As the World Dies: Untold Tales Blog Tour: Reviews, Excerpt, and Giveaways Oh My

Today I have so much amazing stuff to share with you! Not only do I have an excerpt to share, I also have not 1, not 2, but 3 reviews for you to read. I also have a giveaway for the entire Untold Tales series and there is also a tour-wide giveaway full of goodies! Just a note to keep this post for being massive I will have a link to some of the review below.

About the Books

Title: As the World Dies: Untold Tales Vol. 1

Author: Rhiannon Frater

Series: As the World Dies: Untold Tales #1

Publication Date: August 3, 2011

Length: 158 Pages

THE FIRST DAYS: AS THE WORLD DIES introduced Jenni and Katie and their harrowing journey to the makeshift fort in the Texas Hill Country. But theirs is not the only tale to be told. In the first volume of the AS THE WORLD DIES UNTOLD TALES experience three terrifying tales of those who are forced to face the unrelenting and hungry walking dead.
Deep in the Texas Hill Country, a man and his little dog takes refuge in a bed and breakfast located in the hills above a doomed town where an infested rescue center might unleash the hungry undead…
On a deserted highway slicing through the desolation of West Texas, a woman struggles to survive as she faces the horrifying aftermath of the rise of the zombies…
And finally, discover what happens on the first day to Katie’s beloved wife, Lydia, as the world dies…

Title: As the World Dies: Untold Tales Vol. 2

Author: Rhiannon Frater

Series: As the World Dies: Untold Tales #2

Publication Date: March 19, 2012

Length: 175 Pages

THE FIRST DAYS: AS THE WORLD DIES introduced Jenni and Katie and their harrowing journey to the makeshift fort in the Texas Hill Country. FIGHTING TO SURVIVE: AS THE WORLD DIES continued their story as the two women joined the members of the makeshift fort in Ashley Oaks in the fight for survival against not only zombies, but the evil designs of bandits.

But theirs is not the only tale to be told.

In the second volume of the AS THE WORLD DIES UNTOLD TALES experience three terrifying tales of those who are forced to face the unrelenting and hungry walking dead.

In a nearby town Ken and Lenore have started their regular routine at Ken’s Beauty Salon. A terrible accident brings the undead plague to their front door and soon the best friends are scrambling to escape their overrun town…

Katarina is just finishing her shift at a roadside café when a badly injured man stumbles through the front door. She quickly realizes that to survive she must learn to kill…

And finally, a trapped family must face the fearsome truth that sometimes zombies are not the worst monster they have to fear as the world dies…

Title: As the World Dies: Untold Tales Vol. 3
Author: Rhiannon Frater
Series: As the World Dies: Untold Tales #3
Publication Date: January 1, 2013
Length: 179 Pages

In the third volume of the AS THE WORLD DIES UNTOLD TALES experience three terrifying tales of those who are forced to face the unrelenting and hungry walking dead.
Returning to Texas after celebrating his divorce in Vegas, Rune, a biker cursed with the ability to see ghosts, discovers that the world is being taken over by the hungry undead. Soon he realizes he will have to depend on all his abilities to survive not only the ravenous zombies, but the dangerous men lurking on the back roads of Texas.
Senator Paige Brightman abandoned the Madison Mall and its inhabitants to the hungry hordes, but her journey did not end there. Her attempt to reach the president’s safe haven called Central has far reaching ramifications for her and the people she abandoned.
The final in the three stories reveals the aftermath of the great battle in SIEGE as one woman faces the ultimate decision whether to live or die in a world of the undead.

Purchase any of the Untold Tales at

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Book Review: As The World Dies: Untold Tales Volume 2

About the Book

Title: As the World Dies: Untold Tales Vol. 2

Author: Rhiannon Frater

Series: As the World Dies: Untold Tales #2

Publication Date: March 19, 2012

Length: 175 Pages

THE FIRST DAYS: AS THE WORLD DIES introduced Jenni and Katie and their harrowing journey to the makeshift fort in the Texas Hill Country. FIGHTING TO SURVIVE: AS THE WORLD DIES continued their story as the two women joined the members of the makeshift fort in Ashley Oaks in the fight for survival against not only zombies, but the evil designs of bandits.

