Reviews

Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End by Manel Loureiro

1pau_pau1's review against another edition

4.0

This rating is biased because I love zombies.

alicia_ayu's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

kristinmagoo's review against another edition

4.0

When I picked up this little gem, I assumed it would be a zombie book, even though the publisher smoothly left that part off the blurb. But no matter my assumptions, I could not have anticipated how strongly the book would grip me. It starts off as the blog of a man in Spain detailing his life. Slowly but surely we see through his eyes the global pandemic and follow him on his quest to stay alive. What I liked most about the protagonist was that he was a regular person. He was not special forces or a police officer, and the methods he thought of to combat the zombies are reasonable—something a normal person would think of and accomplish. My only gripe about the book is really a testament to the skill of the author. Starting from when he goes to pick up a "package," the book is almost exhausting to read. You are so emotionally drained because the stress on this man never stops. You are scared for him, wondering what he will do, worrying about the safety of his cat (though I prefer dogs myself). As the situation got worse and worse, I wondered it this would be one of those books where the protagonist just dies at the end. I am not a zombie fan generally speaking, but I loved this book and I hope Manuel Loueiro has other works that have been translated into English.

mehsi's review against another edition

The first part of the book flew by and I loved this book. However... then it started to just die down. There were quite a few exciting parts, but it was mostly boring and bland. Guy wakes up, goes outside to find food/shelter/whatever, save his cat, do some more stuff, moan about life, spots zombies, runs, and so it goes on. :|
I am not sure what happened that this turn happened, but it was a shame.

So at half of this book I just decided to not continue. :|

maluchinha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

guido_the_nature_guide's review against another edition

4.0

I can't believe I am giving a zombie novel four stars. I guess because, despite the fact that it contains all of the standard zombie cliches, it was quite well done, an easy but engrossing read. Classic literature? - no. Fun October necronovel (a new word I just made up)? - absolutely. I think I just flushed away all of my lit crit cred.

stitching_ghost's review against another edition

2.0

I really liked the beginning of the book and I thought it was heading to an easy 4+ stars, the journal format worked and things moved along at a snappy but not rushed pace. Unfortunately at around the 50% mark the entries started getting more like chapters in a novel than like journal entries.

Then the main character proceeded to become rather annoying with his constant repetition of where other characters were from (it's ok, we know that Prit is Ukrainian and we know that there were Pakistanis in the boat's crew, you can stop padding the word count). After that he managed to become gross too, with multiple mentions of perky breasts and sexy adult body on a teenage girl (the MC is 30 the girl is 17), that's going to be a no from me bro.

donmik's review against another edition

4.0

Me ha pasado algo extraño con este libro y a pesar de que me ha gustado, me costaba tomármelo en serio en algunos momentos. Desde un primer momento, me he imaginado al protagonista como si fuera el mismo que el protagonista de Lo mejor que le puede pasar a un cruasán...xDDD. Con esta imagen, es bastante más dificil tomarte en serio todo lo que pasa y se convierte en algo más cómico.

delaguila19's review against another edition

4.0

El mejor libro relato de zombies en español que he leido, las entradas en un diario/blog de un abogado viudo que vive con su gato y da la casualidad que el apocalipsis lo coge totalmente preparado en su casa/bunker sin querer. las mejores partes , el inicio y como todo va llegando por medio de las noticias, la escena con el blindado, la tienda de automoviles , que habia en el maletin? y el hospital. muy entretenido y recomendable.

nyamedev's review against another edition

adventurous funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0