MY REVIEW
The Parade is my first Matt J Pike novel. I was looking for some apocalyptic/dystopian books and came across it, so I clicked. Even though it is the fifth book in the Apocalyptic Survivor series, it is the first book in the Apocalypse Survivors Subseries, I never felt lost. And it is a great cover, that Matt designed himself.
My name is Zoe Carter, this is my story, and the story of all the members of the Norwood Hub during and after the impact of Comet 2014DM3 in April 2014.
How would you spend your time if you knew a comet would hit the Earth? Would you give up and part like it’s 1999? Would you be a prepper and gather resources, hunkering down to see who is left standing? Would you gather arms and weapons to protect yourself?
I love apocalyptic books, because I wonder what I would do. I think in desperate times, the best and the worst of humanity comes to light…and The Parade has a lot of the worst. Sometimes there is no choice, it’s a me or them situation.
Violence, vendettas, selfishness and greed – that’s what came out in us the most.
Of course, you have those who step up to lead, often through fear, and making sure they get what’s theirs first. When food runs out, they have a big target on their back. People have to have someone to blame. The simplest injury could mean death, as medical supplies run out or are non existent, not enough, or no doctors to help.
The ‘grenade’ event was quite clever.
An unlikely group of characters were drawn together for protection and survival. No one can predict who will survive and not all of them do. We have some sad moments, but that was to be expected. We have plenty of violence and death, and that was to be expected too. Your friend can quickly become your enemy. There are no winners in an apocalypse, just survivors. Would you be one of them?
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Parade by Matt J Pike.
GOODREADS BLURB
“Perhaps, like the scars left on the world we live in, the scars left on our species will take decades to heal – centuries even. May I – we – be forgiven for what we have done.” Zoe Survivor
You’ve heard from the heroes. Now get ready for the villains…
In the latest instalment of his award-winning Apocalypse Survivors series, Aussie author Matt J Pike returns to where it all began with a new origin story – this one told from the perspective of the bad guys. But when life on earth has been all but wiped out by an comet, simple ideas of good and evil aren’t as simple as they appear.
As the comet unleashes an ash cloud over the planet, stealing the sun and bringing on permanent winter, a brutal new era dawns for humanity. In a small corner of the world, in a broken city called Adelaide, a group of survivors gather on The Parade, a resource-rich shopping strip that offers shelter, warmth, water and food. What unites them is the simple desire to survive, what divides them is how far they’re prepared to go to make that happen.
In the power play for control of this frightening new world, one thing is clear. No one is getting through unscathed!
There is no good and bad. Only survival.
- Genre: Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Fiction, Science Fiction
- 242 pages, Paperback
- Published May 25, 2023
ABOUT MATT J PIKE (from Amazon)
Like the legendary R M Williams, Matt was born in Jamestown in rural South Australia. But that’s where the remarkable similarities between these two end. While Reginald went from bushman to world renowned millionaire outback clothing designer, Matt is a complete dag who was lured by the city lights of Adelaide. Kindergarten in the big smoke was a culture shock, but it is here he first discovered his love of storytelling.
In high school that love found an outlet in a series of completely unflattering cartoons about fellow students and teachers alike. He survived long enough to further his art into a successful career in multimedia design but, like a zombified leech, the lure of the written word gnawed at him, forcing him to pen his first novel, the award-winning sci-fi comedy epic, Kings of the World. It was followed the next year by Amazon Australia dystopian sci-fi best-seller Apocalypse: Diary of a Survivor.
Matt donates part-proceeds of each book sold to find a cure for Rett Syndrome, a neurological condition the youngest of his three children, Abby, has.
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