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The Scattered and the Dead (Book 0.5) Kindle Edition

by Tim McBain (Author), L.T. Vargus (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 827 ratings
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"All my friends are dead. Everyone I've ever cared about is dead."

Loneliness drives an introvert to write a letter to the girl in the apartment across the hall. He is anxious. Reclusive. Desperate for a friend. The apocalypse interrupts this attempt at human contact.

Now he watches out the window as the world gets cut to pieces by plague and riots. Buildings burn. Pedestrians vomit blood.

Soon the bodies line the streets. Rumors of zombies spread. And then the power goes out.

Getting to know someone could be harder than he thought, let alone surviving in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

He might even need to leave the apartment.
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  1. Book 1 of 7
    The Scattered and the Dead
  2. Print length
    129 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    February 2, 2016
  6. File size
    913 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01BFFJSR4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Smarmy Press (February 2, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 2, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 913 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 129 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 827 ratings

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
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  1. L.T. Vargus

    L.T. Vargus

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    L.T. Vargus grew up in Hell, Michigan, which is a lot smaller, quieter, and less fiery than one might imagine. When not click-clacking away at the keyboard, she can be found sewing, fantasizing about food, and rotting her brain in front of the TV.

    L.T. Vargus now lives in New Mexico with her special man friend/writing partner, Tim McBain.

    She likes YouTube videos of cute animals, mystery novels, punk rock, and pizza.

    http://ltvargus.com

    See more on the author's page
  2. Tim McBain

    Tim McBain

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    People say your author bio should tell the world why you write. I write because life is short, and I want to make something awesome before I die.

    http://timmcbain.com

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
827 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ducky
5.0 out of 5 stars A surprisingly good read.
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book was compelling. A single human male writing a letter to his crush who he is afraid to meet. Sounds a bit artsy and romantic, except it is set against the end of the human race from a hemorrhagic virus with a hint of zombies. Dexter reminds me of Columbus in Zombieland. I even read much of the story in Jesse Eisenberg's voice. (I laughed when Dexter mentions cardio.) However, this is not just a rip off of a movie. The story delves deeply into the psyche of a young agoraphobe, watching as people outside his safe apartment die off.

The story is gritty, dark, and should be hopeless yet somehow isn't. It is well written and has no presentation issues that I could find, which makes it a great read. No typos, misspellings, or grammatical faux pas to distract me from really getting into the world the writer is creating in my mind. I gave it 5 stars and I really do NOT like this kind of story at all. It didn't matter that I don't like zombies, or dystopian subjects the book was so good that I would read it again and will probably pick up book 1 just to see where it goes. Big kudos to Tim and Lex for a well written tale that makes my skin crawl in all the best ways.
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Mitch
4.0 out of 5 stars Certainly a different approach.
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2024
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This is a curiously written book in a style I don't think I've run across much, except in some of my own, unpublished, writing. I certainly enjoyed the read and the weirdness vibe. I say go Gor it; give it a read. It's short and very unsweet.
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Gustavo Restrepo
3.0 out of 5 stars Good first draft.
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2018
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The writing is good, and i liked the approach to an otherwise overly covered theme... virus, decimated population, lone survivor, blah blah blah. Enjoyable read, but a bit too many errors for my taste. Clearly the author doesn't know how many things work, didn't do enough research, or didn't think things all the way through. I liked the story... but overall I would call it a good first draft.
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NH
5.0 out of 5 stars Narrator not reading it as much as telling it, as one survivor sharing their story with another, a very intimate narration.
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2016
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The Scattered and the Dead, Book 0.5
Written by: Tim McBain, L.T. Vargus
Narrated by: Tim McBain
Length: 2 hrs and 27 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:02-04-16
Publisher: Smarmy Press

The Scattered and the Dead, Book 0.5 had been on my Kindle radar for a few days. I liked the description. The prices was right, less than a dollar, but I just had not made that commitment click yet. Earlier today I was offered a free copy of the Audible version in exchange for a fair review. I immediately committed to it. I thought I would start listening to it tonight and finish tomorrow since it is only two and a half hours long. That did not happen. I sat in my chair totally lost in the book. Other than pausing to tell my family to fend for themselves for dinner (all over eighteen so it is not abuse, it is character building), I got lost in a new universe.

The Scattered and the Dead begins twenty-one days before. Before what is something the reader has to discover for themselves. In the dwindling days of “before”, Decker, the main character watches the world slip away. Very important to note, that he watches; other than one event he does not participate. Once the countdown of “before” ends and the count begins to go up for “after”, Decker finds he cannot wait this catastrophe out. When he does venture out and participate, the story was not predictable. I would be neglectful if I did not mention Decker’s reliance on Tang for vitamin C. I feel compelled to share that my plumber advises us to use Tang once a week to keep our sink from clogging. Drink at your own risk. When I finished, I sat for a few minutes wishing it continued. It really is a great story.

The production values are excellent. There are no extraneous noises. No background music or sound effects. Just the clear strong voice of the narrator, who happens to be one of the authors. Tim McBain did a fantastic job narrating the book. Perhaps having helped create it helped. He did not seem to be reading it as much as telling it, as one survivor sharing their story with another. It makes for a very intimate narration.

I truly enjoyed The Scattered and the Dead, Book 0.5. I am looking forward to the sequel coming out in the next month. The authors have created a post apocalyptic universe that feels different than many of the other I have read (and I have read many). I cannot quite put my finger on it yet to say definitively what is different but I look forward to the sequel to discover exactly what it is that makes this universe different.

