Category Archives: Zombies

April 10, 2013 · 6:00 am

Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines

Peter Clines

 

I bought Ex-Heroes mainly because the blurbs by other authors on the cover were so impressive:

“The Avengers meets The Walking Dead with a large order of epic served on the side… I loved it!” – Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One

“Zombies? Check. Superheroes? Check. Awesome? Check. Ex-Heroes has it all. You’re in for a treat!” – Mira Grant, author of Feed

Those are two authors I really like, so I took their word for it. They didn’t let me down!

So basically there are some superheroes around – Stealth, Gorgon, Regenerator, Zzzap, and more. They’re kind of going around and helping out here and there, and then the zombie apocalypse hits and they get together to try to save as many people as they can. They set up a base in Los Angeles and try to protect the people there – from zombies, and from the local gang the Seventeens, who have been causing more trouble lately.

Good premise, right? Ex-Heroes wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it was a really good, quick read. There are a few chapters sprinkled throughout the book where you get a glimpse on the superheroes’ lives before they got powers, and what they were up to before the zombies popped up. I really liked seeing each of the different heroes and seeing what kind of cool powers they had, and I liked that they all had kind of an inner-struggle thing going on. Instead of a similarity to The Avengers like Ernest Cline says above, I’d actually say it reminded me more of the Watchmen. It felt gritty, which I liked. The heroes are all normal people underneath, who are equally as distraught about the zombie apocalypse as everyone else but who feel obligated to try to save humanity – even when some of humanity includes an annoying gang trying to take over now that there’s no society.

Some big epic things were revealed near the end, so I’m really looking forward to reading the sequel Ex-Patriots, which comes out on April 23rd.

Sarah Says: 3.5 stars

 

 

 

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March 30, 2013 · 2:30 am

The Return Man by V.M. Zito

v.m. zito

 

Well… I’m glad I got this from the library.

The Return Man has been on my radar for a long while now. I remember seeing the author featured in some article online, and then reading about this book and thinking it sounded like a cool idea. It got good reviews on Amazon, and I was tempted several times to buy it around Christmas but didn’t. Finally I got it from the library and I was really looking forward to it.

This is about Henry Marco, AKA “The Return Man”. When the zombie apocalypse hit, the Western U.S. was evacuated and left to the walking dead. Marco stayed, and is hired by survivors in the Safe States to track down their undead loved ones and put them at peace. But now Homeland Security has heard about him, and insist in his cooperation by taking a job that will bring him to California – back to his past, and back to where the zombie outbreak began.

I felt pretty “meh” the whole way through the book. I was entertained enough to keep reading I suppose, but I have the sense that I could have put it down at any point and not particularly cared if I came back to it or not. It takes a LONG time to start to connect to Marco, because you don’t really learn much about him until near the end. There’s one other main character, Wu, and he was bland as well.

I should mention some of the good points of the novel. There’s an overarching theme about grief in all its different forms, and the effect it can have on a person’s state of mind. Seeing Marco grieve for the loved ones he’s lost was a little touching, and it was interesting to see how he and a few other survivors deal with that. There’s also a slightly different twist on zombie lore, and it’s that emotional memories linger slightly in the zombie brain, leading zombies to wander to places that meant a lot to them when they were alive. Not with any intent or purpose, just a weird trick of the human brain that I thought was interesting.

Now for some of the complaints about the storyline itself… for instance, it’s said that Americans evacuated to the east, now called the Safe States, where the Mississippi River helps provide a defendable border. But at another part in the novel, Marco mentions that since walkers don’t breathe, they can walk underwater. Soooo… why does the river help as a defense against the zombies then? There were a couple little issues like that here and there. Also, Marco has apparently been a zombie-killer for hire for about four years but he seems to have a really hard time just taking down a single loner zombie without  having to struggle for his life. It got frustrating.

 I guess this book just wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. I like the unique approach the author took for a topic that’s dangerously close to being overdone, but it didn’t quite work for me.

Sarah Says: 2.5 stars 

 

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March 11, 2013 · 8:00 am

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

warm bodies by isaac marion

This is without a doubt the most hopeful zombie book I’ve ever read.

