Survivor Song audiobook

NOW AVAILABLE!!!******************************************months later, i am still in quarantine, wondering if all of this has been an extremely ballsy publicity stunt by paul tremblay to promote this book. WELL PLAYED, TREMBLAY! ******************************************when is a zombie novel not a zombie novel? when paul tremblay’s writing it! I was kind of joking when I said zombies, but not joking at the same time. They’re sick people and they turn delusional and violent and they bite, but it’s easier to say zombie than “a person infected with a super rabies virus and no longer capable of making good decisions.”with all the coronavirus-panic going on right now, this was a perfectly timed read for me. ain’t nothing like reading a horror novel about a highly communicable disease whilst riding on a subway car filled with people wearing surgical masks. it’s right up there with the time i was reading The Plague on a deserted subway platform around 2am and a rat ran over my foot. good times. this is one horrifying, propulsive ride, where all the action takes place over the course of a few hours, in the book-version of ‘real time,’ telling the tale of a super rabies virus that is fast-acting, reason-obliterating, communicable AF, and fatal. oh, and bitey. soooo bitey. if you’ve read The Cabin at the End of the World, you know that tremblay is not going to pull any of his punches - he’s an old-school concrete-surfaced playground beckoning you to come skin your knobby little knees. this one starts brutal and doesn’t let up, and it’s a reminder that effective horror needn’t have any supernatural elements at all—science is more than terrifying enough. the descriptions of afflicted humans—how their lurchy-staggery gait sounds across gravel, their word-salad babblings and barking-coughing ejaculations, and—dear god—the way they BITE, it is intense, it is chilling, it is goddamned good fun.the horror is offset by humor, pop culture references, and he even managed to sneak some MATH in there like it’s SCHOOL. like The Cabin at the End of the World, it centers around the question of “what are you willing to do to save the ones you love?” and while some of the decisions here are ethically dubious and put innocent, uninfected lives at risk, hey—times is hard and this playground ain’t padded. a special shout-out for “the tiny terrors” of infected cuties:Danger skulks undercover in the fields; the tall grass bows and waves, whispering of the epic battle to come. The zombie foxes are the first to attack. The scent of their musk announces their stealthy approach. The zombie raccoons are next. Their snorts and chitters fill the air, broadcasting their immutable intentions.and—you guys—a zombie deer! all of this woodland animal menace occurs in the section called You Will Not Feel Me Between Your Teeth, which—if i am remembering what he told me correctly—was paul’s desired title for this novel, inexplicably shot down. but at least there’s a tiny fox on the bookspine.a wonderful terror of a book. THIS! ONE! HAS! TEETH!*****************************rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. rabies. tremblay. RABIES! TREMBLAY! FOX ON THE COVER!and just like that, i'm having a better day*****************************even BETTER than that day was when i got my inscribed ARC of this in the mail, along with this crazy little bookmark/pin combo, and i don't yet know what it MEANS, but it looks like The Tailypo: A Ghost Story, so i am already deliciously freaked out!!!!***************************REVIEW TO COME!! SO MANY TEETH, YOU GUYS!!!come to my blog!

Things I have learned while reading this book (in no particular order):1. Never leave you door open while bringing in the groceries2. People who force their way into your home are dangerous3. Rabies sucks4. Paul Tremblay has done it againMassachusetts has been overrun by a rabies like virus that affecting both animals and humans alike. Its incubation period is short. Symptoms will come on fast. If bitten you must get help faster than the virus can go through your system. Plus, hospitals are inundated and there may not be enough vaccines. Hysteria has kicked in, people are panicking, and society is breaking down."Never leave me and I will never leave you. Neither now nor ever."Dr. Ramola "Rams" Sherman is a pediatrician who received a phone call from her eight-month pregnant friend, Natalie. Natalie's husband has been killed and she has been bitten. Natalie and her unborn child's chance of surviving is getting to a hospital in time. Will Natalie make it? How will Rams help? This book takes place over a short period of time as these two women try desperately to get Natalie help. There is danger out there, the night is dark, and Ramona must examine what she is willing to do to save her friend. What would you do?Tremblay sets the stage and has the reader in position as a silent observer as these two women try to survive in this scary tale of survival. I rooted for them both, and for other characters as well. Tremblay knows how to create characters the reader will care for, he sucks you in so that you feel their pain, their sense of loss, their fear and their hope. Friendship, the ties that bind and the things you do for love, really make this book both enjoyable and heartbreaking. Did I mention that rabies sucks?Another brilliant book to add to his collection. A very timely book that deals with a virus that has come out of nowhere. Well written, well thought out, perfected paced and scary. It's one you will want to sink your teeth into. (I know, I know bad pun) But it will have you turning the pages and feeling the tension.Thank you to Paul Tremblay, William Morrow and Goodreads who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

