Cannibal Reign

By Thomas Koloniar

A new star bursts onto the post-apocalyptic fiction scene: Thomas Koloniar. An epic dark saga set in a dystopian near-future, Cannibal Reign follows the fortunes of a small band of survivors, as they make their way across a nightmare landscape populated by bestial, flesh-eating savages after an asteroid strike destroys America. A dark, smart, action-packed vision of a terrifying possible tomorrow—when the only law left is “eat or be eaten”—Koloniar’s Cannibal Reign is an absolute must-read for fans of TV’s zombie smash hit The Walking Dead, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Lucifer’s Hammer, the Mad Max movies, and, of course, Stephen King’s immortal horror masterwork The Stand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jun 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9780062136435

Thomas Koloniar

Thomas Koloniar is the author of the post-apocalyptic novel Cannibal Reign. He is the coauthor, with Scott McEwen, of the national bestselling Sniper Elite series: One-Way Trip, Target America, and The Sniper and the Wolf. A former police officer from Akron, Ohio, he lives in Mexico.

Reviews for Cannibal Reign

[tororojo_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting premise, flawed execution.When one of a book's minor characters is a former two-term president living in his home state of Hawaii named (wait for it) "Barry Hadrian," one wonders at what point the author started phoning it in.I appreciate a set piece as much as anyone, but really, why do so many groups of survivors in novels such as this one choose to go somewhere that is predictably troublesome?Upon reading one of the other reviews, I have to agree that there's a lot of male chauvinism. I originally gave this 3.5 stars, but after considering it some more, I've got to dock it a bit.

[asukamaxwell · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When I read the back of it, it looked like it had a pretty good premise. An asteroid slams into Earth, entering it in a small Ice Age as the atmosphere is filled with dust and ash, and many humans fall back onto their basic instincts in order to survive. Acts of rape, murder, theft and cannibalism are rampant, and the only hope for a new world order lies in the hands of only a few underground individuals. Despite the title though, it seems there was more rape, murder and theft then there was actual cannibalism, and the characters weren't exactly ones you would want to cheer for. The light-hearted dialogue was enjoyable at first, and served its purpose to establish the well-intentioned natures of the characters, but as the world descends into chaos, it becomes awkwardly inappropriate in many situations. Families have been separated, people are dying in horrific ways outside, yet the survivors below are just yucking it up and going after each other like horny college kids on a reality show.First there is Jack Forrest, who, along with a few of his former Green Berets, establishes a base inside a missile silo, inviting up to 50 individuals that he deems worthy to stay in that hopes that they will survive the coming apocalypse. Most of these individuals are women, which, as Jack explains himself, was necessary in order to avoid copious amounts of conflicting testosterone.But that does not excuse the ridiculous "boys will be boys" mentality that seems to be the theme of this book. The women themselves have no say in the proceedings of silo organization, neither are they taught how to use a gun or any form of self defense, despite the almost constant threat from the gangs and cannibals above ground. They are often mentioned as just looking after the children or referred to collectively as "the women," "the wives," or "the broads." Forrest also seems to think that it is his duty to keep these women in line. Yet throughout the book, it seems to be the men who can't keep it together, and he himself later cheats on his girlfriend. But don't worry, there's no shouting match and he's quickly forgiven, after all she pleads, "did I make a mistake?"Only one woman fires a gun throughout the book, and her name is Shannon Emory, a survivor above ground. After surviving the shock wave, she is captured by a biker gang and raped multiple times before being rescued by the astronomer Marty. She admits to being a lesbian, but seems to have no mental qualms with giving men a hand job in order to manipulate them to do as she pleases. Seems to be something out of some kind of fantasy doesn't it? Marty meanwhile had shot his pregnant wife, to spare her from the very gang that raped Emory, yet just never seems very much affected by it.Another survivor inside of the silo, Lynette, is described as an obnoxious formerly rich housewife, who despite being disliked by all other members of the group, and having a husband that never stands up for her, is in the end the only one among the defenseless women to fight back. And finally there is a teenager named Melissa, who might be the only character worth caring about in this book. She is the only living relative of Michael, her uncle, a psychologist who was invited to stay, and yet doesn't seem to occupy any of his thoughts or concerns. He quickly relieves himself of the responsibility of looking after her by passing her onto Jack Forrest to be her surrogate father. It seems to have given him more free time to chase after one of the women. In fact, he doesn't even offer to leave the silo to search for medicine that may save her life, but decides to hang back and let Jack do it.So that all being said, it was the characters that just ruined the book. It had a good premise, it was indeed promising, but if I were you, I just wouldn't waste my time on it.Here's just one quote to top this off:"Ladies...I understand that you have been alone for some time now...but there are certain activities that are forbidden aboard a man-of-war...So...if you ladies are unable to restrain yourselves for t he remainder of the voyage, I will have to confine you to a small area of the ship." (and this from a captain who then immediately invites one of the women to a private dinner..)