DNF - The Outside by Laura Bickle

Wow.   I just... What the hell just happened? I rarely pass comment on the books I DNF, but I can't get my head round this one. W.T.F?

Were they even written by the same person?  I can't even.  

I barely know where to begin. 

Disappointed!!

 

Review - Dead Road Vol. 1 by Robert Paine

Paperback: 51 pages
Publisher: Smashwords 
Publication date: 07 July 2013

ASIN: B00DTXDRAA

It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation. It turned out to be the complete opposite...

A camping trip in the mountains of Vermont is interrupted when a group of friends discover there has been a zombie outbreak. Having been disconnected from the world for the past week, and one of their group already bitten, the friends have to make their way down the mountain and find safety.

Can the group cover miles of dark woods on foot while trying to avoid getting overtaken by the undead? What caused the outbreak? Are there any other survivors?

Just a little mini-review because it's just a little mini-story.  I don't know why I keep trying these serial stories... Oh wait, I do...The first parts are free! 

51 pages.  It's like a couple of chapters worth and not very satisfying.  The story itself had potential but too much of my reading time was spent picking out typos and tense slippage and wishing ill luck on the characters as they were tstl. 

Ok, so imagine this - You're a guy and and you and two of your spooked guy friends are being chased down a mountain track by a pack of zombies.  There are probably a couple dozen of them and they're only 5 minutes behind you on the trail.  You stop for a second to catch your breath and a stray zombie stumbles out of nowhere and knocks you flat and tries to eat you.  Your friend takes a hatchet to it and eventually stoves it's head in.  It's all good but when you get up off the ground you notice there's zombie gunk on the back of your jeans.. Oh noes!.  It's stinky and messy!  

Do you:

• a) Say "Whatev's" and keep running down the mountain because you just wasted 4 minutes of your 5 minute lead while fighting off the stray one?  

Or:

• b) Strip off your pack, your hiking boots,  your jeans and your socks, root around in your pack for clean jeans and barely get your new pair of jeans on before you see the minute lead that you had on the zombies has actually now dwindled to about 10 seconds which results in you taking off barefoot to complete the last 9 miles of the mountain hike to the bottom?

Our MC chose poorly.  He went with option 'b'.  

Yeah, I know...  Give me a break! 

It just goes downhill from there (no pun intended) and I stopped caring about how stupid it was because I knew I only had about 5 more minutes until it was finished. 

It'll come as no shock to hear that I won't be buying any further into the series.

Review - The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date: 25 September 2012
ISBN13: 9780547859262

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

Is this a Movie yet?!! If not, why not?!! 

I've been wanting to read a story featuring the Amish for quite a while now and have been collecting interesting ones when I find them.  I've had this one since it first came out but was put off a bit as I think it's YA.  I don't usually get much from YA stories but there are always exceptions, plus I was also in the mood for something end-of-the-world-y so I figured I could use this one to kill two birds with one stone.  I wasn't sure what I was getting into as Vampire apocalypse and the Amish don't really go together...Turns out they go together like PB & J!!

I. Loved. It.  Simply wonderful.  I lapped it all up and the only reason I didn't finish it in one day was that I had to sleep, otherwise I'd have ripped through it.   

Great writing, great storytelling, great characters, great dialogue, great everything.  Plain folk and scary vampires, what's not to love?! 

I've heard that the next one isn't as good but I'm going to try it anyway and I'll hopefully get to it this week while it's all still fresh in my mind as I'm keen to see what happens next.  Especially if the Bishop meets a grisly end. 

Review - Red winter by Drew Montgomery

Paperback: 291 pages
Publisher: 3.5 Miles Behind Stage Publishing
Publication date: 13 Apr 2013

ASIN: B007U92R4Q

Accounts of the plague are few and far between. No one knows how it started or how it spread so quickly, and even in the era of social media, little was recorded. There were, however, a few who struggled to keep hope alive, to maintain a semblance of normalcy in the face of panic. This is the blog of one such person, unaltered and unedited so that the world may know of the last days of life as we know it.

The fall of humankind told through one man's blog in the suspenseful prologue to The Plague, now available.

I found this one deep down in the far reaches of my kindle shelves so it must have been there some time as I rarely venture down there these days.  I'm guessing it must have been a freebie at some point because I wouldn't pay the current price of £0.99 for it.  It's 33 pages long.  Granted, it's not too terrible as short stories go, but still...33 pages. 

It's not without some typo's and at least one slippage in tense but overall it was entertaining while it lasted.  I'd actually be happy to read a full book about this apocalyptic world. The zombie apocalypse is always something I can get behind and rarely tire of and this was a nice addition.

It's set out in a sort of blog format and is written by a survivor on his own (If his name was given I don't remember it).  The blog entries are spaced out over about a month and it's nicely done and the pacing is good.  The ending was satisfying but I wish it could have gone on for longer.  It's quite hard to find good zombie fiction that is just about the surviving aspect but this one ticked most of my boxes so a bit disappointed it wasn't longer.  I see that the author has a longer one available called Plague though so I'll give that one a try too. 

Review - Mountain Man by Keith C Blackmore

Kindle: 514 pages
Publisher: Create
Publication date: 15 Dec 2011
ISBN: 9781475298659

Boomstick.
Samurai bat.
Motorcycle leather.
And the will to live amongst the unliving.

Augustus Berry lives a day-to-day existence comprised of waking up, getting drunk, and preparing for the inevitable day when "they" will come up the side of his mountain and penetrate his fortress. Living on the outskirts of a city and scavenging for whatever supplies remain after civilization died two years ago, Gus knows that every time he goes down into undead suburbia could be his last.

Not really a review exactly, more of a, "This is a summary of my review" kind of post. I'm all about the feels when it comes to reading so sometimes I don't even know why I like something, I just know that I do.  This is one of those times... 

