“Normal Had Left The Building”
4.5 out of 5 stars
The CME had already destroyed most of the infrastructure that people were used to using. Especially the power. And it wasn’t coming back anytime soon. People are being lied to and don’t even know it. Things are about to get a whole lot worse. Normal had left the building.
I had to go back and re-read my review of the first book in this series. I know that I liked the dual narration and it was my first book by Becket Royce. But, I couldn’t remember if I liked or loved the first book. Turns out I liked it a lot but didn’t love it love it.
Well, this book either hit me at the right time or something was even more enjoyable. I think first off, this was a true “post-apocalyptic” book instead of being a “pre/during the apocalypse” book. Things are starting to hit the fan and people are starting to freak out. I love a book like this, especially when it’s written from different points of view like Gideon did in Advent.
The back and forth (and switch narrators) really helped make this book for me. A lot of times you’re forced to see everything from one person’s point of view, and if you don’t like them or how they are written it can ruin a whole book for you. When given numerous point of views you get to see the apocalypse from all sorts of positions, ages, and wealth/preparedness levels. I really enjoyed that aspect of Advent.
The story itself dealt with a lot of walking and traveling which can get boring, but they kept coming across people and situations that really helped move this from a 4-star to a 5-star book.
The “change” of some of the characters (coming into their own and realizing things about themselves) was also really fun to listen to. I think that Gideon did a good job writing about these changes and how the people felt about what was changing both internally and around them.
The relationship and friendship building also took this book to another level for me. There were a few parts where I actually almost cried some tears of joy and happiness because of something that happened. And also tears of sadness for other parts. I realized that I was emotionally invested in them and their survival. Which shows me just how well this book was written.
Overall, a book that really came into its own. Sunfall: Advent was a definitely a thrill ride from beginning to end.
Book Description:
Advent (Sunfall, #2) by D. Gideon Narrator: Becket Royce, Kevin Pierce
Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
Series: Sunfall #2
Published by Self Published on May 7, 2017
Genres: Post-Apocalyptic
Pages: 286
Format: Audiobook
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Ripley and her friends have escaped the University’s lockdown and started their journey home on foot. They’ve found an opportunity to get supplies they sorely need, but the risk is high. Marco insists that the world is already far more dangerous than it seems, while Ripley’s not yet convinced.
She’s about to get a very bloody wake-up call.
Back home, Dotty worries over her little makeshift family, scattered to the four winds. Her neighbor is already out of food and getting pushy. There’s been a riot, and a man was killed. Holiday travelers, stranded without gas, fill the town’s parking lots. The elderly have begun dying. At the edge of town, watching over the Federal prison, the Sheriff faces a horrible decision.
The idyllic little town of Snow Hill is a powder keg, and the Mayor is holding a match.
Over the past century, people had become so reliant on electricity that they forgot how to provide for themselves. With the push of a button, food cooked in minutes. Endless clean water flowed from the faucets. Freezers preserved food for years. Stores were open twenty-four hours a day; there was no need to keep a pantry. What once had been thought of as magic had become…normal.
Ripley and Dotty are about to discover that normal has left the building. Reality, with all of its hardships and danger, has arrived. Not everyone will survive it.
I received this book for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Also by this author: Sunfall: JourneyAlso in this series: Sunfall: Journey
About the Author:
Being a prepper, I long for a time when I’ll have a self-sufficient homestead and cozy writing cabin in the mountains, where I can utilize my own personal shooting range clad in nothing but a good set of cans and my pajamas if I want to. Of course, I’d really prefer to dump the cans and use a nice suppressor.
Maybe dump the pajamas, too. 😉
Until then, I’m happy to keep writing post-apocalyptic survival fiction, prepper fiction–whatever you want to call it–that hopefully helps people deal with these issues in their minds and in their hearts, so if the time comes, they’ll be more prepared. And if that time never comes, they’ll have had some great entertainment along the way.
Remember: It’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
