Given the current state of the COVID pandemic, I was unsure if I wanted to tackle a story about a rabies pandemic.
After the first few pages I was glad I did.

We get to know a bit about Natalie, an expectant mom due any day and her husband Paul as they deal with their “new normal” during a rabies pandemic. The pandemic rhetoric eerily echoes that of our present day crisis-we only know what we know at the moment, subject to change.

Natalie is bitten by an infected man and Paul is killed. Natalie reaches out to an old friend who is a doctor. Together Natalie and Dr. Ramola race against time to save Natalie and her unborn child.

This is a horror story of a deadly disease, the treatment and cure are unknown, a failed government response, citizens taking their own vigilante stand and a medical community struggling to cope. But it is also a tale of human resilience, friendship and the amazing love of a mother for her unborn child.

I recommend this well written tale that will keep you captivated till the end.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley.

Oh my! This book sank it's fangs into me and didn't let go the entire time! To be in the midst of a pandemic you would think a horror book about rabies ravaging the countryside would be the last thing you would want to read, but this book proves it wrong. I was furiously turning the pages to find out what new horrors waited and how it would all end. Highly recommended!!

Disturbingly timely and eerily believable. A recommended purchase for collections where The Wanderers, The City We Became, and Tremblays other titles are popular.

So the timing on reading this may have been both timely and horrible, but overall I enjoyed SURVIVOR SONG. The first, and main reason, is that I feel that Tremblay really captured the heart and joy of a genuinely close lady friendship between doctor Ramola and eight months pregnant Natalie. The way that these women care for each other, trust each other, and rely on each other was touching and emotional, given that the stakes are literally life or death for Natalie and her unborn baby. I thought that the complexities of their relationship were well shown and explored, even within it taking place in the course of one day. You saw the care and love, you saw the sniping and frustration, you saw all sides. I also really liked how Tremblay took a 'zombie' concept and applied it to a virus, and while we've seen that in other media before his felt like it was the most well researched and realistic (and it brought out the fact that these are actual living breathing people who are sick and dangerous, not undead monsters, which makes it all the more tragic). On top of that Tremblay is more than happy to show that it's not just infected people and animals that one would have to worry about in this situation, as the presence of very scared people, Right Wing militias, and anti-science conspiracy theories are also clear and present dangers. I will say that our current situation with COVID-19 made it so that I was in a darker place while reading than I may have been were we NOT in a global pandemic, but that's purely the fault of circumstance, and not that of Tremblay. If anything, the dude is a soothsayer

SURVIVOR SONG may not be the best book to read right now, but if you think you can get past the 'too real' aspect of it (and I was able to, for the most part) and want an emotional not quite zombie tale, this is the book for you.

A virus that mimics rabies but works much faster has hit greater Boston and people are panicked. There is a new vaccine which may or may not work after being bitten. The story is very small in scope, following two women, good friends, one a doctor and one pregnant and infected, as they try to get to a hospital. The writing is very detailed, including graphic attacks by infected animals and people. The two main characters are strongly drawn, and even the lesser characters are given the full descriptive treatment. The narrow focus of this story is quite a contrast to other "virus stories" that offer very broad scopes, such as THE STAND, but it does accomplish its goal. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing an ARC.

This book was just OK for me. I enjoyed parts of it but not particularly the beginning. There was a lot of time for set up to get to the book of the story. I know this was necessary but I could’ve done without half of it. I liked the book but the writing style had me having to read things a couple different times which I do not enjoy. I did like this authors other book the cabin at the end of the world, so I will not lose hope. It also may be that this hits too close to home with a coronavirus pandemic

This book was not for me.

I made it through the first chapter, and could not go further. It was too difficult for me to read. It was choppy, had no flow, long paragraphs that were just too long, and the characters lacked intrigue. I feel the constant jumping from info to dialogue to events cycled in a way that was confusing. Because of this, I was not able to justify putting my time in reading the entire book.

I am sure there are many who will love this book. It was just not for me.

The beginning of Survivor Song has a lot of similarities with what was experienced with the U.S. outbreak of COVID-19. Misguided information regarding PPE, symptoms and their severity as well as enforced quarantine. Coupled with the increased public desperation for supplies and care while medical personnel lacked training (to deal with the virus in the book) and supplies to deal with the impending chaos. One difference though - this outbreak is 100% fatal if you are infected and not vaccinated in time. Not only will you die but you'll try to infect anyone or anything within range and becomes a single-minded goal. I would say that 95% of this book takes place in one day... one single day. I would sometimes lose sight of that as the book continued on it's frantic pace forward. Survivor Song is a whirlwind and I didn't want to put it down - just you know, sleeping and all that boring stuff.

The upside, only mammals can get infected with rabies - the downside? Mammals can get infected with rabies. I could honestly see this happening, maybe not with a type of super rabies but in general. Heck, some of this rings exceedingly and unfortunately true right now. Once things go to hell in a hand-basket people tend to just come a little unglued and do things they normally wouldn't and their ugliness towards their fellow humans shows its face. The "Tree" and his buddies come to mind especially but then they are offset by the boys, Luis and Josh. In a crisis people's inherent nature becomes even more pronounced, the good and the bad. The author picked the perfect set of characters and none are more fierce and vulnerable - physically or emotionally than Natalie. Just imagining being pregnant or a mother of younger kids through something like this gives me anxiety and panic riddled thoughts.