But theirs is not the only tale to be told.

In the second volume of the AS THE WORLD DIES UNTOLD TALES experience three terrifying tales of those who are forced to face the unrelenting and hungry walking dead.

In a nearby town Ken and Lenore have started their regular routine at Ken’s Beauty Salon. A terrible accident brings the undead plague to their front door and soon the best friends are scrambling to escape their overrun town…

Katarina is just finishing her shift at a roadside café when a badly injured man stumbles through the front door. She quickly realizes that to survive she must learn to kill…

And finally, a trapped family must face the fearsome truth that sometimes zombies are not the worst monster they have to fear as the world dies…

My Review

Untold Tales Volume 2 is just as magnificent as the first volume. Even though I have not read any of the As the World Dies Series, I still enjoy these stories immensely. I think that the Untold Tales will actually make me enjoy reading the As the World Dies series much more, but they are also great insight for fans of the series. 

Untold Tales Volume 2 is set up much like the first with two shorter stories, followed by a longer one. The first story “Revelations” is Katarina’s origin story, which is very sad. Her story is very much about freedom and gaining independence. The second shorter story is “A Terrible Moment” which is the unknowns’ story. This is a story about people in the same universe as the series, but their story does not naturally coincide with the main series. This story has to be one of the more disturbing ones, but it is so perfectly written that it is defiantly one of my favorites. 

The much longer story is “Friendship in the time of Zombie.” It is the beautiful origin story of Ken and Lenore. These two best friends have to endure many things, but their friends hop never falters. The most enduring thing about the third story is the loyalty both characters show to each other even when facing the worse of situations. 

I love the first volume and now I completely love the second volume. I can only imagine what is going to happen during the third volume. Go ahead and grab any volume of the Untold Tales, read it, and then tell me you do not love it. It really is a must read series for zombie fans. 

**Unabridged Bookshelf received this book from author in exchange for an honest review**

Thank you for visiting Unabridged Bookshelf!

Book Review: As the World Dies: Untold Tales Volume 1

About the Book

Title: As the World Dies: Untold Tales Vol. 1

Author: Rhiannon Frater

Series: As the World Dies: Untold Tales #1

Publication Date: August 3, 2011

Length: 158 Pages

THE FIRST DAYS: AS THE WORLD DIES introduced Jenni and Katie and their harrowing journey to the makeshift fort in the Texas Hill Country. But theirs is not the only tale to be told. In the first volume of the AS THE WORLD DIES UNTOLD TALES experience three terrifying tales of those who are forced to face the unrelenting and hungry walking dead.
Deep in the Texas Hill Country, a man and his little dog takes refuge in a bed and breakfast located in the hills above a doomed town where an infested rescue center might unleash the hungry undead…
On a deserted highway slicing through the desolation of West Texas, a woman struggles to survive as she faces the horrifying aftermath of the rise of the zombies…
And finally, discover what happens on the first day to Katie’s beloved wife, Lydia, as the world dies…

My Review

Even though Untold Tales are a companion to the As the World Dies series, they can be read by themselves. Although you may want to have the first book, The First Days handy because once you read these you will defiantly want to read the series. The first volume has three short stories set in the As the World Dies universe.

The first story is “The Broken Heart” which is a very short story about the first days of the zombie outbreak; specifically it is Katie’s wife Lydia’s story about the way she died. It is a beautiful insight into Katie and Lydia’s life and the true tragedy of Lydia’s loss.

The second story, “Dangerous Highway” is Monica’s story and it takes place within days of the outbreak. It is a really tragic tale of family. It really shows how differently everyone react to the fear steaming from the rising of the dead.

