The story opens with a terrifying premise, that (almost) everyone is suddenly motivated by a chilling urge to kill one person and then kill themselves. The narrator and his companions are trying to stay alive, and trying to figure out what could be happening. It's a brilliant premise for a scifi or supernatural thriller.

Unfortunately, the novel falls very short. The characters were underdeveloped and lacking, to the point that I didn't much care when characters died. Long descriptions of who took first watch at night or how a room was barricade resembled a role-playing campaign. (Actually, a post Activation game would probably a better use of this clever premise than a third-rate novella.)

Probably the last quarter of the book reads like it was rushed for a deadline, with half-baked dramatic revelations coming fast and thick.

A chilling and intriguing premise, but a really disappointing book. ( )

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I'm afraid of flying, so whatever drove me to read a horror book with a plane on the cover right before boarding a flight beats me. Luckily for people like me, the flying is certainly the safest mode of transport in First Activation. It's when they reach their destination that things become, slightly weird, as everyone feels the need to murder-suicide themselves. It's here that veteran brothers Jack and Harry are trying to survive.

I liked the first half of the book best, because it was reading really fast and felt like I was watching a movie. It was the right amount of confusing, gross and enthralling, just what I needed at that moment. About half-way, the pace slows down quite drastically and it is much less about survival and much more about the why and who behind the sudden urge to kill. I was still interested in the story, but things started to get really convenient and unlikely, which was a slight let down.

Since I already had a copy of the sequel, I've started it already. Curious where the Second Activation will bring everyone.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

DNF - seriously a book like this ought to at least try to have some fear or humor or emotion of some kind? for the characters or the readers at least? because without humor it's just a B movie in book form with all the action and special effects and bad dialog but without the fun .

A plane traveling from England to NYC hits some turbulence and when it lands, there is no one to greet the crew and passengers. When finally someone comes out to the tarmac, he objective is to kill the first person he sees then himself. Brothers, Jack and Harry decide to investigate and find an airport filled with murder suicide victims. What the hell has happened?

At the beginning I though the writing was sophomoric, but once the first killing happened, it picked up and grabbed my attention. I wanted to know what caused this disaster and was interested in knowing how it would play out. Although, the characters were weak, I didn’t mind because it still held my attention. But then when found out was going on; I was somewhat disappointed. Not what I was expecting. As I continued to read, I realized that it was getting close to the end; yet there needed to be a resolution. The resolution sucked! It ended rather abruptly with no finality. Is there supposed to be a sequel? Nice try but no dice with this one. ( )

First off, I love the premise. Very original and fresh. But, what I think what I liked best was that Jack and Harry were truly realistic characters. They made mistakes. They led the reader down paths that I would've been screaming, "stop!", but they're human and it felt like the decisions they'd made came from each man as an individual. Without a doubt, I'm anxious for the next novel. I hope the Wearmouth brothers are here to stay. ( )