dead hunger:the flex sheridan chronicle
591495
action pack from beginning to end ,reallydint want it to end ,mr.sheridan is a really good writer,cant wait for  the next one in the series
2312161
A must read for those dealing with health issues and understanding how the government may have put you in that condition. The hunger may be driven by more than the need to fuel the body.
3862654
I found this book by doing research on one of the authors that I found in a different anthology  Dan Fiore (Bete Noire Issue #20). Simply put this dude can write.and eat! While doing research on him I found theres a whole Instagram account devoted to him eating. Now when I read his stuff my inner monologue has food coming out of his mouth, its the best. Check him out on Instagram at Fioreouseating.
4545010
Mortality by Kellie Sheridan was another fast paced great read.  Will be looking forward to the next title in this series.  Received courtesy of Net Galley.
3472740
TIJ was awesome. Is this real life? Benjamin, I want to meet you. Keep up the good work tomatoes inc.!
2224473
I saw this book when Robin Bradford (@Tuphlos) tweeted about it during her #collectiondevelopment. The tweet included the cover and "So if the The Purge was real, on tv, and a gameshow? Great cover. Netgalley." Now, I rarely go on Netgalley, especially for new-to-me authors. I usually only pick up books for authors I already know. This however, really caught my eye and I was in the mood for something completely different, so I decided to take the chance.

The Park is a really interesting idea. Basically, Evenstad Media has "randomly" chosen 12 people from 12 completely different backgrounds to play the game. They are put into a trailer park, each with a medallion that can be used as a weapon of some kind. Some are stronger than others, but there is a timer that will prevent them from reusing the weapon too quickly. The more powerful weapon, the longer between each use. There are also other of these medallions hidden around the park. Whoever is still standing at the end of the game, wins.

Now, I haven't seen The Purge or any of the movies like that. I have read The Hunger Games, and this kinda has that feel to me. 12 players and play until there is one survivor. There are no children. The players are all adults. From the age of low 20's to mid 80's and everywhere in between. There is no preparing for the these games. The players just wake up there with a note pinned to their chest. The media corporation has more up their sleeve than just a gruesome reality show.

The story is told entirely from journal entries from the players, emails from the executives at Evenstad Media, and blog posts of people watching this game show. This is the part of the story that I didn't like. I think I would've enjoyed the story more if it were told in a more traditional fashion, I might have enjoyed it more. I just didn't feel that close to any of the characters and I think it was because of the journal entries. We really don't get to see actual interactions between each of the characters. We don't get to see any of the action scenes. There is also very little dialogue.

All in all, this was a very interesting story. It was a new take on science fiction and thriller that I think has some promise. I'm just not sure if this type of storytelling is meant for me. There are a total of three books out, but no more available on Netgalley. I might read the other books, but I'm not sure. I'm just a very character driven reader and I didn't connect the characters as much as I would like. It was a page turner though. I would recommend that if this is something that sounds interesting to you, that you check it out. At the time of this posting, it is a free ebook download, so you can't beat that price to check out this story.

**Book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley. This review is my opinion and was not requested or provoked in anyway.
4809201
I love the writings of Joe Lansdale. Two of his books -&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Bottoms/dp/0307475263/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Bottoms</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/A-Fine-Dark-Line/dp/0446691674/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">A Fine Dark Line</a>&nbsp;- are in my TOP TEN of all time.

I liked "Dead in the West" very much. It reminded me of Saturday movies (something Lansdale mentions in his introduction). Cowboys, bad guys, lady in distress, the kid, zombies all mixed together in a  rip-roaring funfest.

Reverend Zeb Mercer makes a sympathetic, warped protagonist, like a lot of Lansdale's leading men. Mud City was the perfect little east Texas town for zombies to attack.

If you remember the good old days of Western television shows and movies with nostalgia (and you like zombies), I think you will enjoy this novella of Lansdale's.
346305
Corn whiskey is why the Confederates were starving at war's end.

OK, maybe not.

Biofuels drive up corn prices today, right? Well, something similar happened during the Civil War. Roswell Guards Capt. Tom Edward King was wounded in the ankle while teaching his Yankee counterparts the Bull Run Quick Step at Bull Run. He was hospitalized at Richmond and then returned to Roswell, Georgia, to recuperate. Never one to be idle, he began writing Jeff Davis. Apparently some Confederates were more interested in their own economic welfare than that of the Confederacy and it infuriated Capt. Roswell. You see, some folks were disposed towards distilling the corn rather than consuming it as food. Picking up his pen, he wrote that the "gates of hell" were driving up the price of corn and causing a severe shortage. "Unless a stop is put to this criminal waste of the staff of life, it will soon be out of the power of the families of our volunteers to get any and there will be suffering." Capt. Roswell was not alone in this indignation and Georgia Gov. Joseph Brown was also concerned. Before Davis acted, Brown issued a proclamation on Feb. 28, 1862 prohibiting the distillation of spirits and to conserve corn for consumption.

