kilcannon's review against another edition
2.0
Got this in a collection with the second book, which is good since there is not ending of any sort the first one. It's an interesting procedural approach to a zombie tale, but it feels more like an outline for a book than a book.
anubis9's review against another edition
3.0
3 1/2 Stars
I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this book, but after repeated recommendations, I dived in and was pleasantly surprised!
The book introduced some original and thought-provoking ideas into the zombie genre, and the cast of characters was intriguing.
Being a military man himself, Bourne's protagonist has a fascinating point of view and knowledge that is unique to the other genre pieces I've read.
So why not a higher rating?
Two reasons.
1. I'm not a huge fan of the journal format, as it forsakes a lot of the fun little details for believability.
2. This is really only a 1/2 novel. Right when it got really good, it just ended. I could forgive this if it were 400–500 pages long, but at 200 it just feels like he published the first half.
Luckily, the sequel is supposed to be out "soon." I think I might give an updated rating to the book once I get a chance to read the sequel. And I will definitely be reading the sequel!
I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this book, but after repeated recommendations, I dived in and was pleasantly surprised!
The book introduced some original and thought-provoking ideas into the zombie genre, and the cast of characters was intriguing.
Being a military man himself, Bourne's protagonist has a fascinating point of view and knowledge that is unique to the other genre pieces I've read.
So why not a higher rating?
Two reasons.
1. I'm not a huge fan of the journal format, as it forsakes a lot of the fun little details for believability.
2. This is really only a 1/2 novel. Right when it got really good, it just ended. I could forgive this if it were 400–500 pages long, but at 200 it just feels like he published the first half.
Luckily, the sequel is supposed to be out "soon." I think I might give an updated rating to the book once I get a chance to read the sequel. And I will definitely be reading the sequel!
mferrante83's review against another edition
3.0
Day by Day Armageddon was one of the earliest title released by Permuted Press, an independent publisher specializing in apocalyptic fiction (and especially zombie fiction), and was recently re-released as part of 5 book co-publishing deal with Simon and Schuster. Much like the fantastic World War Z, Day by Day Armageddon purports itself to be a true-to-life diary of man surviving a zombie apocalypse. The edition I read is complete with the occasional blood splatter, circled text, infrequent handwritten margin notes, and black and white photographs. The diary, of an unnamed navy pilot, details his attempts to simply survive.
Day by Day Armageddon employs a very straightforward tone that tends to obscure the character of the narrator. The matter-of-factness in which he casually decides to save a family trapped by a zombie horde, his rescue of a woman trapped in a car, the subtle way in which he safeguards the childhood of the young girl in the family all sketch a very compassionate man willing to stick his neck out for his fellows even if it risks his own life. Since the reader gets these facts from the man himself there is no one around to remark upon his character traits. We never see him through any eyes other than his own and can only draw a conclusion on his character based on action alone. On the other hand that same straightforward narrative voice feels a bit devoid of character. The narrator is a capable and compassionate leader but we get very little sense of who he is absent his role as survivor. I suspect that is a deliberate choice by Bourne. Everything goes to hell before we can really know much about the narrator himself and, as the apocalypse of undead strips away the trappings of modern life which we might use to get a better understanding of who our narrator is outside his military training. Of course, part of the issue here is also the narrative device. We never really get any dialogue ; our experience is always limited to the inside of our narrator’s head.
The zombies of Day by Day Armageddon of the classic Romero variety. Slow moving and unintelligent. However, both those elements are changed by particular events in the novel and it is one of the better explanations I’ve seen for zombie variants in any form of fiction. Like many other zombie stories the best way to kill them is the head shot though Day by Day Armageddon covers the trouble of head shots that don’t destroy the brain; a thought that never really occurred to me. Though I must say, poor China (the source of the outbreak in this novel as well as World War Z) are there no other nations that might instigate the spread of a zombie plague? There is little in depth attention given the villains of the novel. We know that bites or scratches can cause infection, we know that they are attracted by sound but as to where the zombie virus (if it is even a virus) came from (beyond simply China) there is nothing said. I did think the unintentional psychological warfare tactics of the zombie moan where nicely pulled off and an often overlooked aspect in zombie fiction (the sound design of Left 4 Dead carries this same trait off quite nicely.)