Story (Plot) 5
Performance 5
Production Quality 5
Attention Holding 5
​
I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for a fair review. I purchased the Kindle version myself.
2 people found this helpful
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aboreemore
4.0 out of 5 stars Great descriptive writing
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2024
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I really enjoyed the depth of description used in this book. I felt Deckers loneliness and desires as he experienced life changing events clearly well thought out.
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JoanneG
5.0 out of 5 stars The End (and Beginning?) of the World for One Man
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2016
Verified Purchase
This prequel to, "The Scattered and the Dead 1.0", follows one man, Decker, from the beginning of the apocalypse until about two months after the end of the world. It takes the form of a letter to a woman he lives(d) across the hall from and details what happens to him and what happens to the world as everything ends.

The most interesting aspect of his story is that Decker starts as someone afraid to leave his home. He orders everything and has it delivered. He is just overwhelmed by people and the world so he stays in his apartment and watches the rest of the world live on TV and the internet. He made a lot of money at a young age and is a bit arrogant about it.

The end of the world frees Decker from his self-imposed isolation. He has to go out to get supplies, but the plague has taken care of his problem. There are no more people to deal with. He is at first horrified by what he sees, but he gets used to it, finds a bicycle and his freedom, and travels through the empty city. The plague cures agoraphobia. Who knew?

By the end of the book, Decker is a different person. We don't know what happened to him, but he admits in his final letter that he has done things he isn't proud of. Of course, the woman he was writing to is dead. Everyone is dead. He is as alone as he was at the beginning of the book, but his feelings about aloneness have changed greatly.

This is an excellent prequel. While the apocalypse happens in the background, we live it through the eyes of Decker. As the world ends, Decker comes to life. He is a fully fleshed-out character (he's the only one in the book) and we know him pretty well by the end of the book. It seems he has become a survivor, which is a surprise even to himself.

This is very well-written and gives us a different perspective on the end of the world than other post-apocalyptic books. This is the story of an ordinary, flawed man who transforms into a completely different person by the end of the book. This books give us the opportunity to go on that journey with him.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer JK
5.0 out of 5 stars I'm impressed
Reviewed in Canada on November 17, 2016
Verified Purchase
Not sure what I was expecting (considering the title )but what I got was definitely more and better than I had expected. A rather thoughtful and empathetic first person journal of the end of "life as we know it , with all the thoughts and fears and musings that any of us might experience. The story progresses in unexpected ways (no way I'm giving spoilers!) You Need to Read this, and then check out "The Scattered and the Dead 1.5" cause that's where I'm heading, see you there. .!
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Cheryl E
5.0 out of 5 stars The Fall Of Society Through A Window
Reviewed in Australia on February 25, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is a 4.5 star read.

What happens to an agoraphobic with social anxiety and panic disorder during and post an Apocalypse? Read the written ramblings of Decker, an apartment bound 25 year old serious introvert as he views the fall of society from an apocalyptic event, all through the window of his high rise building. The novelette is written in first person POV as a series of letters to his secret crush, a girl in an apartment opposite, who he can't bring himself to contact.(and is most likely dead)
The character of Decker SO spoke to me (hellooo social anxiety and agoraphobia! ) especially the wanting to connect but being unable to and the inherent loneliness. Decker's loneliness is made all the more real by wanting to connect but now having no one to connect with - everybody's dead! Well, nearly everybody.
The tale divulges his preparation and coping with the actual apocalypse, (no real zombies here - except in Florida) the death of his mother, the disintegration of society while viewing from his apartment window and Decker's eventual courage in going out into what is left of the world in order to survive and to try to connect with another person. The story also shows Decker's evolution into the man he must become in order to survive. Man!! I mourned the old Decker. 😭
A gritty, hard hitting look at a person's coping mechanisms during a life altering event, it's one of the few zombie-less apocalyptic stories I've read and so seemed a lot fresher. I HIGHLY recommend this book to lovers of dystopian apocalyptics (is there any other?) but p.s. to self - DO NOT read 3x dystopian/apocalypse books at the same time - SO depressing!
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david wright
5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing New Series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2016
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I love this novella!

I was not sure what to expect from a post apocalyptic story, would it be atypical or would it surprise? Thankfully, the latter.

The main character Decker is an instantly believable 25 year old with confidence issues. His evolving perspective on what is going on around him, written from a journal format is a nice touch. The psychological aspect is a nice twist as the evolving problems incurred from a breakdown in civilization sets the perfect backdrop for things to come in later novels. The timing is excellent, easy to get into and leaves you crying out for more. The 'just one more chapter' syndrome sets in quickly.
I personally cannot wait for book one, I have now downloaded all of the LT Vargus and Tim McBain novels to get my next fix before the rest of the series is released :-)
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SteveR
4.0 out of 5 stars The apocalypse in microcosm
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2020
Verified Purchase
First-person episodic tale told in diary form as a letter never sent. Atmospheric especially with the current pandemic surging.
I enjoyed the book albeit with a slightly uneasy feeling between my shoulder blades.
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G. Parlee
4.0 out of 5 stars Quick
Reviewed in Canada on October 26, 2017
Verified Purchase
Interesting little intro story. Has me wondering just what went wrong. Hope this character shows up in the next book.
Well, guess I'll go find out right now.
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