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Dave Jeffery
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A Quiet Apocalypse: (A Quiet Apocalypse Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Dave Jeffery (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 out of 5 stars 52 ratings
The end is hear...

A mutant strain of meningitis has wiped out most of mankind. The few who have survived the fever are now deaf. Bitter with loss and terrified to leave the city known as Cathedral, the inhabitants rely on The Samaritans, search teams sent out into the surrounding countryside. Their purpose, to hunt down and enslave the greatest commodity on Earth, an even smaller group of people immune to the virus, people who can still hear. People like me. My name is Chris. This is my story. “A Quiet Apocalypse is told from the perspective of ex-schoolteacher Chris, a hearing survivor. He has lost everything, including his freedom, and through his eyes we learn of what it is like to live as a slave in this terrible new world of fear and loss. I was keen to write a piece that preyed upon people’s traditional misconceptions of deafness as an illness, and the imposition of ‘hearing’ norms. It is a story that has poignancy in any understanding of the struggles of minority groups.” – Author, Dave Jeffery

(Cover by Adrian Baldwin; original artwork by Roberto Segate)
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  1. Book 1 of 4
    A Quiet Apocalypse
  2. Print length
    172 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    September 23, 2019
  5. File size
    423 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 4 books in this series.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07XYC1R4W
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Demain Publishing
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 23, 2019
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 4th
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 423 KB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 172 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 1 of 4 ‏ : ‎ A Quiet Apocalypse
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 52 ratings

About the author

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Dave Jeffery

Dave Jeffery

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Dave Jeffery is author of 15 novels, two collections, and numerous short stories. His Necropolis Rising series and yeti adventure Frostbite have both featured on the Amazon #1 bestseller list. His YA work features critically acclaimed Beatrice Beecham supernatural mystery series and Finding Jericho, a contemporary mental health novel that was featured on the BBC Health and the Independent Schools Entrance Examination Board's recommended reading lists. A third edition of this book will be released by Demain Publishing in 2020.

Jeffery is a member of the Society of Authors, British Fantasy Society (where he is a regular book reviewer), and the Horror Writers Association. He is also a registered mental health professional with a BSc (Hons) in Mental Health Studies and a Master of Science Degree in Health Studies.

Jeffery is married with two children and lives in Worcestershire, UK.

For more information please visit: www.davejeffery.webs.com

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
52 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's storytelling engaging, with one review highlighting its unique apocalypse tale and plenty of twists and turns throughout. The pacing receives positive feedback, with one customer noting the sympathetic protagonist.

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6 customers mention "Storytelling"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the storytelling of the book, with one review highlighting its unique apocalypse tale and another noting its hero's journey and thriller elements, while another mentions its heartbreaking moments and plenty of twists and turns throughout.

"...This is only the second book I've read by Jeffery, but I love his storytelling. This is one I can recommend to all readers, not just horror fans." Read more

"...Part allegory, part hero's journey and thriller, part philosophical unraveling, a great heart beats at the centre of this tale...." Read more

"...This story is heartbreaking, breathtaking and wholly original! Movie please! Highly recommended!" Read more

"...It's beautifully written with a compelling story and engaging characters and a somewhat shocking but very satisfying resolution...." Read more

3 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, with one mentioning the sympathetic protagonist and another noting its soulful humanity.

"As I read the start of this remarkable series, I'm reminded of the soulful humanity of Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD...." Read more

"...It's beautifully written with a compelling story and engaging characters and a somewhat shocking but very satisfying resolution...." Read more

"Dave Jeffrey wrote a unique apocalypse tale. Chris was a sympathetic protagonist. I really wanted him to find Refuge...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Pecan Pie
    5.0 out of 5 stars People Are Just The Worst
    Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    A QUIET APOCALYPSE by Dave Jeffery is a very different kind of post-apocalyptic story. There are no zombies, nothing supernatural of any kind...only people enslaving other people. After an illness renders most people deaf, the hearing are hunted down to become servants for the newly hearing impaired. Those born deaf are given a much more terrifying treatment, as they are blamed for the virus which causes the loss of hearing.

