What Survives of Us

Colorado Chapters Book One

Fiction - Dystopia
351 Pages
Reviewed on 09/26/2018
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

What Survives of Us by Kathy Miner is a supernatural dystopian thriller that begins where most of the rest of the human population ends, with the surviving 1% following a worldwide epidemic of plague. “It was untreatable. There was no vaccine. It was 99-100% fatal.” Miner's introductions include the characters followed in the plot, who are each given their own point of view within the story: Naomi, Jack, Grace, Quinn, and Piper. As the survivors descend into chaos, two interesting twists emerge. The first is that those who have outlived the virus cannot outrun the violent and destructive demise of humanity. Brutality and complete degradation run rampant, with rape, murder, and torturous revenge fueling those who are left. The second is that those same people have all been imparted with unique powers. How they choose to use it – and abuse it – is up to them.

What Survives of Us is the first in Kathy Miner's Colorado Chapters series and, as a note of warning, it does end with a cliffhanger. Thankfully, this isn't nearly as painful as what happens within the pages of this exquisitely written novel, since book two, Where the Light Enters, has already been released. Miner has taken an overly saturated genre and reinvigorated it with a skilled balancing act of realism and the supernatural. The darkness and whole abandonment of morality are laid bare with not even the most likable characters spared...which is where the realism seeps in. All of the usual tropes are cast off as Miner builds a world that, superhuman abilities aside, is likely to be a more accurate representation of moral descent than any I have read before. There's no question that this series will appeal to lovers of Stephen King's The Stand, giving rise to a formidable new author who is deserving of the comparison in every regard.

Sue

I second all of the comments made in Jamie's review. I loved 'The Stand' - it's been one of my favourite books for many years, however, this trilogy knocked that out of the water for me. The characters are people you can identify with, the author does not shy away from writing about the most unpleasant parts of human nature when order and civility are absent. The writing is rich in description and emotion - I could not put them down, I got through all three books in a week (and it only took that long because I rationed book 3 to make it last!) So, I'm waiting with anticipation as to what Kathy will produce next.