I got the above information from The Women Will Howl by Debbie Petite. Told the story in her childhood by her father, it has always captivated her.  As an adult, Petite journeys to Roswell, Georgia to study the story of Sherman's forcible deportation of women and children mill workers from Roswell, Georgia to Indiana. After familiarizing herself with Roswell, Petite spends years near Washington where she has access to the Library of Congress and the National Archives.  Additional information is culled from various the Filson Club in Louisville, Kentucky, the Military History Institute in Carlisle Barracks and many other sources.

The mill workers were providing cloth that would be made into uniforms for the Confederate Army and Sherman would not have it. Petite discusses the rules of war and Sherman's gradual progression from restraint in 1862 to hurt 'em all he can by 1864. The mill workers were unfortunates whose activity had to be curtailed.  Sherman did it by first declaring them treasonous and then deporting them to northern states where they were left to fend for themselves.  Not all survived.  For a battle and bullet type of guy who avoids reading social history, this has been one fascinating book.
3575638
Conor McMahon's "DEAD MEAT" has everything a zombie fan craves & more. This future cult classic has firmly taken its place among my top ten favorite zombie films of all time.
1908482
I'm not quite done, but I've really enjoyed reading I, Zombie.  It's great to see the story from the perspective of the zombie and the struggles that one might go through as they adjust to life as a flesh eater.

I saw a movie a while back called "AAAAAHHH, Zombies" that was also a play on things from a zombie perspective.  I'd like to see this book made in to a movie as well.  I think the collection of various life stories would play out well on the screen.
4847454
Great book, can't wait to finish the series. If you liked Hungers Games this is a must read. Hope you enjoy
1443289
This book was amazing action packed with more things. Victor's go back into the games. The 7th hunger games. The third Quarter Quell.
445902
With this very readable (humorous) and practical guide, Erik has provider a useful primer for the national network of foodbanks of Feeding America and the 60,000 food cupboards, pantries and meal sites who are truly committed to going the next mile in the fight against hunger and the fight for healthy nutrition to improve the lives of so many millions of Americans who have too few resources to fulfill their food needs. Thank you Erik for the gift of your knowledge, experience and dedication to ending hunger in America. I'm giving each of my senior staff and Board members a copy of your Hunger into Health book for their enjoyment and inspiration. - Bernie Beaudreau, Connecticut
92729
Rush to the BUY button! This is a perfect Saturday book. All the characters from "No Substitute for Murder" are present in "No Substitute for Money". It was good to see them. I look forward to seeing them in "No Substitute for Maturity" soon.

This story is pretty action packed. Poor Cheese Puff is threatened, substance abuse hits home, careers challenge romance, the school computer is hacked, injury and/or death seem eminent and money trouble sounds all too familiar. I love these guys.

K Agle  3-16-14
2121578
World hunger is a problem in our society today. In the U.S. alone, billions of pounds of food are wasted every year while in other places, thousands of people are dying due to malnutrition. If the power is in your hand, how would you fix this problem? Is it ever possible to end world hunger and create a utopian society?

In the novel HUNGRY by H. A. Swain, 17-year-old Thalia Apple has lived in the Inner Loop her whole life. As a result of a war, food no longer exists in the Loops.  Everyone takes medication to ward off hunger. Her parents both work for the company that develops the drugs for the society. Even with the medication specialized for her metabolism, Thalia begins to feel hungry. She starts to take more medication but the growling doesnt stop. One day, she meets a boy, Basil, from the Outer Loop who is part of an underground movement to bring food back. Through him, she learns that there is an entire world outside her own little Inner Loop and there are people who are also hungry.

 People who live in the Inner Loop are considered to be privies who have unlimited access to the medication. People from the Outer Loop don't have that chance and there are still hungry people among them. Thalia finds this out after the leader of Basils underground group gets arrested. Knowing the ugly truth about the Inner Loop and what her parents have started, Thalia and Basil set out to find the only thing that will quell the hunger, and soon become the most wanted people in the Loops. They end up at a place they never heard of --- a whole new world where food is still growing. This is whole different society than the Loops but Thalia quickly learns that different is not the same as better.

HUNGRY is Swains first book for teens and she did a beautiful job with it. Swains word choice makes the world of HUNGRY sound so real that readers can imagine themselves living there. Swain targets a hot topic, so after reading the book, readers will be left with something to think about --- theyll be inspired to make some changes in their lives to help save the world before its too late.

