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Book Review: Cell by Stephen King

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
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Cell by the remarkable Stephen King is an addictive read, which is a must read to anyone who likes disaster stories or zombie stories.

In Cell at 3:03pm on the 1st of October a Pulse is emitted that is transmitted to everyone with a mobile phone. They become zombie-like and start attacking those who didn’t have a mobile phone and therefore weren’t affected.

Clay is a young artist who has just made his big break. He is away from home and just out of an important meeting when the pulse strikes. Minutes after The Pulse, Clay meets Tom, a gay man. They join together to survive chaos and attacks.

Clay is adamant that he must get home to find out what has happened to his wife and son.

Clay’s son has a mobile phone, but it’s usually under his bed. He has to hope that this was the case when The Pulse struck and that somehow his wife survived the proceeding chaos and attacks. Tom joins him.

Clay and Tom are first joined by Alice, a 15 year old girl and later by Jordan, a scholarship student from a private school.

Clay and crew start to see changes in the zombie-like people’s behaviour. First they start to flock, all drawn together and moving in certain patterns. The zombie-like people come out during the day, but disappear at night.

Clay and crew destroy a flock resting at night. They later learn that the flocks have a shared intelligence and communicate through telepathy. The flocks know who Clay and his comrades are and what they did.

Can Clay reach home? And if so, what will be the fate of his wife and son?

The characters were likeable, had depth and the reader comes to care about them. The description was clear and concise, enabling the reader to imagine scenes perfectly – adding suspense. The thrilling plot was utterly riveting from the first word until the last.

I read this book in just a few days, despite being exceptionally busy. I just couldn’t put it down. It is without a doubt a King classic.

My only criticism of Cell was that it was too short. Cell is a total of 473 pages, meaning it is about the average size of a novel. But having read the mammoth-sized novels The Stand and Under The Dome both by King, I would have loved Cell to be of that length.

Cell is an absolutely excellent read. You can buy Cell on Amazon and at all good bookshops.

Review soon,

Antony

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Ebook Review: Killing The Dead by Richard Murray

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
Killing-The-Dead-Book-Cover-Richard-Murray Ryan has just thanked the man he has murdered for the pleasure he got from taking his life, when an incessant banging comes from his front door. He opens the door to Lilly, a frightened woman who is being chased by zombies. She explains that the world is being taken over by the living dead.

Then Lilly discovers Ryan’s secret hobby – killing the living. We discover that Ryan is a serial killer from the North of England and that he believes his best chance of survival in this new world of The Undead is to be part of a group. Lilly agrees to be part of his group – but with rules and conditions.

Ryan and Lilly then set off on an action-packed adventure, being chased by zombies as they search for somewhere safe.

The concept in Killing The Dead is brilliant. A serial killer in a zombie apocalypse. It’s great to read a zombie apocalypse story set in Britain, written by a British Writer.

Ryan’s character was fascinating. Cold and logical but still likeable. The other characters felt two dimensional and lacked development – but this was probably due to the relative short length of the novella format. I think the story would have been better as a novel.

Ryan’s character was so captivating, that his perspective was enough to make the reader want to read on. The use of hooks would have benefited the story. As would the use shorter sentences for action scenes, which would have added to the readers sense of tension.

Killing The Dead had good description and perfect pacing, however the ending was a bit abrupt and left the reader with no sense of conclusion or satisfaction. I have since discovered that this novella is part of a series – it’s good to know that more of the story will be told.

A lack of editing let Killing The Dead down. There were sentences that didn’t make sense due to missed or wrong words, a few grammatical inaccuracies and similarities that just didn’t work.

Overall, you’ll enjoy Killing The Dead by Richard Murray, which is available to download for free (at time of writing this review) on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony

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Book Review: World War Z – An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
world-war-z-book-cover I bought World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War after watching the World War Z film. I loved the film and was looking forward to the book. But it’s taken me over a year to read it.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is written in an interview style, interviewing people from across the world, their memories unfolding what happened in the fictional zombie war. I had a huge problem with this style for two reasons.

Firstly, the reviews were set post World War Z. This meant that the reader knows from the outset that the characters being interviewed would survive, even if they be damaged physically or emotionally (which was usually apparent at the outset of the interview).

Secondly, there were so many different characters interviewed that I simply didn’t care for any of them. When the reader finds it difficult to connect with an ever-changing cast of characters it makes it difficult for you to care about their loss of family members, friends, colleagues, etc.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is well researched. Brooks has considered the politics, culture, society and economic operations of each country his interviewer visits. He demonstrates his exceptional knowledge of traditional warfare. The plot starts with the initial actions countries would likely take to a Zombie War. When these inital reactions don’t work Brooks moves the plot on to more extreme actions.

Brooks explores the entire globe (and beyond) through the interviews showing how the human race overcome the threat of extinction by coming together and working together. Humanity working together differently and creatively. The ending of the book is satisfactory; filled with hope for humanity, but is a little over sentimental for the genre.

Some people will love World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks; others will hate it. I neither loved or hated it. If anything it was mediocre and unexceptional.

We’ve all imagined what we’d do in a zombie apocalypse and for this reason alone I still want to read The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks is available to buy on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony

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Book Giveaway: Zombie/Apocalypse 2012 by Ian McClellan

By Amazon, Books & Authors, The WebNo Comments
zombie-apocalypse-2012-political-horror-story-ian-mcclellan Zombie/Apocalypse 2012: A Political Horror Story by Ian McClellan is a zombie tale with a political background story- not from a left or right minded perspective, but from that of an average American who feels left behind by the system. It is the tale of a regular guy- an unemployed factory worker- in the first days of the end of the world, a time in which the ways of doing things have become muddled between pre and post apocalypse.

I’ve got one copy of the book to giveaway to one lucky reader. All you have to do is comment or send me an email on my Contact page saying you want to be entered into the draw. The deadline for entries is Saturday 14th September 2013 @ 13:00. The winner will be randomly selected by myself, notified through email and I’ll post the name of the winner on the blog.

McClellan says that the book offers an alternative insight into the state of today’s politics:
“My book is a funny and entertaining look at the politics of the zombie apocalypse. Hopefully, it can get people asking why politicians keep fighting each other instead of doing something for the American people, and why the media keep asking all the wrong questions.”

Zombie/Apocalypse 2012: A Political Horror Story by Ian McClellan has been named ‘Best Indie Zombie Book’ by Zombie Guide Magazine. I’m getting a copy to read and review and I can’t wait. If you love zombies, politics or both enter the giveaway now.

Blog soon,

Antony

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