Tagged: zombies
End Dayz by Kellie Sheridan
(Cover picture courtesy of Kobo Books.)
Prequel collection to Mortality.
It’s month after the dead first began to walk. The miracle vaccine that was supposed to save us all has failed.
Now, four teens fight to stay alive as a stronger, smarter breed of zombie begins to appear, threatening to end humanity for good.
Four short stories, 11,000 words total
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
After reading Kellie Sheridan’s first book in The Hitchhiker Strain and seeing that there was a prequel anthology to it, I just had to read it. After all, Mortality was pretty awesome and I was interested in learning about the characters lives during the apocalypse itself. But did End Dayz add to my overall enjoyment of Kellie Sheridan’s world?
Absolutely! Learning more about Pierce, Belle, Alex and Zack was awesome. Not only did I get to learn more about the characters themselves, but also about the zombie apocalypse and what it was like to live in that chaos. Not only that, I learned a little about how Savannah was orphaned but I won’t go into detail about that because it’s a spoiler. Unlike so many anthology collections by the same author, each character in End Dayz had an unique voice in their writing. Some of them were chronicling the apocalypse through letters to their family, diary entries or mission reports. But in the end, everyone sounded different and that allowed me to get a real sense of their personality.
Belle is the bubbly young woman we meet in Mortality, Pierce is slightly stuck-up, Alex is the underdog and Zack is the serious team leader. That may sound like they’re all one dimensional characters, but they’re not. There are unique spins on each of the archetypal characters, which I was so thankful for. Kellie Sheridan is one of those writers that seems to stay away from clichés as much as possible and that’s what makes The Hitchhiker Strain one of my top series to follow into the future.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Mortality by Kellie Sheridan
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
After surviving a deadly plague outbreak, sixteen-year-old Savannah thought she had lived through the very worst of human history. There was no way to know that the miracle vaccine would put everyone at risk for a fate worse than un-death.
Now, two very different kinds of infected walk the Earth, intent on nothing but feeding and destroying what little remains of civilization. When the inoculated are bitten, infection means watching on in silent horror as self-control disappears and the idea of feasting on loved ones becomes increasingly hard to ignore.
Starving and forced to live inside of the abandoned high school, all Savannah wants is the chance to fight back. When a strange boy arrives with a plan to set everything right, she gets her chance. Meeting Cole changes everything. Mere survival will never be enough.
[Full disclosure: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
At first I thought this was going to be a mushy, lovey-dovey romance just set against the background of a zombie apocalypse. While there’s romance, that’s certainly not the case because the blurb is a bit misleading.
First off, Savannah is an awesome character. She can kick butt and kill zombies like it’s nothing, but at the same time she’s trained for a long time to be able to do so. She’s definitely not one of these heroines that just magically gains killing powers out of nowhere. Secondly, Zarah, the other girl whose point of view we see is an interesting contrast to Savannah. She can’t kick butt and she has to use her wits to survive the first and second outbreaks with her new boyfriend Liam. So how do these two stories converge? Well, it’s definitely not how you would expect them to, thank goodness. I’m just hoping that Kellie Sheridan does not go with one of my hated clichés in the next book, although from the ending it almost looks like that. (Cringe.)
The plot was fast-paced and despite the point of view changes, Mortality never really got to a point where it lagged. The zombies, or Zs as they’re mostly called here, are an omnipresent threat throughout the novel. Although in contrast to many zombie apocalypse novels they’re not necessarily the main focus 100% of the time. They’re prominent to be sure, but the romance between Savannah and the mysterious Cole does steal the attention away sometimes. Although I really hated Cole as a love interest (what a selfish, brainless jerk!) I guess I can forgive Kellie Sheridan for that. Cole is just really not my type of guy.
What I liked about Mortality is that when there are clichés, Kellie Sheridan did her best to put her own spin on them. Cole is out searching for his uncle who was part of the cure and possibly the initial outbreak, but there’s quite a twist on that old trope. I can’t say much on how she negates old tropes without giving the major plot points away, but trust me on this: there are very few clichés throughout the novel. And while it’s not in the same category of awesome as Feed or The Return Man, I really can’t complain too much about Mortality. It was pretty good and I’m looking forward to reading the next book, Duality.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Spotlight: Feed by Mira Grant
Spotlight is my weekly feature in which I highlight a book I’m eagerly awaiting or read and really enjoyed. This week, it’s another amazing zombie book: Feed by Mira Grant.
The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we had created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.
Now, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives—the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.
