A. O. Khalil

I received a copy of "The Emergence" by A. O. Khalil in exchange for an honest review.

Story:
They were just sinkholes, harmless sinkholes that were spreading like wildfire across the country. Then the disappearances started. A few people here and there then the entire army, gone in one night. Jay and Jule quickly find themselves thrown in the middle of a dangerous situation that only gets worse when something else comes that takes everyone by bloody surprise.

As they make ready to leave to gather with the rest of the family, something comes out of the sinkholes and begins attacking and killing everyone in sight. Before they know it they are in the middle of a war with an unknown enemy and an unknown agenda.

Will Jay and Jule survive their encounter or will they find themselves twenty-six feet under at the bottom of a sinkhole?


In the beginning, I was not sure if I'd like this book.
I found it kind of absurd, how all the people didn't think anything there was odd when the sinkholes started appearing first.
And when people were reported missing, it sounded as if most were just continuing their life like always. Only when important people from the government and army were missed did they realise that they would need to do something.
Maybe this is because nobody knows how we would react in such a situation. Furthermore, people tend to ignore things they do not understand and not care when they think they are not involved.
But everyone is involved in the world in Khalil's book.

It's like a zombie apocalypse, but without the zombies.
While reading I always thought the story was similar to the tv show "The Walking Dead". People try to get out of the endangered (overrun with zombies) zones and to find their families to get to a save place.

I needed some time to get warm with the book, but when Jay and Jule left their home to drive to Jule's parents, the action really started and I was thrilled.

There are a lot of characters and of course, some were more pleasant to me than others.
I was always wary of Pete. His absence in the beginning and his unwillingness to help seemed weird and made him suspicious. Who is he?

During the whole book I wanted to know what these sinkholes where and why the creatures coming out of them kidnapped/killed people. 
The solution to this question presented at the end of the book was a bit disappointing. I would have though of something else, even if I can't name what. 

I gove 4 of 5 stars for this book.
I'm happy that I had the chance to read it and to enjoy this story. If you love fast-pacing, mysterious stories that are similar to zombie apocalypse settings, than you will like this one.