Yesterday's Gone: Season 1 - Sean Platt & David Wright

(2011)

Genre: Horror/Sci-Fi
Synopsis: On October 15 at 2:15 a.m. everyone on Earth vanished. Well, almost everyone. A scattered few woke alone in a world where there are no rules other than survival... at any cost. A journalist wanders the wretched reality of an empty New York, in search for his wife and son. A serial killer must hunt in a land where prey is now an endangered species. A mother shields her young daughter from danger. A bullied teen is thrilled to find everyone gone. A fugitive survives a fiery plane crash. An eight year old boy sets out on a journey to find his missing family. These survivors aren't alone... Someone or something is watching them. And waiting...


 ***

Review: Each 'season' of Yesterday's Gone is a collection of 'episodes' of serialized fiction, with each season amounting to a long book full of parts, and chapters from the perspectives of different characters. I've reviewing the season as a whole because honestly one episode is far too short to review in and of itself, and really the serialization made no difference to me, because I just read Season 1 as the first book in a series of books.

Season 1 begins with a familiar setup - people beginning to wake up in a seemingly deserted world, from which 99% of humanity seems to have vanished instantaneously whilst innocently going about its day. This is one of my favourite setups for books and movies alike, although very few have the skill to pull off the Big-Bad Reveal to my satisfaction. Honestly, Yesterday's Gone is doing exceptionally well so far, and I think that's because it has successfully engaged my interest with its wide cast of varied characters. Some I like more than others, but even the few I dislike are well-written and diverse enough in their voices and personalities to keep me interested in their stories.

The plot is pretty enjoyable; it's not the most original thing out there (so far) - in fact it largely seems to be a talented reuse of many traditional horror elements. That said, its highly readable and differentiated from generic plots by the aforementioned cast through whose eyes we experience it. Creepy monsters, tense battles to the near-death, and a dog named Dog Vader who is actually a Native American named Kick, this story has all the hallmarks of a good post-apocalyptic horror story with a dash of 'what the hell?' thrown in for good measure. That said, this is only season one - who knows what creative madness lies in wait in further seasons.

I'm taking one mark off because, despite its many great points, it hasn't quite got the oomph to make it stand out from a lot of other post-apocalyptic fiction out there. *Yet*. I am assured that it only gets better from here, so here's hoping Season 2 gets the full five. I for one am dying to read it.

Rating: 4/5

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