So, I should start off by saying that I saw Warm Bodies in the movie theater before I read the book. I didn’t really have a desire to read the book until I saw the movie and absolutely loved it. The book is a lot bleaker than the movie (no real funny moments in the book), but it was still awesome and thought-provoking. It’s surprising to read a zombie book that has so much heart.

So, the protagonist of Warm Bodies is R, who has surprisingly clear, concise, human-like thoughts for a zombie. He has no pulse, no memories, and no identity that he remembers, but he’s different from the other zombies – he likes chilling in his airplane home and listening to music. He’s living out his boring, frustratingly slow zombie life until one day when he and some buddies go hunting for food, he meets Julie… and saves her. First his prisoner and then his friend, Julie awakens something in R. But a zombie-human bond is new, with consequences neither of them sees coming.

R is a fantastic narrator, and seems more human than plenty of human characters in other non-zombie books. He doesn’t just have thoughts, he has DEEP thoughts. And feelings. I was really wary of reading a book about a thinking zombie, because the last one like that I tried I DNF’d it. But R was just so wonderful that he totally made it work. Some of my favorite quotes from R…

“But it does make me sad that we’ve forgotten our names. Out of everything, this seems to me the most tragic. I miss my own and I mourn for everyone else’s, because I’d like to love them, but I don’t know who they are.”

and

“I shrug, deciding that this gesture, while easy to abuse, does have its place. It may even be vital vocabulary in a world as unspeakable as ours.”

Julie is also a likable character. She, in a sense, is kind of the life of the book. She’s what sparks major changes in R. She’s full of feelings and hope and energy. In the movie they made her a little more angry, and I think I liked her better here. There were hints to a more depressing past, but her positivity shone through more. Of course we only see her through R’s eyes, so of course she seems remarkable.

Also, if you’ve seen the movie – the Boneys are a lot different. They kind of dumbed down the idea of the Boneys in the movie. I can’t really say whether I like the book or the movie more… I love them both, for different reasons. The movie was great and more light-hearted but still gave me all the feels. The book was more pensive and thorough and full of great quotes.

Anyways, this was a lovely book. It was original. It made me think, both about zombies and about human life in general. I really liked that it gave zombies more of a story, and that it put a new spin on why zombies like brains so much. I liked that it turned into a forbidden love story, because those are some of my favorite. It was philosophical, sweet, and had enough action in it to never get boring. I’m glad I bought it, because I can definitely see myself re-reading it in the future.

There’s a prequel called The New Hunger that I really want to read, but it’s only available in e-book format right now so I’m going to wait for the print version. And Isaac Marion has stated on his blog that he plans to write a sequel to Warm Bodies, which is really exciting.

 Sarah Says: 4.5 stars

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December 8, 2012 · 8:37 am

The Walking Dead: Book One by Robert Kirkman

The Walking Dead 1

So, I FINALLY have a review for you! I’m really sorry it’s been so quiet around here lately… but I’ll go more into that tomorrow.

The Walking Dead. Most of us know about it now because of the fantastic show on AMC, but it started out as a monthly comic book series. Of course I never heard of it before the show, but it obviously was pretty popular in the comic world or it wouldn’t have been turned into a show. Keep in mind, I’m up to date on the show and this is my first time trying out the comics. So of course, I can’t help but compare the storylines and whatnot to the show as I’m reading. This review is for Book One, which is a hardcover compilation of the comic issues 1 through 12. (The ISBN for this exact book is 9781582406190, in case that helps you find it.)

The comic starts out pretty much the same as the first episode of The Walking Dead show, with Officer Rick Grimes waking up from a coma in the hospital to find that there’s no one around and zombies are everywhere. For a comic done in black and white, the attention to detail was pretty impressive in the beginning. I did notice that as more characters appeared, it seemed like the drawings became less concise and more erratic. That might be on purpose, I’m not sure if that’s a comic technique thing.

