The 5th Wave (series)

The 5th Wave Series

Cover of the first book in the series
The 5th Wave (2013) The Infinite Sea (2014) The Last Star (2016)
Author	Rick Yancey
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Post-apocalyptic, science fiction
Publisher	G. P. Putnam's Sons
Published	2013–2016
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book
No. of books	3

The 5th Wave is a trilogy of young adult post-apocalyptic sci-fi novels written by American author Rick Yancey. The series started in May 2013 with the first book, The 5th Wave. A sequel titled The Infinite Sea was published in 2014. The trilogy concluded in 2016 with the final book, The Last Star.^[1]

Overview

A race of aliens known as "The Others" have invaded Earth in a series of "waves". With the first wave, an electromagnetic pulse (EMP wave) throws the world into darkness by knocking out all power, including vehicles, devices, etc. In the process, around half a million people die as all moving vehicles are shorted, including planes in the air.

For the second wave, The Others, realizing that over 40 percent of Earth's population lives within 60 miles of a coastline, drop metal rods three times as heavy and twice as tall as the Empire State Building on Earth's fault lines from their mothership. As a result, unimaginably large tsunamis and powerful earthquakes rage across the planet. This kills three billion people.

For a third wave, a deadly disease sweeps across the world, carried by birds. The disease goes by many names: the Red Death, the Red Tsunami, the Blood Plague, the Pestilence, and the Fourth Horseman, most common. The disease kills 97 percent of Earth's scattered survivors, leaving fewer than 14 million people scattered over the planet. The disease is thought to have been an already deadly virus (Ebola for example) genetically modified by The Others.

By the fourth wave, The Others, are hunting the last surviving humans. They have "downloaded" themselves (as they are able to separate their conscience from bodies) to humans and they have awakened, now picking off Earth's survivors, one-by-one.

The series follows Cassie Sullivan and several other young survivors of the first four waves as they desperately try to survive in a new world, reshaped by the Others.

Origins

Yancey stated in an interview with Lightspeed Magazine that the basis for the The 5th Wave came from a question he asked his wife about her worst fears. "It was one of those three a.m. conversations where your mind starts going, and I asked her, on the spur of the moment, 'What is your greatest fear?' She said, without hesitation, 'Alien abduction.'" Yancey continued on how he developed the plot for the series. "It was basically trying to think like an alien, and considering the fact that if they are out there, they probably wouldn’t attack without getting to know us very, very well. They would learn how we think, they would learn about what do humans do in times of crisis, and they would turn that to their own advantage. So, when I was working through how the attacks might work, I realized first that it couldn’t just be one attack—the world’s too big—you’d have to do it in stages, or waves." The first book was officially published on 8 May 2013.^[2]

Books

The 5th Wave

The 5th Wave is the first book in the series and was released on May 7, 2013.

The 5th Wave follows 16-year-old Cassie Sullivan as she tries to survive in a world devastated by the waves of alien invasions that have already devastated the Earth's population and knocked humankind back to the Stone Age. Cassie is headed to a "training" camp established by The Others to save her 5-year-old brother who was taken away at her family's refugee camp.

She comes across a gas station where she finds a wounded soldier. Cassie tells the man to reveal his hands. He slowly reveals his right hand and Cassie sees a glint of metal, and she fires her M16. She finds out that the metal was actually a crucifix.

While along a highway in Ohio, she comes across the corpses of recently killed victims. Then she is shot in the leg by an unknown assailant. Cassie takes cover under a Buick. She is faced with a difficult decision: emerging from under the Buick and risk being killed by the assailant, the "Silencer", or stay under the Buick and bleed to death.

Ben Parish is sick with the disease spread during the 3rd Wave. He is tended to by a friend named Chris. Soldiers take Ben to Dr. Pam, who cures his disease. Dr. Pam tells him that the Others raided his camp, Camp Haven at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, by inhabiting human hosts and posing as refugees. Dr. Pam puts Ben through a program called "Wonderland". She takes him to a hospital room, where Chris sits wired to a chair. Dr. Pam gives Ben a special pair of goggles to show an unidentified creature attached to his brain. Dr. Pam pressures him into killing the Other inside Chris, knowing that Chris will die too. Ben does so.