I listened to the prequel of this series last year when it was free on audible (might still be free) and really liked it.  The Hospital  was creepy and chilling and exactly the sort of zombie apocalypse book I like to read...survivors scavenging about.

The narrator R.C Bray did a great job and the hour long short story made me go and get the next part, Mountain Man as soon as I'd finished it.

I did like Mountain Man. I liked the characters and the scene setting and the dialogue but the action scenes were a bit much to take in.  Might have been better reading it but listening to it just went too fast to catch it all. It was a bit like the difference between watching a ninja fight scene and having someone write down all the moves for you at the speed they take place.  It just all moves too fast to take in.  "He put this arm there and then that other leg here and then the knife cut over there while he spun back to here and grabbed this other thing which he used to smack that other guy....."  Too much for me to take in when the narrator has quite a fast reading pace.  I just couldn't visualize it fast enough. 

Good story though and very well told. I really like Gus the lead character and have already bought the next one in the series.  I think the next one is about Gus' friend Scott so I'll see how that goes.  I like Scott well enough but I like Gus more.

I may come back and re-do this when I collect my thoughts.  Maybe.

Review - The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Paperback: 291 pages
Publisher: Random House
Publication date: 26 June 2012
ISBN13: 9780812984750

On an ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, Julia awakes to discover that something has happened to the rotation of the earth. The days and nights are growing longer and longer; gravity is affected; the birds, the tides, human behavior, and cosmic rhythms are thrown into disarray. In a world that seems filled with danger and loss, Julia also must face surprising developments in herself, and in her personal world-divisions widening between her parents, strange behavior by her friends, the pain an vulnerability of first love, a growing sense of isolation, and a surprising, rebellious new strength. With crystalline prose and the indelible magic of a born storyteller, Karen Thompson Walker gives us a breathtaking portrait of people finding ways to go on in an ever-evolving world.

When I started this I thought I was going to get some kind of Apocalyptic End of the World type story but I can't really say that's how it turned out. It's more a coming of age type story with a bit of monumental planetary change in the background.

It's a very good story and it's very well written, this lady can definitely tell a great story. It's just not what I was expecting. I thought the title was referring to an Age as a period in time but now I'm wondering if it's a reference to the chronological age of the narrator.

The narrator is 11 year old Julia and she tells her story mostly from a point in the future as she looks back on what happened when the Earth stopped rotating. What we never find out is 'why' it happened. I'm not sure if it's because Julia is/was 11 and just wasn't concerned with the 'why's' but it was a little frustrating to only get some of the picture.

Mostly it's about growing up, first love, transitioning into adulthood and dealing with pre-teen issues...with a backdrop of potential apocalypse. If it were just a straightforward coming of age tale I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. It's a great story but I was in it for the End Of The World and seeing that side of things play out were what kept me going.

Very well done and scarily believable. Overall I really liked it and would recommend it..

Review - Blood Red by Jason Bovberg

Kindle: 276 pages
Publisher: Permuted Press
Publication date: 07 April 2014
ASIN: B00JK1UW4E

First Line - "Rachel!"

Rachel is 19. She doesn’t know how to handle her new stepmother, let alone the end of the world. But after finding her stepmother dead, Rachel is suddenly racing against time—and terrifying, unnatural forces—to survive a gruesome apocalyptic event. Outside her door, the college town of Fort Collins, Colorado, is filled with corpses, and something unfathomable is happening to those bodies. And it’s only just begun. As Rachel struggles to comprehend her horrible new reality, she’ll need to find answers to questions she never thought she’d ask—all while desperately searching for her lost father, on whom she pins all her hopes for coming out of this phenomenon alive and intact. But nothing will be as it seems.

Well now, here's an interesting one. End of the World? Yes. Zombies? No. Plague? Not really. Aliens? Hmmm, might be. Maybe? Possibly? It's not obvious what caused The End but the story kicks off right at the point of things turning nasty and we're off and running from the get-go.

This is quite a tough one to review because most of what I want to say is likely to be riddled with spoilers. I'll have to try and skirt round the spoils...

So, Rachel is 19 and wakes up early one morning to a town littered with corpses. It looks as though whatever caused the mass demise of the population happened instantly to everyone at the same time but what that 'something' is isn't clear. So far, so good. Very quickly she becomes aware that there is something unnatural happening to the bodies. Something creepy. Now, what I _want_ to do here is say what I think has happened to them all but that would be one of the spoils I mentioned having to skirt around so I'm going to just going to say that it all seems a bit 'otherworldly'.

The whole story takes place in just over 24 hours(ish) so there's a lot packed in but because Rachel has no clue what is going on we don't have a clue either. Part of the fun of this is speculating possible (probable) cause but with no answers forthcoming it's a bit frustrating too. But in a good way.

Luckily Rachel finds she's not the only survivor and as with all good apocalypse stories she teams up with the random mix of people she meets. I like the characters, it's a nice mix. Cop with firearms, crazy unhinged one, new friend on the same wavelength, stable older person... the usual stuff.

What I'm not fond of though, is that even at the end I can't seem to grasp what the corpses have become. Despite having it spelled out for me plenty of times I'm still not clear on even the basics - what they look like, how they move... I just can't picture them. The fault may lie with me because it's mentioned plenty throughout, but I'm just not getting it. I hope it's turned into a movie so I can get a better idea.

The best bit and the worst bit (for me) was right at the very end. How it ended was brilliant, a twist that makes me want more...but it made no sense. Why? How? I..he...but...huh? I will definitely read the next one, I have to find out what that was all about. It was a gut-punch ending.

The story was a good one and the guy can definitely write but I'm compelled to mention the narrative style. It really rubbed me the wrong way. It's a bit different to what I'm familiar with and sometimes different can be a good thing but it just didn't work for me here. There was a dis-connect for the first few chapters while I tried it on for size but even when I got accustomed to it I never really warmed to it. Third-person present. I'm not a fan. Reading tastes differ but it just seems weird and unnatural to me to read in that tense.