A side note on the infected animals - most behave as they "normally" would while infected with the rabies virus but the deer bothered me. They really aren't as fragile as they look and they can be downright terrifying not to mention deadly - I just don't buy her small cameo in the book.

I would highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy thrillers, suspense, stories of massive viral outbreaks and societal collapse. I would be good with a sequel - I still have questions that weren't really answered. I could also see this Survivor Song being adapted to film. A big thank you to William Morrow for offering the chance to read this digital advance copy through the Scene of the Crime Facebook Group and NetGalley - all opinions are my own.

I started reading "Survivor Song" in the midst of the current COVID-19 pandemic. It was eerily in sync with what was going on in the real world (zombie rabies notwithstanding), so much so, that I had to check the dates to make sure it wasn't meant to be a commentary on current events. The pace is a bit slow and it took some time for me to "get into" the book. The characters' fears, comedy relief, and hopes were well translated in the dialogue. Overall, I rate this as a good book (average) and worth reading.

**Note: I was given an ARC from the Scene of the Crime (a group from Harper Collins). Other than the free e-book, I was not compensated for my feedback.

I’m a Paul Tremblay fan. <i>Disappearance at Devil’s Rock</i> is an all-time favorite, and <i>Cabin at the End of the World</i> scared me senseless. I say that to say this: this review is written from a place of love, and respect.

<i>Survivor Song</i> let me down. Big time.

To get this out of the way: because this is a Tremblay novel, it is competently written. Meaning there are no glaring errors or lapses in verb tenses, and the author seems to have a firm grasp on his characters. The basics are handled well, because this is a professional writer and this is his, like, eighth published novel.

I’m not a fan of zombies (or anything zombie-like). They bore me to tears. I don’t find them scary. And I’m not a fan of “travelogue” novels, especially in post-apocalyptic settings. Remember the scene toward the beginning of <i>Bird Box</i>, before shit gets really real, when the main character is traveling in a car with her friend (or sister? I forget)? Imagine reading an book that’s about 80% that.

Our two main characters, Ramona the doctor and Natalie the infection victim, are friends and trying to get help for Natalie. I couldn’t really connect with these characters—and don’t get me started on the constant “Rams” and “Nats” thing, Christ—especially Ramona, whose chapters felt a bit too introspective and clogged the pace up. Natalie is a victim in all sorts of ways, and the reader should feel sorry for her, but I found myself rooting for her death only so I wouldn’t have to read about her anymore. Not good.

A couple other characters are introduced, but none are developed well enough for me to care. And because this is a crisis novel set in modern day, you’ve got your obligatory potshots at the President (well deserved, mind you) and redneck characters who are nothing more than cliche stand-ins for the prototypical Trump supporter. It all feels stale, is what I’m getting at. I didn’t like this shit when I read Chuck Wendig’s <i>Wanderers</i> last year, and I don’t like it now. At least <i>Survivor Song</i> isn’t a lard-ass 900 pages.

One of my most anticipated books of the year let me down. It happens. Maybe the horror of real life makes the horrors in Tremblay’s latest creation pale in comparison, or maybe it just isn’t that good.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for granting me an ARC.

Paul Tremblay is a master of tone and tension, and while Survivor Song is not a long book, it feels remarkably like being a rubber band stretched taught - he pulls you along on a journey that takes only a few hours, until you almost can't stand it any more. There is urgency here, but it is never rushed. Tremblay allows the reader to sit with the urgency until it becomes almost unbearable, before reaching a climactic scene that implies more than it shows and still leaves you lying on the floor with the impact.

It is unnervingly timely, in a way that may hurt it. Who wants to read about fictional pandemics when there is a real one happening outside our window? But the ending is a ray of sunshine in some ways. Survivor Song doesn't turn its head from the very real dangers and horrors of communicable disease, of finding yourself in a hopeless situation and (literally) cutting your way out, but even in this zombie-not-zombies story, there's hope left lingering at the end.

It is a timely novel in this day and age of COVID-19. A pandemic sweeps the nation that affects pets and humans. Super rabies is a scary thing since you can get it from a pet or a family member. The hospitals are overrun and grocery shopping becomes a dangerous affair. It was a suspenseful read. I could feel the characters' tension through each page. All the roadblocks in Nats and Rams way were agonizing. I like the novel's realism. It actually seems like something that could happen. It is not sugar-coated or over the top. It is gruesome, but an animal or person with advanced rabies would show angry, maniacal, aggressive behavior. Its scary how fast it spreads, just like the virus we are dealing with now. I enjoy post apocalyptic fiction and this did not disappoint.

Eery in its relevance, Survivor Song is a prescient societal zombie horror.

