Wednesday, March 01, 2023

The Apocalypse Seven by Gene Doucette

 
First Line: Robbie wasn't sure how he ended up back in his own bed.
 
Harvard freshman Robbie's confusion grows when he wakes up one morning. Not only does he not know how he ended up back in his own bed, but he seems to be the only person left in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Evidently, he's a survivor of the whateverpocalypse.
 
But Robbie isn't alone. He finds a Cambridge coder named TourĂ© and a fellow college freshman, a young blind woman named Carol, who's desperately missing her guide dog. 
 
With freakish weather the norm, survival is their primary concern, especially when four other survivors appear: Pastor Paul, who's as quick with his gun as he is with a Bible verse; Win, a young woman on horseback armed with a bow and arrows; thirteen-year-old juvenile delinquent Bethany; and MIT astrophysicist Ananda.

They all have questions. Where did everyone go? How did the city become overgrown with vegetation overnight? And why are wild animals with no fear of humans roaming the streets? How are they going to survive with no power?

One thing they do know: it's time to stop asking questions and start answering them.

~

I like a good end-of-the-world tale from time to time, and The Apocalypse Seven satisfied my craving for the most part. I liked learning all the individual personalities and watching this disparate group of characters come together. The compelling problem of survival in a world with no electricity where wolves actively hunt humans was dealt with realistically, too.

The biggest question in the book is what in the world happened, and even while I was enjoying the characters and watching their fight for survival, my mind was clicking away, trying to figure out what caused it all. And... therein lies a problem. I didn't buy the author's explanation for the cause of the whateverpocalypse; however, it wasn't enough to ruin the book for me. Gene Doucette's mind works in interesting ways, and I think I'll take a look to see what else he's written.


The Apocalypse Seven by Gene Doucette
Narrated by: Zeno Robinson, Erin Bennett, Kiff Vandenheuvel, Grace Rolek, Farah Merani, Juliette Goglia, Will Collyer.
ASIN: B08WJQNV53
HMH Adult Audio © 2021
Audiobook. 12 hours, 26 minutes.
 
Dystopian Fiction, Standalone
Rating: C+
Source: Purchased from Audible.

12 comments:

  1. I haven't read that many apocalypse books, Cathy; it's not normally a sub-genre that I like. But this does sound like an interesting setup for a novel, and I can see how it'd keep your interest, even if it didn't tick all the boxes for you.

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    1. I was a teenager when I started reading post-apocalyptic fiction. I guess I occasionally like to read about what people would do when the chips are really down.

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  2. I never felt the allure of apocalyptic books, so I don't have to try it out with this one.

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    1. I didn't think I'd be adding to your TBR with this one!

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  3. I totally agree with your take on this book. I really enjoyed the different characters and how they came together. But the why behind the apocalypse was pretty crazy and out-there. And a bit mind-bending, too. But it was still a fun read imo.

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  4. It sounds like an interesting concept for a novel but one that perhaps was not so well executed.

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  5. Sounds like an interesting concept. I like a good end of the world tale from time to time as well.

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  6. I don't usually go for apocalyptic tales, so I can skip this one. But I like what you said about the way the author's mind works, so I'll keep an eye out to see if what he does next grabs more of my attention.

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