Don't let that put you off though there's a decent story here.


*Note - I received a complimentary copy of this title from the author*

Review - Earthfall by Mark Walden

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
Publication date: 07 July 2012
ISBN: 9781408815663

First Line - "The boy ran down the rain-soaked street, weaving between abandoned cars."

Sam wakes to see strange vessels gathered in the skies around London. As he stares up, people stream past, walking silently towards the enormous ships which emit a persistent noise. Only Sam seems immune to the signal.

Six months later, Sam is absolutely alone. In his underground bunker he has food and water for a couple of days. He has no choice but to venture above. Spotted by a flying drone, Sam escapes, but not before the drone slashes him with a barbed tendril. That night, drenched in sweat, Sam realises without medical supplies the wound will kill him. This time above ground he is less lucky. Cornered again, Sam thinks he has reached the end - then the drone is shot down in a hail of machine gun fire.

In five minutes Sam learns two things: he is not alone; the drone injury should have killed him instantly - yet he is still alive. The battle for earth is about to begin.

What a great story! It's a middle grade book aimed at a younger audience but despite not being in the correct age bracket (not by a long stretch of the imagination) I was kept entertained to the end. I'll read anything that hints of an apocalypse and I just love a solid End Of The World story and that's exactly what I got with this. One of the things I especially liked about it is that it's set in London in present time, which isn't that common in apocalyptic fiction. I love post apoc even more if it's set in the UK so this one was off to a great start before I'd even turned a page.

Jam packed with Action, Adventure and Mystery. Throw in an alien apocalypse with only a handful of teens/pre-teen survivors and it's a winner no matter how you slice it. I just loved it so I imagine that it would be even more appealing to the target audience. I'm sure any fans of Charlie Higson's zombie series would lap this up.

I'd describe it as a mix of Independence Day and Falling Skies (both of which I love) and will probably appeal to both boys and girls alike as there are strong characters of both sexes in the story.

Sam, the main character is very likeable, as are the other survivors and the alien/mech creatures are suitably scary for the intended age group. There's plenty here to keep adults amused too though. It's a solid apocalypse story. The story is gripping and fast paced and there are enough little plot twists to keep things moving. It's thoroughly entertaining and overall a great read. I thought it was very good and am looking forward to the next in the series which I believe is in the pipeline. I'll definitely be reading it when it comes out.

Who would I recommend it to? Everyone, but if you know a reluctant younger reader with a taste for carnage and destruction in a world with no rules...this is the book to tempt them with.

Review - Flu by Wayne Simmons

ebook: 320 pages
Publisher: Snowbooks Ltd
Publication date: 30 April 2010
ISBN-13: 9781906727192

First Line - "There was a woman screaming in his face."

"There's a nasty flu going round. An epidemic, they call it. The posters say to cover your mouth when you sneeze, and throw away the tissue.

But such simple measures won't help.

Because when you catch this flu, armed police come and lock you in your house to die alone.

When you catch this flu, it kills you in days.

And two hours after it's killed you, your eyelids snap open again... "

Irish zombies? Bring it!

This is another good one! Nothing fancy with this one and there's no Hollywood treatment, just honest to goodness rotting foulness and the rising dead causing havoc.

I don't really know much about Irish politics, apart from what I've seen on the news over the years, usually referred to as 'The Troubles in Northern Ireland'. The news events were peppered with acronymn's so I had a fair idea of what they were when they were mentioned in the book. The IRA (Irish Republican Army), the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary), the paramilitary, Catholic's, Protestants, ... the zombie virus doesn't care which side someone is on, they're all on the same side now...

The story is a layered plot (which I love) and each section is told from varying viewpoints. I love these types of stories where over time all the individual storylines start to converge.

There's George and Norman, the policemen (good cop./bad cop). Lark, a tattoo'd junkie and his new friend McFall, an enigma who refuses to take off his knitted balaclava are joined by redhead Geri who thinks on her feet. Pat is ex IRA and somewhere along the line has teamed up with Karen, a young woman who is possibly Catholic. Army personnel in the form of Major Jackson (retired) and Dr Gallagher the crazy mental army doctor/torturer. Lots and lots of little stories all linking up to make one big story.

The zombie flu was virulent and deadly and it's not 100% clear where it came from or why, but very quickly it's less about where it came from and more about where it's going. It whips round the population with lightning speed and before you know it the whole country has succumbed to it.

The thing that I found interesting about this one was that all the baggage that the characters carried from before the plague was still hindering them in the aftermath too. They were all in the same predicament now...survive by any means possible, but they all still held their grudges against the different factions, even when it was way beyond the point of mattering. Lark, the junkie troublemaker and Norman the policeman don't trust each other and Pat the ex IRA always assumes the worst about the military and vice versa. Old grudges and prejudices taint everything.

It's just a brilliant zombie book.. Survivors, zombies, just the usual fare but really well done. I cared a lot about what happened to everyone.

Some I liked and willed them to do well, some I hated and wished death upon them....Wayne Simmons doesn't mess about though and thinks nothing of killing his people off, just not always who you were rooting for to be killed. I liked that nobody was safe, just like it would be in a real zombie apocalypse. Just because they were a main character in a book was no obstacle to death finding them.

There's a follow on book so enough of them survived to carry on in the next one. I'm really looking forward to that one too as there are hints of perhaps a cure for the plague. Knowing how this one ended I'd say that it's not going to be easy, either way but I'm sure it'll be a great read.

*said in my very poor Irish accent* "Norn Iron zombies! Go read it noy!

Review - Great Bitten - Outbreak by Warren Fielding

ebook: 222 pages
Publisher: Iceni Publishing
Publication date: 31 Oct 2013
ASIN: B00GBLBCE0

First Line - "I'm not sure how much you really know about British culture and attitudes."