    Chris begins a journey to find a place called The Refuge, a safe haven for those with hearing. With an injury meant to keep him from running away, he attempts to escape the hunters known as Samaritans. Unfortunately, Chris realizes too late, the blessing of his immunity has become a curse.

    This is only the second book I've read by Jeffery, but I love his storytelling. This is one I can recommend to all readers, not just horror fans.
    One person found this helpful
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  • L.E. Daniels
    5.0 out of 5 stars Deepest Humanity in a Dire World
    Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    As I read the start of this remarkable series, I'm reminded of the soulful humanity of Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD. Part allegory, part hero's journey and thriller, part philosophical unraveling, a great heart beats at the centre of this tale. The synchronicity of its publication alongside an emerging pandemic makes it a truly cathartic exorcism. Do not miss it.
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  • kimnappi
    5.0 out of 5 stars Escaping silence..
    Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I am pretty sure this is this first book by this author that I’ve read, won’t be the last. A virus sweeps through humanity leaving survivors either deaf or hearing because they were immune to the disease. The deaf survivors out way the hearing individuals who are then enslaved to provide information to them of the outside, dangerous world they cannot hear. No spoilers as it’s to easy for novellas but Chris needs to navigate a word he doesn’t understand and innocence makes him vulnerable to the evils that lurk out there in the new world. You feel his pain of loss, hope for the future and agony of maybe not seeing any of it. It’s too easy to compare this story with others that you will think of while reading this story, don’t do it. This story is heartbreaking, breathtaking and wholly original! Movie please! Highly recommended!
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  • S. D. Beallis
    5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding read!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    A QUIET APOCALYPSE was one of the best books I've read lately. It's beautifully written with a compelling story and engaging characters and a somewhat shocking but very satisfying resolution. I will, without hesitation, read the next of the series and more of the author's work!
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  • Maureen Connelly
    5.0 out of 5 stars Apocalypse What?
    Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Dave Jeffrey wrote a unique apocalypse tale. Chris was a sympathetic protagonist. I really wanted him to find Refuge. There were plenty of twists and turns throughout; enough so that I didn’t see the end coming. I got the rug pulled out from under my feet. Congratulations, Mr. Jeffrey!
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  • D.T. Griffith
    5.0 out of 5 stars A disturbing and timely story
    Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I was turned on to this book by comparisons made to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, a favorite of mine, and A Quiet Apocalypse did not disappoint. Without giving much away, reading a survival story set in the aftermath of a viral pandemic hits pretty close to home. It’s relatable and grounded in reality offering a bleak view into the human psyche and herd mentality. Humans are innovative by nature in order to survive - a strong theme in this book - but to what end?
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  • CNola.author
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing End of Days Story.
    Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2021
    “A Quiet Apocalypse” shatters all expectations of the stereotypical end of days novels. I’ve read hundreds of them, that being my “thing” and all, not sure why but I digress. This story was unlike anything that I have ever read before and it opened up a whole new thought process behind what the end of days might actually look like. Dave Jeffrey has created a world so startlingly plausible that the sheer terror of a reality like this one is enough to leave you awake night after night.

    A virus, MNJ-U, or Meningitis Unspecified has hit the globe, killing most of the population and rendering the rest deaf. There are new classifications in the world now, and they are not rich, poor and middle class. You now have HARKS, which are the survivors of MNG-U, that can still hear, the HARBINGERS, which are those people that were naturally born deaf, and the Samaritans from nearby CaTHEDRAL, a faction of the newly-deaf that hunt for HARKS and HARBINGERS.

    If found, HARKS are enslaved and used to help protect the newly-deaf survivors while HARBINGERS are beaten, tortured and punished for bringing MNG-U into the world, which is now a baseless but widespread belief.