“Vacation of the Dead” is Eric’s origin story and it is the longest story in the book, but my favorite. From the beginning, I could not help but feel sorry for Eric. At first, it was because he was in love with someone who was all wrong for him, and then of course the zombie apocalypse happens. What I really liked was how smart and prepared Eric was about the dire situation. There was also some stuff that he witness that I am sure will mean much more when I read First Days, but it does not take away from the story at all.

I have never dislikes anything I have read by Rhiannon Frater and truthfully, she is now one of my favorite authors. I know that even if you have never read anything by her, the Untold Tales are a great beginning point.

**Unabridged Bookshelf received this book from author in exchange for an honest review**

Thank you for visiting Unabridged Bookshelf! 

Book Blitz: Siege by Rhiannon Frater

Tomorrow the paperback of Siege is going to be released! To celebrate there is a lot of awesome stuff going on, including a guest post and a giveaway here on Unabridged Bookshelf.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Siege

Author: Rhiannon Frater

Series: As The World Dies #3

Publication Date: April 30, 2013

Publisher: Tor

Genre: Adult Horror

Length: 416 Pages

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Siege is the conclusion to Rhiannon Frater’s As the World Dies trilogy, which should appeal to fans of The Walking Dead. Both The First Days and Fighting to Survive won the Dead Letter Award from Mail Order Zombie. The First Days was named one of the Best Zombie Books of the Decade by the Harrisburg Book Examiner.
The zombie illness has shattered civilization. The survivors who have found tenuous safety in Texas defend their fort against the walking dead and living bandits.
Katie has made peace with the death of her wife and is pregnant and married to Travis, who has been elected Mayor. Jenni, her stepson, Jason; and Juan—Travis’s righthand man—are a happy family, though Jenni suffers from PTSD. Both women are deadly zombie killers. In Siege, the people of Ashley Oaks are stunned to discover that the vice president of the United States is alive and commanding the remnants of the US military. What’s left of the US government has plans for this group of determined survivors

Other Books in the Series

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies trilogy (The First Days, Fighting
to Survive, Siege,) and the author of three other books: the vampire novels Pretty When She Dies and The Tale of the Vampire Bride and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. Inspired to independently produce her work from the urging of her fans, she published The First Days in late 2008 and quickly gathered a cult following. She won the Dead Letter Award back-to-back for both The First Days and Fighting to Survive, the former of which the Harrisburg Book Examiner called ‘one of the best zombie books of the decade.’ Rhiannon is currently represented by Hannah Gordon of the Foundry + Literary Media agency. You may contact her by sending an email to rhiannonfrater@gmail.com.

Follow Rhiannon

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Let Me Frighten You

By

Rhiannon Frater

I am inspired and intrigued by what frightens me. Writing about what I fear compels me to step outside my comfort zone and forces me to confront issues and themes that are not always easy to discuss.  Creating an imaginary world where terrible things happen to fictional characters is an easier (and safer) way to deal with issues we must all face at some time in our lives such as loss of loved ones, overcoming adversity, and evolving in the face of hardship. But it also allows me as a writer to also delve into much more frightening and rare occurrences such as war, natural disasters, and apocalyptic scenarios.

When I sat down to write the AS THE WORLD DIES zombie trilogy, I wanted to address the zombie apocalypse in a realistic manner. Though the scenario of the dead wandering the earth and eating the living is highly unrealistic, I wanted the characters of the story to be everyday people who somehow manage to live past the first terrifying days of the plague.  I didn’t want any Rambos or Ripleys in the mix. I wanted people who would resemble me and the reader.

Within each character in AS THE WORLD DIES there is familiarity. The characters are people we know or maybe even aspect of ourselves. They all have different strengths and weaknesses, personality flaws, and issues to overcome.  Because I wanted my characters to be everyday folks, their reactions to their terrible circumstances are grounded in reality.

