The Gatherings is not your average apocalyptic story. The world does not seemingly begin ending the way we have seen in the past. It's not brought on by a virus, aliens, world war, etc. And that is just one of the many reasons this short story is a step up above others I have read!

So what does happen?? Well, a collection of simultaneous worldwide events are being hosted by celebrities and politicians (think Hands Across America meets "We Are The World" meets Live Aid almost) called The Gatherings. These events are promoting world peace, but what unfolds when the gatherings and dancing begin is anything BUT peaceful. Body parts will be dropping from the sky, children will be devoured by something unknown, and life as we know it will be smothered from all existence.

Author Jeremy Ray has such a wonderful style of writing full of descriptive imagery. And a lot of the imagery evokes childhood memories. Without giving too much away, two images resonate off the top of my mind. There's one about stretching bubblegum with your tongue and another about watching water zig zag down the sides of the shower/bathtub that totally took me back to the innocence of being a kid... and it's kind of wild that I thought I was the only person who noticed those types of things?!

Ray developed a sense of isolation with our main character, Emily, and I was rooting from her from the beginning... and I really needed to know the rest of her story! I felt the same fear and desperation she did the whole time. I can definitely see this as a setup for a larger body of work, set of short stories, novellas, etc. I had a great time reading this... it was haunting, disturbing, and would be my worst nightmare! 4.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads!

Thank you to the author for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.