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Book Review: The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
the-zombie-survival-guide-max-brooks-book-cover The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks was disappointing. Although it was informative and a worthwhile read if you’ve ever contemplated or seriously thought about what you’d do in a zombie apocalypse, it lacked any real hooks to keep the reader captivated.

The Zombie Survival Guide is split into sections, covering: The Undead, Weapons and Combat Techniques, Defence, being On The Run and going On The Attack.

The is a section of Recorded Attacks – evidence of zombie outbreaks from history that were both fascinating and enjoyable to read.

UK readers may dislike the Americanism in The Zombie Survival Guide. However to be fair, Brooks did address this in an Author’s Note right at the beginning of the book.

Overall The Zombie Survival Guide is worth a read, mainly for the Recorded Attacks section at the end of the book.

Brooks also wrote World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, which I have reviewed here.

Review soon,

Antony

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Sunday 12 July 2015

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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Sunday 1 February 2015

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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Monday 11 August 2014

Book Review: Zombie/Apocalypse 2012: A Political Horror Story by Ian McClellan

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
zombie-apocalypse-2012-political-horror-story-ian-mcclellan McClellan shows great promise with his first book: Zombie/Apocalypse 2012: A Political Horror Story. It’s a story about a zombie apocalypse in the USA, told through the perspective of an ordinary guy. The guy in question is Lance, an unemployed factory worker who feels the media and politicians are all failing to take control of the situation and work together to resolve it.

McClellan says about his book:
“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…”

Lance lives with his wife whose obsessed with conspiracy theories. Needless to say, she doesn’t survive for long. Afterwards Lance gets scratched by a zombie, takes a load of antibiotics and locks himself in his basement.

After sometime Lance feels better and decides to journey to C.D.C to share his experience with them. He thinks that he maybe the key to a cure for the zombie plague. Lance and Larry (his neighbour & new best friend) set out on their journey.

The plot is well thought out and captivating but left one major plot hole: why do the zombies sniff the main character and then turn away? What’s different about him now? This is a source of frustration for the reader on finishing the book.

There were good peaks and troughs of action interlaced with the political aspect of the book. The politics didn’t appeal to me. The politicians were American and I’d never heard of most of them. Luckily, the politics was sparse and mainly focused on the frustration with bureaucracy and political correctness.

Zombie/Apocalypse 2012: A Political Horror Story is a throughly entertaining read. McClellan writing style is wonderful; the words seemed to flow off the pages making it was a joy to read.

The title of the book is too long to stand out to the average reader and will ultimately date the story. The cover design is completely unappealing and off-putting. However put the title and cover design aside, overall Zombie/Apocalypse 2012: A Political Horror Story is a great zombie story. One that is an easy read, at times very funny and is well worth reading.

Zombie/Apocalypse 2012: A Political Horror Story by Ian McClellan is available to buy on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony

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Sunday 10 November 2013
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