The Survivor Chronicles: Book 1, The Upheaval

I've never read an apocalypse story, but when I read the description I had to read it! I was on the edge of my seat at just about every page. I HAD to keep reading. That Good!! The suspense was killing me! Why has this not been made into a movie is beyond me. I can see it on screen! Wish someone would pick it up!!!! Love this read & ready to buy next book!

This book was really good, but I need answers! It kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't stop reading because I needed to know what happened next. Can't wait to start the next one

Not being a fan of being left in the lurch of incomplete stories, this still conveyed the absolute helplessness of a catastrophe where there there was little control. Other than the single minded need to get to safety and regroup, there seemed little other goals in mind. Only the surviving mother and daughter gave any indication for a possible future reunion.

I couldn't put it down until I finished the book. I'm not going to say more because I can't wait to start on book two. After I finish the series (and I certainly will), I'll write a full review. You never seize to amaze me Ms. Stevens. Thank you.

I’ll be upfront with you, this book is just a hook to get you to read the next one. You won’t get answers to why the world is ending. But we should expect this by now with apocalyptic series. They never have the big reveal with the first book. Another thing, I’ve seen a lot of reviews complaining about this turning into a zombie series. I‘ve read my fair share of zombie series, and this one is at the top. So don’t get discouraged and not even give this a chance. Ok, on to the review.We’re introduced to our main characters: John and Carl, landscape workers, Mary Ellen and Al, neighbors, and Riley and her friends, teenagers. They are all separately going about their days when violent earthquakes shatter their world. Forced to flee from crumbling ground, volcanic vents, and tsunamis, each group heads inland, unknowingly headed towards each other.Stevens wastes no time with the action. I liked that we’re immediately thrown into danger with the characters. There’s no long, drawn out build up or endless paragraphs of needless detail. We get a basic understanding of our characters then get to watch them try and survive. The dialogue is well written, though there are grammar mistakes. The suspense builds well, especially once Riley and her friends, and Mary Ellen and Al separately reach the stadium. You just know something isn’t right but can’t be sure what the real threat is: people or nature.This book hooked me for sure. I’m giving it four stars because while I enjoyed the story, I don’t particularly like when an author leaves you on a cliffhanger in order to sell the next book. After having read through the series twice now, I’m glad I got hooked. It’s become one of my fav apocalyptic series. Just give it a chance.

For those of you who are into books about the end of the world, or the apocalypse, then this is a book you should read. It has all of the doomsday stuff in it that you see a lot, but it is also much more psychological and at times very realistic when it comes to the actions and thoughts of the characters in the book. From major earthquakes to volcanoes and birds dropping out of the sky, it has a lot of action in it and there is a lot of death. It's the end of the world as these people know it; of course there will be death and loss. Lots of it. This books is essentially what happens in one day to the world. It is through the eyes of a few different people in a few different places in the U.S.A. The Upheaval is a very appropriate title because the Earth itself has rent in places, causing mass chaos after the mass shock wears off. Massive earthquakes happen and the birds start diving towards the ground at full speed, some taking people out with themselves. Unfortunately they are not the only animals you will see in this book gathering together to commit mass suicide. That was one of the most disturbing things about the book to me, besides the people that are jumping out of buildings trying to escape what's coming, only to never live through the fall. This is very much reality about people. It is what happened during the Great Depression. Suicide rates were up quite a bit during that time. Some people just couldn't handle the stress. And it is the same in this book. There are those that just mentally check out too. Then there are those who are doing the very best they can under the circumstances and stay with what loved ones or friends that they have left. Everyone has suffered loss, but they are determined to find what is left of their families and they are determined to stay together. It is a test of will power. And it is inspiring to see goodness in some when chaos is reigning. The characters definitely make you want to root for them to survive!

Found this totally by accident - I was looking for something of a decent length to read and this was even more perfect as it was free.Didn't expect too much when I downloaded it, but I'm happy to admit I was totally wrong and realised I shouldn't judge a book before even reading it!The book is well written and easy to follow the action and the characters. I was really surprised that the action gets going pretty much immediately and there are just enough main characters to allow you to follow each one. I won't add any spoilers as I would really recommend you to read it....but if you are looking for answers in the 1st novel as to what / why this is happening then you will be disappointed but what the story does brilliantly is that when you've finished the first novel there is no choice but to continue with the next one!. Also I think the story is so good that to do it justice you need more than one book anyway. I read this in 2 days as I couldn't put it down and needed to know what was next. Will probably read the next one just as quick!Fantastic book/series that you can just lose yourself in the story (and hope it never happens off course!). I can get bored very quickly when reading, but not a problem with this book at all, in fact it made me realise I should have bought my Kindle a lot sooner as I've been missing out great stuff like this!. Now bought the full series as well as another book by the same author.

