The Apocalypse Seven: A Novel

Written by Gene Doucette

Narrated by Zeno Robinson, Erin Bennett, Kiff Vandenheuvel and 4 more

Scott Sigler called Doucette’s cozy apocalypse story, “entertaining as hell.” Come see how the world ends, not with a bang, but a whatever . . .

The whateverpocalypse. That’s what Touré, a twenty-something Cambridge coder, calls it after waking up one morning to find himself seemingly the only person left in the city. Once he finds Robbie and Carol, two equally disoriented Harvard freshmen, he realizes he isn’t alone, but the name sticks: Whateverpocalypse. But it doesn’t explain where everyone went. It doesn’t explain how the city became overgrown with vegetation in the space of a night. Or how wild animals with no fear of humans came to roam the streets.

Add freakish weather to the mix, swings of temperature that spawn tornadoes one minute and snowstorms the next, and it seems things can’t get much weirder. Yet even as a handful of new survivors appear—Paul, a preacher as quick with a gun as a Bible verse; Win, a young professional with a horse; Bethany, a thirteen-year-old juvenile delinquent; and Ananda, an MIT astrophysics adjunct—life in Cambridge, Massachusetts gets stranger and stranger.

The self-styled Apocalypse Seven are tired of questions with no answers. Tired of being hunted by things seen and unseen. Now, armed with curiosity, desperation, a shotgun, and a bow, they become the hunters. And that’s when things truly get weird. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: May 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9780358450481

Gene Doucette

GENE DOUCETTE is the author of more than twenty sci-fi and fantasy titles, including The Spaceship Next Door and The Frequency of Aliens, the Immortal series, Fixer and Fixer Redux, Unfiction, and the Tandemstar books. Gene lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Reviews for The Apocalypse Seven

[Jacob Cybulski · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very predictable story line - what you know from the beginning, the characters cannot figure out for half the book. One twist tale. A few inconsistencies. Why what happens to humans does not happen to animals? Great narration - despite all the readers involved, it feels like a book, not a radio show, which is so annoying in other productions.

[thedivineoomba · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those books that is good, but with a bit more... it could have been great. Too much of the book was about surviving, which is good, but the ending felt rather rushed.As for the characters, Robbie, Carol, Toure, Bethany, and Kit made sense. But for Paul and Ananda seemed a bit too resourceful, able to rig up ways to make buildings have power and engines to work.I also don't think a generator could be powered or that a buildings electrical will work, or any number of things that are dependent on technology.I did like the wolves, however I'm disappointed about their part in this story. The added affect of global warming was handled well, and I liked that their was diversity, but the story was about surviving, and the only that mattered was the skills that a person brought along.I think I'm mostly disappointed because this is a great story, combining elements of global warming, ethics, and common sense, and with a bit more editing, this would have been excellent read.

[andreas6wpv · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Most of the book is a good read, has decently developed characters. Slowly developing, adding perspectives with characters. Each character though seems a bit stereotypical - no real quirks, not real persons. The story itself is interesting until the end - and the last few short chapters, and the 'solution' to the situation it plays in is flimsy, convoluted, unconvincing. All wraps up really quickly - like pulling something out of a hat that was barely there before, meaning it seems to have little relation to what was described before. Majority an ok read with a fairly disappointing end.

[huberk-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Apocalypse Seven by Gene DoucetteSeven survivors have somehow made it through the great Apocalypse. They are confused, not understanding what has gone on and where everyone else is.The seven survivors each take a turn in the book, with a narration segment, but the book starts counting out chapters for each person, which is a little different.Meet the survivors:Toure (I call Trey, he is a scavenger) Robbie (college student, is the leader of their small band)Carol (college student, blind woman, whose seeing-eye dog Burton is missing)Bethany (13 years old, with locksmith skills)Win (has hunting skills and has a wild horse named Elton)Ananda (an MIT student with a PhD with a very analytical mind)Paul (a preacher, with hunting skills, he's the eldest of the survivors)They band together and try to find out what, why, when everything happened and how to survive in the aftermath.I liked it, it makes you think of what skills you would have to offer if you ended up in this situation. Would you be a thinker or a hunter?I received a complimentary copy from John Joseph Adams/Houghton #Mifflin Harcourt and #NetGalley and was under no obligation to post a review. #ApocalypseSeven

[lostinalibrary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Seven people living in the Boston area wake up to discover they are the only people left alive on the planet. Not only that but seemingly over night, the bodies of the dead have turned to dust inside their rusted out cars, some buildings have completely disappeared and wild life, including wolf packs, has taken over the empty streets.I really enjoyed the first approximately 80% of The Apocalypse Seven by author Gene Doucette. The premise was interesting, the characters were mostly likeable, and there was plenty of twists and turns to keep my attention. Unfortunately, the last 20% seemed rushed. If this was the first book in a series, it would have been a way to pique interest for the next entry. For a standalone novel, it seemed unsatisfying. As a result, the first part of the book was an easy four stars but I’m deleting one star because of the ending.Thanks to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

[verkruissen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am an absolute sucker for anything post apocalyptic even when zombies are not involved. The Apocalypse Seven is a story about seven people who wake up to find the world around them vastly changed. The story takes place around the campuses of MIT and Harvard University. As these seven survivors begin to find each other they realized that they may be the only ones left on the planet. It's up to them to find out why and what they find is completely bizarre. This was such an original take on the typical apocalypse tale. I absolutely loved it, I'm pretty sure this was a stand alone book and certainly works at one, but it does leave you an opening wanting to know more. Highly recommend for fans of post-apocalypse stories. Very entertaining read!