Book Beginnings on Fridays - Fever

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

This week my book beginning is Fever by Deon Meyer. I've loved post apocalyptic fiction since I was a teenager and read The Stand by Stephen King.

 

I want to tell you about my father's murder.

I want to tell you who killed him, and why. This is the story of my life. And the story of your life and your world too, as you will see.

 

 

 

Nico Storm and his father drive across a desolate South Africa, constantly alert for feral dogs, motorcycle gangs, nuclear contamination. They are among the few survivors of a virus that has killed most of the world's population. Young as he is, Nico realises that his superb markmanship and cool head mean he is destined to be his father's protector.

But Willem Storm, though not a fighter, is a man with a vision. He is searching for a place that can become a refuge, a beacon of light and hope in a dark and hopeless world, a community that survivors will rebuild from the ruins.

And so Amanzi is born. 

  

Shift (Wool Trilogy 2) by Hugh Howey

In a future less than fifty years away, the world is still as we know it. Time continues to tick by. The truth is that it is ticking away. A powerful few know what lies ahead. They are preparing for it. They are trying to protect us. They are setting us on a path from which we can never return.

Shift is the second novel in the Wool trilogy and a prequel to the first book, I don't recommend that you read this if you're not already familiar with Wool. I read the omnibus edition which consists of three parts, First Shift - Legacy, Second Shift - Order and Third Shift - Pact and these are also available as separate ebooks.
We learn about how and why the underground silos were built, congressman Donald is given the job of designing one and is a main character in the novel. He's away from his wife Helen and has been made to work with an ex girlfriend, Anna.
As with Wool, I loved the start of the story and thought parts of the book were very good but it didn't manage to hold the same level of interest for me all the way through, the Third Shift felt overlong and the story drawn out. It hasn't put me off reading the final novel in the trilogy, Dust, to find out how the story concludes.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 

Top Ten - Post Apocalyptic

Here's a list of my top 10 post apocalyptic books:

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

The Stand - Stephen King

On the Beach - Nevil Shute

Swan Song - Robert R McCammon

Alas, Babylon - Pat Frank

The Passage - Justin Cronin

I Am Legend - Richard Matheson

The Death of Grass - John Christopher

Earth Abides - George R Stewart

Down to a Sunless Sea - David Graham