It’s a great privilege to be able to review this book again. My initial review was an earlier draft and most of what I mentioned that was negative had either been edited out, changed or rewritten. Now that The Becoming is available on Amazon and Audible, I just have to say that it is truly an honor to be asked to review her revised work.
For a first time author in this genre, Ms. Meigs has compiled and created a serious novel that far surpasses others within the zombie/apocalyptic/horror genre. With the revisions, it is an incredible read and well worth adding to any fan’s library.
The premise of the storyline is one that we’ve seen, read or heard before; an unknown virus is accidently or purposely released. In this case, it’s referred to as the Michaluk Virus, a synthetic virus most likely weaponized due to the rate of infection.
In the first chapter, we’re introduced to one of the primary characters, Brandt. With the revisions, the reader now has some insight into who this character is and a little about his motivations beyond surviving contact with the infected.
A beautifully written sequence, rich in detail and character development.
As the story progresses, we meet Cade and Ethan, next door neighbors, one being a city police officer and the other a former IDF soldier. Not to give anything away but pay attention to the interaction between these two and you might catch something that most readers would miss. Ethan, what some would call an off-duty alcoholic is nicely detailed to a point where the reader can picture just what kind of person he is. Cade, the neighbor and former IDF soldier, comes across as someone who just wants to have a normal life in a quiet neighborhood and enjoy backyard barbeques with her friends.
When the infection breaks out, Ethan’s wife, Anna, is called into work to help out at the hospital while Ethan’s office tells him to stay put for the time being. Events transpire and the outbreak reaches their respective homes and as one could imagine, bad things happen. Cade’s calm, relaxed world is shattered as she must face something that no one could ever prepare for, a loved one who is infected and now in her home.
I’m not giving anything away, so suffice it to say that she does what has to be done, has a Chicken Little moment running around and freaking out then heads over to Ethan’s to calm down and reassess. While this might seem out of character for her, don’t worry, she relaxes as much as one could given that situation then slowly morphs into the IDF trained badass babe with a rifle through the rest of the book and presumably, the rest of the trilogy.
There were a couple of issues that I discussed with Ms. Meigs in regards to Cade’s actions and those of some of the others, but that was just me being anal about certain aspects of the plot line and how those characters reacted to those events. What is nice to see is that Cade’s Dragonuv has been discarded for a Galil SAR, but only those readers who are interested in or have a background in weapons would actually care about that difference. The Galil fits Cade’s background more and let’s leave it at that.
Overall, the first version of The Becoming read like it was a teaser trailer and this version is the Full Monty.
I’m eagerly awaiting the rest of the trilogy.
Available at Amazon