In the coming days, conditions will continue to deteriorate. Emergency services and other public safety nets will be stretched to their breaking points, exacerbated by the wily antagonists of fear, panic, misinformation, a myopic, sluggish federal bureaucracy further hamstrung by a president unwilling and woefully unequipped to make the rational, science-based decisions necessary; and exacerbated, of course, by plain old individual everyday evil. There is something very eerie at work in Paul Tremblay’s latest novel, Survivor Song, but not in the way you might expect from this author. It was written before the Corona Virus pandemic became a global menace. It portrays a smaller event, an epidemic, focused in New England, but anticipates many of the issues that have now manifested as real. We will come back to this.Paul Tremblay - image from wikimedia In case you have not had your RDA of zombie-based entertainment, Paul Tremblay’s got your back, and no, he won’t bite it. Tremblay is very fond of identifying a horror trope and then creating his own take on it. The zombie trope, like many, is a format within which to write about other things. It is supposed to be a scary story, of course, but, in the same way that the format of a sonnet offers a structure, but no real direction on content. There are common elements to zombie storiez: Create immediate crisis, add a clock to it. Gotta rush or something awful will happen. Check – Zombie invades the home of a couple, kills the guy, bites the woman, before she kills him. But this is a new sort of virus, a special form of rabies with an insane rate of development, so our heroine needs to get to serious medical care ASAP. There is a vaccine at the hospital. Tick, tock.Give your characters somewhere they need to be and start stripping away the means they have to get from here to there. Yep – all modes of transportation are challenged in one way or another.Add to the unnatural evil loose on the world a large dose of stupidity, and/or human malevolence. You know the sort, the person(s) who will absolutely, positively not believe a word our hero or heroine says, and will try to clamp them in irons, kill them, or in some other way impede their progress, sooner than heed reality. Sometimes it’s the government official trying to hide evidence of a secret experimental program gone awry, or a bigoted southern hayseed sheriff who pulls you over for driving while desperate. Uh huh - More the latter here, northern this time. Streetside vigilantes. Give them AR-15s and have them tricked out head to toe in the latest in camo couture, toting all the military gear they have been collecting in their basements, and have them menace anyone not in their tribe, as they seek to apply their very non-scientific solution to the problem. If the zombies here were looking for brains, and came across these folks, they would come away unsatisfied. I happened to be in England for my first time ever doing some book events. I was sitting on a train and I started writing in my notebook. I thought about some of my previous novels, most of which sort of take the horror trope and try to look at it in a different way, or if not a different way — I try to maybe ground that story in reality. I wrote down ‘zombie.’ I was like, ‘Oh, how would I do that?’When I first asked myself, ‘How would I read this in reality?’ the rabies virus instantly occurred to me. So, I had some of the science there that I wanted to have the characters deal with. I tried to take real rabies and just move up the speed of infection rate. - from the Rollingstone interviewIf the elements noted (and I am sure there are more) are a part of the, or a standard zombie framework, I’m fine with that. This is a favorite approach of Tremblay’s, offering his own take on an established trope. But it felt a bit excessive to go after reader affections with a just-a-few-moments-ago-widowed pregnant woman. Maybe give her cancer too? Oh, wait, she was bitten by the zombie that killed her husband, and has only so much time before she manifests the symptoms. Fine, whatever. I was reminded of Harper in Joe Hill’s The Fireman, also pregnant, also afflicted with a MacGuffin-osis, dragonscale in that case. Will Harper burst into flames? Will Natalie lose her mind to the super-rabies that is spreading so dynamically, and become a mindless violence machine? Has this become standard fare in the zombie ouevre? Am I wrong to see this as excess? Seriously, I am not sure. Zombie-philes, (Z-files?) please, let me know.Ok, so Natalie is in need of medical intervention. Good thing her bff is Doctor Ramola Sherman, aka Rams. Nats gets in touch, Rams gets moving, and these two will face the next few hours (the fast-paced duration of this novel) together, Nats deteriorating, Rams trying to cut through red tape and BS to get Nats the help she needs. Will it be enough? Will it be in time? Tick tock. So, fast-paced, action adventure of type Z. The bond between Rams and Nats is nicely drawn, looking back at their time together in Providence before life added responsibilities, and catching up on their friendship to the present. Our focus remains on these two throughout, with only occasional side-trips to social media or alternate character perspectives. There are attacks to be survived, and progress to a destination to be made, all within a relatively local range. I had no contacts in the CDC or anything like that. I really wanted to focus on what it would be like at a small suburban hospital — a local outbreak. My sister is a nurse at Beth Israel Hospital in downtown Boston, so most of my research on what the response would be was through her. I got to see what some hospitals’ response plans would be. - from the Rollingstone interview Now to the eerie bit. Sorry, zombies are pretty garden variety these days, even