So today I have a great guest post to share with all of you from author Travis Simmons. He is here to talk about what makes a hero. There is also an amazing giveaway at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!!!
DESOLATION is so
much more than a zombie story, or a love story. It is a story of survival, and
all that entails. It is amazing to see zombie stories where people are tough as
nails and just slaughter everything with seemingly no emotional investment but
I wanted something different. I wanted a person who was struggling to survive
and struggling to remain human
through this entire experience.
Don’t get me
wrong, I’m sure there are people out there who would take great pleasure in
mowing down zombies, and maybe I would be one of them, though I think I would
probably end up one of those people who killed myself out of fear of being
attacked.
Asher couldn’t
be one of those people. I wanted him to really be affected by this more than
anything else. I wanted him to not
become one of those unfeeling people. I wanted him to struggle with doing what
he had to do and doing what he wanted to do.
Asher had to be
a person, he had to be human, and no matter what happened, he had to want to keep his humanity. There is a
line in the book when he says “what’s the point of surviving if we become worse
than the monsters we kill?” To me, this is a powerful line. Asher wants to
remember that he is a human, and there is no point in living if he can’t remain a human. Honestly, if people make
decisions to kill so flippantly, then they are no better than zombies who kill
without thinking. In a sense, they are becoming a zombie themselves.
DESOLATION is a
story of survival, and while being that, it is more than just living, it is
about keeping the human spirit alive while struggling to not be eaten alive. I
can see Asher as the type of person who would hold an infected person through
their death just so they wouldn’t have to be alone, and then killing them
afterwards.
I could never be
a hero. I am too selfish, I am too scared, and I would make all the wrong
decisions. Asher leads with his heart, and while he isn’t a leader of his
group, often he is a voice of reason that keeps them all focused on the end
game, surviving yet another day as a human.
And there it is.
Many people won’t agree with Asher because he is human. Many people will think
he is weak for not doing what they think they would do, or he should do. But the best part of a book
is placing yourself in the characters mind, and feeling what they are feeling.
Could you so easily kill all those people you have ever loved? Would you be
conflicted about it? I think most people would be.
I feel Asher is a very three-dimensional person because he has human
conflicts that come up all the time. He is wounded from what he has faced, and
he is struggling to make it through those emotions and a sea of zombies and
then the revelation that he is a necromancer who can control the zombies.
This is another
huge hurtle for Asher, because all he can find on necromancers is that they do
evil things, and he doesn’t want to trade his humanity for that, either. It is
all a big balancing act, and trying to figure out how to live in a new world
with no rules, where he could really become as evil as he wants.
Have you read
DESOLATION yet? If so, what did you think of Asher and his struggles? If you
haven’t read it yet, who are some of your favorite hero’s, and what makes them
your favorite? Find me on Facebook and let’s talk about books!
Asher St Paul thought it
was just a typical zombie apocalypse like in the movies, until the
necromancers crawled out of the woodwork. Since the undead have chased
the living into hiding, the necromancers are able to roam freely in a
new America of their making. Asher is seeking safe harbor. The need for
safety is what drove him from his home in Philadelphia Pennsylvania
before it was shelled. He has searched from quarantine to quarantine,
always finding them overrun with zombies until he hears of The Refuge, a
military compound in Binghamton New York.
With his family and lover lain to rest by his own hand, he has nothing left to lose and gives everything he has to reach the safe haven. But questions arise when he reaches The Refuge, mainly, how has he been able to sustain multiple zombie bites and not change? He thinks he has found safety in the military compound turned quarantine, but he was wrong. Even now there is a necromancer trying to make The Refuge their kingdom of the dead.
With his family and lover lain to rest by his own hand, he has nothing left to lose and gives everything he has to reach the safe haven. But questions arise when he reaches The Refuge, mainly, how has he been able to sustain multiple zombie bites and not change? He thinks he has found safety in the military compound turned quarantine, but he was wrong. Even now there is a necromancer trying to make The Refuge their kingdom of the dead.
About the Author
Travis is the author of The Bonds of Blood, the first book in his epic fantasy series The Revenant Wyrd Saga. He has also written a young adult novel called A Lament of Moonlight which is book one of his pre-apocalypse series The Harbingers of Light. He is currently seeking publication for the first book of a third series, a zombie novel called Desolation. When he isn’t writing he is helping his family and trying to live a normal, under the radar life. His interests lie in cooking, gardening, green living, and human rights advocacy. He is a huge supporter of the Trevor Project and all agencies that seek to preserve
natural resources and protect pets from abuse.
Contact Details
http://www.travissimmons.
net
Giveaway
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