    Chris, is a HARK, being enslaved by a newly-deaf survivor named Crowley on his private farm. Crowley has maimed Chris in an effort to prevent any escape attempts and Chris can only hobble with a bad limp, while he does the farm work and other tasks that Crowley sets before him. As if the daily chores were not enough, there is a never-ending battle to avoid detection by the Samaritans who would kill Crowley in an effort to capture Chris. They exist in a twisted sort of codependency, with neither able to trust the other.

    While walking the perimeter around the farm boundary one morning with Crowley, in an effort to create a false trail for the Samaritan’s dogs, they come across a tent and campfire and a HARK named Paul, who quickly kills Crowley and begrudgingly befriends Chris. Not willing to stay behind in Crowley’s farm, Chris quickly asks to go with Paul, who is headed to a place called “The Refuge” that Chris has been hearing about broad-casted on an old radio he had found while during rounds.

    “A Quiet Apocalypse” follows the journey of the two men as they head towards ‘The Refuge,’ discussing some of their past lives along the way, while avoiding capture and conflicts with the Samaritans. It’s an emotional and shocking story that will leave you wanting more and will leave you wide awake at night, imagining the possibilities and the atrocities that Dave Jeffrey puts before us.
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  • Alexa KM
    5.0 out of 5 stars Blood chilling dystopian tale
    Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2023
    “… the smile that my master cannot see is as powerful as any fist or boot or rifle.”⁣
    ⁣
    Can you imagine a post-apocalyptic world where the vast majority are newly deaf? This concept may plant dread in your heart and plague your mind for months to come. ⁣
    ⁣
    Chris, a teacher in his former life, is forced into slavery because he’s one of the few hearing people left worldwide. He finds hope when a new person comes into his life. But hope is dangerous, and hearts are easily deceived…⁣

    With great empathy, Jeffery presents a blood-chilling yet plausible vision of society, where being different is mortally dangerous. His masterful exploration of human emotions at all levels of the hearing spectrum will take you on a journey you wouldn’t want to end.⁣
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Top reviews from other countries

  • eric labrie
    5.0 out of 5 stars I am in awe of Jeffery's prose.
    Reviewed in Canada on April 15, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    I loved it. The story is gripping, the writing is mature and mastered. What the book offers us is the representation of a world much bleaker than most post-apocalyptic works I have read so far.

    "Like rats, backhanded compliments can also survive the apocalypse."

    This sentence, in particular, hit me right in the feels. It is deep and complex yet simple. We feel the fragility and the naivety, but also the cynic undertones.

    I won't spoil anything, but trust me, this quiet apocalypse is everything but quiet. It screams with brutality and horror.

    This book deserves a solid five stars!
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  • Adrian Shotbolt
    5.0 out of 5 stars Shhhhhhh
    Reviewed in Australia on October 1, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Dave Jeffery takes on the apocalypse in a new and interesting way. When a virus wipes out much of the civilised world, those who remain are now largely deaf. Those that can still hear are captured, often crippled and treated as slaves. We follow Chris and later his companion, Paul through a ravaged country littered with violent vagrants looking to kill or enslave. A Quiet Apocalypse is grim reading for sure, but a twist in the tale and a great ending means this is a real gem. Apocalyptic horror fans should definitely check this one out. And so...

    5/5 hand signals from the Grim Reader.
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  • Thomas Joyce
    5.0 out of 5 stars Entertains from the first page to the last
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    The book opens with a succinct description of a world ravaged by a terrible disease, the narrator, Chris, relaying how it has both destroyed the world at large, and his own personal world as well. Jeffery delivers an apocalyptic story, but puts his own spin on the well-trodden sub-genre. As is mentioned in the synopsis, the disease responsible is a mutant strain of bacterial meningitis, more commonly referred to as MNG-U, which burned through the global population. Those who contract the disease either die an excruciating and bloody death, or lose their hearing. It makes for a very unique twist on the typical apocalypse story, bringing deaf characters to the forefront, as well as exploring the prejudices and preconceptions surrounding the hearing-impaired.