There are 2 reasons why I'm glad the word "Chronicles" appeared in the title. Firstly, because I absolutely want to read the second book in what is to be a series, and hopefully a good series at that. And secondly, I didn't want this being a stand alone story as I feel the good stuff is yet to come.I found some similarities to Chasm by Stephen Laws, which is no bad thing as giant seemingly bottomless holes in the earth is a scary concept.Whilst there is indeed plenty of action here, and good characters which I'll come to in a bit, there isn't an explanation why any of the apocalyptic style events take place. There are hints such as the weird sun thing and the animals acting all crazy, even characters make suggestions, but no definitive reason why.That in itself is both a good and bad thing. The action and suspense is enough to keep you reading but after a while, say 1/3 of the way through, you begin to want to know why such calamity has struck the earth, or at least Massachusetts. I'm not saying there had to be an obvious and clear instrument behind the orchestra of chaos, but I needed something else to watch out for other than yet another round of earthquakes, lava, rivers etc.However, looking at it from a long term series point of view, this first instalment is all about setting the scene, establishing location, characters, initial threat level and so on. Because it was an enjoyable read I was willing to overlook the need for a why, and keep turning the pages.There is a school of thought in the writing world that states a writer needs to show the antagonist early on, the earlier the better, in order to give the protagonist someone to battle against. Until the actual bad guys are revealed the reader has no choice but to accept the geological menace as the bad guy. And that works, kind of, but it didn't feel like enough somehow.I hope the second book has that revelation, otherwise the more discerning reader may feel cheated out of not having a big bad boss type to hate.On the plus side there's a lot going on here, and enough threat to the survivors to keep me turning the pages to find out what the hell else can possibly go wrong next! I would have liked more conflict between the characters. Conflict is good, it's what drives the story forward. Having said that I was happy to settle for the brutal conflict between characters and angry geology.Of all the characters I found John and Carl the most entertaining, and I rooted for them considerably more than the others. More so when they find Rochelle, and the scene with the guys taking the truck is very good, nicely written with just the right amount of tense, edge of your seat style stuff. Both characters had a good arc, progressing from garden maintenance guys swapping banter to protectors of a child, willing to kill to protect her.Mary Ellen is weak and pathetic, with no redeeming features and fails to progress and grow. Al, whilst a stronger character, is merely the other side of Mary Ellen, and to some extent the story would have benefited from combining both characters into one, with the weak Mary Ellen at the start, progressing to the stronger more determined elements of Al as the story moves on. That would have made for a more engrossing character arc.As for Xander and Riley, they stand out nicely, although that seems due to their student pals being little more than filler characters whose purpose is to highlight Xander and Riley's relationship. I like the idea of a group of friends coming together against a threat, where issues like loyalty, love, loss, hope, fear and so on, become vastly more important in times or terror.However, because those other characters, Carol, Bobby, Lee and...not sure if I'm missing someone, have considerably less page time they therefore feel less important to the reader, who won't lament their death or their choices as much as Xander or Riley.What I loved was how the story moved from one set of characters to another, with their own survival stories winding around one another, growing ever closer together. I found myself hoping they wouldn't miss each other and would eventually team up. For me that 'will they won't they' element was what made the story tense and exciting.Two issues brought me out of the story, not that it impacted on my enjoyment a great deal, but they were very noticeable and should have been avoided. First, there were way too many wan smiles from almost every character. A single character smiling wanly is okay, sort of, though personally I don't like a wan smile as it feels weak and hard to visualise.But when wan smiles come from other characters I started to wonder if any of them were taking their life or death situation seriously? And therefore why should I take time to believe and hope in them? To make matters worse there are wan smiles at the weirdest of times, like during intense action where the character should be concentrating on getting away from the threat, not throwing around wan smiles.The other issue, worse than the wan smiling, was the use of the word 'anymore' not only by the author but by every character. It's understandable for a character swept up in a life changing catastrophe to say: "Do you honestly think it matters anymore?" But the same word crops up over and over again. Every character has the same idea, that after seven hours of chaos they assume everything on the planet, their lives and their future will never ever be the same again.That's a huge assumption, especially for every character to arrive at it independently. I searched the kindle edition for 'anymore' and found 63 results. It may seem like a somewhat pedantic comment to make but it grated on my nerves after yet another character used had used it. It would have had more impact had it been used a few times in that context to reinforce what is clearly a world changing event.Those two jarring elements aside this was still a cracking read. Enjoyable start to finish. This was a refreshing take on an apocalyptic scenario that doesn't have zombies, aliens or religious aspects to it. Even the point I made about having no big bad boss guy is intriguing because the reader is left with a sense of: "But why....?" and the desire to read the next instalment.I'm very much looking forward to the next book!

This book is well-written. Armageddon is upon the characters and they respond with all reasonable emotion. Huge, cataclysmic weather takes over the action and strangely militant men take over in some areas.The characters are drawn together and then apart and together again, to end the story full circle. Some may not like the story as the events and conflict are caused by the world ending event rather than the characters. However, the characters are drawn well. They have individual personalities and, apart from one romantic fizzle I felt was more forced than felt, I could believe in them. I have faith that they will grow along with the series.The main question this story leaves with is: what's happening, and who's at fault? The strange buzzing on the airwaves may suggest something not from this world... I am intrigued, but look forward with caution. I hope that the characters' stories grow to rule the story in later books more than the weather.

One of the best starts to a series I've read in ages. Apocalypse action with some of the best characters I've read in a long while. Great scene setting - nature rebelling with some nasty consequences. Small groups of people reacting as normal people would (I don't think any of them served for years in the army/navy seal etc. nor do any of them have a stash of weapons ready). They make mistakes, they trip over, some even get killed..... But all of them are superbly written. A cracking story which moves fast & left me breathless but cheering the characters on! Immediately bought the next 2 books in the series. Was up until 3am finishing book 2. Brilliant. Wish there were more in the series!

Apocalyptic story that is very much different to any I have read before. I am still not certain what has happened but it appears the earth is fighting back against the damage we have caused over the years. Follow the characters as they journey through the ever changing landscape - which could be more dangerous than how some of their fellow humans react!