by ronde
Thank you, ronde. But this can not be the end of the story. There is a whole world to re-populate.
5 Stars so far. I’m waiting for more.
Agree, there should be more. Don't have a clue what, but it doesn't feel like it's finished.
This is an excellent story and a wake-up call if the world was already going crazy. It is great where you left it, but I agree that you left great possibilities for more. 5 stars
Scary that something like this story could really happen. We may have barely dodged a larger bullet in real life if a couple more gene sequences were different. Agree - agree. Needs a few more pages. 4.8*
A short story as good as "The Hab Theory" and "Lucifer's Hammer"! Thanks for a great story!
Love the story. This is one of my favorite genre of books and movies. Agree with others it needs more chapters. Maybe continuing with children from both Emily and Marilyn. Maybe another woman for Emily? Finally reestablishing contact with the reestablished civilization. No need for cheesy band of outlaw scaveging for food. Life on this level is dramatic enough.
Hey ronde….thanks for a great read. Enjoyed the character development and the premise of your tale. Hopefully a continuation is in the works. Really like your world outlook evident in your stories. Thanks again for your efforts.
Excellent, Randy should live up to his name and help repopulate the world. Seriously though, if there was any truth to Covid, it was to show how something can spread in our modern world as demonstrated in your story. The other is that we should not be "playing" around with deadly bacteria.
Felt like the wrong category, more Novella story. Didn't feel much romance at all. Agree with others that this story is incomplete, and not even sure where it was going..... Well written but far from your best.
A nice fantasy story. As a non-epidemiologist, my guess is that the almost total kill woul take a bit longer than hat is allowed for in the story, and that the human scavengers would be more numerous that they seem to be in the story. Be that as it may it was well written and gets my 5 stars.
This is essentially a prepper survival story, not a romance. I can't see roaming bands of people looking for food when grocery stores and the cupboards of people's homes contain lots of food for the small number of survivors. Canned goods are edible for years, as are things like pasta, rice, and instant meals of the "add water and cook" type.
Totally enjoyable read. Some elements of truth and it created a realistic storyline. The worrying thing is that a plague, man made or not, would devastate the world as most of us are dependent on buying almost everything in stores, self sufficiency does not really exist today unlike in the Middle Ages.
A gripping story, but I hope it isn't a cautionary tale. I'd like to think that we (the world) learned enough from Covid-19 to avoid such an apocalyptic scenario. (But might there be an equally compelling story about a world repopulated by crews of nuclear submarines from diverse nations?)
Felt real and gripping. Aside from Marilyn becoming Marion and Madeline in one paragraph, couldn't find anything that really stuck out except a well-written dystopian story. I would recommend more chapters as others suggested too. 5
Really really enjoyed this story. Actually rese.bled a story that has loosely rolled around in my head but since I do not have one iota of writing talent I enjoyed your take. I wouldn't be dissapo8nted to see a part 2 but again that's is your domain. Again great story
Awesome, loved it. Will there be more? That's up to you but I would definitely read more if there was. I have done some short "wilderness camping" in the past and I loved it. Thanks.
I very much enjoyed this story, as I have all other stories by Ronde that I've read thus far. It put me in mind of a very good novel from around the turn of the century titled "One Second After", about life in western N.C. ( Asheville, Black Mountain area) following an EMP attack.
I love post apocalyptic stories. It begs a sequel though. Maybe a series of chapters spaced a year apart, detailing the changes over 25 years……. 5*
A terrifying story ending in hope. Very nice ending but could be a sequel or two.
Two unrelated comments:
1. AFAIK, glanders is a disease of horses (and sheep etc., IIRC), which can spread to humans, and to dogs, cats, etc. You've made it much, much more contagious (not to mention more virulent). OK, except it ought to be killing the coyotes and bears about as fast.
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2. I totally disagree with muskyboy. It was a little strange as a romance, but the circumstances were strange, and it was truly about the romance.
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(And IMNVHO categorizing stories on this site by length is really stupid. I'm likely to look in Romance for stories (& half the time they're just erotic couplings with no real romance at all). I can't imagine coming here and saying to myself, "Hmm. I'm in the mood for a really LONG story. Let's see what's in Novels and Novellas right now." Really, how many readers would ever do that? they get to those stories from other people's recommendations, or from tags, or from looking for the specific author after reading other stories.)
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OK, let me add that I didn't find this one of Ronde's best stories, but it was very good, and I gave it 5*. (And I follow him and not that many others.)
I too, agree with Smiffy69- This post-apocalypse tale
should have a sequel, maybe not as far as 25 y. in the future,
but at least covering eventual births and upbringing…
and maybe contact with gov. or military( like that navy chopper
mentioned in this chapter.
Although I am a bone fide city boy I have had fantasies of living in a rough cabin in the wilderness and becoming self sufficient. I do think the almost complete annihilation of the human race is a little extreme given that there are almost always people who are immune to almost anything, but it did allow this trio to set up shop in a remote area and survive quite nicely. Randy was plausibly equipped with the knowledge to survive and Joe and Marilyn had learned what was needed. To avoid inbreeding, the human groups would have to intermix to create a viable population, but it is possible. I wonder if the next civilization would create itself in a more sustainable mode, but I doubt it. 5*
Overall this was a well written story. I liked the pacing, the characterizations, and the details of surviving. I do wish there had been even a small skirmish with outsiders, forcing a difficult moral dilemma or two. You explored the moral implications of survival, but they didn't have to confront them dead on. Still, it was a very fun read.
The way covid started this story is more than plausible. Anuone think it was just a test? Please tell me that there is a part two. 5*