Unfortunately Day by Day Armageddon also ends on a cliffhanger. The sequel Beyond Exile is due out in July, which is an amazingly long wait for readers who picked up the original release back in 2007. Day by Day Armageddon is by no means a perfect novel and the edition I have has several typos and the printing quality doesn’t really help with couple of pictures scattered throughout the novel. However, and I can’t confirm this, it is possible some of this was corrected via the Pocket Books release back in September. While I would have certainly enjoyed a bit more character injected into the novel, for both our narrator and his fellow survivors, this is still an exciting bit of zombie fiction that caries the tradition of George Romero (early George Romero not Land of the Dead George Romero) into the realm of the printed word. If you like zombies I have a strong inkling that you will most definitely like Day by Day Armageddon.
Day by Day Armageddon employs a very straightforward tone that tends to obscure the character of the narrator. The matter-of-factness in which he casually decides to save a family trapped by a zombie horde, his rescue of a woman trapped in a car, the subtle way in which he safeguards the childhood of the young girl in the family all sketch a very compassionate man willing to stick his neck out for his fellows even if it risks his own life. Since the reader gets these facts from the man himself there is no one around to remark upon his character traits. We never see him through any eyes other than his own and can only draw a conclusion on his character based on action alone. On the other hand that same straightforward narrative voice feels a bit devoid of character. The narrator is a capable and compassionate leader but we get very little sense of who he is absent his role as survivor. I suspect that is a deliberate choice by Bourne. Everything goes to hell before we can really know much about the narrator himself and, as the apocalypse of undead strips away the trappings of modern life which we might use to get a better understanding of who our narrator is outside his military training. Of course, part of the issue here is also the narrative device. We never really get any dialogue ; our experience is always limited to the inside of our narrator’s head.
The zombies of Day by Day Armageddon of the classic Romero variety. Slow moving and unintelligent. However, both those elements are changed by particular events in the novel and it is one of the better explanations I’ve seen for zombie variants in any form of fiction. Like many other zombie stories the best way to kill them is the head shot though Day by Day Armageddon covers the trouble of head shots that don’t destroy the brain; a thought that never really occurred to me. Though I must say, poor China (the source of the outbreak in this novel as well as World War Z) are there no other nations that might instigate the spread of a zombie plague? There is little in depth attention given the villains of the novel. We know that bites or scratches can cause infection, we know that they are attracted by sound but as to where the zombie virus (if it is even a virus) came from (beyond simply China) there is nothing said. I did think the unintentional psychological warfare tactics of the zombie moan where nicely pulled off and an often overlooked aspect in zombie fiction (the sound design of Left 4 Dead carries this same trait off quite nicely.)
Unfortunately Day by Day Armageddon also ends on a cliffhanger. The sequel Beyond Exile is due out in July, which is an amazingly long wait for readers who picked up the original release back in 2007. Day by Day Armageddon is by no means a perfect novel and the edition I have has several typos and the printing quality doesn’t really help with couple of pictures scattered throughout the novel. However, and I can’t confirm this, it is possible some of this was corrected via the Pocket Books release back in September. While I would have certainly enjoyed a bit more character injected into the novel, for both our narrator and his fellow survivors, this is still an exciting bit of zombie fiction that caries the tradition of George Romero (early George Romero not Land of the Dead George Romero) into the realm of the printed word. If you like zombies I have a strong inkling that you will most definitely like Day by Day Armageddon.
anyile's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not a big fan of zombie stories, but this was an entertaining, quick read. If you are a fan of zombie stories, I can see this as a "must read". I will say that I was dissatisfied with the ending...it just kinda ended.
books_and_bawoos's review against another edition
3.0
This book took me much longer to read than I thought it would. The story dragged on a bit though I know it is supposed to do that to some degree. I don't know if all editions of this book have this problem but my copy was full of typos. it drove me nuts! I doubt it was done intentionally....at least I guess I hope it was because no editor should have let that fly.
Overall, if you are just looking for a quick read this is an alright book. There are sequels but I don't think I will be reading them.
Overall, if you are just looking for a quick read this is an alright book. There are sequels but I don't think I will be reading them.
tkat's review against another edition
5.0
Different from the other zombie survival stories I have read so far. It's in a diary format first and foremost, a format I've always enjoyed, written from the perspective of trained military personnel, who never really identifies himself.
You don't often see the military perspective in zombie survivals. Refreshing and offers a different insight that the other zombie survivals lack. Oh he still makes mistakes, but he's able to keep his head better than a civilian. Quite enjoyable.
That and he keeps a dog. I like that. That constant reminder of humanity. (less)
You don't often see the military perspective in zombie survivals. Refreshing and offers a different insight that the other zombie survivals lack. Oh he still makes mistakes, but he's able to keep his head better than a civilian. Quite enjoyable.
