By Suren G Hakobyan
In this unnerving horror novel, five friends wake up to a deserted, sunless Earth — and soon find that fog-like figures stalk their silent new reality…
Empty streets are littered with stalled-out cars, buses, and motorcycles. A sunless and moonless sky is covered with an enormous barrier that prevents any view of the heavens.
Nothing stirs. The air is oppressive and there is no wind, not even the softest breeze.
It was supposed to be a typical day for the five friends, but they wake up to discover that they are left alone on earth. The world that they knew is gone. All that is left is silence, pervasive, absolute silence.
What happened while they slept? Are they the only ones left? As the theories start to fly, and their imaginations run wild, they wonder if they are still on Earth at all, possibly abducted by aliens, trapped in a simulation, or claimed by the afterlife.
Aram is the only one who can see deep into the silent world. That’s why, from the very beginning, he starts to look for a way out of this new reality. If he can convince his friends to stay focused, as the whispers begin, and fight against the evil of the silent world, the fog-shaped beings that wander the empty streets, they may stand a chance.
If not, the only thing that lies ahead is the fate of the void.
Official Summary
A story about friendship, deceit and one man’s commitment to his friends and family. This is not my usual genre of choice, but when the author approached me to review his book, I could not resist.
Written from various character’s point of view, the story is easy to follow and well written. I did find it a little difficult to form a bond with the main character as he was not very communicative and kept most of his thoughts to himself. He was not open with his friends and that annoyed me a little. However, the author did a great job bringing the story to a close and by the end of the book, you understand what drove the characters to do what they did.
Five friends wake one morning in a world wrapped in complete silence, even the sounds of nature completely absent. Aram, having a military background takes it upon himself to save his friends and find a way out of this strange world they find themselves in. A difficult task as the silence of this new world slowly drives everyone just a little bit more into themselves, resulting in a lack of trust as everyone believes something different caused their predicament.
This book takes you into the minds of the characters and leaves you questioning everyone. The author did a good job of keeping you unsure which encouraged me to keep turning the pages – I simply had to figure out where the story was going. Early on in the book, I thought the author was trying to copy one of Stephen King’s stories – turns out he only borrowed one element from the King book and the story was not the same after all – that was a relief.
The characters were rather complex, especially as they seemed to change the longer they stayed in the silent city, so it was hard to figure out who to trust. I disliked the main character – Aram – at first. He seemed arrogant, viewing himself as superior to his friends and that annoyed me. However, as the story progresses and you spend more time inside Aram’s head, his motivations become clear and justify his behaviour.
Void Fate is a book that I neither loved nor hated. It was an entertaining story and it kept me reading right to the end, but somehow it just did not have me form a connection of any kind. I did not find myself lost in the story at any time.
Void Fate will appeal to Sci-Fi readers who are keen on strange and spooky events threatening the characters lives as well as readers who enjoy being inside the characters heads while watching each character’s personality change due to what’s happening around them.
Author: Suren G Hakobyan – ISBN: 9798646316487 – Publisher: Victory Editing, NetGalley Co – Source: ARC from NetGalley
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author bio from GoodReads
Suren G. Hakobyan is an engineer and author. He has been interested in mystery and fantasy stories and movies from an early age.
He is, first and foremost, a devoted husband and a proud father. He also enjoys travel and playing football. He spent eight-year working as a mechanical engineer before publishing his first book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to review this title. While not my genre of choice, I enjoyed the book and I am sure the Sci-fi enthusiasts out there will find this book to be an enjoyable read. If you have read this book, leave a comment below with your thoughts. Until next time….Happy Reading!