There are a couple characters in the comic that I don’t think are really in the show, and some of the most beloved characters in the show (Daryl, anyone?) isn’t in the comic, at least so far. Like I said, it’s hard to judge the comic on it’s own, but I enjoyed it. I finished it in one morning at work, and there were a couple surprises and “oh shit” moments. I definitely recommend this if you’re a fan of the show, of zombies, or just graphic novels in general. One of the best things about the comics (and show) is that it’s open-ended and it can go anywhere. In a lot of books or zombie movies, it ends without you ever really discovering what ends up happening, how people handle this new world, if humanity ever wins, how people cope, etc. It’s nice to feel like anything could happen.

There are seven more of these hardcover compilations, and hopefully I’ll be reading them throughout the next week or so. I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to bother reviewing them all on here, because it seems like it’d be hard to do without avoiding spoilers… maybe after I’ve read them all I can come back and edit this post to add in my new thoughts.

Sarah Says: 3.5 stars

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June 30, 2012 · 2:07 am

Married With Zombies Readalong Ch. 21 – 26

 

Woo-hoo, the final week! Sorry this is a day late – I’ve been exhausted from work. So little energy I might as well be a zombie, haha. Questions this week are from Missie at The Unread Reader.

1. In Chapter 21, David and Sarah venture into a grocery store to try to find some essentials. Show us a picture of the top three items you consider your essentials when you go shopping.

image

My coffee, and the sandwich basics for the honeyman’s lunches. On the list just about every week.

2. Sarah and David travel quite a distance to “visit” a family member. Show us a picture of your most recent family vacation. Who did you visit and where did you go?

Yeah, my family doesn’t really do family vacations. Like, ever. So sadly, no pictures exist of such an event. Hopefully someday soon though. It’d be nice if we could all take a trip to Hawaii to visit our cousins.

3. Sarah refers to David’s sister as the Martha Stewart type because she likes to make things from scratch. Show us a picture a hobby or home project you get enthusiastic about making/doing.

image

I used to scrapbook all the time. The latest that I was working on was putting together all of my childhood photos into one big pretty scrapbook. It’s not very fancy or anything (I wish I had a Cricut machine!) but the sentiment is there, and I miss playing with all my scrapbooking stuff.

4. David and Sarah decide to start up their own Zombie exterminators business, and even come up with a name and slogan for it, “S and D Zombie Extermination. We take care of your undead issues.” If you opened up your own zombie killing business, what would you call it, and what would your slogan be?

Well, if I’m slaying zombies with the honeyman, it’d be something practical like “Zombie Response Team for Hire – For all your extermination needs”. But I’d personally lean towards something a little more snarky like “We-Told-You-So Zombie Slayers – Prepared to kill zombies since before they were zombies” or something of that nature.

5. What were your favorite/least favorite parts of Married with Zombies? Aside from David and Sarah, who was your favorite/least favorite character?

I think my favorite parts are the fun perks of the zombie apocalypse – stealing cars, crashing into stuff, scavenging / looting, etc. My least favorite part might be the beginning, because Sarah was such a BRAT and David was such a loser and at first you want to hit their heads together and tell them to grow up. But then you know, zombies come along and make them grow up anyways.

I definitely didn’t like David’s sister… what was her name? I was kind of glad that she immediately became a zombie snack. My favorite other character was probably that girl who saved their asses in the car shop and then refused to go with them. She was a tough young girl, and paranoid. I liked that.

6. What do you think is coming up next for David and Sarah? Which do you think has a better chance of survival, their marriage or their humanity? Will you continue reading this series, and if so, what do you hope to see happen in the next book?

Well that’s not fair cause I’ve already read them all! I can say though that after the way the third book ended, I really really hope that we see more of Sarah and David someday. Sadly Orbit (I think that’s the publisher… don’t have the book in front of me) only did a 3-book contract for this storyline or something, so if there’s another S&D book it’ll be self-published by Jesse Petersen. I wish there was more we could do as readers, cause I’d love another 3 books about them!

Anyways, so happy I got to re-read this book with all of you!! And I loved the scavenger hunt aspect. SO much fun!!! Thanks a million to all the hosts!