"The UK is infected and Warren is going to be a hero, whether he likes it or not. Life used to be simple; a journalist addicted to his work, he has spent most of his life thus far annoying his few friends and disappointing his sister with his inability to maintain familial commitments.

As a plague of unknown origin spreads virulently across the UK, all of that is about to change. The only person Warren doesn't question is himself. His natural curiosity and his world-weary cynicism come to the fore in his clumsy attempts at survival.

With the UK in chaos and the government in hiding, will Warren even be able to survive long enough to start finding the answers to the questions burning inside him? And when he finally realises that there are people in this blighted world that he loves, will he be able to do what needs to be done to keep them safe? "

Last year I downloaded a free short called Great Bitten and just lapped it up. Loved it so much. I read a lot of zombie books but I especially love the one's set in the UK, as this one is. Makes it all seem more real, somehow. Well, as real as zombie's taking over the world can get. The Great Bitten short has been added to Outbreak to form the first part of the story so if you haven't already read the short you won't be missing anything by starting straight into this one.

Anyway, I waited impatiently for the full story and finally it was published (with a Halloween release date) and I snapped it up and dove in. Was it worth waiting for? Yep.

Now, I'm not a zombie fan, per say...I'm more of an End-Of-The-World fan. Doesn't really matter how it ends, just that it DOES end. Zombie's pretty much guarantee that it's game over for the world so I'm really partial to a zombie book now and then.

Warren (the narrator) is a journalist and a bit full of himself but I like him. He manages to get a little head start on everyone else when he figures out early that a zombie plague is upon them and the first half of the story is taken up with his journey to reach his sister's house. In true zombie survivalist tradition Warren and his little band gather a few more survivors into the group before finally reaching what they hope will be a stronghold...

Mostly I like reading about how the survivors...well, survive. I like to know how they get by, day to day. It's the 'how' more than the 'why' that interests me. I like reading about the zombies too but they either have to be really, really scary and I'm terrified witless for the survivors, or the zombies need to be there but in the background mostly so that the story focuses more on the survivors and how they deal with a hostile world and fight for survival.

Great Britten fell a little between these lines for me. The zombies were a bit scary (especially the fast ones) and the survivors' stories were more about group dynamics but there was enough of what I like to keep me flipping pages to see where it was all going. Add in a twist or two and it makes for a good story.

I really liked the explanation for the different types of zombie. The reason's for Fast v's Slow had me thinking "yeah, that sounds likely" and both kinds were dangerous for different reasons.

Towards the end there were quite a few characters to try and keep straight in my head but the one's that mattered were fleshed out and the ending left enough open that maybe we'll find out more about those other characters in later books. I think there are to be side stories too that deal with some of the lesser characters in the book and will tell their stories and I'm REALLY looking forward to those. Those one's sound exactly the sort of thing that I lap up.

One thing bugged me though. It might not hinder anyone else but if there's one thing that's guaranteed to pull me out of a story, it's this - I hate any mention of what I think of as 'my world realities'. I really don't like to read about characters in a book who have watched actual films I've watched, or know which song's are popular in my world, or describe someone in terms of someone famous' appearance that I may or may not have seen/know. Pulls me right out of the story because then I'm thinking about the movie mentioned or the song or the person...just personal preference but I really don't like my fictional zombie story characters having anything to do with my reality. Apart from anything else, sometimes I have no clue what the reference is as I haven't heard it, seen it, tasted it, used it, etc, so it's lost on me and I get nothing from it. There was quite a lot of it here.

All in all though it was a great story and for a first book in a series there are so many directions it can go. I'm looking forward to seeing where Warren ends up next and with the twist at the end it of this one it'll be somewhere dangerous, no doubt!

Review - Exodus by Paul Anthony Jones

Paperback: 302 pages
Publisher: 47North
Publication date: 11 June 2013
ISBN13: 9781477805060

First Line - "Commander Fiona Mulligan had made a habit out of watching the sunrise"

Reporter Emily Baxter survived the alien red rain that blanketed and annihilated the human race. But after the downpour, and the lethal contagion it spread, came an even greater horror: the rampant transformation of the dead into something utterly unearthly.

With a terrifying new form of life emerging from the mutated landscape, Emily’s only hope is to flee toward distant Alaska where she can unite with the survivors who have reached out to her from a remote science facility. The journey from New York will be long and painstaking, and Emily has only her faithful dog and whatever she can carry. But, after discovering a small family of refugees along the way, Emily’s determination to escape the unfolding catastrophe and carve out a new future is renewed. Standing in their way are Earth’s new masters, equally determined to survive and thrive, and possessed of monstrous capabilities Emily and her allies can’t begin to imagine…until they’re face to face with the hideous reality.

In the battle about to begin, there will be no room for mistakes or mercy—only the most ruthless instincts to survive.

This is the second book in the Extinction Point series and I read both this one and the first one back to back. It's easy to get into and I really like the story but I was a bit apprehensive about starting this as I wasn't a big fan of Emily in the first book, which is unfortunate as Emily has been pretty much the only character for most of it up to this point. By the end of this though she was starting to grow on me...a little. She still frustrates me but if she continues to grow as a character then we might get along better in later books. The story- I like very much. Emily - Not so much.

This part of the series felt more 'road-trip' than 'alien apocalypse' if I'm honest, but I was relieved that at least Emily's bike wasn't such a feature on that road trip. It was ridiculous that she wanted to to travel from New York to Alaska (approx 4000 miles) on a bicycle as the world around her was being overrun with aliens so I'm eternally grateful that that frustration is out of the picture. The fact that she's 30 (I think) and was living in New York and working as a journalist on the New York Tribune points to her being a fairly intelligent and able woman but yet she has no idea how to even start an automatic car (far less drive one), it's just too unbelievable. She maybe never learned to drive but surely she's been IN cars and/or taxi's and saw how others got them started? I'm not buying it. It was just one of the many, many things about Emily that agitated me. Things like that just didn't make any sense and felt like poor plot devices.

