Trying to catch up on prior eARC, sorry I never got to this when it came out. I do think I let to much time go by to fully appreciate the ending of this trilogy, but still thought it was pretty decent ending.

The first 3/4 of this novel it kind of dragged as nothing action wise was happening. The last 1/4 was more reminiscent of the previous entries in this trilogy. Nice wrapup.

ZERO DAY is a fabulous horror tale.

If you have any degree of arachnophobia, this might be a book to avoid, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I rate this book as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ZERO DAY is the finale to Ezekiel Boone's gripping, chilling The Hatching series.
This series has been incredibly strong throughout - the first book was utterly gripping (and skin-crawling), the second built on the world and peril nicely, and this third book delivers an excellent and satisfying ending.
Well-written, good characters, and a fast-paced plot. Very highly recommended. Can't wait to see what the author comes up with next.

I skipped the middle book and went straight from book one to three. Apparently a lot of major cities were nuked in book 2 and spidergeddon is well on its way.

There are a multitude of characters and locations, giving us a look at how they are dealing. I remembered few of them from the first book. Besides Melanie I mostly drew blanks.

The recap is done well, I did not miss the second book and found into the plot easily. I did not care about Bobby Higgs, I could have done without that part of the gazillion story threads. It was a drag.

My problem with the many, many characters and plots—by the time some of them came around again, I couldn‘t remember who they were. Maybe it would have been better to cut out some of the extraneous filler chapters and add more spidey action instead.

The climax was good, but the boss fight was entirely too easy and short. Seriously, after a build-up of three books, that was pretty lame.

Nonetheless, I had fun and was very entertained. It was creepy, when spiders did happen, and I was a little twitchy when I killed the lights last night. The epilogue made me cry (I am easy like that).

I can recommend this trilogy to anybody looking for a fun creature feature. I would go and see the movie. And I will check out what else the author has published.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you! Sorry that it took me so long...

Fantastic conclusion to an amazing trilogy!!! Mr. Boone delivers. Creepy, atmospheric thriller.

Mr. Boone delivers yet again!

Zero Day by Ezekiel Boone is book #3 of The Hatching series. A horror story that is old time B-Movie horror fun. Zero Day is the kind of scary fun I remember on Saturday morning curled up in front of a black and white TV and watching as my secret fears came to life.

"...Please, Father. Help me.'
Father Thomas reflexively touched his collar. He could feel the jackhammer of this heart, but it was already passing. He simply hadn't expected to have somebody leap out at him from behind a tree.
'Do you need something to eat? I can take you to...' He trailed off, watching the man closely. It was rare for him to feel physically endangered, but the sad truth was that the scourge of drugs left no man untouched. This man didn't look high, however; he looked sick. 'Do you need a doctor?'
The man sat back on his heels. His knees pushed the mulch forward a bit, and at the same time that he was leaning back his head dropped forward. He started pulling up his shirt.
'They're inside me..."

Apocalypse has come to the United States. Zero Day is here. Not in the way that anyone could have ever predicted but in the form of a primal fear. A phobia for many and a dread for all others. Spiders, deadly and carnivorous. They came ashore on container ships and have taken over cities that were not prepared for the onslaught. The built great nests and their queens were huge. They began to move across the country, devouring everyone in their path. Entering people and then filling them with eggs that would hatch and unleash thousands more.

President Stephanie Pilgrim made a choice she would have to live with for the rest of her life. On the advice of her cabinet and military, she bombed your own country, essentially cutting the United States in half, murdering millions of her own citizens to save those she could. Halting the advance of the spiders. Or so she thought.

The world is on the brink of apocalypse. Zero Day has come. The government is in disagreement with how to proceed. Do they continue bombing their own country with nuclear weapons or do they go with Professor Guyer's theory that they only need to kill the queens. President Pilgrim knows her answer. Over two dozen American cities lay in waste after being hit with tactical nukes. Countless lives lost. She cannot continue the strikes. But General Ben Broussard and the military who fall under his command disagree and the Pilgrim finds herself under attack, not just from the spider invasion, but her own military.

Zero Day and it's predecessors, The Hatching and Skitter, are just fun horror novels that are a throwback to the days prior to the in flux of teenage vampire romances and demon possession being the creatures going bump in the night. This is the creepy horror that makes you recoil in disgust and scratch at your arms and when that piece of lint moves across the floor, has your feet up in the air. This is fun horror. A country brought to it's knees by creepy crawlies.

Boone is a terrific writer and you can tell he is having fun telling his stories and that just makes it a lot of fun for the rest of us.

A really good read but get all three of this series!

This is the third book in a trilogy so you are going to want to pick up those up first (The Hatching and Skitter) before you read this book and you'll probably not want to read this review either as there will be spoilers.