~Sarah

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June 23, 2012 · 8:43 am

Blackout by Mira Grant (The Newsflesh Trilogy #3)

Blackout by Mira Grant

**WARNING: This should be fairly obvious, but you really shouldn’t read this review until you read Feed and Deadline first. MAJOR spoilers for the first two books. Read those first, then come back here, kay?**

 

 

You’ve been warned…

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t believe I flew through this whole trilogy in less than 2 weeks. But, that’s how addicting it was.

At the end of Deadline, major shocker revealed: Georgia is somehow, impossibly, alive. Also, there seems to be a second Rising happening -  a storm in Florida brings death and zombies, spreading at an alarming rate. Oh yeah, and Shaun is apparently immune. Holy crap the revelations just kept coming in that one. It all set up the final book really well.

And once again, I can’t talk too much about the book I’m actually reviewing here because I don’t want to spoil anything. Basically though, in Blackout stuff gets crazy and the CDC is after Shaun and his team really, really hard. Of course there’s a lot of tension and suspense, and big new twists. There are definitely some moments that tug on the heartstrings a bit, and times when you really don’t know who can be trusted.

This was a really good conclusion to the trilogy, but it’s my least favorite book of the trilogy. (Of course, Feed is the best.) Maybe it’s because all the really really big surprises happened in the first two books, but it felt like there was a little more filler in this one and it could have been shorter. Part of it might be just me – I’m a bit jaded and I already assume that our government lies to us about everything. So the big end-game conspiracy didn’t seem as scary as the plots in the other books.

Also, there’s this – but seriously, THIS IS A HUGE SPOILER, so highlight if you want to read it:

I don’t like the hidden-romance thing between Shaun and George. When I read the first books, one of the most refreshing things about this series was the fact that there wasn’t a major romance between the two main characters. I really liked their close sibling bond, and it didn’t seem unusual due crazy parents and living in a zombie-infested world. Turning that into a romance seeemed like such a sell-out move.

Anyways, this was still a great book that I read in just a few days, and I’m really sad that the trilogy is over. It’s definitely going to be on my Best of 2012 List at the end of the year. The world-building in these books is just incredible, and I’m already looking forward to re-reading these someday.

Sarah Says: 4 stars

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June 22, 2012 · 3:09 pm

Married With Zombies Readalong – Ch. 16-20

 

Alriiiight week 4!  This week’s questions are from Tina’s Book Reviews:

1. In chapter 16 David and Sarah are attacked by freezer zombies in chef attire. Despite its rotten food and disgusting kitchen, lets think about what it could of been before the attack, give me a picture of your dream kitchen or a pic of you cooking your favorite food in your own kitchen… or both!!!

 

This is very similar to what my dream kitchen would look like – lots of natural wood, some windows, and with an island. And hopefully two ovens.

 
2. In Chapter 16, David winds up killing those freezer zombies with a blank show me your best one….and yes it must be yours!!!!

OK, we were supposed to show our machetes, right? Or was is just any big blade? Anyways, this is our machete. We should go buy some more, now that I think about it. Can’t have enough machetes in the house.

 

3. In Chapter 17 David and Sarah find themselves with some cult like people and wind up trapped. How would you escape? Ropes? Blankets….show me your best.

 

So sheets is a great idea but I’m too lazy to go tie up my own for a picture. But hopefully in this situation we’d be wearing paracord bracelets – certain types of paracord can hold up to 550 lbs and would definitely be handy in that scenario.

 

4. In Chapter 19 David and Sarah find a surprise in the car they stole…in the midst of crazy its a nice welcome. Now whip me up your favorite one and share……you can include recipes!!

Cheers! My go-to drink is an amaretto sour – one part amaretto, one part triple sec, and two parts sweet and sour mix. Love that this gave me an excuse to go make and drink one :-)

 
5. In chapter 20, Sarah gets to kill a zombie with a cash register, bringing back memories of her worst retail job ever….so tell me whats the worst job you’ve had……if you can include pictures in your uniform I will die laughing…..or a picture of the place you worked will be good too…:).

