Dark Lands by Brenton J. Cox
(Atrum Terra, Book 1)
Released: August 29, 2016 | Genre: Zombie, Horror
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What will it be like when the world really ends? Do you think that your Doomsday television shows and your Survival internet forums have prepared you for what is really coming? Do you think you will be able to keep your sanity with no cellular phone, no automobile, and no electricity? Will you be able to steal to stay warm, eat the family pet so you do not starve, or kill another human being to stay alive? You do not really want the world to end, not like this.
Atrum Terra: Dark Lands tells the story of two people from different sides of the nation that struggle to survive after a devastating attack breaks the back of the United States. It is a journey in which the whole world is sent spiraling towards a dark future where humans are an endangered species.
Jonathan Fisher is an average man living in Minnesota whose very sanity is tested when everything about his normal life is ripped away in an instant. He is left to survive in a new world full of victims, brigands, and a man made plague that turns its victims into violent, mindless cannibals.
Miguel Alverez is a Marine recruit trainee in California when the attack begins. He is thrown into active duty and must overcome the terror of a war from two sides as a biological weapon turns America’s citizens against one another while enemy forces close in on the nation's borders.
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Brenton J. Cox wrote Dark Lands because he was tired of zombie stories that simply jumped to the aftermath of the apocalypse. He wanted to explore the first 30 days, and even the first five years, of an outbreak, including why the infected became what they were and how the military and ordinary people would realistically respond. He spent about a year researching medical conditions, military history, weaponry, and survival before finishing the book.
REVIEW
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆
A zombie apocalypse I can get behind. 🧟♂️
Atrum Terra offers a fresh perspective on the zombie apocalypse by focusing primarily on the military response. Now, sure, most zombie stories feature the military in some form. But think about it: how often are they actually the focus? Almost never.
Traditionally, zombie stories are told through a narrow lens, either one person or a small group of survivors, letting us experience the outbreak through “average” eyes. It’s less about creative choice and more about practicality. By sticking with everyday characters, the story becomes more relatable, and it allows creators to rely on familiar zombie tropes without needing to explain the larger picture. You get the usual lines like “for all we know, this could be happening everywhere”, which keeps the story intimate while hinting at a wider disaster (and conveniently saves money when it comes to film and TV adaptations).
But Atrum Terra goes in a different direction. It splits the narrative between two perspectives: one civilian, one military, with about a 70:30 focus in favor of the military. And that shift unlocks two big advantages most zombie stories lack:
A break from cliché. We’re not just following another average survivor wandering around, trying to find loved ones (though the civilian storyline has its own unique twist on that theme).
Real scope. Instead of vague assumptions about how “bad things must be everywhere,” you actually see the outbreak unfold on a national scale. You get the sense not just of survival, but of coordinated efforts to contain and stop the apocalypse.