Despite all that though I'm still looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series as they become available, I'm just hoping Emily and I can connect a bit better than we have so far.

I received an ARC of this book for review purposes. Opinions are my own.

Book Review - Outbreak: The Zombie Apocalypse by Craig Jones

Paperback: 372 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication date: Sept 17 2012
ISBN13: 9781479335220

First Line - "The public didn't take what was going on seriously until the Government cancelled football matches and they stopped filming Eastenders."

With no warning, a Zombie epidemic sweeps across modern Great Britain causing the victims to attack and feed on their friends, family and neighbours. In a small village in South Wales, two brothers, protected because of privilege and wealth, are forced to offer help and assistance and to make choices that will change their lives forever.

Epic, and I loved it!!! Apart from the last 2 pages which I hated!

Firstly, it should be noted that I'm not usually a massive fan of first person narrative. Second point worthy of notice is that I was halfway through this book before I even realised that it's written in first person narrative.

It's just that good!

At first it's a traditional zombie story...Nobody suspects anything in the beginning - then weird stuff is reported on the News - people start sitting up and taking notice - the shit hits the fan and everyone tries to survive and avoid being chomped on. We zombie fan's know the drill. At this stage the zombies are also traditional. Slow, lumbering, not very bright, driven by instinct - that sort of thing. We've all seen it before countless times but there are enough little differences to keep it interesting up to this point.

Then the pace changes and I wasn't very sure where it was going. It slowed right down, and had a definite 'Shaun of the Dead' feel to it and although I liked that section quite a bit as it progressed I had doubt's. I still had a good two thirds of the book to go and I was getting a bit worried that it would all just drag on and on and fizzle to a close.

Wrong!

Under different circumstances the twist that kicked off the third and final section could be viewed as a 'comedic episode', complete with Benny Hill chase music. The reality of it all was anything but funny though. Ramped-up crazies the likes of which would make the 28 Days Later zombies wet their pants. Made of awesome!

I loved it. Loved. It.

Apart from one little thing...The last two pages. They had a definite 'Omega Man' feel to them and just slapped all the love out of me. Well, maybe two pages worth of love was slapped out of me, if I'm honest. But they did bug me.

I'll be thinking of this one for quite a while. It's my favourite book of 2013 so far and has made it on to my 'favourite' shelf on Goodreads. The paperback I bought has quite a few typo's and error's that the proof reader(s) missed and that gets on my nerves but I can't fault the content. It's a winner!! :D

I'd definitely recommend this to any and all zombie fans! Go get it now, run like the wind. Read it!

...and there better be a sequel to this!

Book Review - Dawn of the Dead by George Ramero

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Sphere
Publication date: May 10 2012
ISBN13: 9780751549157

First Line - "Sleep did not come easily to Francine Parker."

When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.

The world is being devastated by zombies. No one knows how far they have spread, or how to stop them. And as the living fight to save themselves, society collapses.

Four people escape the chaos of downtown Philadelphia and find shelter in a shopping mall. As the survivors exhaust their greed and the undead scrape at the doors, the refuge becomes a prison.

And soon there will be nowhere left to hide . . .

My first finish of 2013! Hope it's the first of many :)

If you've seen Dawn of the Dead in movie form then you won't be getting anything new by reading the book - but you will be losing the cheesiness and most of the lameness.

Usually when a book spawn's a movie, 9 times out of 10 the book is better. This time I have to say that even though they're virtually scene for scene exactly the same, the book is still better.

I never really got with the program on the Dawn of the Dead cult movie fandom. The acting was lame and the zombie's were hysterical and overall it just had a really, really bad 'B' movie feel to it. I know, I know...that's what makes it cult...I just didn't buy into it. The book wasn't that bad though, all things considered.

The characters don't seem so cardboard and the zombies seem a 'tiny' bit more menacing, somehow, and I think that if this book was the first of it's kind (as the movie was) then this would be great, but it's not the first and it's far from the best. The characters get a bit of an upgrade and have more of a 'zombie apocalypse survivor' feel to them. They're a bit more savvy and hardened to the situation and they're given a bit of backstory each, which makes them a little more fleshed out but you'd still recognise them from the film.

I don't know why I was hoping for a better ending this time, since I knew what was coming but still I hoped for a bit more closure this time around. I was left hoping...

If you've seen the film it's worth reading for the little bits of 'what's going on in their head' moments, and if you haven't seen the film then it's still worth reading as it's actually an OK zombie book. Consider it written at the same time as the film and you'll have an idea of what to expect. It's a 1970's zombie book. That's pretty much the size of it.

Book Review - Exit Kingdom by Alden Bell

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Tor
Publication date: November 8th 2012
ISBN13: 9780230766747

First Line - "And so the living persist, stubbornly, and the memories, and the crumbling road, and the stories."

In a world where the undead outnumber the living, Moses Todd roams the post-apocalyptic plains of America. His reprobate brother, Abraham - his only companion - has known little else. Together, they journey because they have to; because they have nowhere to go, and no one to answer to other than themselves.

Travelling the bloody wastelands of this ruined world, Moses is looking for a kernel of truth, and a reason to keep going. And a chance encounter presents him with the Vestal Amata, a beguiling and mysterious woman who may hold the key to salvation. But he is not the only one seeking the Vestal. For the Vestal has a gift: a gift that might help save what is left of humanity. And it may take everything he has to free her from the clutches of those who most desire her.

I loved 'The Reaper's are the Angels' so much, I thought it was wonderful. Great book! I was sad at the end though as it seemed to indicate that it was destined to be a stand-alone novel. It didn't seem to leave any openings for further books.

When I saw that there was to be a sequel I jumped on the order button and could not wait to get my hands on it!