A costume store that only opens for Halloween and then closes right after. I had to stand by the side of the road in costumes holding signs. Enough said.

I can’t believe we’re almost done! This is where I think Sarah and David really come together as a team, and I love the looting/scavenging scene in the sports store. It’s one of the things I look forward to the most in zombie apocalypse :)

Oh and in case anyone is wondering, that scratch on my forehead is from my kitty. She ran over my face in the middle of the night and I woke up with that. She’s lucky she’s cute.

~Sarah

 

 

 

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June 18, 2012 · 6:00 am

Deadline by Mira Grant (The Newsflesh Trilogy #2)

deadline by mira grant

**WARNING: Seriously, you need to read the first book, Feed, before you read this review because it has a ton of major spoilers if you haven’t read the first book. Go read Feed. Now. For real, what are you waiting for?**

 

So, obviously Deadline is the second book in this super awesome trilogy. If you’re reading this, you’ve read Feed (seriously, listen to the warning above) which means you know how Feed ended… Can I just take a second to tell you how much I cried my eyes out over that? Seriously, tears everywhere. And I was at work - thank goodness it wasn’t busy or people would’ve thought something was wrong. Nope, just me being devastated over the death of a major character. I have to say this though – while I kind of saw Buffy’s death coming, I was not expecting Georgia to die. And even though it was SO FREAKING SAD, I had to give major props to Mira Grant for having the cojones to do it.

Deadline picks up several months after the events of Feed. Shaun is the narrator now, and he’s struggling to live in a George-less world. He’s still running After the End Times, but half-heartedly and most of his staff thinks he’s crazy because he talks to George. Like out loud, because he can still hear her in his head. Seriously heart-breaking stuff. Anyways, he’s just trudging along and hoping that one day he can catch the bastards truly behind his sister’s death until one day a CDC  researcher shows up on his doorstep – a CDC researcher who should be dead. With her comes secrets, zombies, and classified info on what is now proving to be a bigger conspiracy than anyone knew.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about Shaun as a narrator, but it worked really well. It probably wouldn’t have in the first book – George’s death hits him really, really hard and the anger and depair over that shows through. He wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if he was still his happy-go-lucky Irwin self. We also get to see more of some of the other characters – Becks, Maggie, Mahir, and Alaric all play pretty important roles.

I flew through Deadline in about two sittings. There is probably a little less action than in Feed, but it’s because of the whole conspiracy thing. Instead of making the book more boring, it actually made it even more tense and scary. Also, stumbling upon this conspiracy leads to a lot of talk about the Kellis-Amberlee virus and how it works, which is really cool to read about. There are also a couple things that open up a whole new realm of things to ponder – medical ethics, the use of fear, personal responsibility, etc. Deadline probes the effects of a post-zombie apocalypse world in a deeper way, and it’s intense.

Also, I love how bloggers are so important in this trilogy. Of course it’s not like they’re book bloggers, but still :-)

Deadline is an awesome addition to The Newsflesh Trilogy – shocking, intense, and brilliant. If you can’t tell, I’ve tried to avoid saying too much about the actual plot because I don’t want to to ruin anything for you. But other course, there was ANOTHER CRAZY ENDING and I’m starting the last book, Blackout, ASAP. I’m so glad that I hadn’t started this series earlier, because waiting for the books to be released would have been torture.

Sarah Says: 5 stars (especially impressive for a 2nd book, which are notorious for not being as good as the first or last books)

~Sarah

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June 15, 2012 · 7:00 am

Married With Zombies Readalong – Ch. 11-16

Hi guys! Yayyy it’s week 3! The honeyman has been reading this book too and he finished it earlier in the week and liked it :-) Fun for girls AND boys!

So, here’s the stuff for this week, hosted by Loretta at Between the Pages.

1.) In Chapter 11 Sarah, Dave & Amanda were rushed by 4 zombies. At this time Sarah screams something. 
SHOW ME YOURS!! Don’t have one? That is ok, show me what you would grab outside to protect your self!!