though Tremblay does his bit to differentiate them by making their zombie-hood short-term. They do not die and return to chase brains ad nauseum. He also tosses in zombie animals, which is a totally fitting touch, given that this is super-rabies epidemic. At almost every step of the way, Nats and Rams encounter impediments, questions, or problems that could have been taken from any newspaper over the early (or, depending where you are, even late) Covid months. Looks like Tremblay’s sister knew what she was talking about. ICUs being overwhelmed, hospitals being overwhelmed, physician shortages, materials shortages, not enough PPEs, not enough vaccines, talking about which state might be safer to be in, limitations on state border crossings, governments not having their acts together to cope with a sudden crisis. Tremblay had some serious voodoo working to have predicted with such creepy accuracy the challenges that our advanced medical care system would experience when faced with an epidemic-level crisis. And while the malady in question is, no doubt, extreme, it is not supernatural. Really, how big a stretch is it to posit a variation of rabies that was faster-acting and more virulent? So, Survivor Song is worth checking out for this frisson of recognition you will experience in ripping through this very fast read. While the speed with which this virus infects is terrifying, it shouldn’t prevent us from containing it. If anything, given how quickly people succumb to the virus, if we can maintain a proper quarantine and isolation, we should be able to contain the outbreak. But that presumes people do not panic, that correct information and instruction are disseminated efficiently to the public, that the federal government follows the CDCs recommendations to be proactive with vaccine, and not reactive…We should be offering prophylaxis to whoever comes through these doors.”“Do we have enough vaccine to do that?” “No, we don’t.” Only Spot. Fricking. On! Finally, there is the content that is being carried along by the trope. Not tough seeing what that might be. Tremblay points it out to us from time to time. A woman shouts from above, “She had great power and was dreaded by all the world.” The door slams shut and then swings open without a pause. “Surrounded by a high wall,” she says sing song, lilting at “high” and separating “wall” into two syllables. Her voice is the same tone and pitch as the alarm and it sounds like there are two of her. The woman continues shouting between the piston like opening and closing of the door. “Let it cost what it will cost.” Could be a segment on Fox and Friends. It is not just Trumpkins who are targeted, but those in society who make careers of denying reality. …it will burrow, digging like a nasty tick; it will migrate; and it will return all but encouraged and welcomed in a country where science and forethought are allowed to be dirty words, where humanity’s greatest invention—the vaccine—is smeared and vilified by narcissistic, purposeful fools [the most dangerous kind, where fear is harvested for fame, profit, and self-esteem… The militia sorts shown here would have fit in quite nicely in Charlottesville.One of the things about being an excellent writer is that one’s prior work has established a high bar. The result is that any new work that does not meet that previous high level can be seen as disappointing, even if, had it been put out by an unknown writer, it might be seen as top drawer. Survivor Song has a lot going for it. Page-turning fast action, it is teeth deep into a version of real contemporary plague, and offers some intelligent perspective on real-world problems. Yet, after having loved The Cabin at the End of the World and Growing Things and Other Stories, I liked this one, but did not love it. While I liked Rams and Nats, I did not love them. Does that make me a bad person? Gut-level three and half, boosted up to four for the thoughtfulness of the real world considerations and excellent/awkward timing of putting out a plague book during a time of actual plague. At least Tremblay’s plague is not one we have to cope with in the real world, yet. Review posted – July 3, 2020Publication dates----------July 7, 2020- hardcover----------July 6, 2021 - trade paperback=============================EXTRA STUFFLinks to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pages=================================Q& AI wondered if Tremblay was maybe poking a little fun at himself by introducing a character named Paul who drove a stick shift Subaru with over 200K miles on it and who clung dearly to an outmoded phone. So I did what one does, I asked. GR has an ask-the-author feature on author profile pages. Tremblay was extremely gracious and quick in his response. Maybe a small self-tweak. I do missing driving a stick (I currently drive a hybrid) but that Paul and me don't share an affinity for old tech and things that break down easily.I also asked why he used “Song” in the title. My favorite songs tend to be short, fast, and a mix of hopeful and melancholy. It was the vibe I wanted to go for with this book. If you have any questions for one of our best writers of horror, you might check out his profile page and just go on ahead and ask. You can do so here.Interviews-----Rollingstone - What It’s Like Releasing a Novel About a Deadly Virus in the Middle of Pandemic - By Brenna Ehrlich-----Blood in the Gears - Paul Tremblay on the Craft of Writing - mostly on Cabin at the End of the World, but enough is generic to make it useful-----Hangouts on Air - 2:17:45 – Tremblay with othersSongs/Music-----The Cranberries- Zombie-----A literal Survivor Song - Do Nats and Rams have the Eye of the Tiger?My reviews of other books by Paul Tremblay-----2019 - Growing Things and Other Stories-----2018 - The Cabin at the End of the World

