Post Apocalyptic Reading: Impressions – Roil, by Trent Jamieson

Posted on by anninyn

Roil by Trent Jamieson [1. Bought with my own money from Angry Robot Books]

Shale is in trouble, dying. A vast, chaotic, monster-bearing storm known only as the Roil is expanding, consuming the land.

Where once there were twelve great cities, now only four remain, and their borders are being threatened by the growing cloud of darkness. The last humans are fighting back with ever more bizarre new machines. But one by one the defences are failing. And the Roil continues to grow.

With the land in turmoil, it’s up to a decadent wastrel, a four thousand year-old man, and a young woman intent on revenge to try to save their city – and the world.

Roil is a fast-paced post apocalyptic fantasy that drops you right into a new world from the first page. Reviewed in EPUB format.

Grade: B

Continue reading “Post Apocalyptic Reading: Impressions – Roil, by Trent Jamieson”

Your period post apocalypse.

Posted on by anninyn

OK, male readers. If you are squeamish about period talk, you may not want to read this one. But as a survival blog with female writers and a slant where we look at the stuff people don’t think about, you knew this was coming.

Women have periods. It’s a fact. There are things that can stop a woman having her period (being very underweight or overweight, pregnancy, certain medications, certain medical conditions, menopause) but, in general, if you are a female human between about 13 and 50 you are bleeding from your vagina every month.

Continue reading “Your period post apocalypse.”

What I've learned from watching science fiction shows

Posted on by char

I watch a lot of science fiction. I read alot of science fiction, too, but I grew up watching Star Trek and Stargate.

Yes, I’m a geek. (It’s okay, you can say it. It’s not like it’s a secret or anything.)

I realized recently that I’ve learned a few things from my steady diet of space battles. (One of them is that regardless of space being a giant vacuum, explosions will always sound…well, like big explosions. Always.) Hopefully those things will even help me post-apocalypse, but only time–and the apocalypse–will tell.

I’m concentrating on TV shows here, otherwise this post will turn into a novel. Or at least a thesis paper. (Hmm…might not be a bad thesis topic.)

Anyway. So, what have I learned from watching science fiction? Well, it depends on the show.

Continue reading “What I've learned from watching science fiction shows”

Play, Read, Destroy! | Prototype 2 presented by Dark Horse

Posted on by tavia.

Remember the game Prototype? You played as Alex an extremely powerful shapeshifter brute forcing his way through New York City. The city was overrun by the Blacklight plague, which turned the infected into crazed monsters, desprate to kill any uninfected.

Why do infected always want to destroy the uninfected? They can’t just wither and die or fight for supr
emacy among themselves?

As has been the trend, a comic will be released leading up to the release of Prototype 2. The story will bridge the time between the original game and its upcoming sequel.

Radical Entertainment, Activision, and Dark Horse announced the mini-series via press release:

The all-new digital comic series will be broken into three original stories that bridge the gap between the original blockbuster game and the highly anticipated sequel, PROTOTYPE 2.  The first entry, “The Anchor,” illustrated by Paco Díaz, continues the story of Alex Mercer, the protagonist from the first game, while the second story, “The Survivors,” illustrated by Chris Staggs, follows a small group of residents of New York trying to escape the city after it has been transformed into NYZ with the outbreak of the Blacklight virus.  The third and final story, illustrated by Victor Drujiniu, is “The Labyrinth” and provides fans a deeper look into the backstory of PROTOTYPE 2‘s new protagonist, Sgt. James Heller.  Each comic in the series will be available at  Digital.Darkhorse.com every other week beginning February 15, 2012.

Post-apocalyptic graphic novel review: The Undisputed King of Nothing, by Paul Stapleton

Posted on by anninyn

The Undisputed King of Nothing 1: Goodbye to All That by Paul Stapleton [1. Review copy provided free by Bedsit Press] follows the non-adventures of our unnamed protagonist in a post-apocalyptic world.

The UK has been devastated by a new type of flu, and now, months later the unnamed protagonist seems to be the only person left alive in the world.

Continue reading “Post-apocalyptic graphic novel review: The Undisputed King of Nothing, by Paul Stapleton”

Apocalyptic Travel Tips

Posted on by tavia.