Yeah… I was worried this would come up. Whether or not I own any firearms, you can be damn certain I’ll never be displaying them on the internet. But rest assured that once we buy a house, there’ll be something like this in every room.

 

2.) At the end of Chapter 12 they are saved by someone looking very “Underworld” awesome. Let me see your best “Slay em’ Gear” . Don’t want to model your outfit? That is ok, lay it out.. don’t forget to add your weapons!! 

Add in some sneakers that this is what I have on hand. The honeyman really needs to take me leather jacket shopping soon, cause I wouldn’t want my arms this bare.

3.) Near the end of Chapter 13 Sarah finds something under the seat to help Dave, that she saved for whenever the need gave in.  What was it? “Strike” your best pose!

Hmm, a tiny little flame looks weird on camera. Love my long candle lighter.

 

4.) Nothing very “action pic” happens in Chapters 14 & 15. So this is where you can show me what car you would pic to ride around town, trying to survive. This can totally be a “Google” pic or you can go find one!! Think outside the box!

 

I’d start off with my car – it’s good on gas, compact enough to fit in tight spaces, and the rounded shape will make it harder for zombies to latch on.

 

And once my Beetle is no longer usable, we’d switch to some sort of SUV – the Honda CRV has enough room, is big enough to help push some smaller vehicles out of the way, and is good on gas. Honestly I’d take whatever SUV comes along though, and assume that we’d have to switch vehicles often.

5.) How are you enjoying the book so FAR?!!!

Still loving it. I would have to kick some serious crazy cult ass. And even though Amanda was finally pulling her weight, she kind of really had to go. I don’t understand Dave’s pack-mentality. Sure, it seems like there’s safety in numbers, but being in a large group of survivors also means you’re at the mercy of the decisions of people you don’t know or trust and that they’ll slow you down. I’m with Lisa – better off just one or two people than in a group.

So you know, if it’s zombie apocalypse outside, don’t show up at my house. We’re not taking tag-alongs.

 

~Sarah

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June 11, 2012 · 9:05 am

Feed by Mira Grant (The Newsflesh Trilogy #1)

Feed by Mira Grant

You know, about like 3 months ago I got Feed out of the library and never got around to it. I borrowed it again from the library last week, and finally read it, and HOLY CRAP guys I really loved it.

In this trilogy, it’s about 2039-2040 and zombies have been around for the last 26 years. When some scientists created cures for cancer and the common cold, it created the Kellis-Amberlee virus that spread and created zombies. The story follows bloggers (and siblings) Georgia and Shaun Mason as they follow a big conspiracy story about the infected, even though it means putting themselves in danger.

I don’t want to spoil anything for you guys, but I will try to tell you the things I loved about it. This is the first zombie book I’ve read that takes place decades after the outbreak of a zombie apocalypse, and Mira Grant did it very, very well. The zombies aren’t necessarily the focus of the book – this is not a book about trying to survive the beginning days of a zombie outbreak, this is a book about how humans are still coping with zombies decades later. There’s some zombie action, but the story is much more about how much has changed. I LOVED how much thought and detail Mira Grant put into thinking up this world. Again, I don’t want to spoil anything because it’s much more fascinating if you discover it all for yourself.

I also really liked the characters. Georgia is a great tough girl – she’s bad-ass and strong and not all overly sentimental and she’s just great. Shaun is her goofy brother and he’s kind of a thrill seeker, but they work really well together and are really close. There’s also a great cast of secondary characters, such as their techy friend Buffy and Mahir, who lives overseas.  And the bad guys were the type of baddies that I love to hate.

As for the storyline, I was totally sucked into the big conspiracy plot. This is one of those books that I would find myself thinking about while driving or doing dishes, trying to figure out who can be trusted and who the real bad people are. And the end of the book… oh man. Huge shockers. I seriously cannot wait for my sister or honeyman to read this book so that we can talk about it!

Anyways, this book was crazy good. I have ZERO complaints about it. I already went and bought my own copy of Feed, as well as the second book Deadline which I’m going to start today.

 

Sarah Says: 5 stars

 

 

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