Posts Tagged ‘ragnorak rising’

Book review – Ragnorak Rising: the Reckoning by D.A. Roberts

Posted: March 21, 2013 in News
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Ragnrak Rising: the ReckoningAll I can say is wow!

I read the first book a little while ago and my review is here – Ragnorak Rising: the Awakening

I read book one on a recommendation and actually enjoyed it. I’d found it  a bit stilted at the start and thought it had a bit of an obsession with describing guns and ammo, bt there was none of that in this book.

It starts right where the other book left off. Wylie is at the dock with his dog, Odin. He’s surrounded by zombies left over  from the explosion at the end of the last book. He needs to find his way back to the jail and to his family.

Of course his journey isn’t easy and like the first book he meets up with some interesting characters along the way. SOme good and some very bad…

His journey back to the jail is only part of the story though. There is another group in the city, the Freemen, and they don;t want to share. A large part of the book is around the fight with these guys. It’s a little more ‘Mad Max’ with these guys but it works really well. There’s also a few Rambo-syle moment with Wylie. He’s a really good character and grows even more in this book. His relationship with Spec-4 still really works, and stays on that professional/friend level.

I liked the addition of the new characters in this book. They do give this book a different edge to the last book as there are more military personnel in it. I like the fact that strong women characters are still built into the storyline as nothing out of the ordinary. I did find all the extra characters a little confusing though and did get some of them mixed up.  I wasn’t too sure about Wylie’s wife either as he stock position in the book seemed to be not being pleased as he was off on another mission but passively accepting it. Actually that worked well towards the end of the book when she stepped up – don;t worry I’m not going to give you any spoilers!

This time the book ended at a better point. Not the huge cliffhanger that the first one ended on, but still left me thinking there’s more legs in this series.

I think there’s a new one out in the summer – so keep your eyes posted!!

Book Review of Ragnorak Rising – the Awakening by D.A. Roberts

Posted: January 27, 2013 in Book reviews
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Ragnorak RisingI might have ignored this due the title, but when I looked it up, ‘ragnorak‘ means the final destruction of the world in the great conflict between the gods and the giants and the powers of Hel under the leadership of Loki. So pretty much an apocalypse then!

I read it as a recommendation of the Zombie Book of the Month Club on Facebook, and I’m really glad I did.

The basic premise of the book is, that initial reports of rioting and chaos begin to appear in the news, slowly spreading east from California. As more is shown about the ‘riots’ it becomes clear that these people aren’t rioting, but eating other people.

When the disturbances finally reach Springfield Missouri, all law enforcement officers are called to field duty and only Office Wylie Grant and Corporal Chrissy Wilder survive the onslaught Their goal becomes to survive the trip back to the Nathaniel County Sheriff’s Office, where the few remaining officers are attempting to regroup. They, and the other officers, rescue a number of survivors and gather as many resources as possible to help survive. Of course they also encounter the worst that humanity has left alive after the invasion of the undead. These can be worse to go up against that the dead…

Wylie also made a promise to his wife that he would come for her and the kids, and part of this story is his journey across the USA to meet her at the boat he told her to hole up on.

I’ve got to admit, I found the very first bit of the book a little bit stilted. It was a bit of back story, and a bit of what was happening, but it just didn’t flow very well. I found this completely changed though once the action got going, and it really didn’t take long to get going. And there’s a lot of action! I did find all the description and guns and ammunition a bit dull but I could put up with that for the story and the pace. Maybe this is because I’m in the UK and we don;t have the same fascination with guns? The characters are entirely believable too and fallible, which makes them very human. Wylie doesn’t always make the right decision and I found myself liking him more and more.

Spec-4 (or Chrissy) is a real ‘lock and load’ character and reminiscent of strong female leads in films like Alien. Again a very believable and likeable character.

The book ends just where I wanted it to continue. Basically, Wylie can’t be left like that? I can’t wait for the follow-up book!

I’ve found a blog from the author – Ragnorak Rising Saga.

Have you read it yet? What did you think of it?