Commander Vosch, who killed Cassie's father at their refugee camp, meets Ben in his room. Vosch is straightforward to Ben and tells him that they will all die, but not without a fight. He gives Ben a spot in Camp Haven's army, and he becomes Private Zombie.

Cassie wakes in a four-poster bed with her wounds healed. She meets her savior, Evan Walker, who tells her that they are in his rural country house and that he found her on the highway crawling in blood. Cassie insists that she must go to Camp Haven to save her brother, but Evan is unsure that she is fit enough for the journey yet, and so they stay. Overtime, the two grow closer. One night, Cassie and Evan get into a fight, but Evan ends it by saying that Cassie saved him, rather than vice versa, and kisses her.

Sammy Sullivan, Cassie's brother, has arrived at Camp Haven via the bus on which he was taken. The soldiers at Camp Haven mark the children: greens for unhealthy, reds for healthy. Sammy is marked red. He is called to be processed and cleaned. He is put through the Wonderland program and asked many questions relating to his personal life. After Sammy is fully processed, Dr. Pam offers to let him see an Other.

Ben Parish, now Private Zombie, has been assigned to squad 53. His squad sergeant, Sergeant Reznik, is a cruel, uncaring man who taunts his members about their personal life, which he learned about via the Wonderland program. He takes a liking to a member of another squad. Another member is added to squad 53, Sammy Sullivan, who Reznik calls Private Nugget. Reznik taunts Nugget. Zombie blurts out, "Leave him alone!" and Reznik punches him in his throat, but respects his spirit and appoints him as the new leader of squad 53.

During a fire drill at Camp Haven, Nugget is scared and Zombie slings him on his shoulder and runs with him. He slows the squad down by 45 seconds, angering his squad. Private Tank goes "Dorothy", meaning crazy, and pulls his gun out. Private Flintstone takes Tank down before anyone is hurt. Tank is later found to be dead in the P&D hangar, "Process and Disposal". He is replaced by Private Ringer, who Zombie previously took a liking to. Ringer attempts to improve the squad's marksmanship and is successful. Squad 53 skyrockets through the ranks and graduates with the other top 3 squads.

Cassie continuously confronts the decision to trust Evan or not. Either way, Evan and Cassie continue to grow a relationship. While Evan leaves for one of night hunts, which Cassie suspects to be something far more terrible, searches through his things for any evidence that points to Evan being one of the Others. She finds her M16 in Evan's barn under a blanket, but Evan casually says that he simply found it near her when he found her. After a few more days, Cassie feels she is fit enough for the journey and Evan, against Cassie's wishes, sets out with her, burning his house down as a distraction to the Others.

Zombie and his squad are on their first patrol. They are given special headsets with lenses that can supposedly detect that a human is an Other rather than truly human. They are attacked, Private Oompa being killed in the process. Zombie and Ringer go out to kill their assailants while Private Poundcake covers them from above with his sniper. While under the cover of a building, Ringer cuts out her implant, and her head lights up green through Zombie's lens. Ringer pieces the evidence together with Zombie and concludes that Camp Haven is not a human training camp, but an "Other death camp". They find that their assailant is Reznik and kill him. Reznik is holding a piece of equipment with a map with green spots: the implants. Ringer and Zombie return to the squad and explain to them what they know. Flintstone, skeptic, snatches the equipment away and messes with it before he drops dead. Zombie is reluctant to leave whilst Nugget is still at Camp Haven and has Ringer shoot him so that his story will look real. Zombie is then evacuated by a helicopter to Camp Haven.

While on the journey, Cassie and Evan are attacked by a group of juvenile soldiers. Cassie is shocked as she watches Evan take them down at ease, though injuring his thigh and buttocks in the process. Once the soldiers are taken down, Cassie makes Evan confirm that he is the Silencer who shot her, while awkwardly stripping his clothing to heal his wounds. Cassie initially decides to leave him there to bleed to death, but afterwards decides to help him. After so, they orchestrate a plan where Evan has little involvement, though highly to his dismay.

Cassie arrives at the base on a bus. She is called for processing. Dr. Pam meets with her and Cassie knocks her unconscious. While trying to find where Sammy is, Dr. Pam awakens and commits suicide.