    Chris is one of the lucky few who is immune to MNG-U, but we quickly learn that, as with any apocalypse, nobody escapes unscathed. Not only has he suffered great tragedy and personal loss but, as someone who doesn’t have to rely upon a “Tell-Pad” (a digital display worn on the chest that displays text typed into a small, personal keyboard) to communicate, he is swiftly enslaved by a man named Crowley who takes extreme measures to make sure Chris cannot escape. It would be naïve of us to suggest that such a thing could never happen in our wonderful world. Man’s inhumanity to man is ever-present and all too visible in the daily news. Readers should set any expectations for a hopeful story to a minimum; the bleak tone continues throughout.

    This is not intended as a negative criticism; some of the best stories are bleak, especially those regarding the apocalypse. McCarthy’s The Road and Matheson’s I Am Legend instantly come to mind when reading this story. While it isn’t quite as brutal as the former, it doesn’t shy away from the wickedness that resides in the human heart, especially in times of trouble. And, much like the latter, there is an element of legend and myth to Chris as a hearing survivor. He may not be the last human in a world of vampiric monsters, but he is one of a very small minority who can make the lives of those affected by MNG-U easier. And for this he is almost revered, just as Robert Neville was in the finale of Matheson’s masterpiece.

    Those stricken by the disease have set up a new city called Cathedral, built where Birmingham once stood, and send out search parties known as Samaritans to round up hearing survivors to serve as slaves. It paints a damning picture of humanity, and the horrific depths to which we would fall if we allowed fear to consume us and mob mentality to rule. Unfortunately, it isn’t so difficult to imagine the real world slipping into this barbaric way of thinking given the crises we face every day and the inability and often, unwillingness, of those in power to do anything about it. To the citizens of Cathedral, the true villains are those who were already deaf prior to the outbreak. These people are referred to as “Harbingers” and are dealt with in the most brutal way. They serve as more than a simple plot device; Jeffery takes full advantage of the opportunity to educate the reader by drawing comparisons to prejudices faced by the hearing-impaired in everyday life. It is clearly a subject about which he feels very passionate, but he never gets preachy. On the contrary, it is enlightening and serves as an effective break from the action scenes.

    The action really ramps up when Chris first discovers a two-way radio in a nearby field and then, after hearing word of a safe haven known as The Refuge, meets another survivor called Paul. Together they decide to make a break for The Refuge, braving the big, bad world and the roving gangs of Samaritans and whatever unknown dangers lie in wait. Although Chris never fully recovers from his own personal tragedy – how could he? – we do experience his personal growth as he encounters more frightening and frightened characters on the road. Will they manage to avoid the terrible Samaritans and whatever awaits them in Cathedral? Will they overcome all odds and make it all the way to The Refuge?

    Naturally, for a novella, the action is relentless. No sooner has Chris escaped one precarious situation, than he finds himself in even more danger. The subtraction of a sense that most of us take for granted makes for more than a plotline, giving us something to consider with both mind and heart, as it not only explores the physical ramifications, but the emotional and socio-political as well. The book is an exploration of fear and grief, and what it can do to the human spirit, for better or worse. In Chris we have a compassionate and relatable narrator and, in the Samaritans, we have an all-too-familiar and, therefore chilling, threat. Jeffery hasn’t reinvented the apocalyptic sub-genre. Rather, he has given us something fresh, exciting, and intriguing, that not only entertains from the first page to the last, but also forces us to open our hearts and minds to the plight of a minority. It is truly a stroke of genius, and proof that Jeffery continues to innovate with each new release.
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  • lorelli
    5.0 out of 5 stars Short n sweet
    Reviewed in Canada on December 24, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Simple but great premise, works through all the "what if's" that bounce around when you're reading. First book by Jeffery but I'll definitely check out more
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  • Greg Chapman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hear no evil
    Reviewed in Australia on July 25, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    A fantastic and story of survival in a world where those who can hear are priceless commodities. Great characters. Loads of atmosphere and emotion. Recommended.
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