Bitmo Sunday book review

Sunday Book Review – SFV-1 – Darkness, Book 2 in the #dystopian Trilogy by Terry Tyler

Published on by dgkaye

My Sunday Book Review today is for book 2 in Terry Tyler’s exciting dystopian series – SFV-1 Darkness. Admittedly, dystopian isn’t my go-to genre to read, yet, I’m always captivated by Terry Tyler’s books, and after reading book 1 – Infected in this series, I looked forward to reading the rest of the series (something else I don’t typically read, series). And as always, Tyler had me gripped.

Blurb:

‘This isn’t all our lives are going to be. It’s the darkness before the dawn, that’s all.’

The SFV-1 virus leaves its victims with no instinct other than the need to kill – and eat.

Nine months after this strange new disease scorched a path across the world, Norah and her friends are doing their best to survive in rural Cumbria – but another, larger group is on a mission to ‘redistribute the wealth’ by whatever means they deem necessary.

Meanwhile, new arrivals on the Scottish island of John’s Drift seem friendly enough, but Cat’s group hears warning bells from the start…

‘People react to fear in all sorts of ways; a weak individual falls in with the wrong people, and hey presto: basic human decency loses the battle against that dark side you never knew was hiding inside your head.’

Darkness is the second book in the SFV-1 series.

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My 5 Star Review:

This post-apocalyptic series is addictive reading! In this book 2, Darkness, it picks up with the main characters all in their respective hiding places as the mutating SFV-I virus is sweeping the U.K.- except, the action begins at some friends of Norah’s hideaway house when it’s attacked by rogue looters in search of food and life sustaining supplies. Erin and Martin are grilled as to where they are getting their supplies from, and with their lives threatened to tell all, the rogues devised a plan to transport them to Norah’s house where the looters have it on good authority the house is a fully stocked arsenal of food and weapons.

In Book 1, Infected, the people feared being bitten by those who were already bitten and looking for human blood. In this book, the fear remains real, the country is in darkness with no communication within or with the outside world, bitten humans are a threat to all exisiting humans, and with the added fear of the organized looters who are out to steal whatever they can to survive, there is nowhere safe for anyone, and trust has become a rare commodity. Book 1 brings on the killer virus, Book 2 is all about the fallout and survival, human instincts, all since nine months into the dystopian world of Darkness.

Ratt is the one looter gang leader who has secured a hotel hideout where he permits his looting recruits to stay – if they behave and take his orders on their looting jaunts under Ratt’s command. In their looting attacks, they look for people hiding out from the dreaded killer zombies, and demand they share their wealth of whatever they have for survival. They have no choice as it is sheer robbery and if they don’t give up the goods they will be killed.

Meanwhile it’s danger for anyone who goes out, especially to loot for survival, as the zombies are plentiful and one never knows where one may be hiding. One bite from an infected and your fate is sealed. After being bitten, the virus sets in making a person mad with hunger for human flesh, sending them in search of any human. There is no remedy for a bite, for once you’ve been bitten, there is only guarantee zombiedom, and ultimately, death.

Although the author recaps Infected, the first book in this series, I highly urge readers to read the trilogy in order. Book 1 sets the story and characters, which makes the whole series an addictive ride. Anything I’ve read by Tyler makes it a difficult book to put down. I look forward to reading Reset, the final book in this trilogy, in anticipation of how the author finds the way to the end of this apocalyptic nightmare .

©DGKaye2024

65 thoughts on “Sunday Book Review – SFV-1 – Darkness, Book 2 in the #dystopian Trilogy by Terry Tyler”

      5. Thank you ‘wordsfrommanneli’, and THANK YOU, Debby! I am so grateful for this wonderful review, and very pleased that Infected led you to read outside your usual choice of genre. It’s my ongoing fascination with how people survive and change when adverse circumstances appear… and you don’t get much more adverse than a rage virus!

        Made my day, thank you again!! xx

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      6. HI Terry, my pleasure. Your books are addictive reads and happy to share here. And it is my ongoing fascination with people and the human condition that kept me gripped in your book. ❤

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  5. This makes me think of an updated version of The Day of the Triffids, and with the spread of so many weird viruses recently, all too realistic for comfort.
    Also of the series ‘Survivors’, which aired in 1975, telling of the plight of the survivors of an apocalyptic plague pandemic.
    It all makes me want to put my head in the sand and ignore the possibilities!

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    2. I’ve loved all survival type fiction for years, Deborah, and realised in 2016 that I needed to be writing it!!! I remember Survivors – I watched it again quite recently. 

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    1. Thanks for affirming Olga. I look forward to the final book Reset in this series. But I like to read some lighter reading in between, and no doubts I need to read the conclusion soon. ❤

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    2. Thanks so much, Olga my dear!!! I found that after Reset, although it ends the trilogy, I couldn’t let that world go just yet, so I’ve nearly completed the first draft of a stand-alone book (in that you don’t have to have read the series) that follows on from it.

      Then I really, really will shift genres for a while!!! x

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      1. Thanks for this observation, Debby. I don’t write post-apocalyptic and dystopian as horror stories, though I know some do, but as dark psychological dramas. Not interested in gore and monsters, just the inside of people’s heads!!!

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      2. And that’s why I can read your books. I’m not interested in graphic horror details. I may sway to the odd different genre, but never horror. It’s all about the psyche and the human condition for me. ❤

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    1. Hi Jan. I’m always happy when my reviews stir interest. If you’ve never read anything by Terry, I’m sure you will enjoy her books. And yes, start with book 1. 🙂 xx

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  12. Thank you for your great review Debby, its not a book I would gravitate too.. But My hubby loves thrillers and Spy novels along with the blood and guts etc… So its one he perhaps would read.. :-) Definitely not for bedtime reading LOL 🙂

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    1. Lol Sue. Not my usual go to either, but it’s Terry Tyler! And also, despite the storyline, I’m glad Terry doesn’t get horrificly graphic. No doubts your hubby would enjoy her work. Hugs my friend. ❤ xox

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  15. I’ve might have seen too many zombie movies and read too many zombie books/stories to get excited about zombie books, but this one seems like a really intriguing one. Thank you for a great review Debbie.

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  16. Yes, a zombie thriller is the last thing I figure you would read.

    Again, this is a testimony to your openness when it comes to reading. You have reviewed some unexpected books.

    Cheers to you and to Terry Tyler!

    You gave him a good yahoo.

    xo🌺💖

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    1. LOL thanks Resa. You are right. I have my fav genres – historical fiction, nonfiction, womens fiction, but I also have some favorite writers whose books I enjoy where I’ll veer off to for a change. Also, anything I read involves the human condition. And despite this virus turning people into blood seekers, it’s the storyline about the people trying to survive that grabs me, not the parts when someone gets bit. Lol. ❤ xxx

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      1. Understood! Survival is a big deal… everywhere…. all the time.

        I got bit by a guy in N.Y.C. once. I wouldn’t go back to his apartment with him, so he bit me on the arm.
        It was massive. I had to pull my shirt out of the teeth dents….. blood …. bruising. Took weeks to heal.
        Good News! I did not turn into a Vampire!!!!
        💖💖💖💖

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