Zombie awakes in a hospital bed to see Vosch. Vosch tells him that he will be put through Wonderland. After Vosch leaves, Zombie escapes and steals an outfit from a dead guard. Cassie finds Sammy/Nugget and meets Zombie. They are captured by Vosch. Vosch attempts to kill Nugget by electrocuting him. It is revealed that Evan has planted bombs and hacked into the base's mainframe. Vosch leaves to Control. Evan appears and kills the soldiers guarding Zombie, Cassie, and Sam. Evan says goodbye before allegedly setting off "eyes", the same bombs Vosch used to destroy Cassie's refugee camp. The members of Squad 53 arrive and save Zombie, Cassie, and Sam. They ride off as Camp Haven is destroyed.

The book was adapted into a film by J Blakeson and Columbia Pictures, under the title The 5th Wave, and was released on January 22, 2016.

The Infinite Sea

The Infinite Sea is the second installment in the series, released on September 16, 2014.

A few days after the events of the first novel, Cassie, Ben and the rest of squad 53 have taken refuge at a hotel,which they call "Walker Hotel" in honor of Evan Walker. Ringer, believing that their refuge in the hotel will not last, goes out searching for a cave system mentioned on a brochure. Teacup, who she had grown close to, sneaks up and Ringer and she shoots her, mistaking Teacup for a Silencer. A helicopter flies in and they are both captured by The Others.

Cassie and the others anxiously await Ringer. They realize that Teacup has gone missing, and Dumbo and Poundcake set out to find her. They return empty-handed.

Evan Walker, who is revealed to have survived Camp Haven's destruction, is rescued by Grace. Grace talks of, who Evan finds out to be, Cassie and they head to her makeshift home. They spot Cassie at the hotel from an interstate on their way there. After one of Grace's hunts, she tries to seduce Evan, but he attacks her. While escaping her house, Grace shoots at him, though Evan thought he killed her. She lets him go, knowing that he will lead her to Cassie. While he rests and Grace confronts him, they are attacked and Grace is shot at, giving Evan the opportunity to escape. He does so.

He finds the hotel they stay at and has disables Ben in a misunderstanding, though Ben stabs his leg. Evan finds Sammy and, seeing the gun in his hands, dives at him. Cassie shoots him once and he is rendered unconscious. Ben angrily awaits his awakening. Cassie defends him while Ben throws constant insults toward him. In the midst of this, they hear a helicopter approach. However, it quickly flies off. Then, they see a small girl walk down the hallway, who Sammy identifies as "Megan". She says that her throat hurts before passing out.

The group cares for her, though, when Evan awakes, he warns them not to, explaining that The Others planted a bomb in her throat rigged to detonate on high concentrations of carbon dioxide. The group moves outside a distance from the hotel, while Cassie and Evan stay behind to remove the bomb from her throat. With a struggle, Cassie manages to safely remove the bomb and she contains it in a plastic baggie. Ben and the other have been collecting CO2 canisters so that the bomb can be detonated at a safe distance away.

Grace appears as Cassie and Evan finish the operation. She forcefully kisses Evan in front of her. As the squad appears, chaos begins. A chopper flies in and in the struggle, Grace disappears. Evan tells Cassie of a pod sent down from the mothership to extract Grace will be at her makeshift home. He shows her how to find it and gives her the bomb they removed from Megan's throat. Evan makes Cassie promise "to end it" and insists that he be left behind. As she knows she has no other choice, Cassie kisses him and leaves. She gives the bomb to Sammy and carries him. They reach the street outside of the hotel and Sammy tells Cassie that he dropped the baggie.

Poundcake has fallen short and Grace attacks him. He manages to disable her, and he sees the bomb on the floor where Sammy drops it. Grace tries to talk him out of detonating it, but he unzips the bag and, as Grace tries to lunge for him, he breathes on the bomb and it blows.

Ringer has been taken to another "training" camp, much like Camp Haven. Colonel Vosch has taken over command of the camp. Ringer semi-befriends a recruit named Razor, who knows of the conspiracy and that the officials at camp are actually The Others. Vosch taunts Ringer with games of chess and statements about what her father would think about her, how proud he would be. Ringer questions about the whereabouts of Teacup. Vosch tells her that she, name revealed to be Allison, is alive. Vosch also continuously preaches to Ringer that "rage is not the answer." She holds an on-and-off friendship with Razor, as well.