Travel is a messy and difficult thing. Often because it involves more than just you, a point A, and a point B. There are gatekeepers who want to make sure you’re not only not a security risk but also that you’ve simply followed the rules that have been laid out. Other people will also be traveling with or along side you. If they’re children or elderly, then they’ll need to use the bathrooms and eat and just waste your time as much as they can. And, finally, there will be stuff. We’ve gone over what you can and should bring with you before the apocalypse. Now, lets look at what travel tips we should bear in mind when traveling post-apocalyptically. Continue reading “Apocalyptic Travel Tips”

Post-Apocalyptic Reading – Impressions: EX-PATRIOTS by Peter Clines

Posted on by char

Description of Peter Clines’ Ex-Patriots[1. This book was provided for review byPermuted Press]

It’s been two years since the world ended.

Two years since the dead rose and the plague of ex-humanity decimated mankind. For most of that time, the superhero called St. George, formerly known to the world as the Mighty Dragon, has protected the people of Los Angeles at their film studio-turned-fortress, The Mount. Together with his fellow heroes—Cerberus, Zzzap, and Stealth—he’s tried to give the survivors hope and something like a real life. But the swollen population of the Mount is becoming harder and harder to sustain, and the heroes are feeling the pressure.

Hope arrives in the form of a United States Army battalion, based in a complex a few hundred miles away in Arizona. This is not just any base, however. The men and women of Project Krypton are super-soldiers, designed and created before the outbreak to be better, stronger, and faster than normal humans. They want the heroes and all the people of the Mount to rejoin America and have normal lives again.

But can the military be trusted?

And is there even a country left to rejoin? There is a secret at the heart of Project Krypton, and those behind it have an awesome power that will help them keep that secret hidden. The power of Freedom.

I really wanted to like this book. I really did. I mean, stuff blows up! Zombies get ripped apart! (What’s not to like, right?) But it took me…a while to finish it. This, sadly, says a lot more about what I thought of it than any review I could write.

(I have, on occasion, stayed up until 2 or 3 in the morning reading, even though I have to wake up at around 7 to take my kids to school.)

Continue reading “Post-Apocalyptic Reading – Impressions: EX-PATRIOTS by Peter Clines”

Why you should try to stay on our good sides.

Posted on by anninyn

Alright, so this is actually a post about us, because we are awesome.

In March, ICoS will have been going for a year. A year! In that year, I have got to know Tavia and Char quite well, and I tell you this: if these girls lived in the UK I would move heaven and earth to ensure they were on my post-apocalypse team. Why? I’ll tell you why.

Continue reading “Why you should try to stay on our good sides.”

Instructions for the post-apocalypse

Posted on by char

For once, these instructions are not coming from me. Or Ann. Or Tavia.

Shocking, isn’t it?

It seems that we are not the only apocalypse-obsessed people on the planet. Also, not everyone wants to announce that obsession over the Internet.

Also shocking.

Anyway. Last week, I came across this article from Wired. And it fascinated me. So much that I decided to write about it.

It seems that, way back in the Before Time (by this I mean 1980), a little gigantor-sized monument was unveiled in Elbert County, Georgia. Called the Georgia Guidestones, it lists “post-apocalyptic commandments” for what’s left of civilization. You know, like a guide.

Continue reading “Instructions for the post-apocalypse”

A New Character is Voted Onto Dead Island

Posted on by tavia.

Dead Island, the playable beachy horror story set on the fictional island of  of Banoi just  announced a new playable character. This new character will be available in addition to the original four characters (who each have different classes from ranged combat to fisty brute)[1. Check out the official site for the full character profiles.]:

The new character isn’t profiled on the site because then there would be spoilers. Yup, This is a person you’ve encountered in the game before and his storyline should add a new perspective to why and how things on Banoi unfolded the way they did.

[wpspoiler name=”Deep Silver announced the character in a press release: ” ]This DLC offers a unique new perspective into the incidents in the main story of Dead Island: This time the player will get the chance to play as Ryder White, the antagonist of the main game; learn more about his motivations and why, from his point of view, he did what he had to do. This fresh take on the Dead Island story shows Ryder White both as a military man and a loving husband. The DLC stars Ryder White as a newly playable character and offers a single player campaign with several hours of story content with twists and turns that will shed new light on the game’s happenings. Two blueprints and weapons will further expand the already impressive arsenal of Dead Island. The DLC will be available on February 01, 2012 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC. It will be available for 800 Microsoft points on Xbox LIVE Marketplace or for £7.99 on PSN and Steam. (source)[/wpspoiler]