Massachusetts under the attack of pandemic virus: mutated rabies pandemic ,spreading by saliva! The zombies who are fed by fresh human flesh are out there to attack you. Oh no, somebody is already knocking on your door. Paul please, lock the door, you gotta think your pregnant wife! Hey, who am I talking,too! Okay another Paul bites the dust in the beginning of the book as I start screaming, biting my nails.WTH, a high tension, heart throbbing, body hair epilator, jaw dropping, teeth rotting story( because of too much stress sugar eating) started with a shocking chapter. Very pregnant Natalie is so close to her due date, waiting for her husband Paul return back to home from grocery shopping safe and sound. He actually made it but a few second later, unexpected visitor brutally murdered him. (Or let’s stay massacred him.)With a bloody, dark, gory beginning! Do I want to go on? Oh, hell yes, I do!The next chapter we’re introduced another strong, badass heroine of the book: Dr. Ramola“Rams” Sharma in her mid thirties, pediatrician who may successfully communicate and empathize with her patients during the hysterical outbreak. She takes a call from Natalie who needs her help to get in hospital on time for giving her baby a chance to survive!Will Ramola help her friend in expanse to put her on life in danger? Yes, she will. Time is ticking! There’s not much left. Two women need to cooperate and bring Natalie in hospital just in time. Hands clenching, hearts pounding, feet tapping: you will be scared to breathe because of growing tension and thanks to the well crafted characterization: you will be truly root for these two women. Will they make it? Will they survive?Go on, get a copy for your own just like I did because my request from NG may have been directly sent to rot at the pending purgatory. This is heart crushing, dark, graphic, disturbing but definitely unputdownable, heart pounding, entertaining, well written story and I enjoyed each chapter, I sat at the edge of my seat, murmured prayers for the characters.Overall: I hated rabies! I hate all kinds of PANDEMICS! But I loved this book. Thankfully Paul Tremblay never disappoints me!bloginstagramfacebooktwitter