One day, Vosch, Razor, and a woman named Claire who despises humans, enhance her with the twelfth system, a piece of Other technology designed to strengthen the human anatomy. it is through this that we learn that Silencers were never actually "Others", just humans with "Others" consciousness downloaded into them and enhanced by the 12th system neural chip, not controlled or linked to the "Others".

Ringer and Razor build a plan to escape. The plan is carried out successfully all the way to where they meet. Ringer soon discovers that Razor was secretly working with Vosch. She knocks him out and heads to a nearby building, appearing to be a makeshift hospital. She finds Vosch in it, and he openly invites her to a fight. Vosch wins easily and charges Razor with guarding her. Ringer and Razor reconcile easily and they sleep together one night.

When they return home, Razor whispers to Ringer about leverage and proceeds with shooting Teacup, so that Vosch will have no leverage over her. Razor in turn is shot and Ringer takes off.

At the end, Cassie and squad 53 are recovering from the explosion. From the woods, Evan emerges and Cassie goes to meet him.

The Last Star

The Last Star, the third and final book in The 5th Wave series, was released on May 24, 2016.

The final book in the series was published in 24 May 2016. Author Rick Yancey released two chapters that tell about a priest residing in the caverns that Ringer had intended to reach. The book's cover has also been revealed.

Characters

Main Characters

Cassiopeia "Cassie" Marie Sullivan - the main protagonist of the series. Her namesake is the constellation Cassiopeia. Both of her parents died in the first four waves. Her brother Sammy is taken by The Others to a "training camp" called Camp Haven, formerly, Wright-Patterson AFB. She is seventeen years old and is described as a short, strawberry-blonde girl with average features.

Evan Walker - a farm boy from rural Ohio. All of his family and girlfriend was killed in the third wave by the Red Death. Earlier in his life at a carnival, he meets Grace, who is the only person he finds to be like him, an Other. He saves Cassie after she is shot by an Other sniper, the "Silencer". Cassie soon finds out that Evan is actually the Silencer who shot her and is not truly human. He is described as being a tall boy, at least eighteen or nineteen years old, being very muscular with chocolate-brown hair. Cassie also notes his soft hands. He develops strong feelings for Cassie, and so does she. Though, these feelings are strained when Cassie learns that Evan is an Other. Evan is rescued by Grace, who tries to seduce him, though, after they are attacked and Grace is wounded, he makes his way to Cassie. Grace, however follows him there. Poundcake blows up the hotel while Evan is still inside, and it is not clear if he survives. However, at the end of The Infinite Sea, he emerges from the woods to find Cassie.

Benjamin "Ben" Thomas Parish or "Zombie" - the varsity quarterback of the football team at Cassie's school. Cassie secretly had a crush on him. His family was killed during the first four waves by a group of psychotic looters. He is crushed by the fact that he ran while his baby sister was killed. He keeps a locket with a photo of her. He becomes a member of Camp Haven's makeshift army, not knowing that they are The Others (though he eventually finds out), taking the nickname "Zombie". After one of his squadmates goes crazy, or "Dorothy", Private Ringer replaces him. He obsesses with getting her to smile. Cassie describes him as overall gorgeous.

Marika "Ringer" - a member of squad 53. Her father was an Atheist and a chess player. He taught her how to play. Marika's father was usually drunk. Her father is infected with the Red Death and dies of the disease. Marika wandered through the wilderness before forcefully being recruited into Camp Haven's army, where she took the nickname "Ringer". She is a replacement after Private Tank of Squad 53 went crazy, "Dorothy", and pulled a gun on his squad. Zombie is obsessed with getting Ringer to smile. On their first patrol, she and Zombie find that Camp Haven's officials are actually The Others. She is described as having glossy black hair and mild Asian features. In The Infinite Sea, she grows closer to Private Teacup, and, after being captured, grows feelings for a recruit named Razor.

