Now for something completely different; I’m not going to talk about me or STONE AGE for once. For those of you starved for good post-apocalyptic or dystopian fiction and are breathlessly waiting for the second book in the STONE AGE Series–-I promise it’s coming, I offer this recommendation: First Activation by authors D.A. Wearmouth & his brother M.P. Wearmouth.
This is a face paced thrill ride through the apocalypse, with a few unique twists. Told in the first person, the authors take you on a pulse-pounding journey that is quite unexpected. You won’t know who or what is the reason for the cataclysmic events which causes millions to turn on each other. No, it’s not zombies; that would be too easy and too often done. Come on, isn’t today’s zombie yesterday’s vampire?
An added pleasure to this book was getting to meet Darren “D.A.” Wearmouth by Skype and discussing this first book of his series and his next book: you guessed it, Second Activation. Like me, Wearmouth loves to read the genres in which he writes, especially post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction. You can tell he had fun writing this one.
His two protagonists are somewhat regular guys, although they had some previous military experience. Yet, they commit errors just like any of us would in a world without the technological supports we have come to rely on. Most books offer us a main character this often an amalgam of Jack Bower (or James Bond for those in the UK) & MacGyver (sorry can’t think of the UK equivalent), able to save the day with one perfectly placed bullet or knife throw. These guys are not him, but that’s what makes the book more real.
I was a lover of fiction before I picked up the pen to become an author, and as such, I want from other fictional books the same as many readers. First Activation ticks off many of my required boxes: entertaining, check; some sort of apocalypse reaping havoc upon the world, check; lots of action, check; unexpected plot turns & surprises, check; and desire to read more of the story line, whether it’s a series or not; check.
Another fascinating revelation about First Activation is that I read it a few months ago and yet I still vividly remember several of the scenes, as if I had just experienced them. This doesn’t happen too often, as most books’ narratives, are habitual retreads, which are lost in the soup of my own mental meanderings and other books read so long ago . Wearmouth’s tome is different; it’s memorable. This is good, because it will carry me until the long awaited release of Second Activation, which I understand is only held up because of their publisher, 47North wanting give it the wide release it deserves.
For anyone who loves post-apocalyptic fiction, I believe you find Wearmouth’s First Activation an enormously fun summer read. Five Stars! What a great debut for D.A. Wearmouth and his brother. Good Show guys!