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badseedgirl's review
4.0
Flesh Eaters is the third novel in Joe McKinney’s Bram Stoker award winning series “Dead World.” In my review for his second novel in the series Apocalypse of The Dead I had written that I was afraid I had finally been “zombie out.” I am happy to report that with Flesh Eaters, Mr. McKinney has restored my faith in the zombie genre. This is one of the best “Traditional” zombie novels I have read in a long time. I consider a traditional zombie novel to be one at the onset of the zombie breakout. Unlike The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell and The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan where the zombies are just an established part of life, Traditional Zombie books follow the concept set up by the “High Lord” of zombie lore, George Romero. Flesh Eaters most definitely falls into this category.
The outbreak falls in Houston TX in this installment of the series and follows two families, the Norton’s and the Shaw’s. Both are police families with members who are part of Houston Police Departments Emergency Operations Command. This seems to be the Texas version of FEMA. Eleanor Norton who works as an assistant to the head of the command, Captain Mark Shaw, her husband Jim and her daughter Madison form one family. The other is Captain Mark Shaw, with his adult sons Brent and Anthony Shaw, both police officers also.
For me these characters are what made this novel such a roaring success. It was amazing how deftly Mr. McKinney was able to show how the utter devastation of a person’s life changes them for the best and the worst. To watch these characters step up of collapse was a wonder and made this novel gouged and bludgeoned heads above others of the Traditional type, even Mr. McKinney’s previous novels. If this is examples of what is to come with this series, I want to read more.
The outbreak falls in Houston TX in this installment of the series and follows two families, the Norton’s and the Shaw’s. Both are police families with members who are part of Houston Police Departments Emergency Operations Command. This seems to be the Texas version of FEMA. Eleanor Norton who works as an assistant to the head of the command, Captain Mark Shaw, her husband Jim and her daughter Madison form one family. The other is Captain Mark Shaw, with his adult sons Brent and Anthony Shaw, both police officers also.
For me these characters are what made this novel such a roaring success. It was amazing how deftly Mr. McKinney was able to show how the utter devastation of a person’s life changes them for the best and the worst. To watch these characters step up of collapse was a wonder and made this novel gouged and bludgeoned heads above others of the Traditional type, even Mr. McKinney’s previous novels. If this is examples of what is to come with this series, I want to read more.
charms1976's review against another edition
5.0
Stand back everyone! I have found a new reason to continue reading paranormal! Why have I procrastinated in reading books about Zombies? As if that cover is not creepy enough, the story left me with chills along the way as well.
I realize that this is the third book in a series, but I didn't care. I figured authors tend to recap things anyway. So I also figured if I liked how this story evolved, then I could always go back and read the first two as well. I have never heard of this author before, and frankly I was surprised at his writing. He does a wonderful job at his creative world, and the characters were great as well!
In this book you will find suspense in nearly every chapter, zombies that are not that hard to imagine in the future, destruction, and the gritty feel that is ever present in urban fantasy and end of the world imagination. I loved the characters and what each one of them brought to the story. If you are looking for a shocking and explosive read featuring the evil zombies of urban legends, this is the next series you need to read!
I realize that this is the third book in a series, but I didn't care. I figured authors tend to recap things anyway. So I also figured if I liked how this story evolved, then I could always go back and read the first two as well. I have never heard of this author before, and frankly I was surprised at his writing. He does a wonderful job at his creative world, and the characters were great as well!
In this book you will find suspense in nearly every chapter, zombies that are not that hard to imagine in the future, destruction, and the gritty feel that is ever present in urban fantasy and end of the world imagination. I loved the characters and what each one of them brought to the story. If you are looking for a shocking and explosive read featuring the evil zombies of urban legends, this is the next series you need to read!
mellabella's review against another edition
3.0
Flesh Eaters will fulfill some of your zombie book requirements. From what I remember, #1 was really good. I think I felt similarly to #2 as I did to this one. Good plot, good scenes. Some of the characters fell a little flat. The story is told by a few different view points. Joe McKinney is very descriptive.You can picture the scene he is writing about vividly. That's why it doesn't make a huge difference that the characters may be one dimensional or, flat. All in all I would recommend.
jrobles76's review against another edition
5.0
Joe Mckinney is an amazing writer! This Dead City series is spectacular! There are not enough exclamation points to say how much I love this book and series.
