The Last Bastion of the LivingAuthor: Rhiannon Frater
Series: The Last Bastion #1
Publication Date: June 8, 2012
Format: eBook
Pages: 289
Source: Author
The Bastion was humanity’s last hope against the fearsome undead creatures known as the Inferi Scourge. A fortified city with a high wall, surrounded by lush land rich with all the resources needed to survive, protected by high mountain summits, and a massive gate to secure the only pass into the valley, the Bastion became the last stronghold of the living on earth. But one fateful day, the gate failed and the Inferi Scourge destroyed the human settlements outside the walls and trapped the survivors inside the city. Now decades later, the last remaining humans are struggling to survive in a dying city as resources and hope dwindle.
Vanguard Maria Martinez has lived her whole life within the towering walls of steel. She yearns for a life away from the overcrowded streets, rolling blackouts, and food shortages, but there is no hope for anyone as long as the Inferi Scourge howl outside the high walls. Her only refuge from the daily grind is in the arms of her lover, Dwayne Reichardt, an officer in the Bastion Constabulary. Both are highly-decorated veterans of the last disastrous push against the Inferi Scourge. Their secret affair is her only happiness.
Then one day Maria is summoned to meet with a mysterious representative from the Science Warfare Division and is offered the opportunity to finally destroy the Inferi Scourge in the valley and close the gate. The rewards of success are great, but she will have to sacrifice everything, possibly even her life, to accomplish the ultimate goal of securing the future of humanity and saving it from extinction.
The description of the book sounded badass, but admittedly, I knew there was the potential to go completely south with this type of story. But that wasn’t the case. I have to tell you how incredibly kick-ass this book is!
The Last Bastion of the Living is set in the future, after the world succumbed to the infestation of creatures called Inferi Scourge (a.k.a. zombies). I’m not even going to mention how or why the infection occurred, because that’s one of the coolest parts of the book. I’m telling you, Rhiannon’s mind is a wonderful thing! The Bastion is literally the last city of the living, where people live safely behind high walls – packed in like sardines. Things are going downhill quick, though. Resources are dangerously low, they’re running out of ammunition and fuel to kill the Inferi Scourge, and the Inferi Scourge seem to be changing. The fate of the city lays in the hands of a very unique group of soldiers, including Vanguard Maria Martinez.
Maria Martinez is the main character, and I absolutely freaking loved her! She is one tough chick. It should be no surprise by now to most of you that I love female characters who are strong, independent, and can handle themselves, yet are smart and caring. Maria was a perfect mixture of all those things. Another important character is Dwayne, Maria’s “undercover lover.” He’s 25 years her senior and outranks her, but that doesn’t bother me in the least. In fact, I adored Dwayne. The two of them together are great, he has her back no matter what.
The book is seriously action packed right from the beginning. There are twists and turns, and plenty of those “oh snap” moments. I’m not even joking – Rhiannon takes you on an incredible ride that will leave you wow’d! Kick-ass characters and a kick-ass story – you couldn’t ask for more. I know people have already started hounding Rhiannon for a sequel, but I have mixed feelings on that. I love the ending of this book so much, that it almost doesn’t seem right to continue. At the same time, I crave more of these characters and this world. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what the all mighty Frater will do.
Okay, so can you tell that I loved The Last Bastion of The Living? If not, let me make it very clear… I love this book! Should you read it? Abso-freaking-lutely!
Dr. Curran ran her fingers lightly around the edges of her pad. “When you see me, what is your first desire?”
“To punch you in the face,” Maria answered truthfully.
<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3
thx 4 the giveaway…i love zombie stories 🙂
congrats on the new release!!!!
Thanks for a great post and giveaway. This book sounds awesome!
Wow! Looking forward to this one. I’ve read a few dystopians this year and am loving them! 🙂
This book looks great! Thanks for the giveaway! <3
Thank you so much for the giveaway! This sounds awesome, and I’ve seen some great reviews for this!
I’ve never heard of this book, however it sounds like a good read. Thank you for the review and giveaway!
Love the giveaway!
Thanks for the giveaway! This book looks soooo good!
It sounds totally action-packed. Bring it on!
Would LOVE to read this book!!
Looks interesting I love zombies
Thank you for the giveaway! Been dreading to read the book – looks like it’s a combination of zombie and dystopia! Would be awesome!
OMG! I found another zombie book to add to the collection. Thank you for the great giveaway! I can’t wait to read this book.
Oh gosh, this looks amazing. Love the cover too – she looks SO kickass!!
All these reviews for these books are driving me crazy! I must get this book!
Don’t bitch smack me…but I haven’t read a Frater book….I know I know…I need to get on the stick. This sounds like a fantastic place to start. Now I just need your Rafflecopter to be lucky and pick me!
Awesome review! this sounds amazing! I love tough main characters who also show a caring and sweet side, plus I’m glad to hear the plot is an imaginative one. 🙂
I love strong independent female leads and twists and turns, so I can’t wait to read it!! Thanks for the review!
I am dying to read this!! Awesome review cupcake!
this book sounds so awesome! I can’t wait to read it!
It seems like a lot of people really enjoy her books but I’m pretty terrified to try. I think her books would really freak me out. Zombie books are something I tend to stay away from, but once in awhile I try one and I like it. Hers just sound a bit too much on the scary side. I’m glad you liked it though! I know what you mean about committing to a tour. It’s not bad if you’re working with a third party, it’s not TOO hard to let them know you didn’t care for a book, but it’s really hard when it’s the author you’re working with and have to tell them it wasn’t your thing. Glad you didn’t have to do that this time!
I’ve had this one on my wishlist since I first saw the cover and read the blurb. Thanks for the giveaway!
Looking forward to reading this one!
Love Rhiannon Frater and I think this one will be great!
Thanks,
Leanne
I am really hoping I win this amazing book. Thanks so much for the giveaway. I am blown away by the awesome cover art.
Love The Zombies and Anything to Do with Zombies:)…Rhiannon Frater’s zombie books are so awesome….
The Last Bastion of the Living seems to be a great book with a lot of interesting twists. Maria is a strong character and I have heard nothing negative about this book.
Maria Martinez sounds like an amazing kick-ass character. Superb review, thank you.
I love your review! I always like to hear why someone personally liked a book, more of the backstory. I’ve always shied away from Blog Tours myself for you exact reasons.
I love Rhiannon’s personality! She seems so cool everytime I stumble on her in a chat room or a post. I’m reading Vampire Bride this week 🙂 Hopefully I can win Last Bastion or borrow from a friend afterwards (hee, hee)
Great review!! I love it and i curious about this book, sounds good. And i like the cover book to 🙂
Thanks for giveaway!!
I so want to read this! Sounds freakin’ awesome! Thanks for the review and the snippet, loved the snippet! Definitely going on my wishlist!
So it is so crazy but I am on twitter putting out an SOS bc I want to borrow someones copy of As the Dies. I’m searching and search then I realize my Triberr on my own twitter tweeted about this giveaway! Not the book I was sending out the SOS for but I believe in a thing called fate.
Sounds like another good one. There are so many good books coming out this summer that I’ll be trying to get caught up until next summer. Oh well, at least I LOVE reading. Thanks for the chance to win this awesome sounding read.
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