Ezekiel Boone is back with the conclusion of his Trilogy and its an all out battle of Humans vs Spiders:

The world is on the brink of total destruction, human are no longer the Apex predators on Earth, Spiders have invaded almost every part of the world now. The American government has started to take drastic measures in order to try to ensure Humanity's survival, but it all may just lead to them destroying themselves. There is a next step in the Spiders; plan, the release of the Queens, but the Queens may also hold the secret to saving them all. With everything on the brink of total collapse a few brave women and men attempt the impossible trying to save the human race from not only spiders but from other humans as well.

Personally I think that this book is the weakest of the three, which is really disappointing as I have enjoyed the previous two books. This is not to say that I did not enjoy reading this book I just felt like this story wrapped up too neatly. Sure there are some battles between the Humans and the Spiders, but we never really get to see the true power of any of the Queens. The Queens never get released to make their own havoc on the Human race. There was so much potential there and different directions that I wish Boone would have taken. Boone could have thrown a twist there in the end. Part way through the book you realize how well (and basically easy) this is going to work out that it becomes less suspenseful. I wish that Boone would have been a little more free with some of his characters to add to the suspense of who is going to get out alive. I was really missing the thrills and chills that the first two books in this series had.

This books had a lot less fewer points of view in the book the pets have mainly been condensed down to only a handful of people now. However, Boone does a good job of showing where these people are by the end of the book, even if it really no different than where they were the last book. One of my favourite additions to this book when it comes to perspectives is the Spiders. The Spider Queens knew what was occurring around them, some sort of their overall plan that they could share with each and their ability to learn as well. Often times we as humans think we are the apex predators, well these spiders show that that is not always true. This is why I wish the Queens really would have been unleashed

This book also explored some interesting political perspectives, initiatives and attempted overthrow of the government. It also showed how things can become divided very easily within the government as well especially on the military sides of things.

I really wanted to enjoy this book for the ending of a horror trilogy there was more that I wanted from this. I wanted more action, more uncertainty about the outcome to keep me guessing till the end. All that said I would read other books by Boone as well as series as the first two books here really do make your spine crawl.

Enjoy!!!

Though I liked the book, I made the decision at the time I finished not to review it on my site. Maybe in the future I will include it in a book list post or another article.

This was an okay, but not really great, conclusion to The Hatching trilogy by Boone (about a world destroyed by carnivorous spiders, basically). The episodic nature of the various stories didn't really work as well this time (not sure why we spent anytime with the self-styled prophet) and were rather rushed. The final solution to the spiders was just a little too simple. There was some promise in the picture of the US government falling apart, due to infighting between the president and her generals, but again, too little, too late. This is, overall, a fun, quick read, but with little, if any, lasting value. Put all 3 books in one volume, trim off the fat, and maybe, just maybe, you'd have something worthwhile.

My wishy-washy feelings for this trilogy continued with this final book, but at least I finished! It feels so slow and drawn-out a lot during much of the book, and I skimmed more than a couple times. Yet, I still liked it. *shrugs* It’s complicated. Anyway, I love spiders, but if you thought they were creepy in the first book, prepare for your nightmares to get worse. Honestly, though, this trilogy could’ve easily been trimmed to two books.

I was waiting with anticipation for this book and it did not disappoint! Excellent conclusion to this spine tingling trilogy. Never going to look at spiders the same again. Thanks for that. ;) Well done. Looking forward to what Mr. Boone has in store for us next.

Around the world they are dealing with the spiders. For now, the spiders are calm but what exactly does that mean? In a lab in Japan, they are shedding their exoskeletons which means either they are increasing in size or they are …………. Around the world, people are waiting in anticipation to see what the spiders next move will be, hoping that someone will discover a way to kill them before they strike again.

Communication in the U.S. is sporadic as explosives were used on highways and roads to make areas unpassable and nuclear weapons were unleased in an attempt to kill the deadly spiders. Individuals want to head East where the destruction is minimal but the means to get there is another obstacle they need to overcome.

The President and Broussard still have the clashing of the minds but now it’s becoming more serious. Broussard lets his voice be heard and he is not backing down as he tells everyone within hearing distance how uncapable he feels the President is. The President stands up to Broussard but he retaliates and push, comes to shove in the end. They need to stop these spiders but at what cost?

I’m sorry to see this series end but I’m hopeful that Ezekiel Boone will write us another great horror story in the near future.

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Atria in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I had a good time with this book. This is the third book in the Hatching trilogy which really needs to be read in order. This book picks up right after the events of the previous book and the three books really tell just a piece of the overall story. I am really glad that I read the entire trilogy during the past couple of months because I was able to remember details of the story that I would have most likely forgotten if I had read them as they were published. I found this book to be an entertaining page turner.

I really like the way that the story is told. Just like the previous books in the series, the book is told from a large number of point of views. Most of the characters that get a chance to help tell this story have played key roles in the earlier books but there is still the occasional viewpoint from someone new to the story. Some point of views show up quite frequently while others show up only once. This installment seemed to focus on the known characters a bit more with fewer one and gone point of views.

