First Activation is a post-apocalyptic thriller in which
nearly the entire global population is turned into brainwashed puppets with one
single purpose – to kill someone then kill themselves. Only a few people are
unaffected, having been on airplanes when the phenomenon hit. Four of these,
two of them soldiers, set off in a group to try to figure out what is going on
and to survive. What they find is more horrifying than anything they can
imagine.
First Activation had me torn, I felt at the end like I had
read two different books in one. The first half of the book is gripping,
powerful and terrifying. It seems at every turn our survivors are faced with
yet another threatening situation; and the behaviour of the ‘killers’ is highly
disturbing. It took a lot of effort for me to put the book down and go to bed,
and I was ready to give it five-stars as soon as I finished it.
The second half of the book was less satisfying, mainly due
to the pace and the lack of credibility of the plot. I found the story was
rushed, and lacked the detail of the first half of the book. It was like the
authors were determined to get to the end as quickly as possible, whereas I
much prefer a more drawn out journey, especially when it comes to travelling in
a post-apocalyptic world. This was not helped by the sudden lack of tension
(for reasons I can’t go into without spoiling the plot), and the ‘threat’ in
the second half of the book just never really seemed like a real threat. The
actions of the main characters also start to unravel - two men who have refused
to kill without great provocation just a few chapters before, suddenly turn into
ruthless torturers, which is a tad unbelievable despite their military background.
Prior to the end of the book the cause of the phenomenon is
exposed, although the reasons behind it are not fully explained, perhaps this
will be in the obvious sequel. I didn't really like the cause as it felt a bit clichéd;
I felt an opportunity for a more interesting explanation was missed. Maybe when
a fuller explanation is given in the sequel my opinion might change.
Rating First Activation is very hard. As I've said, half of
it was OMG and half of it was meh. In the end I have settled for a three and a
half star rating (rounded to a four for rating on sites that don’t allow half
stars). This is because I did enjoy it, and there were some great bits so I
would recommend reading it, but the second half let it down, but not so much
that it wasn't enjoyable or something I wouldn't recommend; it is also
excellent value at 99p. Fans of sci-fi thrillers will want to ad this to their
to-read lists.
On a side note, it was good to see some decent post-apocalyptic
fiction coming out of the UK as most authors in this genre are US based, and I
really hope the sequel is more like the first half of the book and slows down a
bit.
for 99p and from 
for
$1.55.
[Review copy provided by BookRooster]
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