This story is told by Moses Todd (from the first book) and he is now traveling with his adopted charge Maury who he inherited by default from Temple. Things seem to be much the same in the world as when we last saw it, the zombies are still out there and the people are still getting by as best they can.

Although this is a sequel it feels like a prequel at times due to the story being told from a mostly 'flashback' Point Of View. We learn Moses' history as he traveled the zombie infested lands with his brother Abraham, and at the same time we see the over-run world become a little more fleshed out in the telling. There are a lot of new characters to meet and their story's are mostly interesting but it just didn't move me the same way the first book did.

For two books set in the same world they seems so different.

It's not a terrible book....it's just not as likeable as the first one. It would take something quite epic to fill the gap left by Temple, I think, so it had a lot to live up to. It was an ok read but not one I'd go back to.

Review - This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: St Martin's Griffin
Publication date: July 9th 2012
ISBN13: 9780312656744

First Line - "Lily, I woke up and the last piece of my heart disappeared"

It's the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won't stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn't sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she's failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she's forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group's fate is determined less and less by what's happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life and death inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

I'm not really sure what to make of this one. It was a good read and it was well written but maybe I was expecting more zombies? Or explainations? Or a resoloution? I'm torn.

I really liked the story and couldn't put it down until I found out what happened to them all... but I didn't get closure. I'm not saying all endings have to always be neatly tied up but I just feel that there's too much has been left unsaid.

A handful of kids end up in a school, sheltering from the zombie hoards outside which roam their town relentlessly. Why are there zombies? I have no idea and I suspect the kids don't either but since they never ask each other those simple question's, "Why?", "Where?", "How?" I'm left wondering if maybe they do know, in which case - why don't I know too?

Sloane is the narrator and we get an insight into her life before the zombies came although I felt that I never really knew the whole story of what went on there either. It's frustrating. There's only one viewpoint really and I only found out what Sloane wanted me to know. Since Sloane herself was mostly fixated on her sister and her need to end it all I didn't get to know half of what I needed (wanted) to know. Enquiring minds need to know.

So, accepting that I didn't find out all that I wanted (needed), how was the story? It was good actually. Dark and sinister and creepy and scary and all the stuff you come to expect from a zombie book...just without many zombies. One or two popped up every now and then and they were the jacked up crazy kind but because I didn't see much of them they were more of a psychological fear than a physical fear. It was scary wondering where they where going to come from...if they were going to come...when they were going to come. Sometimes that's scarier than the actual event of them coming. It's the not knowing.

Anyway, it's a good story which is well told. Sloane's voice is right for the telling of it but I just wish she'd been a little more forthcoming with the stuff I needed to know...

I'd even be happier if I knew there was a follow on book which might fill in some of the details for me (there's not, is there?).

*Sigh* It's a hard one. Good story, well written I just wanted...I'm not sure what I wanted. More? Better? Fuller?

Book Review - Undead by Kirsty McKay

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Chicken House
Publication date: Sept 1st 2011
ISBN13: 9781906427870

First Line - "I would rather die than face them all again."

It was just another school trip... When their ski-coach pulls up at a cafe, and everyone else gets off, new girl Bobby and rebel Smitty stay behind. They hardly know each other but that changes when through the falling snow, the see the others coming back. Something has happened to them. Something bad...Soon only a pair of double doors stand between those on the bus and their ex-friends the Undead outside. Time to get a life.

Two words - Scotland. Zombies. I was all over it! Zombies on my home turf?! I'm in!

 What I didn't realise going into this was that it's probably what's known as a 'middle grade' read (I think) and that definitely had a bearing on how I was feeling towards the book before I figured it out. I had wrongly thought this was at least a YA so when the zombie's were few and far between and there was a general 'tameness' to it overall I was feeling unsatisfied. But then it clicked...it's for kids. Or is it? I think so...I'm conflicted...I'd say it's for roughly age 12+

Okay, so my uncertainties aside I'll be assuming this is for kids and that being the case I thought it was great! It's scary enough without being too scary. For the intented age group that is.

I don't like including synopsis in my reviews but just a quick overview would be - School bus trip to Aviemore, Scotland and a handful of teens are left to survive after making a rest stop at a cafe where almost everyone in the vicinity drop's dead and rises again as a zombie.

I loved the characters and they were really well written and believable. What really brought them to life for me was the dialogue. The dialogue was spot on and the intereaction of the mismatched band of survivors really worked. I had no problem 'hearing' their voices in my head as I was reading. The characters are stereotypes 101 but I loved them all anyway.

If you've ever watched 'The Breakfast Club' there's a line at the start that goes, "We're a princess, a jock, a brain, a basket case..." or something like that and Undead's characters reminded me of those. They're all so different but they're thrown together in something that none of them asked for or wanted and they're getting along and getting though it as best they can.

Considering it's a zombie book it's actually quite a funny book too. It's not a joke a minute type thing but the characters can find humour even in terror. For example they give names to the zombies (booby woman springs to mind, ha!) and there is lots of observational humour and wise-assery scattered about too. I like that.

The only downside I found was that I wasn't overly fond of the ending. It felt a bit rushed compared to the rest of the book and left me wonedering what just happened but I 'think' there's another book to follow so I'll be checking that out and looking forward to continuing the story, and maybe getting some more answers to the questions I have about the ending.

I'm not the target audience but I do love a zombie book and this one is still a 4 star for me, regardless of whether or not I'm in the correct age bracket for it.

Book Review - The Reapers are the angels by Alden Bell

Hardback: 302 pages
Publisher: Tor
Publication date: September 3rd 2010
ISBN13: 9780230748644

First Line - "God is a Slick God."