I like that the first two books started in the middle of things. The hurricanes had already happened, Zombies were already walking around. I liked that none of the first two books was an origin story. That left the way open for this one, which shows how it all started. That what makes this book work so well, it's that we already know how things turn out. There isn't going to be a happy ending. It adds a level of depth that wouldn't have been available if this had been the first in the series. You're rooting for the characters to make it out of Houston, but we know that even if they make it, it's gonna get worse pretty soon. If they make it out, they've only got more struggles ahead of them. It works brilliantly.
The book is as fast paced as the previous ones. At times I almost imagine McKinney typing at a furious pace to keep up with the action. If it were an audio book I'd imagine the reader running out of breath. You can feel the relentless nature of the zombies by his prose. You feel the tension and fear that the characters feel. You ask yourself not, "will they make it out", but "would I make it out?"
Equally amazing is that McKinney, again, manages to weave strong emotional stories among all the thrills and chills. This book is ultimately about, "what would you do for your family?" You have a mother and a father from two separate families fighting, sometimes literally, to get their families to safety. You feel for both characters even as you may not agree with their decisions. Their pain and struggles come through. All the characters again feel really "real".
If you love Zombies, or just good fiction, you should read this book.
I like that the first two books started in the middle of things. The hurricanes had already happened, Zombies were already walking around. I liked that none of the first two books was an origin story. That left the way open for this one, which shows how it all started. That what makes this book work so well, it's that we already know how things turn out. There isn't going to be a happy ending. It adds a level of depth that wouldn't have been available if this had been the first in the series. You're rooting for the characters to make it out of Houston, but we know that even if they make it, it's gonna get worse pretty soon. If they make it out, they've only got more struggles ahead of them. It works brilliantly.
The book is as fast paced as the previous ones. At times I almost imagine McKinney typing at a furious pace to keep up with the action. If it were an audio book I'd imagine the reader running out of breath. You can feel the relentless nature of the zombies by his prose. You feel the tension and fear that the characters feel. You ask yourself not, "will they make it out", but "would I make it out?"
Equally amazing is that McKinney, again, manages to weave strong emotional stories among all the thrills and chills. This book is ultimately about, "what would you do for your family?" You have a mother and a father from two separate families fighting, sometimes literally, to get their families to safety. You feel for both characters even as you may not agree with their decisions. Their pain and struggles come through. All the characters again feel really "real".
If you love Zombies, or just good fiction, you should read this book.
shan198025's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it. I want more Dead World stories. This book made me evaluate what I would do in some of the situations. I would like to think that I wouldn't be there in the first place, having listened to the evacuation warnings. But I suppose that as cops it was their jobs to stay in place to help. I would really love more details, I crave details when it comes to apocalyptic fiction. I'm happy to have the story of Houston after reading Dead City and Apocalypse of the Dead. Not so patiently waiting for The Zombie King next year then will read the whole series together.
lincolncreadsbooks's review
4.0
The third novel in his Dead World series. Like the first novel, Dead City, it features a cop as the main protagonist and several other officers in supporting roles. McKinney’s not retracing his steps, though; this cop is a female, and not all the cops are necessarily heroes. Best of all, Flesh Eaters is a prequel of sorts; where the first two books are set in the heart of the zombie apocalypse, this details the events and decisions contributing to the initial outbreak, as well as the escapades of a few bad guys who decide to divest an underwater bank of several million dollars that’s been recorded as being destroyed by a flood.
storysaurus_rex's review against another edition
2.5
Wasn’t the greatest thing but wasn’t the worst just meh
ptaradactyl's review
2.0
I wanted to like it. The premise is great and chilling for anyone who saw the Gulf Coast post-Katrina.
But the characters... Huh? I'm good-now-I'm bad-now-I'm-not? I think it was supposed to show that people were complex, but it was just uneven.
Oddly, seeing this is #3 in the series doesn't stop me from wanting to read #1 and #2. I'm just inclined to borrow, not buy.
But the characters... Huh? I'm good-now-I'm bad-now-I'm-not? I think it was supposed to show that people were complex, but it was just uneven.
Oddly, seeing this is #3 in the series doesn't stop me from wanting to read #1 and #2. I'm just inclined to borrow, not buy.
trike's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. Very well-written overall. I was a bit disappointed that this is a prequel to the previous two books in the Dead World series (Dead City and Apocalypse of the Dead), so we kind of know what's happening and there was an interesting zombie-related development towards the end of AotD that was intriguing yet left hanging, but I still read it eagerly. I didn't fully buy Captain Shaw's behavior at the end. I get that he's a man pushed past his breaking point, but it seemed to go a bit left-turny, if you get my meaning.