Survivors Books In Order

Publication Order of Survivors Books

Publication Order of Survivors: The Gathering Darkness Books

Have you ever felt lost and alone? Abandoned or betrayed? The characters in The Survivors series face those very instances. Peculiarly, the characters in this book are not human—they are dogs. You learn in the first book that these dogs were not runaways or shelter animals. These dogs were well cared for by their owners until a huge earthquake came and their owners drove away without looking back. Hence, the name survivors. . They begin to experience life with no food, no clean water and no shelter, forcing the dogs to hunt, scavenge and destroy, when necessary. If there wasn’t some help along the way, Lucky would have no chance.
Lucky, the main character, was used to roaming the streets and adventuring. He was not prepared, however, when the earthquake hit. It left the town abandoned and dogs were left to roam the streets. Many dogs did not know the price it took to actually live in the wild. In A Hidden Enemy, Lucky runs across the Wild Pack. The leader of the Wild Pack goes by the name of Alpha. Alpha displays characteristics much unlike those of Lucky. Lucky is a timid, carefree type. When introduced to Alpha, he was not accepted to Alpha’s pack immediately. Alpha, honestly, did not want anything to do with Lucky. After much convincing by Alpha’s Beta, Sweet, Lucky is brought in. Little did Alpha know, Lucky was actually a spy for The Leashed Dogs.

After bringing Lucky in Alpha, with his keen half-wolf senses, starts noticing things different about Lucky—he didn’t seem like the same dog he brought into the pack. Lucky is soon banished from the Wild Pack due to the discovery Lucky being a spy. Alpha no longer lets his guard down for any dog they encounter. In Darkness Falls three Fierce Dog pups are brought to Alpha and Alpha decides whether or not to keep them in the pack. Once again his muse, Sweet, convinces him because after all, they are just pups. The thought of the ruthless Alpha accepting these pups in his pack makes most readers realize his need for a family again. After all, when Alpha is introduced you find out that his mother, Graceful, is deceased and he has only his half-brother, Quick, and his mate, or rather friend, Calamity.

Alpha makes his appearance not only in these two books, but also in The Broken Path and The Endless Lake. In The Broken Path Alpha and the Wild Pack find a city that was hit by the Big Growl, or the earthquake. After seeing the destruction in the city Alpha and the Wild Pack choose to return to the forest. However, with this decision The Wild Pack has to challenge the Terror’s Pack for control over the forest. Alpha and his pack are triumphant and gain their control over the forest. In the Endless Lake, Alpha battles with the Fierce Dogs. After gaining victory in the battle, he is later seen as dead because he supposedly drowns in the lake. However, he shows up later in the book returning with the Fierce Dogs as their Omega. This shocks most readers, after all, he did just get out of battle with the Fierce Dogs and then comes back as their Omega. Farther along in The Endless Lake you are fully informed on the situation on why he decided to join the Fierce Dogs.

The topic of a TV show or a movie, has yet to be discussed. Many readers of this series fantasize on the types of dogs they would use and which types of dogs would be used to portray the different character aspects. The half-wolf Alpha can be seen as a husky, a half wolf or full blooded wolf. Lucky, a retriever mix, could be seen as a hound or even a regular golden retriever mix. One thing is for certain, this book would make a great movie. It would give a different perspective to people who don’t know what it would be like if dogs were alone and humans no longer cared for them.

From the beginning to the end, this book keeps you wrapped up in the plot. It definitely has its climaxes and its ‘lull’ moments. However, it is a very good read. The whole series keeps you locked in. You want to read it from the start to finish all in one setting. It is amazing to sit down sometimes and lose yourself in a fictional story, it seems more of your adventure than the characters. Those avid animal lovers will especially love this book for its accurate description of a dog’s habits and attitudes. It will give those not-so-avid animal lovers the perspective of what it would be like it we were not there for our animals or just released them. The best thing about this book is probably that it teaches us what it would be like in a survival situation, because dogs surviving on their own scavenging and hunting is very synonymous to what we would have to do if we were in there situation. It is easy to get lost in the words of Erin Hunter and actually imagine your life as one of the dogs in the book. Any reader can associate their attitudes with that of any of the characters.

Along the beaten path Alpha, Lucky and the Wild Pack suffer hardships that if these were children they would not be able to make it. They personify bravery and strength. Even though there are betrayals and lack of supplies or shelter each one of the dogs perseveres and moves forward and knows what task they need to handle. If you are thinking of picking up this book, know that you are going to embark on an adventure that you will remember for years. The situations in the book are quite suitable for teenagers or young adults. However, if you are an avid reader this book can even entertain the most hard-minded adult.