Series: The Nahx Invasions, Book 1
Author: G.S. Prendergast
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BYR
Release Date: August 29, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Science Fiction
Content Rating: Older Teen (strong language, strong violence, some torture, teen drug use and drinking, strong crude talk/innuendo, sensuality)
Format Read: ARC
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase: Azon | B&N | BookDepo | Indiebound
Summary:
He has no voice, or name, only a rank, Eighth. He doesn’t know the details of the mission, only the directives that hum in his mind.
Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall.
His job is to protect his Offside. Let her do the shooting.
Until a human kills her…
Sixteen year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade, annihilating entire cities, taking control of the Earth. Isolated in the wilderness, Raven and her friends have only a fragment of instruction from the human resistance.
Shelter in place.
Which seems like good advice at first. Stay put. Await rescue. Raven doesn’t like feeling helpless but what choice does she have?
Then a Nahx kills her boyfriend.
Thrown together in a violent, unfamiliar world, Eighth and Raven should feel only hate and fear. But when Raven is injured, and Eighth deserts his unit, their survival depends on trusting each other…
* * *
Series: This is the first book in The Nahx Invasions duology.
Although Zero Repeat Forever is technically broken into four seasonal parts, for me there were really only two: before Raven and Eighth are forced together, and after.
Before: Before was a struggle for me, a long survival story of constant quiet tension that wore uncomfortably on my nerves punctuated by bursts of violent action that did little to animate the plodding and introspective travel saga. The writing style was choppy, occasionally confusing, and told the story crudely with a lot of language and sexual references that made it impossible for me to connect with or even bring myself to like Raven and her companions. It took all my willpower not to skip over her chapters for Eighth's as he and his mental struggles were the only bright spot in the first half, although even he had the occasional crude streak that made me just as uncomfortable as it did him. At about 35% I finally had to set the book aside for a breather and debated for a few weeks if I would pick it back up, but ultimately the mystery of the aliens intrigued me enough to continue my struggles.
After: And then, blessedly, halfway through, came the After. Once Raven and Eighth are finally forced together, despite all the brooding and screaming, I was thoroughly engrossed. Even repulsed by each other, Raven and Eighth (now Autumn) were amazing together, and their volatile loathe/love relationship kept me enthralled. They brought out a lot of darkness in each other but also a little light; were horrible to and for each other but also comfort and warmth. I finally came to care about them, and their journey together and apart sucked me in. After the first half took me over a week to read, and several weeks off to reassess my interest, for the second half I was reluctant to put the book down and devoured Part 3 in a day and the final Part 4 in a few hours (together almost 250 pages).
The End: While the alien mystery reveal was no surprise, the end twist was and with its somewhat cliffhanger finish I must admit I was left a little curious about the sequel. But skimming the reviews and weighing my struggles with this book, despite its second-half good points, I'm not sure I could take a 570-page crude continuation with, according to reviews, no saving grace Autumn until the second half. Still, perhaps one day.
Conclusion: Although not typically my kind of read with its crude characters, lengthy travel, and constant quiet tension, the mystery of the aliens held my interest just enough through the first half to reach the much more engrossing second half with its volatile relationship and surprising end. Would definitely recommend for those who love alien invasion survival stories with grisly violence and a crude streak.
For Fans Of: The 5th Wave and similar reads
Scribble Rating:
3.5 of 5 Scribbles
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