Apocalyptica - Part Four (Ran) by Joshua Guess is the fourth and final installment of a serialized novel. As a whole, it was brilliant!

There are not only zombies but cannibalistic Reavers who are relentless killing machines. Can Ran deal with the extra people now living at her complex? Can she survive betrayal? What an enjoyable story!

This author is a highly skilled writer that keeps the action moving, makes the characters believable and tells a great story. I gave this five stars even with the need for some editing for typos.

I have added his other books to my wishlist.

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Apocalyptica-Part-Four-Joshua-Guess-ebook/dp/B01IS7T5OI

Apocalyptica - Part Three (Ran) by Joshua Guess is the third installment of a serialized novel.

The author has a skill with words that kept me turning the pages. It is an intriguing story about Ran Lawson. There are frightening events where she is kidnapped by other survivors. Her preparation skills have paid off.

I gave it four stars only because of the need to edit for typos. That did not reflect on the writer's skill.

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Apocalyptica-Part-Three-Joshua-Guess-ebook/dp/B01F27Q29S

Apocalyptica - Part Two (Ran) by Joshua Guess is the second installment of a serialized novel. The author is a wordsmith. This kept my attention from start to finish.

It is an intriguing story about Ran Lawson. She is a hardy survivor. There are frightening shades of gray in this end of the world as we knew it story.

I gave it four stars only because of the need to edit for typos. That did not reflect on the writer's skill.

Link to purchase:  https://www.amazon.com/Apocalyptica-Part-Two-Joshua-Guess-ebook/dp/B01CH3BJ52

Apocalyptica Part One, Ran:  Book One by Joshua Guess is the first part of a serialized novel. It is not a complete book but the author's intent was to make it a complete story.

I gave it five stars.

Randie, the protagonist who prefers being called Ran is a well developed, entertaining character.

"Look, the guy almost attacked me. If not for my dog, I think he would have. And I won't ever repeat the vile $hit he said to me. Maybe I'm a terrible person for not caring that he died, but I've never been able to bring myself to feel pity or regret over the loss of awful people. I was feeling a little angry and disappointed in myself for not seeing what Jeff was sooner, but no one is perfect. Judge me as you will."

Ran does research for people. She also performed tests and experiments to make reports for her clients. "A crime novelist two summers earlier hired me to assemble a spreadsheet of the damage various pieces of common sports equipment and other items could do to a human body. Two weeks and three badly broken pig carcasses later, I had developed a solid respect for improvised weapons. Baseball bats were high on the list."

While this is a complete story, I found myself wanting more. I'll place the remainder of Joshua Guess' books on my wishlist.

I received a complimentary kindle copy from Amazon. That did not change my opinion for this review.

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Apocalyptica-Part-One-Joshua-Guess-ebook/dp/B01AT2A6LQ

Good that! The extremely rare sequel that far outshines its predecessor. While I saw the promise and potential of The Maze Runner, I thought the execution was lacking. Just a bit. That was fixed her. Perfectly suspenseful, paced and characterized, The Scorch Trials moves the series along dramatically without feeling like a middle installment, a bridge to hold up the first and last part of the entirety of the story.

I admit, the setting was more my aesthetic: a burned out city turned into a desert, zombie-like infected, and a personal sense of shifting alliances and heartbreak. It does what almost no sequel, in my opinion, has done successfully and introduces new characters that I actually like and care about, and am able to read about without resenting the fact that they're taking up space and time.

Tight, from beginning to end, and surprising in its gray-area morality and decisions. Quite excellent.