I'm not sure if I fall under the "glutton for punishment" umbrella or if I just really enjoy apocalyptic horror, but I have been reading all of the horror books that should make me uncomfortable during a worldwide pandemic. If you are the type who won't be able to sleep after reading a book about people getting sick and dying in a widespread manner right now, that's completely understandable, but my hope is that things will be settling into our new normal by July when this book is set to be published. Most of the plot is listed in the synopsis, so other than the very end of the book, there aren't a ton of traditional surprises, but I felt the purpose of this book was beyond twists and surprises, and more with the level of terror that the author instills in the reader. Also, I don't believe I've read a book to date that included zombie animals, and that was pretty cool. If you're a horror junkie who enjoys the running from bad things and a ticking clock that resembles a metaphorical bomb, you need this book!*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.

I enjoyed this book it kept me turning the pages by continually ramping up the tension. There are two strong female characters that are easy to cheer for. The story is an odyssey where the two women have to get from point A to point B during a viral pandemic. Because what’s happening out in the world I was hesitant to read this one. It’s not a true zombie movie it’s a mutated rabies virus that makes people crazy and highly contagious. I hesitate to say more without spoiling the plot. This is a short quick read with a lot of tension. For those readers who like this sort of conflict, I highly recommend the writing craft is above average. Won this ARC in a Goodreads contest.David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series.

Massachusetts is ground zero for a new rabies like virus spread, by saliva. It only takes an hour to incubate and become fully mad. We are following a very pregnant Natalie who has been bitten in a kitchen standoff and her best friend Dr. Ramola "Rams" Sherman who is recruited to get them to safety. As Natalie fights for her life and her unborn child, we are taken on a desperate odyssey in a nightmare landscape of survival. Relentless and heart pounding from start to finish. This book is quick to remind you that even though you may survive, there are no happy endings to be had here. Recommend!

Original review posted at Cemetery Dance July 10th, 2020https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/...Beware! Paul Tremblay is not interested in writing stories readers can walk away from unscathed. Survivor Song will leave emotional trenches in your heart long after you’ve finished trying to ugly-cry and read at the same time.Massachusetts becomes ground zero in a rabies-like outbreak. Readers follow a pregnant woman named Natalie as her life is upended by the quickly spreading disease. In a panic to survive, Natalie reaches out to an old college friend, Dr. Ramola Sherman, who is a pediatrician. Together, these two women navigate a series of obstacles in order to get Natalie and her unborn baby to safety.In classic Paul Tremblay style, large-scale horror tropes (global pandemic, demon possession, home invasion, missing persons) are funneled down to focus on just a handful of well-developed characters. It’s this kind of concentration and intentionality that Tremblay fans show up for time and time again. As the world around our protagonists gets increasingly violent and chaotic, Tremblay never once allows the lens to take in the full scope or magnitude of the situation. Instead, he keeps our attention honed in on Natalie and Ramala, developing a deepening intimacy with these two characters that weighs heavily on reader’s hearts. The stakes are very high. The suspense and building tension is what turns the pages but it’s the emotional investment that generates the urgency to see Survivor Song through to the end. In other words, there is never a good time to set this one down to catch your breath. No bookmarks necessary.We’ve been here before with Tremblay. This is what he does. Each one of his stories is a unique brand of horrors that are frighteningly plausible; hitting so close to home. There’s no way Paul Tremblay could have ever known that Survivor Song would find its readers struggling amidst our own pandemic crisis. So many details in this book are shockingly prophetic. I believe this speaks to Tremblay’s quest to deliver horror that is, first and foremost, authentic and realistic. So much so, he wrote a book that almost perfectly mirrors our current situation.Some might say the timing of the two is just a freak accident, and I would agree; Tremblay had no idea Covid-19 was soon to make history. But I would also offer my opinion that Tremblay’s mind is busy creating relevant stories that appeal to our humanity, stir up empathy, and light our imaginations on fire. Survivor Song is a gift to readers right here, right now.

4.0 StarsSpoiler Free Video Review: https://youtu.be/MsE0KapFSPcThis book holds all the trademarks of a classic Paul Tremblay horror novel and fans of his work will not be disappointed. Compared to his other horror books, this one most closely follows the narrative structure of Cabin at the End of the World with a similar level of action and suspense. Once again Tremblay provides his own literary spin on a classic subgenre of horror. In this one, he takes on the apocalyptic horror, but chooses to tell an intimate character focused story rather than the scaling epic normally found in the subgenre.Tremblay is easily one of the stronger horror writers writing and I am always so impressed by his prose. His books have a literary feel, although this story felt a bit more genre than his previous work. As usual, his characters were interesting and well developed. One of the main characters identified as asexual, which added a nice piece of underrepresented diversity to the novel.Reading this during the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, I was floored by how accurately Tremblay predicted the details of this viral pandemic. From self isolation and quarantines to fights at the grocery stores, the book was certainly unsettling to read in the midst of the current events. This story could certainly be triggering to anyone suffering from anxiety during this crisis. Also, I should warn that this novel goes to some  dark places and will almost certainly mess with your emotions. There were certainly a few "gut punch" moments in this one.I am not the biggest fan of the pandemic post-apocalyptic genre. So if I enjoyed the subgenre more, I likely would have rated this one even higher. I found the setup to be quite engaging, but I found the mandatory tropes of the genre, like travelling to safety, to be a bit tiring to read.While the synopsis made this sound like a zombie book, it's really not. This became an ongoing joke throughout the novel with one of the characters constantly correcting everyone who inaccurately labelled the infected as zombies. There were no dead bodies rising back to life in this one, but rather a dangerous strain of rabies that caused humans to become delusional and prone to biting.If you are already a fan of Paul Tremblay then you should absolutely read his latest release. If you are new to his work, then this is a great place to start. I would recommend this one to readers looking for a horror story that combines a gripping emotional narrative with some strong  character work.Disclaimer: I received a review copy from the publisher, Harper Collins.