This is one of a few books that have made me question our society today. Whenever I wasn't reading, I would think deeply about world hunger. It might sound very cheesy, but this book really helped me look at the world differently and also inspired me to make some small changes that hopefully will make a big impact to the world.

Reviewed by Thanh Tu N.
1794479
In "The Disaster Diaries", author Sam Sheridan uses a series of fictional disasters as the connecting thread to weave together his exploration of the skills that might be needed to survive a world in chaos.  Sheridan writes in a style reminiscent of Curt Gentry's book&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Last-Days-of-the-Late-Great-State-of-California/dp/089174021X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Last Days of the Late, Great State of California</a>.  Where Gentry used a catastrophic earthquake to look at California's politics, economy and history, Sheridan uses an earthquake as a jumping off point for a ongoing series of disasters and to find out what skills might be needed to live in a post-apocalyptic world.

He begins with The Big One, a quake that devastates Southern California -- something that may happen in our lifetimes.  What should a family do?  Make sure their house is earthquake safe, have food and water for 30 days and have a "go bag" filled with essentials.  OK so far.  But what do you do when the zombies show up????  This is where the book becomes fun.

Sheridan is faced with a series of survival situations that just keep getting worse.  Earthquake, followed by zombies (how is it you can kill the undead by shooting them?), followed by marauding gangs, an alien invasion, cannibals and then a new ice age.  Sheridan uses his doomsday story as an opportunity to build survival skills.  He starts with fitness & strength training (he almost had me on the phone to join a local health club) and then looks at learning how to shoot, wilderness medicine, cars (stealing them & driving them aggressively), learning how to live off the land, desert survival, knife fighting, hunting, and arctic survival.  He also looks at dealing with mental strain.  As he notes, "If you see a family member turn into a zombie, or a town melted by aliens, you're going to be traumatized".

Since I already know how to fight off zombies (I have 21 & 23 year old sons!), the sections of the book that I enjoyed the most involved Sheridan exploring how people perform (or fail to perform) under stressful conditions.  What is the solution for getting things right when under pressure?  Training, training & more training.  Sheridan also understands that doing things accurately is more important than doing them quickly, hence his mantra, "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast".  And this is true in all things, not just alien invasion.  Sheridan notes that in emergency situations many people are unable to even dial 911 (I've experienced this myself).  I also enjoyed his discussion of the need to develop situational awareness.  More than a skill to help deal with disasters, this is a something that can prevent them in the first place.

It would be easy for a book like this to go off the deep end and turn paranoid, but Sheridan's humanity is his strength.  The people he talks with, people who know their way around a gun or knife, all believe in being prepared for the worst but stress that the best way to win a fight is to avoid it.  Sheridan understands that being afraid, that hiding in a bunker or living in fear the unwashed will come steal your food, is not "living" and is not necessary.  Sheridan believes in people and that we are at our best when we work together -- cannibals excluded.

"The Disaster Diaries" is fascinating, both light-hearted and deadly serious.  Sheridan shows a sharp eye for detail, nuance and character as he interviews people and completes a number of training courses.  He writes the non-fiction portion of his book as well as he writes the fun, interconnecting disaster story.

To paraphrase drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs, this book has zombie-foo, alien-foo, desert-foo and artic-foo.  I give it two thumbs up.
1151068
Zoe Chase has quit her job at the Azalea National Bank and purchased a rundown diner. She also turned an airstream bus into a mobile food truck.  Zoe gave up her apartment and is living in one room at the diner while she gets it all renovated.  The food truck will bring in much needed cash until the diner is ready to open. Boyfriend Tommy Lee is not happy with Zoes new career choice.  Neither is her mother.

Zoe finds Terry of Terrys Tacky Tacos in her food truck.  He is not just waiting for her to continue the argument of earlier that day  he is dead.  The police think they have found their prime suspect.  Zoe is not going to let the police work this case alone.  She is determined to get herself off the suspect list. With help from Ollie (a homeless man) and Delia (a waitress) she plans on running her food business.  Zoe had better be very careful or she could end up deep fried.

Things to ponder:  Who set Zoe up for the murder of Terry Bannister?  Why was Tommy Lee with Betty from the bank?  Does Miguel have a girlfriend?  What does the man wearing a ski mask and holding a gun want?

This is a great start to a fun new series. I could not put this book down.  The protagonist is a smart resourceful woman.  She has a dream and plans on making it happen.  I like the friends she makes along the way.  They all pitch in to make a go of her new food business.  This was an entertaining read.  I happily turned the pages to find out whodunit.  This author has another hit series.  J.J. Cook, also known as Joyce and Jim Lavene, are two of my very favorite authors.  So, if you like your mystery to go, then you should be reading Death On Eat Street.

FTC Full Disclosure - A copy of this book was sent to me by the author in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.