From the Bookshelf of Apocalypse Whenever…

The Reapers Are the Angels (Reapers, #1)

Alden Bell,

Joshua Gaylord

Why we're reading this: For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead…more
[close] For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself and keeping her demons inside her heart. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.

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Nov 09, 2014 Silver Thistle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: post-apocalyptic

I LOVE an end of the world scenario!
The zombies were not the focus of this book but I still LOVED it! So much!

It's true, it's not about the zombies. They're there, and they're just as stinky and dead as you'd imagine but I felt 'safe' walking among them because I had Temple with me. Temple is so amazing. From now on in my nightmare's I'm going to take Temple with me. Temple has fear of nothing and/or nobody and despite being just a little girl, a teen, she's one of the most kick-ass heroine's I' I LOVE an end of the world scenario!
The zombies were not the focus of this book but I still LOVED it! So much!

It's true, it's not about the zombies. They're there, and they're just as stinky and dead as you'd imagine but I felt 'safe' walking among them because I had Temple with me. Temple is so amazing. From now on in my nightmare's I'm going to take Temple with me. Temple has fear of nothing and/or nobody and despite being just a little girl, a teen, she's one of the most kick-ass heroine's I've read about in a long time.

She hasn't known any other way of life as she was born after the dead started rising and has been pretty much alone her whole life. We're told that she spent some of her early life in an orphanage and that she's had a few companions on her journey through the wasteland but when we meet her she is on her own. Having Temple as a guide made me just relax and enjoy the ride. She's Street-Smart and infinitely capable. She takes everything in her stride, doesn't freak out and above all gets the job done. Always. In a way she's even more deadly than the zombie's.

Along the way she meets two men who are to become central to her story. Maury is a grown man with the mental age of a very young child and Temple takes him under her wing and looks after him (initially unwillingly), and their relationship is very touching. Moses is an older, male version of Temple herself and their relationship is based on friction but there's some grudging respect there too.

I'll be honest, I thought I was going to hate this book for the simple reason that within the first 2 pages I spotted my pet hate in written text. THE WORST TEXT CRIME. The word 'of' instead of 'have' - "I should of known that was wrong" instead of "I should have known that was wrong". I kept going though and quickly realised that it's mostly told from Temple's point of view and is written exactly as if spoken, text crimes and all. Having said that though, the story was so good and I was so engrossed in it that I was halfway through before I noticed there's nothing to indicate speech. Sound's crazy but I honestly didn't even notice that to begin with and when it suddenly dawned on me I didn't even miss a beat. It's weird but I didn't have a problem with it...which in itself is weird because that sort of thing usually rubs me up TOTALLY the wrong way.

Anyhoo, it's a fantastic story.

I'd recommend this as a great read if you're into zombies, the apocalypse and/or road-trip type books. I really, really liked it. ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Apr 11, 2011 🥀 Rose 🥀 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, zombies, apocalypse

Gothic horror, southern style. It has been awhile since I've read such beautiful prose surrounded by such a bleak lanscape. This post-apocalyptic, zombie tale is everything you would not expect. The zombies are merely background to this story of longing and redemeption.

Our protagonist is a 15 year old girl called Temple. She has never known a world without zombies since they began 25 years ago. She travels through the country going from one enclave to another witnessing all the various pockets ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 21, 2014 Paula Hess rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Read about zombies, dream about zombies. Held onto this one cause I was afraid it wouldn't be any good. Read it last night and couldn't put it down till the end. Really good YA dystopian read. Just got the 2nd book yesterday and will have to read it over the weekend. ...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Ami E. Bowen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourite-books, most-engaging-stories, favorites

"The Reapers Are The Angels" is the type of book that's literally difficult to put down. I read it in the span of a day and a half. It follows the (mis)adventures of a spitfire girl named Temple through the zombie-infested countryside with an autistic man she picked up by chance along the way while being chased by another man hell bent on vengeance. This is not your typical dystopian-slash-zombie novel and has a few surprises for the reader if they're patient enough to keep reading and wait for ...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Gertie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalypse, zombies, short

This book is a little hard to describe. It's a... quiet novel. There's no edge-of-your-seat excitement, or anything very sensational, but it has a kind of mellow intensity - which probably sounds like a paradox until you've read it for yourself.

The main character grows up in a lonely existence in a zombie ("slug") infested world, and struggles with her sense of morality. She dispatches the infected with little more concern than one of us would give to whacking down poison ivy on a walking path ...more

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