Focusing on a U.S. that has had an outbreak of a rabies zombie virus - rabies effects happening much quicker and at the end turning people into rage fueled, nonsense spouting monsters.

It's a story that's refreshingly micro compared to say, Stephen King's The Stand, and its macro outlook on how a disease affects everyone and everywhere.

We follow two good friends and how the zombie virus directly effects them and their relationship. The smaller scale stakes makes this story even more stressful, as I became instantly attached to both our heroines.

In classic Tremblay fashion, the ending is bittersweet - but surprisingly unambiguous.

Anyone familiar with 2020 will be familiar with terms in this book - virus, social distancing, pandemic, quarantine. Jury is still out on how real life's pandemic is going to end, but Survivor Song and Paul Tremblay finish strong.

I read this quickly. The book follows the plight of a very pregnant woman whose husband is killed by an infected man and she herself has been bitten. The infection is caused by a rabies virus that infects a person very quickly leading them to act out violently. The pregnant woman contacts a friend who is also a doctor. The story moves quickly. The characters are likable.

Tremblay will never be able to top A Head Full of Ghosts for me. It’s his best work and I (unfairly, I know) hold everything else he writes against it.

This is a good, quick read. Although, it was unexpectedly soft for what I thought I would be getting instead. I didn’t particularly like Natalie, one of the two main female characters. She cracked jokes at all the wrong times, creating a weird, forced air about her. It just didn’t fit. I also found myself skimming when she talked to her kid in her journal, and when the story jumped back to their past. It was brief but still off putting.

The two women meet up after some rather unfortunate events, and have to go from one hospital to another across the rabies infected town. Easy enough right? Of course not!

I wish I would have been more scared but it wasn’t too bad. Rabies is frightening and I think a tad more scary than “zombies”, or at least the way Tremblay paints the virus. It’s a little close to home with everything going on right now in the real world. That itself is what made me keep going. I kept comparing it to every day life, minus the people biting each other, of course. But who knows, we’re only halfway through 2020.

I’ll continue to read Tremblay’s work in hopes that we’ll get more AHFOG vibes!

I was so thankful to get this one early as I'm a huge fan of Tremblay. However, I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed. The story is very narrow, as it focuses on two people trying to get from point A to point B. The scope and death toll of the virus wasn't immediately made clear until very late in the book. Once a specific death toll is mentioned I almost laughed, as it's much less then what we're currently experiencing with Covid. I'm sorry to say this one just didn't connect, though I'm still a fan and still eagerly awaiting what comes next..

A fast-acting strain of rabies is infecting people. When pregnant Natalie is bitten, can she and her friend Doctor Ramola get the help she needs in time?
Reading a book about a fast-acting and deadly virus seemed like a bad idea. But I’m so glad I read this. It’s such a beautiful story of friendship mixed with the horror of American life.

Survivor Song kept me riveted all the way through, eager to see what would happen next. It felt like a dystopian road trip, with characters that I cared about.

Starts with a bang, but begins to drag in the middle, where scenes are repeated from alternate views. Good story with great characters, but it was a bit too close to reality and wrapped up way too soon. I would have liked to read about the time between the birth and the final chapter.

4.5/5 stars!

SURVIVOR SONG consists of the fastest 320 pages I've ever read!

Nats, (Natalie), is waiting at home for her husband to return from the store. This is no ordinary trip, however. In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, there is a virus loose...a fast acting rabies virus that turns its victims, (animal and human alike) into rabid, (see what I did there?), strong, uber-violent attackers. Those infected will attack cars, humans, pretty much anything at all, and Natalie's husband is late. With Natalie being very pregnant, this is quite a scary turn of events. Will Nats' husband ever return? If so, will he be infected or not? What happens to Natalie's unborn baby? You'll have to read this to find out.

I started this book in earnest early yesterday afternoon, (with only part of a previous lunch hour dedicated to it previously), and I had a hard time putting it down. The main characters, the previously mentioned Natalie and her friend Ramola, were so human, so REAL, that I never doubted the actions of either one of them.

Unfortunately, I never doubted the bad guys in this story either. I have to admit though, that some I thought were bad guys, weren't spoiled through and through and I ended up shedding some tears for a couple of them, to be honest. Most of the others, though? I had no problem believing in them either, because all I have to do is turn on the television any time, night or day, to see them in real life.

As in any zombie story, (I can hear Ramola now, in her British accent "They're NOT zombies!"), the real story is with the survivors. The things they have to do, or are forced to do, to save lives or to take them. This tale is brutal in that regard-the loss of humanity, or perhaps the salvation of humanity...we never know which is which at the time, do we?

I got a bit of a kick that the story takes place in my home state and that I was familiar with some of the places mentioned. For me, the locations made this tale even more real.

The only issues I had were that I wished it was a bit longer and, though I enjoyed the denouement and the end, I would have preferred a bit more explanation. For the latter reason I deducted half a star. I don't need everything wrapped up with a bow, but some elaboration would have pleased me more.

SURVIVOR SONG is destined to be up there on top tens lists this year and it deserves to be.

My highest recommendation!

*I received the e-ARC of this book from William Morrow, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*