“Survivor Song” was disturbing to me in this age of COVID. Author Paul Tremblay writes a cautionary tale of a virus gone amuck, in this case, a vigorous form of the rabies virus. This form is aggressive and almost immediately affects the victim, allowing no time to get vaccinated to stop the virus.Tremblay also correctly imagined how the government would enforce quarantines. In addition, he included those “it’s all a hoax” groups and the anti-vaccine groups. The fear factor leads to violence. There isn’t a mask issue in his novel, but all the craziness in our society’s intense feelings about masks: pro or con, make his story even more real.This story is about two women, friends from college, and their desperate journey when one is bitten by a man with rabies. The woman is eight months pregnant, and the friend is a Pediatrician. The backup getting to the hospital is similar to the lines now for COVID testing. The craziness and frustration with the health care in getting tested and helped is similar. This is in the horror genre, yet we are living it now, in a form.I consumed this novel, mostly because I am in awe that he dreamed this up prior to Covid. I’m not a fan or horror, or it’s not my favored genre. Because it is amazingly close to reality, I found it astonishing.

Many thanks to HarperAudio for the free audiobook in exchange for an honest reviewThis book left a deep impression on me. I picked it up cause I saw apocalypse, zombies, and rush to save people which I knew meant a great book but it went so much better than that. So, what's this book about? In a matter of weeks, Massachusetts has been overrun by an insidious rabies-like virus that is spread by saliva. But unlike rabies, the disease has a terrifyingly short incubation period of an hour or less. Those infected quickly lose their minds and are driven to bite and infect as many others as they can before they inevitably succumb. Hospitals are inundated with the sick and dying, and hysteria has taken hold. To try to limit its spread, the commonwealth is under quarantine and curfew. But society is breaking down and the government's emergency protocols are faltering.Dr. Ramola "Rams" Sherman, a soft-spoken pediatrician in her mid-thirties, receives a frantic phone call from Natalie, a friend who is eight months pregnant. Natalie's husband has been killed—viciously attacked by an infected neighbor—and in a failed attempt to save him, Natalie, too, was bitten. Natalie's only chance of survival is to get to a hospital as quickly as possible to receive a rabies vaccine. The clock is ticking for her and for her unborn child.Natalie’s fight for life becomes a desperate odyssey as she and Rams make their way through a hostile landscape filled with dangers beyond their worst nightmares—terrifying, strange, and sometimes deadly challenges that push them to the brink. If you were a fan of Netflix's Cargo, you will love this book. It moves very quickly and I got very attached to every character. There were plot twists and heartbreaks and I was taken on an emotional roller coaster. Overall, this was an unsettling, scary and heart-wrenching story that I absolutely loved!| Goodreads | Blog | Pinterest | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram

Quite simply, this is Tremblay's best novel yet. It's mean and fast, and utterly bleak, and full of equal amounts of heart and heartbreak. I loved it.

A viral outbreak is spreading as much political discord as it is fatalities. Healthcare workers are overworked and lacking both the proper protection and necessary remedies with which to treat the infected. The government is slow in spreading news but quick to enforce a curfew and lockdown to slow the spread of this so far incurable virus. Sound familiar? No this isn't an assessment of the current global pandemic I read this book in, it is the starting point for Tremblay's new novel.Wow, what an adrenaline-filled few hours I had devouring this book! My emotions regarding the virus featured, and the startling similarities it had to the current global pandemic, definitely aided in this almost crushingly tense reading experience. But whilst much of this felt initially relatable, the trajectory the novel progressed upon was something straight out of my worst nightmares. There were few pauses with which to gather my wits, my nerves, or a breathe before reader and characters were sent hurtling into the next scenes of action and chaos.Two central characters lead us through an almost apocalyptic Massachusetts and introduced us to a horde of authentic side-characters and insidious beasts that lurked in the shadows and came upon all unawares. I felt rather than read my way through this book, so thorough was this author in incorporating the reader into this story-line and so assured was he in his creation of atmosphere and suspense.I have enjoyed the previous work from this author, but this novel was on a whole new level of sick brilliance. If a mash-up of early King and zombie horror, with a sprinkling of the Purge and a heavy dose of Michael Chrichton, sounds like your thing, then you'd be wise to add this one to your tbr!I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Paul Tremblay, and the publisher, Titan Books, for this opportunity.