God is a slick god. Temple knows. She knows because of all the crackerjack miracles still to be seen on this ruined globe...Older than her years and completely alone, Temple is just trying to live one day at a time in a post-apocalyptic world, where the undead roam endlessly, and the remnant of mankind who have survived, at times, seem to retain little humanity themselves. This is the world she was born into. Temple has known nothing else. Her journey takes her to far-flung places, to people struggling to maintain some semblance of civilization - and to those who have created a new world order for themselves. When she comes across the helpless Maury, she attempts to set one thing right, if she can just get him back to his family in Texas then maybe it will bring redemption for some of the terrible things she's done in her past. Because Temple has had to fight to survive, has done things that she's not proud of and, along the road, she's made enemies. Now one vengeful man is determined that, in a world gone mad, killing her is the one thing that makes sense.

I have a love hate relationship with zombies. On the one hand I hate them because they scare the bejeesus out of me. On the other hand though, I love them because as soon as the zombies arrive I'm 99% guaranteed that the story takes a turn towards one of my most favourite genres. Apocalyptic. I LOVE end of the world scenario's!

It's catch 22. I WANT to read about the fall of civilisation but I'm not so keen on the resulting nightmare's which usually involve me fending of a pack of stinky dead guys who are keen to disembowel me and are smacking their lips at the prospect. I'm usually a bit wary of starting a zombie book. However, I'd read a lot of reviews for The Reapers are the Angels that mentioned that the zombies were not the focus of this book so I gamely gave it a whirl.

Soooo glad I managed to man-up! LOVED it! So much!

It's true, it's not about the zombies. They're there, and they're just as stinky and dead as you'd imagine but I felt 'safe' walking amongst them because I had Temple with me. Temple is so amazing. From now on in my nightmare's I'm going to take Temple with me. Temple has fear of nothing and/or nobody and despite being just a little girl, a teen, she's one of the most kick-ass heroine's I've read about in a long time.

She hasn't known any other way of life as she was born after the dead started rising and has been pretty much alone her whole life. We're told that she spent some of her early life in an orphanage and that she's had a few companions on her journey through the wasteland but when we meet her she is on her own. Having Temple as a guide made me just relax and enjoy the ride. She's Street-Smart and infinitely capable. She takes everything in her stride, doesn't freak out and above all get's the job done. Always. In a way she's even more deadly than the zombie's.

Along the way she meets two men who are to become central to her story. Maury is a grown man with the mental age of a very young child and Temple takes him under her wing and looks after him (initially unwillingly), and their relationship is very touching. Moses is an older, male version of Temple herself and their relaionship is based on friction but there's some grudging respect there too.

I'll be honest, I thought I was going to hate this book for the simple reason that within the first 2 pages I spotted my pet hate in written text. THE WORST TEXT CRIME. The word 'of' instead of 'have' - "I should of known that was wrong" instead of "I should have known that was wrong". I kept going though and quickly realised that it's mostly told from Temple's point of view and is written exactly as if spoken, text crimes and all. Having said that though, the story was so good and I was so engrossed in it that I was halfway through before I noticed there's nothing to indicate speech. Sound's crazy but I honestly didn't even notice that to begin with and when it suddenly dawned on me I didn't even miss a beat. It's weird but I didn't have a problem with it...which in itself is weird because that sort of thing usually rubs me up TOTALLY the wrong way.

Anyhoo, it's a fantastic story and I really, really wish it could be the first in a series. I know that's not possible though, due to the ending and I'm quite sad about that. I'd happily have read more of Temple's adventures.

I'd recommend this as a great read if you're into zombie apocalype, road-trip type books. I really, really liked it.

***I'm very pleaseed to count this as my first book read as part of my 2012 TBR Challenge ***

Book Review - Hollowland by Amanda Hocking

Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: Amanda Hocking
Publication date: 6 Oct 2010
ISBN13: 9781453860953

First Line - "This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."

Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

Had I known that this book was about a zombie apocalypse I'd have been all over it a LONG time ago. How could I not know that?! I thought it was the usual YA fare and admit that the cover had a lot to do with that. That's a lovely cover and not a hint of zombie about it. It seems it's true what they say about covers, and judging... I'm not sure how long I've had this one but it seems like an age. I wish I'd gotten to it sooner. The only reason I looked at it when I did was because I just read an article on the Daily Mail about Amanda Hocking. I recognised the name and thought, "Hmmm, I've got one of her's here somewhere I think". The rest is history. Read it - Loved it!

It's a very satisfying story and right from the very first line the reader is hauled slap-bang into the thick of it. These zombies are not the slow, lumbering moaners from the usual zom-fests, these zombies are jacked up crazies and can pick up a bit of speed. All the action scenes are pretty frantic.

I felt I really connected with Remy, the main character and liked her a lot. Some of the other character's didn't impress me as much (ie, Blue - although it's a cute name) but I still liked them. Really liked Ripley too, if you can call a lion a character? Yeah, a lion! A very cool lion, actually.

There's a tiny bit of romance and sexual chemistry but I do mean 'tiny'. That's not the main focus of the story though so it makes a nice change from the usual YA boy/girl storylines.

There are some creepy character's in here too and I thought they were dealt with really well. Not TOO creepy for the YA market but 'just' creepy enough to make this adult shudder.

I loved the dialogue, it always felt so natural and suited each character perfectly. Amanda Hocking does character interaction very well, I thought.

I can't believe no publisher wanted this one! It's great. Judging by the money she's making from self publishing I'd say I'm not the only one that thinks that way. In the words of Kevin Costner..."Build it and they will come".

Now for the good news..If you're in the UK you can download this for your kindle for FREE! Amanda is offering a kindle copy of Hollowland for nada, zilch and gratis and I'd advise you to run like the wind to go get it...it's really good!

Book 2 in the trilogy, 'Hollowmen' is already out and I'll definitely be reading it to see what lies in store for Remy!

Book Review - Darkness Falling by Peter Crowther

Darkness Falling (Forever Twilight - #1) By Peter Crowther

Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Angry Robot
Publication date(first UK): 6 Oct 2011
ISBN: 978 0 85766 168 5

Synopsis taken from Angry Robot:

It was a typical all-American backwater – until the night the monsters came.