That and he keeps a dog. I like that. That constant reminder of humanity. (less)
squeegeeluigi83's review against another edition
3.0
The 3 star raring might imply I didn't enjoy this short and sweet zombie read. It shouldn't. It was lots of fun but just lacked depth. I wanted to get to know all the other characters but they were mostly there to give the protagonist a sense of purpose and duty and were not characters in their own right. Things I really appreciated included the consequence of using live gunfire in a zombie ridden world. It wasn't a get out of jail free card and often resulted with more of the undead on their door step. The other thing I appreciated, although, it wasn't explicit, was that the characters didn't even attempt melee combat against the undead. It felt more realistic that people would focus on escape, evasion and stealth rather than bludgeoning anything that moved. Similarly, I appreciated that there was really no conflict in the group. They were just survivors getting along and it wasn't until the final act that we were really confronted with the darker side of humanity and instead of making "the enemy within" a problem Bourne left us with a righteous group of survivors to root for. I hope he explores some of the darker tones he stirs up in the follow-up.
seak's review against another edition
4.0
Take The Martian, add zombies and subtract the humor and you get Day by Day Armageddon. So ... I guess that means it's just like journal-style narrative, which is what this is. Each day in the journal of the life of an unnamed protagonist.
I was in the mood for a good zombie book and Day by Day scratched that itch. It's nothing that really breaks any mold. They're still a hoard of zombies that suddenly sneak up on you even though they're loud, moaning creatures. The survivors are the ones to worry about.
As typical for zombie books, the plot is the focus and characters, especially with the journal-style, are less important. It's definitely a weakness, but it's hard to get out of that with the style of the book. The main protagonist is a military-type, so it was a slight change of your typical everyman who's dealing with the world crumbling down around him.
Of course, the protagonist goes from one problem to the next. That's the beauty of a zombie apocalypse, it's all believable and nothing contrived when there are monsters everywhere. He runs into other people with similar issues ... okay, the exact same. Everyone's screwed.
There are odd typos, but after doing some research I guess they're intentional to add realism. Note to self, typos are the last way to add realism to anything. Just write grammatically correct or it takes me out of the story. That's less real when I'm out of the story.
Another benefit is this book is relatively short. It's an easy, short, plot-driven zombie book. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm looking forward to reading more in the series.
4 out of 5 stars (highly recommended)
I was in the mood for a good zombie book and Day by Day scratched that itch. It's nothing that really breaks any mold. They're still a hoard of zombies that suddenly sneak up on you even though they're loud, moaning creatures. The survivors are the ones to worry about.
As typical for zombie books, the plot is the focus and characters, especially with the journal-style, are less important. It's definitely a weakness, but it's hard to get out of that with the style of the book. The main protagonist is a military-type, so it was a slight change of your typical everyman who's dealing with the world crumbling down around him.
Of course, the protagonist goes from one problem to the next. That's the beauty of a zombie apocalypse, it's all believable and nothing contrived when there are monsters everywhere. He runs into other people with similar issues ... okay, the exact same. Everyone's screwed.
There are odd typos, but after doing some research I guess they're intentional to add realism. Note to self, typos are the last way to add realism to anything. Just write grammatically correct or it takes me out of the story. That's less real when I'm out of the story.
Another benefit is this book is relatively short. It's an easy, short, plot-driven zombie book. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm looking forward to reading more in the series.
4 out of 5 stars (highly recommended)
ponyboy1916's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.25
briarsreviews's review
3.0
If you're looking to start a new book full of zombies, dystopian troubles and an apocalypse then this is a great book for you!
Origin to Exile includes the first two books in the Day by Day Armageddon series. The first book is so incredibly good - written in journal articles, following a vet trying to figure out what he's doing with zombies running around. The second book slows down a lot and didn't work as well for me, but I'm also not a big zombie apocalypse book fan.
The premise is unique and very cool. I think horror fans will love this book and eat it up (pun intended). There's lots going on in this book, but you'll need to finish the series to understand everything that's going on. Some wild plot twists happen that will leave you scratching your head.
Three out of five stars.
Origin to Exile includes the first two books in the Day by Day Armageddon series. The first book is so incredibly good - written in journal articles, following a vet trying to figure out what he's doing with zombies running around. The second book slows down a lot and didn't work as well for me, but I'm also not a big zombie apocalypse book fan.
The premise is unique and very cool. I think horror fans will love this book and eat it up (pun intended). There's lots going on in this book, but you'll need to finish the series to understand everything that's going on. Some wild plot twists happen that will leave you scratching your head.
Three out of five stars.