Lots of books about a zombie apocalypse either take place during the apocalypse or after, when civilization as we know it has fallen completely. In Feed, Mira Grant presents a much, much different take, one that looks at what life would be like if we won. Blood tests, off-limits areas, the rise of blogging at the expense of traditional media, etc. The future Mira Grant imagines is terrifying in some aspects (the complete loss of personal privacy), but I suppose it’s better than total societal collapse.
Enter Shaun and Georgia (George) Mason, who are bloggers following the presidential campaign of Senator Ryman but uncover a conspiracy that involves the origins of the Kellis-Amberlee virus itself. Despite the fact it sounds like a dark book, Mira Grant has such a humorous writing style you can’t help but laugh out loud in some parts. It’s a whirlwind journey with an unpredictable ending. Feed also ends on such a cliffhanger that you’ll have no choice but to read the second book in the Newsflesh trilogy, Deadline.
Obviously, this is a zombie novel, so don’t read it if you’re sensitive to gore.
Spotlight: The Return Man by V. M. Zito
Spotlight is my Saturday feature in which I highlight a book I’m looking forward to or really enjoyed. This week, I want to highlight one of the best zombie books I’ve ever read: The Return Man by V. M. Zito.
The outbreak tore the U. S. in two. The east remains a safe haven. The west has become a ravaged wilderness. They call it the evacuated states.
It is here that Henry Marco makes his living. Hired by grieving relatives, he tracks down the dead and delivers peace.
Now Homeland Security wants Marco for a mission unlike any other. He must return to California, where the apocalypse began. Where a secret is hidden. And where his own tragic past waits to punish him again.
But in the wastelands of America, you never know who—or what—is watching you…
If you love AMC’s The Walking Dead, you will absolutely love The Return Man. Heck, if you love zombies, good characters, fast plots and conspiracies, you’ll love V. M. Zito’s debut novel. Basically: You’ll probably love this book.
Not only is Marco a great character you can sympathize with because he stayed back in the Evacuated States to return his zombified wife, but Wu is also amazing. Wu is kind of an ambiguous character because he’s not a villain, but he’s certainly not a hero in the traditional sense of the word. I can’t decide whether I like Marco or Wu better, so their journey together from both points of view was a satisfying thrill ride.
The plot is fast and dramatic (but believable) and the zombies are terrifying. No, they’re not ‘fast zombies’, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t scary. Believe me, with the descriptions Zito gives of the zombies and all the gore they cause, you may lose your appetite. The purpose of those graphic descriptions isn’t so much to gross out the reader as to bring home the point that in real life, a zombie apocalypse would be absolutely horrifying.
I wouldn’t recommend The Return Man for sensitive readers, but for everyone else: Go for it!
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
(Cover picture courtesy of Fic Talk.)
Benny Imura couldn’t hold a job, so he took to killing.
In the zombie-infested world Benny has grown up in, teenagers must work once they turn fifteen—or they’ll lose their food rations. Benny isn’t interested in taking on the family business, but he reluctantly agrees to train as a zombie killer with his boring big brother, Tom. He expects a dull job, whacking zombies for cash. What he discovers is a vocation that will teach him what it really means to be human.
As his worldview is challenged again and again by the lessons he learns from Tom, Benny is forced to confront another horrifying reality: Sometimes the most terrible monsters are human.
Critically acclaimed author Jonathon Maberry crafts a terrifying future vision of a zombie apocalypse, brought to life through the rich emotional struggles of a teenager trying to find his place in a tumultuous new world.
At first, it seemed like Rot & Ruin was going to be a lot like The Return Man. It was in some ways, but Jonathan Maberry focused more on the human aspect and how people would deal with the dead suddenly rising rather than a huge conspiracy for a cure. I smell conspiracy in the future books, but Rot & Ruin was a surprisingly human take on a zombie apocalypse.
For the first half of the book I wanted to punch Benny for calling his brother Tom a coward and hating him. It was such a relief when Tom took on Benny as a reluctant apprentice and brought him out into the Rot & Ruin beyond the safe fence of the community. The wastelands beyond the community are an interesting take on what would happen to humanity in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Benny meets people who believe zombies are divine and people who treat them sadistically and has to reconcile his burning hatred for zombies. It’s an interesting character arc that I really can’t complain about.
The plot took a couple of interesting twists, but one thing I didn’t like was the Deus ex Machina at the end. Yes, it was nice because the character in question was the best character of the novel, but I would have liked something a little less cliché. Either way, it was still great to see Benny’s relationship with Tom improve and for him to realize his growing feelings for Nix, his best friend.
Overall, Rot & Ruin was a great book that had a fresh perspective on how people would deal with a zombie apocalypse. I can’t wait to read the sequel: Dust & Decay.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.