When four employees of KMRT Radio investigate an unearthly light that cuts off communication with the outside world, they discover that something has taken the place of their friends and fellow townfolk, and imbued them with malign intentions. Little do they know, the phenomenon is not unique to the town of Jesman’s Bend…

Hoo boy! This is a good one! Haven't read anything similar in years! I'm not talking about subject matter though (although I will get to that in a moment), I'm talking about writing style. LOVED it. I've never read anything by Peter Crowther before and if I'm honest I've never even heard of him before this boook caught my attention but right from the very first page of the prologue I felt like I was meeting an old friend after a long absence.

Why? How? Because it's like this guy is channelling my coming of age book hero, Stephen 'The Man' King! It's uncanny!

They both have this 'way' of writing, I'm sure if you've ever read King then you'll know what I'm talking about...if you've never read King then it's like the books are written in a first person POV but with a third person narrative. I can't explain it, I'm positive there must be a term to describe that writing style but I just don't know what it is. There are a lot of inner monologues where someone will be describing how they're feeling or what they're thinking but they use words like 'he' or 'she' to describe themselves insead of 'I'.

Ack! I just can't put it into words...all I know is that I associate it with King and I like it.

So anyway, the book...

Darkness Falling is the first part of Peter Crowther's Forever Twilight trilogy. I think it's considered to be Science Fiction but it's also probably easily slotted into the Horror genre. Maybe Apocalyptic fiction too. To keep with the King connection I'd compare it to having a bit of 'The Langoliers', 'The Stand', 'The Tommy Knockers'..actually, I could probably find a lot of bits from a lot of novels to compare this to. It's quite hard to pigeon hole. Invasion of the body snatchers with zombie aliens is kinda close.

It's very character driven and the whole story is told via multiple 'survivors' and while I love all that, it was a bit frustrating to get caught up in one person's story only to have the chapter end and have to remind myself of a new person's story-to-date and catch up with their portion again for the new chapter. I'll admit to enjoying the story of some characters more than others too, which made things all the more frustrating when a really good bit ended and I had to get through a character I wasn't enjoying as much to get back to the good stuff. It's all good, I just really wasn't that 'connected' to the radio station guys (and gal), which is a pity because they're sort of central.

There a LOT of 'name dropping scattered throughout. Pop culture, movie references, actors, etc and it's not that it bothered me exactly it just got tedious after a while. There's a section where one of the characters 'Ronnie' tells the character 'Karl' that he looks like the actor Paul Giamatti, now while that's great for me to get a visual of how Karl looks it felt like lazy writing. There's that mantra for writers that I've seen mentioned here and there, "Don't 'tell' me, 'show' me" but here 'showing' me involved a side-step to google images to find out what Karl looked like. In case anyone is un-savvy as I am, that's Paul on the left there (he's the one who played the Ourangatang in Planet of the Apes, I think).

Did I mention how scary it is yet? No? Well, it's scary. I had to stop reading it last night and lay it aside to finish today during daylight hours. I'm not a huge devourer of the horror genre and don't claim to be an authority on what constitutes a successful scare but all I know is that when reading certain bits my brain was saying "No no no no no...omgomgomgomg". I think I'm probably quite wimpy as far as 'easily spooked' goes but to coin a Disney rating, it's worse than "mild peril".

I found it hard to find any kind of in-depth synopsis for this book and I don't know if that's intentional but just in case it is I won't spoil anything by going into a deep analysis of the story line. The author has a web presence at petercrowther.com and you may find some more info there and on his blog, if you're interested in finding out more, but for now I'll just end by saying - I. LIKED. IT!

Idlewild - Nick Sagan

From a bold new talent comes a smart, stylish near-future thriller that fuses the fierce imagination of The Matrix with the chilling social vision of Minority Report.

Set in the day after tomorrow, Idlewild opens as a young man awakes with amnesia: He cannot remember who he is and doesn't recognize anything around him-all he knows for sure is that someone is trying to kill him. Not certain whom he can trust, he becomes reacquainted with eight companions, all of whom are being trained at a strange school run by an enigmatic figure named Maestro. Working to uncover the identity of the person who has attempted to murder him, the young man quickly starts to unravel a series of truths, making it clear that much more than just his life is at stake.

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Idlewild is very Matrix-esque. It starts when we meet a confused young man, who appears to be in a dark sinister place, and who seems to know as little about his world as we do. It's all very confusing (for him, and for us) but also intriguing. It seems to be a chilling place on the one hand, but as things develop we see that it's actually a place of friendship and fun......until things start to go Pete Tong.

The confused young man we meet on the first page is Halloween (how cool is THAT for a name?!!) and in his little corner of the world everything is orange and black. The colours are his 'call sign' or 'gimmick' and help distinguish him from his friends who each have their own colour combo's and quirky names.

However, his circle of friends and the world as he knows it are about to become thrown into disarray and come crashing down around him. He comes to the realisation that his survival depends on what amounts to nothing more than computer pixels. He realises that his world is actually a lot smaller than he first thought. A LOT smaller.

He's not who he thought he was, his friends and teachers are not who he thought they were and his life depends on being able to work out what's real and what's not.

Confused? So was I......but it's a great confusuion! I loved this book! I haven't read anything like it before and I'm so glad it's a three-part'er. I like the character Halloween a lot in this first installment and can't wait to see where he goes from here. This is a great book to lose yourself in. It's one of my favourite subjects in works of fiction; apocalyptic, end of the world scenario with a bit of plague and 'last man standing' thrown in for good measure.

I didn't realise when I read this that Nick Sagan was Carl Sagan's son (how could I NOT have known, with a name like that? Duh!), but I don't think it would have made much difference if I'd known in advance because I've never read any of his dad's books to compare with. He's a talented author and regardless of who his dad is, he's got a book here that holds up well against some of best SF writers around.