Author: Michaelbrent Collings
Series: The Colony
Paperback: 220 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Release Date: October 6, 2013
Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars
I have spent the last few months trying to convince my doctor that I do not have high blood pressure, but I just realized what the problem is that I just read too much of Michaelbrent Collings’ books. I literally had my heart racing and clenching my teeth as I rushed to get to the next page…the next chapter. With “The Colony: Renegades”, the sequel to “The Colony: Genesis”, Michaelbrent continues to change the zombies genre. I just kept thinking to myself zombies don’t do the things that he has them do in this book, which only made it cooler. I demand you tell us what these things are Collings! I need to know! Like with the first book, I found that I couldn’t turn to the next page quick enough. Michaelbrent’s writing has always felt very cinematic to me. I was able to visualize this post-apocalyptic world so vividly while reading and I kept thinking to myself how this book is the Michael Bay of zombie books. You the man Collings! You got another hit here!
Official Premise: BEING ALIVE means you just have more to LOSE. The zombies are changing. Growing faster. Stronger. SMARTER. Working together to destroy all of humanity. Ken Strickland has found his family. But finding something and keeping it are two very different things. The survivors are bruised. They are broken. And they are about to find out that the worst monsters are among those they count as their friends.
I have to admit and apologize to Michaelbrent, I literally read “The Colony: Genesis” in practically one sitting last year. I then immediately started this one right after and it has taken me four months to complete it. Now please do not get me wrong, life just gets in the way and I haven’t had any time to focus on a book. But what I am getting to is that literally from not picking this book up for almost four months, I am so easily able to jump right back in with no issue at all. I still know all the characters and I feel like I had them on a long pause in my head. Also after picking it back up I was able to easily knock it out in less than two days.
This is what I love most about Michaelbrent’s work, he is sharp and keeps the chapters short and fast. Personally, if I am reading a book and it takes me forever to get through one chapter, I find myself getting bored no matter how good it is. His work literally is action-packed and every chapter is a cliffhanger into the next. Speaking of cliffhangers, I thought the first book had a zinger ending in it, so watch out. Since I started this book last year, Michaelbrent aka The Writing Machine has already released the next two installments in this series and has a fifth book coming out later this year as well. So as much as I would love to continue praising this book, I hate to cut this review short but I have to get my ass in gear now and try and catch up with this amazing series.