Rust Colored Rain- A Kayla Hicks Book Review

What is Rust Colored Rain by Otto Schafer about?

The world was ready to defend against an asteroid of epic proportions… but nobody was ready for what came after.

On the last day of normality in Mackinaw, Illinois, Oliver McCallister thinks his worst problem is figuring out how to come clean to his wife about the secret he’s been keeping from her. Zoe McCallister thinks her worst problem is squeezing in an errand at the courthouse before another long day of nursing classes—and worrying about whatever Oliver is hiding from her.

Oliver has just started his garbage route when an emergency broadcast announces the arrival of a ten-kilometer-long asteroid. A nuclear strike successfully destroys the asteroid and turns the sky into a canvas of crimson clouds. People cheer. They dance in the rust-colored rain falling from the clouds. It seems the apocalypse has been avoided.

But the apocalypse isn’t happening to people, it’s happening inside them.

First, their eyes bleed. A ravenous hunger consumes them. Their sanity breaks. Then they become… the undead.

As the apocalypse unfolds, Oliver battles the undead to rescue a wise-beyond-her-years six-year-old named Jurnee and make his way back home, where he hopes he’ll find Zoe and safety. Before they can be reunited, Zoe must band together with a group of survivors to dodge the infectious red rains and escape a zombie-infested courthouse.

Will Zoe’s medical knowledge, Oliver’s protective instincts, and Jurnee’s indomitable spirit be enough for them to find safe refuge in this new and frightening world? Will Oliver and Zoe be able to repair their strained marriage, or will this dire situation push them further apart?

Rust-Colored Rain is the first book in a thrilling new science fiction zombie series from the author of the award-winning God Stones series. If you’re yearning for a character-driven thrill ride, edge-of-your-seat suspense, and brain-craving zombies, then you’ll love Otto Schafer’s Rust-Colored Rain.

My Review:

This book blew me away!

Every chapter of this story left me wanting more as it nearly left every chapter on a cliffhanger.

Both Oliver and Zoe have had their ups and downs, their marriage is nearly on the brink of divorce....but then the world comes crashing down.

The story switches between Oliver and Zoe's viewpoints as they begin the book in their separate daily routines.

Oliver is a garbage man who is working his route when the presidential message comes over the radio that an asteroid is headed for Earth and that they will launch missiles to stop it. As he tries to get home to Zoe, the world quickly changes as a red rain begins coming down and changing everyone who comes into contact with it into brain-eating zombies.

Zoe on the other hand, is stuck in a courthouse in the middle of the city when the rain begins to fall. But no one inside the courthouse knows what is happening until a man comes in with a gun yelling that he is hungrier than he has ever been before, all while red tears stream down his face. As Zoe tries to reason with him, he shoots a man near her and eats his brains.

This book had wonderful world-building, suspense, and well-rounded characters. And I cannot wait to jump into the next book.

If you like stories like The Walking Dead or 28 Days, then you will love this.

I give this book a 5-star review.

Get it here: Rust Colored Rain.