Sammy "Nugget" Sullivan - Cassie's five-year-old brother. At his refugee camp, he boards a bus from Camp Haven and is recruited into its army, unbeknownst to his father's death. He joins squad 53 and friends Zombie deeply. Sammy is not allowed to go on his squad's patrol due to his age. (We later find out the purpose of kids his age at Camp Haven in The Infinite Sea.) Zombie, Cassie, Evan unite after Commander Vosch attempts to kill Sammy. Evan destroys the base, though it is not clear whether he survives or not, and Cassie, Zombie, and Evan escape.

Secondary Characters

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vosch - the leading officer at Camp Haven. He is sadistic and cruel. He survives the destruction of Camp Haven and "enhances" Ringer with the twelfth system, a piece of Other technology designed to enhance the human anatomy in ways such as strength, agility, and speed. Vosch also tries to kill Sammy via electrocution while having Zombie and Cassie watch, though Evan managed to cut the power at Camp Haven just in time. Vosch also personally killed Cassie's father at her refugee camp.

Grace - a Silencer like Evan. They befriended each other before the waves began. Grace saves Evan after he destroys Camp Haven. One night after one of her hunts, she tries to seduce Evan, but he attacks her and renders her unconscious, though, believing her to be dead. Grace follows him to Cassie's group where she attacks them. The group loses her as a helicopter flies in. Private Poundcake, having taken a bomb triggered to detonate on high concentrations of carbon dioxide from Megan, he commits suicide, supposedly killing Grace.

Dumbo - the medic officer in squad 53. One of his most prominent features is his extraordinarily large ears, like his namesake.

Allison "Teacup" or "Cup" - a seven-year old member of squad 53. She is described as "the meanest seven-year-old you've ever seen" by Zombie. Teacup grows close to Ringer after the destruction of Camp Haven. She is shot by Ringer who mistakes her for an Other. Teacup is captured alongside Ringer and Vosch uses Teacup as leverage against Ringer. Teacup is killed by Razor so Vosch will have no more leverage against her.

Poundcake - a chubby member of squad 53. He does not talk. his mother was killed by the Red Death. While he was on a supply run, he returned to find his brother gone. On the supply run, he found only a sweet treat, his namesake, as his drill sergeant though he was "so sweet". He sacrificed himself to save the others of his group by detonating a bomb rigged to detonate on high concentrations of carbon dioxide, such as human breathe.

Megan - a seven-year-old girl rescued and taken to Camp Haven. She meets and befriends Sammy on the bus they ride. Megan is, along with many other kids her age, rigged with a carbon dioxide-bomb. She is dropped off near Cassie's group's hideout. Evan and Cassie manage to get the bomb out of her, for which they plan to use, though Poundcake detonates it to save the others.

Flintstone "Flint" - a boy around Ben and Cassie's age. He is the former leader of squad 53, until his drill sergeant, Reznik, replaced him with Zombie. He accidentally kills himself after he messes with the piece of equipment Zombie and Ringer found on Reznik. He was skeptic of the conspiracy they told of.

Tank - a young boy in squad 53. He goes Dorothy and is replaced by Ringer. Zombie and Dumbo discover him dead in the P&D Hangar (Processing and Disposal).

Kenny "Oompa" - an eight-or-nine-year-old boy on squad 53. He is killed by grenade shrapnel on the squad's first patrol.

Razor - a recruit at the base where Ringer was captured. He helped her escape, though Ringer finds out he was secretly working with Vosch. After a fight with Vosch injuring Ringer, Razor is assigned to watch her a hospital littered with dead bodies. Razor clears these out. He and Ringer attempt to reconcile and do so easily. They in turn sleep together. When they return to the base, he shoots Teacup so that Vosch will have no leverage over Ringer. He in turn is shot and killed himself.

Adaptions

In 2012, Columbia Pictures picked up the rights to distribute a film of the first book. J Blakeson acts as director with Graham King and Tobey Maguire as main producers. The film stars Chloë Grace Moretz as Cassie and Nick Robinson as Ben Parish. Alex Roe joined the cast as Evan Walker. Later, a full cast was made and filming began.^[3]

The film was released on 22 January 2016. As of 18 March, 26 the film has grossed $105.5 million. Review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 17% ^[4] and Metacritic gave the film a 33 out of 100.^[5] Cinemascore reports that polled audiences gave the film an average B- score ^[6]

Due to the first film's critical failure, there has been little talk of a sequel, though there have been many requests by fans and rumors flying of production scheduled to begin.

References