This is the final book in the trilogy so things are pretty dire at the start of the book. This book really focused almost completely on the situation in the United States. Things are not good. There is the spider problem of course but the politics were almost as dangerous. I found the politics and the spiders to be equally entertaining. The scientists and the inventors were working hard to find a solution and it was a whole lot of fun watching them as they made discoveries.

I thought that this was a pretty exciting story. There was enough action to really keep things interesting. I also thought the the evolution of the spiders was very interesting. There were a few moments that I had no idea how things would work out and there were some truly scary moments. I thought that the ending was quite fitting.

I would recommend this series to others. I thought that this was a really well told story with just enough of a creepy factor to keep things very interesting. I will definitely be looking for more of Ezekiel Boone's writing in the future.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Atria/Emily Bestler Books via NetGalley.

I’ll try and make this as non-spoilery as possible given that this is the third installment in The Hatching series.

The human species is under threat by spiders overrunning most of the earth on a grand scale. Our survival tenuous at best, and dependent on outsmarting the spiders who are fast, coordinated, and deadly. They run on instinct and seem to keep evolving! Just normal everyday spiders scare the hell out of me, so these spiders would give me a heart attack on the spot!

I was on the edge of my seat through most of these books, and rooting for several of the characters introduced through the series! Zero Day was thrilling, fast paced with lots of action, and we get to see the impact of this global attack through the eyes of several characters located all around the world. I loved the overall story arc through the series, and there was even a wee bit of romance! Two I was really hoping would pan out eventually, and I got my wish on both accounts!

I love stories where the survival of the human race is at risk, and the characters involved must fight with everything they have to survive! Zero Day was a superb ending to a thrilling series, and everything I hoped for!

A copy was kindly provided by Atria/Emily Bestler Book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review is also posted at The Readers Den.

A satisfying end to the trilogy... and good to know that American ingenuity can still get the job done

So here we are at the end of the trilogy. One way or another this apocalypse is coming to an end; it’s us or them.

I’ve been going through a bit of a funk with books in a series, or the never-ending series; I’ve grown to fully appreciate the trilogy, there is something to look forward to, the suspense of a great cliffhanger, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. As I was reading Zero Day, I thought that this series would have been an epic book to read straight through, all one thousand-ish pages.

One thing that I loved with Zero Day was the switch from one group of characters to another. Since I picked up The Hatching in 2016, these characters have become part of my life. Boone brought all of them into play in the closing installment in the series, although some had a much more passive role than others.

I kind of divide Zero Day into two parts. A good portion was spent on the political games, this was interesting and all, but to quote Christopher Walken, “I gotta have more spiders, baby!” Once the spiders hit the page, it was on. Boone really knows how to make one of the creepiest creatures on earth even more repugnant.

Zero Day was a great closing to The Hatching Series. I’m curious what creepy-crawly he will terrify me with next.

*4 Stars

YES! YES! YES! I had been eagerly awaiting the third installment of The Hatching series since last year when I read Skitter last year. Seeing the spiders hatch, take over and seeing the apocalypse on the horizon, I couldn’t wait to watch the United States go to war against the queen spiders; Zero Day by Ezekiel Boone had arrived!! Truthfully, if anyone had told me that I would be anticipating a book about killer spiders, I would have looked at them like they were crazy. But, alas, here we are!

One of my favourite things about the writing style of Boone is his ability to take tons of characters, both major and minor, and blend them effortlessly together. All characters are fully developed and each with their own POV. This could end up being confusing the Boone’s execution is brilliant and it ends u adding continuous layers to the plot.

Another fast paced, action packed novel that had me up late into the night and my eyes glued to the pages, but, I have to say, I feel like the ending was a little lackluster for me. I think I wanted a big SHABANG at the end and it turned out to be a little bit meh. Mind you, this was a trilogy, so I knew it had to come to an end but I wish there would have been a bit more development so the ending could have been drawn out a little more.

I know I will read anything that Boone publishes in the future and cannot wait to see what he will come up with next!

4.5 stars.

Final book in the trilogy did not disappoint. Characters have continued to develop during the series and the antagonistic spiders continue to real havoc on the world. A pleasure to read, will miss looking forward to the next installment.

This is the third and final installment of the series "The Hatching". I am so sad to see it over. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this series. A very unusually creepy one as killer spiders are bringing the world to an end. And, those little buggers are everywhere!!

Fortunately, the spiders are mostly talked about throughout the series. The destruction they can and will do is brought to your attention, but the book doesn't deal with the fatalities and just exactly what the spiders are doing to the people they find. I'm saying that it's not over and over repeated. The focus is mainly on the people trying to save the world from the spiders. I mean just the word "spider" turns me into a shivering mess. I don't really need to hear over and over what killer spiders are doing. Thank you for sparing me Mr. Boone!

Yes, I have just finished the third book about spiders. Yikes!!!

The book was very well written and kept me mesmerized throughout as the author takes us all ove the world to discover the plight of these spiders and what's happening to the world because of them.

Yes, I did stay up late to finish this book and yes, it was worth it.

Thanks to Atria Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.