where we live off our hands.
Life wouldn’t be easy, but skirting so much closer to death would give us a zest for life… and most of us believe we could thrive. No one imagines themselves as one of the dead off the side of the road, or as a nameless face in the zombie hoard. We all want to see ourselves running a farmstead, protecting our families and building a new life.
But that’s not the only reason apocalyptic fiction is so popular. The other answer lies in our anxieties. While some of those world-destructing scenarios are pushing the limits of plausibility, others skirt so close to potential futures that we feel the urge to plan for them.
News headlines warn us about the increasingly precarious state of the environment. What happens if it goes too far? What if cities freeze over? If food supply lines fail? If humanity faces mass extinction?
No one actually hopes the world will fall apart—but we want to be ready if it does, and apocalyptic fiction lets us prepare in a safe way. We can see what choices our heroes and heroines make, and how it plays out for them. And, more importantly, we can ask the all-important question: what would I do in that situation? How would I, personally, ensure my survival?
And I think that’s the greatest appeal of apocalyptic fiction. We’re not just reading someone else’s story of survival, but imagining ourselves in their shoes. It’s anxiety-inducing, yes… but it’s also extraordinarily empowering.
Author Bio
Darcy is the USA Today Bestselling author of Hunted, The Haunting of Ashburn House, Craven Manor, and more than a dozen horror and suspense titles.
She lives on the Central Coast of Australia with her family, cats, and a garden full of herbs and vegetables.
Darcy loves forests, especially old-growth forests where the trees dwarf anyone who steps between them. Wherever she lives, she tries to have a mountain range close by.
Social Media
Website: http://darcycoates.com/
Twitter: @darcyauthor
Grace J Reviewerlady 