For example, Jenni is a battered housewife/trophy wife at the beginning of the first book in the trilogy, THE FIRST DAYS.  After the devastating death of her children, Jenni is rescued by Katie. At first she is in shock, but slowly evolves throughout the series into a much stronger (yet not always stable) person. To make Jenni realistic, I drew on the coping mechanisms victims in abusive situations develop. The mind is amazing in its capacity to adapt to dire circumstances in order to ensure survival.  Jenni’s ability to basically cut off her emotions and compartmentalize allows her to survive better than people who have yet to develop these coping skills. Also, Jenni is extremely used to living in a life-threatening situation on a daily basis, so the zombocalypse is not much different in some respects.  Though sometimes readers get mad at Jenni for her immaturity (she was married at 17 and isolated from the world by her husband) and her bizarre actions, she remains one of the most popular, if not the most popular, character in the series.

Oftentimes readers of the series tell me how the characters in the book feel like friends. They worry about them, fear for them, and sometimes mourn them.  I have also been told how readers feel so attached to the world and the characters they feel like they are in the action.  I contribute this to the fact that they characters feel like people we know in our everyday lives, it is easy to slip into the dangerous world of AS THE WORLD DIES with them. 

Though I love superheroes and magical/supernatural characters, in the end they are far removed from me with their abilities.  I know I can’t do the things they can do.  But I can easily imagine myself on a rescue run with Jenni and Katie, clutching a gun, sweating with anxiety, and feeling sick to my stomach with fear.  Somehow this translates to the reader as well.  I’ve heard so many stories of people having to put the book aside so their wildly beating heart could calm down. Honestly, I’ve stopped typing for the same reason.

There is a certain magic that sometimes happens in books that is hard for the author to explain to the reader, but after a lot of thought I do believe the reason why my books can be so terrifying is because the characters are not so far removed from you and me.

So when a zombie is moving relentlessly toward a character in SIEGE, the fast beating of your heart and the tremor of fear flitting through your mind is probably because  you could be character facing uncertain outcome.

Now the question is…do you survive?

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Fighting To Survive Blitz: Guest Post and Giveaway

 Happy Paperback Release Day to Fighting to Survive and the mastermind behind the As The World Dies series, Rhiannon Frater! 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Fighting to Survive
Author: Rhiannon Frater
Series: As the World Dies #2
Format: Paperback
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Publisher: Tor Books
Length: 448 Pages
Amazon | Barnes and Noble 

It’s time to clear the hotel.
The fort has grown crowded as survivors of the zombie apocalypse have found safety between its walls.  Winter is coming; soon it will be too cold to live in tents and other makeshift shelters.  The leaders of the survivors—Katie, Jenni, Juan, Travis, and Nerit—decide it’s time for an assault on the zombie-occupied hotel that looms over the town square.
A pitched battle in the banquet room is the start of a harrowing, room-by-room struggle from Reception to roof.  As the sun sets, the people of Ashley Oaks gather in the hotel’s rooftop ballroom and gazebo to celebrate their survival.  Gazing out over the beauty of the surrounding Texas countryside, it’s hard to believe that death and danger lurk around every corner.
The fort’s search and rescue teams have attracted unwanted attention from bandits who see the fort as competition for food . . . and as a ready source of women.  The first attacks are minor, but everyone knows there is worse to come.
And beyond the fort’s walls, the zombies shamble, moaning, eyes fastened hungrily upon the living.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies trilogy (The First Days, Fighting to Survive, Siege,) and the author of three other books: the vampire novels Pretty When She Dies and The Tale of the Vampire Bride and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. Inspired to independently produce her work from the urging of her fans, she published The First Days in late 2008 and quickly gathered a cult following. She won the Dead Letter Award back-to-back for both The First Days and Fighting to Survive, the former of which the Harrisburg Book Examiner called ‘one of the best zombie books of the decade.’ Rhiannon is currently represented by Hannah Gordon of the Foundry + Literary Media agency. You may contact her by sending an email to rhiannonfrater@gmail.com.

Follow Rhiannon

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads