A Solid Zombie Novel - A Solid Story
588153
I'm giving this book five stars not because it's an action packed zombie novel with all the horror and violence one would expect, but because it's a very fun story with solid characters that are compellingfin beginning to end.
Military fiction is hit or miss in my experience. Either the technical description is to think and strangles the pace of the narrative or its but detailed enough leaving holes in the story. Stephen Knight strikes a very good balance between the two, maintaining a fast paced story while providing enough description to make the military men believable.

A solid recommendation for anyone who enjoys action horror.
934190
Dead Living begins with a normal workday for Joe, a forklift driver.  However, his normal day quickly becomes very abnormal as one of the employees is bitten.

Receiving a call to inform him his wife is in labour, he speeds towards the hospital, desperate to be there for the birth; however upon arriving at the hospital he finds himself in the middle of the zombapocalypse with staff and patients alike being bitten and hunted through the hospital corridors.

Escaping the hospital with his wife's best friend, newborn baby son and two strangers he meets in the hospital, they retreat to the woods to try and survive.

Flash-forward 13 years later and Joe and his son Aaron and friends are living a comfortable life in a secluded cabin, forging new relationships and venturing reluctantly out into the world to scavenge.  After a supply run turns deadly, Joe's son Aaron finds himself alone in a world over-run by the undead.

Another flash-forward and Aaron is a young man, living alone in the middle of a city populated by walking corpses and by chance meets Samantha, an angry and isolated woman who trusts no one and takes her back to his haven among the dead.  However, Aaron has a secret that he is desperate to hide.

The first chapter of this book, focusing on the first day of the zombapocalypse is fast-paced, a little too much so.  Although the action drags you in, I didn't find the writing style to my liking and, to be honest, had a sinking feeling that I wouldn't enjoy this book.  Even after the first flash-forward I was a little bored, and although not tempted to give up, I still wasn't convinced this book would improve.

However, once I had reached lead-up to Samantha and Aaron meeting each other, things improved out of sight.  Suddenly I had to keep reading, and found myself lost in the story...

Aaron is definitely my favourite part of this book and as a character is extremely likable.  Sam was also well-drawn and her transformation from an abrasive tough young woman to a valuable member of the survivor community was interesting to see.

Now, I'm not a fan of romance in zombie books - it's a hard thing to pull off when the world is populated by walking corpses - it tends to distract me from the story itself and often results in eye-rolling of epic proportions and skim reading.  This one however is not too bad - sure there are some cheesy lines along the lines of `dying for you' and `follow you forever' - but it also brings some interesting ideas on how people born into an undead world learn about love and relationships.

As Zombie books go, this one has far less blood and gore than most I have read, but don't let this put you off - the focus is far more on the characters, storyline and survival.  The zombie / post-apocalyptic sub-genre was once the domain of a select few writers and readers, but over the past few years there has been a glut of new writers and new books, which makes it difficult to write a stand-out book.  However, with Dead Living, Glenn Bullion has given it a damn good try and for me it is a success.
700079
I wasn't sure if this would be considered a zombie story when this began, and its still not clear. The good news is that there is a shelf life for the virus (is it a virus? Not sure of that either.) Anyway, good character development and intriguing storytelling. The plot was a little obvious but because some characters had been killed off, the ending wasn't a sure thing, which I appreciated. Sometimes it's better to not have a happy ending. However it sounds like there is more to this story, and because the author made us likeable characters to read about, I will certainly check it out.
4676139
In Zone One, Colson Whitehead enters a very crowded genre of zombie/ post-apocalyptic survival stories. It's a brave gesture, since the basic premise has already been told in a dizzying variety of ways across books and movies. His approach is to generously intersperse the plot with flashbacks and observations about society at large from the protagonist's point of view.

The main character is named Mark Spitz (how he got this nickname is revealed in the book). He is one of a number of survivors from the "plague" who are eventually gathered in to larger groups bent on reclaiming land from the hordes of mindless zombies roaming the earth. One of the biggest projects is reclaiming parts of New York City (ie. Zone One). Sent in as part of a 3-person team of civilians to sweep reclaimed areas for "straggler" zombies, he spends much of his time reflecting on his past and the ways in which the current world continues to remind him of his past.

This element brings out both the strengths and weaknesses of Whitehead's writing style. It is refreshing to see a book in this genre which looks at the occurrences on a deeper level, and which reminds us that being surrounded by zombies is not normal, no matter how used to it we've become as an audience. On the other hand, Mark Spitz's reminiscings are not particularly engaging nor insightful, so it is hard to feel a strong connection with the character. The present world he lives in is not very well fleshed-out either, which may be a function of how much of the book is devoted to anecdotes from the past (these take up roughly half of the book).

Overall, I think this book is an enjoyable read, but it may not be appealing to hard-core zombie story or horror fans.
2919644
I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tom grew up in the Districts, a community walled-in and safe from the Plagued States of America. When the outbreak first started, before the walls went up, there was absolute chaos, and in that mess Tom's sister was bitten and turned. Ever since, Tom has been blamed by his father and his brother Gary for what happened. Twice a year, Tom and Gary travel to Biter's Hill, a trading outpost where zombies are brought to be logged and sold as mindless slaves. There, they pour over dozens of log books, searching for their sister's face. Their father would give anything to have his baby girl back, still clinging to the hope of finding a cure. It's during this trip that Tom discovers Penelope, a strange half-human, half-zombie. It's also during this trip that the zombies break lose and overrun the outpost. Suddenly, Tom finds himself stranded in Midamerica with Penelope and a band of other survivors. Tom hopes that with Penelope's help he can find his sister and maybe assemble a rescue mission before the zombies close in and tear them limb from limb.

"Plagued: The Midamerica Zombie Half-Breed Experiment" is an interesting take on the whole zombie apocalypse craze. We typically think of zombies as shells of the person they once were. In "Plagued", however, there are half-breeds, zombies that have been experimented on and administered a possible cure. Although they are not brought back from the dead, they are clearly more human than the full-on zombies, kind of like R in "Warm Bodies".

The writing was sometimes a little hard to follow, but the plot was interesting and fast-paced. I thought the characters needed to be a little more developed; I liked Tom and Penelope, sometimes Hank and Peske, but I didn't really care about anyone else. Like, when a member of the survivors died, I just kind of shrugged and said 'eh', and kept reading. It didn't really hit me too hard like the death of a character normally does.

Oh, and I really liked the cover - very simple with a gorgeous model (even though she is half-dead) and helped me picture Penelope in the story.

The book was quite short and made for a quick read. Although it didn't end with a cliffhanger, I'm still curious to see where book 2 will pick up and where the story will go from there. Not bad!

Find this review and others on my book blog: theultimatebookgeek.wordpress.com
2331166
Odium is a tight little zombie apocalypse novel about a woman named Nina. The story starts off with our protagonist in what I would consider a town enclave, but all is not rosy on this side of the fence. Right at the beginning were privy to Ninas thoughts and we learn that life behind the relatively safety of the walls is secure against deaders. Unfortunately, undead humans trying to rip brains out of your skull aren't the biggest worry for Nina, but the sh*t stains that rule the town are.

Nina leaves the enclave with a young teenager in tow, and the story follows them as they meet another band of survivors, discover a group called the Forgotten (as*holes as well), and deal with the lies and deceit that are part of the human condition.

This story is obviously set up to be part of a series, the ending leaving off with many questions unanswered. Besides the current plot still left open, we're left to wonder how the Zombie Apocalypse started, exactly what happened between Nina and her husband Ben, and everyone elves stories to boot. Not a bad thing per se, but with a novel this short I think it would have benefited from having more to it.

My biggest issue with the writing was that many of Nina's decisions seemed quickly reached, without due thought put into them. The POV is told from her view, so we get a running commentary on most everything with Nina's voice. I honestly really liked this about the story, Nina has a wicked sense of humor, and is pretty down to earth, even while caving in some zed head.

What bothered me were situations like at the very beginning. When Emily is about to be booted out the town, Nina decides to go with her. We get a quick glimpse why from her thoughts (and it's more thoroughly explained later) but I felt it was too rushed. Perhaps more back drop should have been written out, just a few pages of right before the incident, showing up the squalor and unhappy citizens or something.

Also, she caught feelings for Mickey pretty fast. I don't mean "omigawdIloveyoulet'shavebabies" thankfully, but they go from shotgun in the face to trusting in two blinks and a shake. Sure, there were zombies at the door, but from choosing the lesser of two evils you don't start trusting immediately.

There was one error I saw, on page 41 Nina and Emily are in a house and this happens:
"Its dark in here, and my hand roots around the walls until I find a switch and flip it."

And then on page 162:
"The weirdest thing of all about the town? The lights: traffic lights, street lights, store lights. I haven't seen a light bulb on for years."

From what I gleaned from the novel the Zombie Apocalypse started a few years ago (2-4 maybe?). So what's that first house doing with electricity anyways? I looked again, but I didn't see mention of any generators or anything.

All in all, I found this to be a 3.5 star read (rounding up!). While Nina making decisions in a manner that seemed flippant and not well thought out bothered me, I was still intrigued. Why do maggots and bugs avoid zombie flesh but bacteria is obviously having no trouble? The zombies are all pretty much rotting away, is there an end in sight? How on earth did this happen anyways? Will Nina save the townsfolk from the Forgotten, end up saving humans from themselves?

Looking forward to the next one.
4326097
A solid entry into the written works of Zombies.  Having lived in the Sacramento area, the author does a nice job of describing parts that I've seen, from the run down to the up scale.  The first two chapters are a bit of an info dump, but that's to be expected when a new author is trying to show us his world and then toss us in.  The characters are believable, with none showing themselves to be perfectly good or evil.  These are men, and in some cases still boys yet to grow up, just doing a job and facing an unbelievable event.

The author makes the wise choice of showing the events only from the Knights' perspective, leading the reader to wonder just like the characters what is going on, what's next, is anyone else doing better than they are?  It heightens the suspense to not know how the rest of the area is doing except what the Knights' see with their own eyes.  You don't know if over the next hill, or around the next corner is another hoard or perhaps a safe area.

A few errors in word choice and grammar, but that's to be expected for an author's first work.  But the few minor errors do not detract from what is an overall enjoyable read about a popular subject.  If the author continues the series, I'd be happy to have it on my shelf next to World War Z and the other great zombie works.
3955965
As far as zombie books go, this one is quite good. At least I think it is, I haven't read a lot in this genre.

I like the zombies in this book because they make a lot more sense than the familiar living dead portrayed elsewhere. These almost make sense. The characters in the book are good, believable, and have unique personalities. The world is fairly well thought out and detailed. There's a lot of action, most of which is a fun ride.

There are a couple of things I didn't like. I hate when people who are dying explain the reasons for their actions or tell the survivors some great secret that will push them to pursue a hopeless (ha!) cause. There are certain aspects of the story that don't really make sense, and this is not necessary for the working of the plot. Lastly, the book leaves many things unresolved to  try to prompt the reader to read the next book in the series. A good book doesn't need that, the reader will love the characters and their world enough to continue without the lack of satisfaction of a good ending.
3182050
Walking Shadows is the story of what happens after the zombie apocolypse.  While not a pure zombie story, the basic premise of the book is about the survivors of a zombie outbreak.  Think of The Stand meets Dawn of the Dead.

What I really liked about this book is that the characters all have their own demons to deal with (figuratively speaking).  The author did a great job with how the characters interact with each other as well as their new enviornment.  I also appreciated that the main protagonists weren't always the best looking, or most heroic people.  (That's the easy way out - and a way that too many authors take)

*SPOILER ALERT*

While there are zombies in this book, they die off rather quickly once there's no one left to infect.  Like many other viruses, it dies off without a viable host.  For the majority of the book it's more about picking up the pieces and moving on than it is about zombies running rampant.  This deals more with adjusting to a world without people while trying to procure food, water, and shelter while looking for other survivors
117640
This is an awesome book, picking right up where "Apocalypse Atlanta" left off. The author continues following three separate characters in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse- Master Gunnery Sergeant "Gunny" Peter Gibson, leading the survivors of a Georgia National Guard unit; Jessica, the single mother trying to protect her daughter; and Daryl "DJ", who finds himself in a leadership position among a band of bikers trying to ride out the zombie storm. The author also introduces some new characters, including the former Army Ranger turned executive bodyguard who's sweet on Jessica.

There is plenty of action (like all zombie novels), but I also appreciate some other things in this story. First, it's clear that the author has a military background, because he gets all the little details right, from ranks to firearms to military terminology. Second, the dialogue sounds realistic and natural, showing personalities of the different people involved. Finally, the author does a fantastic job with character development. For example, Jessica was adamantly opposed to firearms in the first book, grudgingly accepts that she needs to learn how to shoot. As the story develops, she's carrying not one but two pistols, and her proficiency with both steadily improves.

This is a captivating story and I strongly recommend it. Make sure you have plenty of time available when you start to read it, because you won't want to put it down.
2176092
One of the better books in the Zombie genre!  I'm sorry there isn't a sequel yet . . . Who knows?
3938907
I love this book, no lie.  It has become my favorite zombie novel ever written.  The characters are, for the most part, three dimensional.  You start to really care about these characters and want them to make it to the end of the novel alive.  While perhaps a tad unnecessarily sexual, it also adds a tinge of reality to the book, and does not always end happily for every character.  And not everyone gets to survive to the end. However, there are some typos that could easily have been fixed before publishing and some of the "twists" are fairly predictable, I still HIGHLY recommend this book.  Free on the Kindle is a fan-freakin-tastic bargain for this tale of several characters woven together.
1213253
This is not your usual zombie tome and seems directed to more of a female audience, but that is not a slight.  This tale just doesn't spend a lot of time dwelling on the blood and guts (or guns) and seems more interested in the development of the characters as they grow together as a family.  Stacey narrates from her perspective and she has a lot to say.  The tale of Kevin's courtship of Stacey is a great one and I really enjoyed not only the story being told, but also the back story of Stacey's life before the outbreak.  She is a girl who has already endured much pain and hardship before the zombies start roaming around but she has managed to keep her spirit as well.  She is not Wonder Woman and has her breakdown moments and anxieties, which simply makes her more believable.

For a horror story this book is not that scary and the zombies, though fierce and bloodthirsty, are remembered by the survivors as having once been human.  Props go out to Ms. Cline for coming up with a different vector for the disease than I have seen before.  In the end, not a barnburner of a book but still satisfying and the story left me hungry for more.  I hope she continues writing in this storyline.  Also, the story seemed kind of short for a novel, but maybe that was due to me not being able to put it down.
555806
I liked this story a lot.  The plot was interesting and well written. It also provided a nice dramatic timeline for its events and didn't go off into a weird "supernatural powers" tangent. A good read for zombie setting fans.
4931233
I have reviewed this book on Buyzombie.com awhile back and I think its about time I throw up an amazon review as well for this excellent zombie novel. I have read a lot of zombie novels and not very many of them even hold a candle to Domain of the Dead.

Iain McKinnon has an excellent writing style, using a masterful control of language to bring the reader into his world. The characters are real, and the author writes their dialogue in respect to each character's personality. The zombies are classic Romero style, slow and numerous. McKinnon's descriptions of the undead is something I find admirable, he uses his strong control of language to throw some really gruesome images of the undead at the reader. One of the best aspects of this novel is that the author goes into detail about how a zombie apocalypse can actually occur, and he describes in detail about how the undead came to be and what is the cause of their behaviour. This alone makes this novel stand out from everything else in this genre. The author took the time and effort to construct a viable and solid explanation to a zombie apocalypse and how a society (left in disarray) would truly react. The plot and background to this story is elaborate and well thought of.

This novel wins big points for atmosphere. There were points in this book where I felt a chill down my spine just from the claustrophobic atmosphere that this novel can project. I can't say that very many zombie novels have actually spooked me, but this one sure did.

 Are there any flaws to this intelligently written, horrifying piece of zombie terror? No, not really, unless if I were to be nit-picking.

I was a little sceptical when I saw yet another book with the "of the dead" in the title. But I see that it is suitable, because there is definitely a strong bond between this story and Romero's envisionment. Since Romero's classic 'Day of the Dead', he hasn't been able to produce anything quite as good as that and it has left zombie fans hungering for more. Well, if you are left hungry and are in need of some classic Romero-esque terror, than Domain of the Dead is the book that can definitely sate you.
2142018
This was a very good read.
The things I liked were:
Fresh, original characters, not the stereotypical "man on a mission" that so often leads this genre.
The story is told by two characters, Ali who is an independent, capable young female, and Joss who is a 14 year old male.
A fair amount of time was spent world building and explaining the characters back-stories. So much so that I felt connected to them by the time I finished the read.
Although this is a zombie book with kick butt action, it was not heavy on the gore.
It contains a wide range of emotions for the characters and readers a like. I'll be honest, I teared up a time or two.
The plot has a clear direction with a steady pace.
It comes in at 163 pages so it's not too short.
The (singular) thing that I did not like was:
It is a major cliffhanger.
I wanted to scream when I reached the last words which left them all hanging.
So do I recommend this book, Yes! I have already told all my zombie reading friends to grab this one, and if you love to read action packed, zombie reads with strong characters, then you may wish to grab this one too.
This was more then 'just' a zombie book, it's a story of survival.  It has hooked me in big time.
3948508
What happens when a virus spanning the globe reaches your home and turns ordinary people into mindless man-eating monsters?  Through the eyes of three very different characters, Red Hill explores the human condition when faced with unexpected and untold horrors.

The lives of three different people become intertwined when their world is ravaged by a virus that turns people into zombies!  Scarlet, a hardworking divorcee searching for her two daughters, Nathan, a young father trying to protect his only child, and Miranda, a college student trying to find refuge at her father's ranch along with her sister and their boyfriends are all pushed to their limits.

This was my first Jamie McGuire book and as a fan of The Walking Dead, I was really intrigued by the premise of this novel.  I can't help but compare the two storylines because they have several parallels.  However, what I did appreciate about Red Hill (and sadly, not something TWD offered) was the onset of the chaos.  We are introduced to Scarlet, Nathan, and Miranda prior to the zombie attacks so it allows the reader to witness their initial reactions to these events.

Jamie tells their story from all three points of view.  While typically this can be confusing or overwhelming, she was able to deftly examine the situation from all three perspectives all the while creating an exciting concurrent stream of action.  The story was not only well written, but the pacing keeps the reader engrossed as we try to figure out "what or who is next?"

The first half of the book is spent getting to know Scarlet, Nathan, and Miranda as their try to determine each their next move.  By the second half of the book, they all congregate and take refuge at Red Hill Ranch which is located outside the city.  This is where the story takes a different turn as three people with different priorities have to get to know each other, learn to trust each other, and work together for the safety of those left.

The thing I love about books like this (and shows like The Walking Dead) is that they make you question everything!  We all knows that zombies are make-believe, but WHAT IF.  What if we, as ordinary people, had to defend ourselves from something stronger than ourselves?  As individuals, we can say that we're all rational and logical.  As a group, we're more likely to be panicky and stupid.  Scarlet, Nathan, and Miranda don't have just zombies to fear.  How do you tell apart the good from the bad?  How do find the strength in yourself to do the things you know you need to do in order to protect yourself and those you love, even if it means doing things that are distasteful?  Our characters are forced to dig deep within themselves to face these realities.

While there is some romance, it's actually LOVE and it's many forms that takes center stage.  Love of a parent for their child/children, love for your partner, love for your sibling, love for humanity.  When the loss of life and family become commonplace, our characters begin to explore new relationships with one another proving once again that even when at odds, people need people!

While you expect there to be death, I found myself getting attached to these characters and emotionally reeling from certain losses. *shakes fist at Jamie McGuire* The ending, while hardly a happily-ever-after was realistic and fit in perfectly with the story.  There is so much more to Red Hill than I can possibly fit into a review.  It is not an easy read, but it was certainly worth it.  It is a captivating tale about people's capacity for courage, strength, perseverance, and love.  I'd recommend it to fans of contemporary, post-apocalyptic horror, and zombies.