imzadirose's review against another edition
3.0
I was hoping for something DIFFERENT than Walking Dead, cuz I miss the zombie days of the first Resident Evil games. Instead, I get a walled off community (though a peaceful one), a prison, a baby and even a dude named Milton who wants to help the zombies. SMH!! I should give it a 1 for lack of creativity but if I hadn't (stupidly) watched the first 2 1/2 seasons of Walking Dead, I probably would have enjoyed it more.
madamemidazolam's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
I had mixed feelings with this book, especially at the beginning.
What I disliked:
The characters. None of them were really memorable in my eyes. They all seemed to lack personality and I really didn't give 2 shits if they were eaten by a zombie. I want characters that stick out in my head and that I can easily root for. These characters all seemed to be a carbon-copy of one another, just with different names and histories. Only 2 characters stood out in my mind.
The theology. Ok, I know Kim is a theology major and I respect that. I just didn't expect to stumble into such subjects on a horror novel. Religion isn't my thing, and I do respect and admire his views in this book, I just... it doesn't click with me as much as other viewers. It was a very interesting twist on the world of zombies though and Kim put a lot of thought into the why's and how's of a zombie apocalypse. Not many authors approach these questions, and those who do don't touch on it quite as much as Kim.
What I liked:
The gore! OMG OMG OMG! This author is so descriptive and disgusting, and I love it! I could clearly picture each disfigured, rotting zombie he described. So nasty, yet so much more enjoyable then the normal hoo-hah most zombie authors write about. This guy is so descriptive. So descriptive. Just. Oh. Em. Gee.
The action scenes. Because with a descriptive author like this, they are bound to be GOOD.
Well, kiddies. It is late, I have strep throat, and my bed is calling my name. End of the review. I will definitely be finishing this trilogy.
I had mixed feelings with this book, especially at the beginning.
What I disliked:
The characters. None of them were really memorable in my eyes. They all seemed to lack personality and I really didn't give 2 shits if they were eaten by a zombie. I want characters that stick out in my head and that I can easily root for. These characters all seemed to be a carbon-copy of one another, just with different names and histories. Only 2 characters stood out in my mind.
Spoiler
Frank, because he actually seemed to posses emotions and he was easy to root for and relate to. It just was too bad he was only present for like 30 pages before being murdered. Then there was Copperhead, who only stood out because he was a major douche-nozzle. Again, he is only around for about 20 pages.The theology. Ok, I know Kim is a theology major and I respect that. I just didn't expect to stumble into such subjects on a horror novel. Religion isn't my thing, and I do respect and admire his views in this book, I just... it doesn't click with me as much as other viewers. It was a very interesting twist on the world of zombies though and Kim put a lot of thought into the why's and how's of a zombie apocalypse. Not many authors approach these questions, and those who do don't touch on it quite as much as Kim.
What I liked:
The gore! OMG OMG OMG! This author is so descriptive and disgusting, and I love it! I could clearly picture each disfigured, rotting zombie he described. So nasty, yet so much more enjoyable then the normal hoo-hah most zombie authors write about. This guy is so descriptive. So descriptive. Just. Oh. Em. Gee.
The action scenes. Because with a descriptive author like this, they are bound to be GOOD.
Well, kiddies. It is late, I have strep throat, and my bed is calling my name. End of the review. I will definitely be finishing this trilogy.
patchy710's review against another edition
3.0
The first thing I noticed when I picked up "Dying To Live" was that Jonathan Maberry (author of Ghost Road Blues) describes the novel as "not just a thinking man's horror novel, it's a zombie book for philosophers." This is interesting because on one level every zombie novel carries the same theme of a group of survivors trying to survive a war against the undead. Apart from varying story lines, there honestly isn't much of a difference between the lot (I like to think of each novel taking place during the same outbreak event). Now, on another level every zombie novel, film, story, etc has a deeper philosophical meaning that ties back to humanity's lust for consumerism (see Romero's Dawn of the Dead) and ultimately the animalistic nature of humans, both living and dead. That said, I was interested to find out what made THIS novel THE book for philosophers...
Unfortunately I was unable to find the answer. Don't get me wrong though, this was a very good novel, but certainly no different than the rest. Granted, there were scenes throughout that definitely beg the question "How can God exist?" One particularly brutal tale involving a pregnant woman who becomes infected comes to mind. However disturbing it still doesn't separate this novel from it's fellow companions.
Now, that was a more direct response to the comment by Maberry, so putting that aside I will say that I generally enjoyed this read; there were some tense sequences involving characters trapped within a dead city and later an inmate-overrun prison, as well as an uplifting hopeful community attempting to rebuild civilization starting within the confines of a fortified museum. I'm attempting to be cautious not to let details slip, but I have to say that the way one major plot point plays out in the epilogue seemed slightly ridiculous and forced, as if the author liked and used the idea without fleshing out the pros and cons to making the story believable (as believable as a zombie novel can be). Coming in at a short 180 pages, more could have been done to elaborate on the cause of said plot point, or how it came to play out in the end.
Being so short in length, I felt deprived of a further, rich story on the events between the finally and epilogue. Sometimes "3 weeks later" just isn't good enough!
Overall, again a good fun read that only suffers from a slight lack of detail!
Unfortunately I was unable to find the answer. Don't get me wrong though, this was a very good novel, but certainly no different than the rest. Granted, there were scenes throughout that definitely beg the question "How can God exist?" One particularly brutal tale involving a pregnant woman who becomes infected comes to mind. However disturbing it still doesn't separate this novel from it's fellow companions.
Now, that was a more direct response to the comment by Maberry, so putting that aside I will say that I generally enjoyed this read; there were some tense sequences involving characters trapped within a dead city and later an inmate-overrun prison, as well as an uplifting hopeful community attempting to rebuild civilization starting within the confines of a fortified museum. I'm attempting to be cautious not to let details slip, but I have to say that the way one major plot point plays out in the epilogue seemed slightly ridiculous and forced, as if the author liked and used the idea without fleshing out the pros and cons to making the story believable (as believable as a zombie novel can be). Coming in at a short 180 pages, more could have been done to elaborate on the cause of said plot point, or how it came to play out in the end.
Being so short in length, I felt deprived of a further, rich story on the events between the finally and epilogue. Sometimes "3 weeks later" just isn't good enough!
Overall, again a good fun read that only suffers from a slight lack of detail!
mayhap's review against another edition
3.0
Kim Paffenroth's first zombie novel hearkens back to his excellent nonfiction work, [b:Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth|110496|Gospel of the Living Dead George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth|Kim Paffenroth|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171641876s/110496.jpg|106481], and prefigures his ambitious [b:Valley of the Dead: The Truth Behind Dante's Inferno|6672041|Valley of the Dead The Truth Behind Dante's Inferno|Kim Paffenroth|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1249351324s/6672041.jpg|6867003], but in spite of the frequent Dante references in the descriptive prose, it is rightly St. Augustine who shares top billing with George Romero in the dedication. A kind of fledgeling City of God contends with a City of Man in this thoughtful zombie fable.
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