A timely & terrifying readA viral strain of rabies is spreading across Massachusetts. It moves quickly among animals and people, with those being bitten rapidly (think hours) losing their minds and then biting others to spread the disease. Hospitals are overwhelmed. People are under quarantine, with packets of vaccine being dropped from the sky to try to control the animal population. Chaos reigns. Dr. Ramola "Rams" Sherman is a pediatrician, about to be called in to help at an overflowing hospital. Before she can, she receives a terrified phone call from her best friend from college, Natalie. Eight months pregnant, Natalie watched an infected man brutally kill her husband--and received a bite while trying to save him. She must get to a hospital--and fast--to try to save herself and her unborn child. She and Rams begin a horrifying odyssey to get Natalie help, traversing a world filled with untold dangers. "The presentation of symptoms with this new virus is astronomically fast compared to a normal rabies virus." Okay, first of all, I rarely read horror books like this, but this novel was offered by my Scene of the Crime group, and I had heard such great things about Paul Tremblay. Second, I am trying to avoid pandemic-type reads and, yet, I found myself reading an incredibly pandemic, virus themed book! However, I have to say, this was a good book! I can't say I enjoyed it, because it was so incredibly stressful that I think my heart-rate and blood pressure were through the roof while reading this thing. BUT, I could not put it down. Tremblay has created an utterly spellbinding book that also happens to be incredibly timely. The tension in this book completely crackles. There's a virus spreading across the entire Northeast, but Tremblay focuses his action mainly on just Rams and Natalie. Somehow narrowing the story down on the survival of these two (and Natalie's baby) makes the story all the more terrifying and stressful. Their journey to get to a hospital is fraught with danger and blockages at every turn, and you can totally see this as unfolding a movie, with the "zombies" popping out around every corner. It still makes me shiver even now thinking about it. While this book is creepy and scary, it makes some amazing (and very timely) points on society and its backward viewpoint toward vaccines, fear culture, xenophobia, and more. I found myself nodding furiously so many times. And, of course, it's filled with words that are so familiar to us now--who knew that CDC, PPE, and quarantine would be such commonplace terms? Overall, while this is a very tense book and it might resonate a bit *too* much right now, it's very well-written. I flew through it--I'm not usually a horror fan, but it was a good balance of scary and humanizing. 4+ stars. I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins/William Morrow and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review. Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ PaperBackSwap ~ Smashbomb

Paul Tremblay's back with his darkest book yet! Survivor Song takes place in the not-so-distant future, where ironically, there's a strain of rabies contaminating creating a country-wide pandemic in the United States. Natalie and her husband Paul are expecting a baby and have to navigate through this unconventional time with Natalie's best friend and doctor, Ramola. With this strain of rabies being so contagious and fast-acting, the country is in quarantine. When an affected person breaks into the trio's lives, panic and fast-acting solutions are necessary to ensure their safety and the wellbeing of Natalie's unborn child. Without going further, this book is wild. I think you need to know little-to-nothing about this book to enjoy. When I picked up Paul Tremblay's last book, The Cabin at the End of the World, I knew that going forward, I'd need to read anything else that he releases. Survivor Song is not for the faint of heart and definitely not something that you may want to read at this current time (damn you, COVID-19!), but it'll be released in July when things ~hopefully~ are back to normal. This heart-pounding horror/thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat!

¡Paul Tremblay lo hace de nuevo! Tras cuatro novelas leídas ya puedo decir con certeza que es uno de mis autores favoritos y, aunque me sigue gustando más cuando habla sobre temas sobrentaurales, puedo decirles que Survivor Song me mantuvo al filo de mi asiento de principio a fin. De hecho, en momen