readerxxx's review against another edition
1.0
this is supposed to be a masterpiece of zombie fiction. I got 3/4 of the way through it and just stopped giving a crap. I have too little reading time to read books that dont engage me.
jerefi's review against another edition
1.0
Someone on the el platform asked me if my book was good yesterday and I said without hesitation, "Absolutely not." Having Death as a character could be cool and a book about a zombie apocalypse could also be cool. Putting the two together should be as well, but in the case of this book, not even close. So glad I paid less than a dollar for it. Now to be rid of it...
paulopaperbooksonly's review
2.0
've read nearly every zombie book out there I guess so I had to read this too. This was new to me. When I read the blurb I thought "This is new and interesting. Let us buy" (I usually don't speak as Gollum, but it's the mood). This could be a great novel. The ideia behind Death investigating why the dead are not coming and about the life in a city that is being abanonded by the military. We follow dozen of characters in fortish chapters (inbetween we have some entries in form of a journal and five chapters with a special force that really don't do anything beside seing the apocalypse rider and trying to find it and confirm his presence. Faith is important here where some people still believe in god and the zombies a form of punishment and others that really don't care. The Goverment is atypical of other goverments where they don't care about anyone except themselves. It's quite a cliche.
It had some good premise but everting fails.First a cross-breading virus that makes thing undead. Not just people but also animals, fish and it's hinted insects as well. But would life still exist after 100 years? The zombies in the other end are a little better. As they feed on other animals they gain power and become runners or more powerful. The inverse what happen? They died? After 100 years is there any abundant life avaiable to them?
(More) Criticisms
- Too many characters: At times I could figure it out who was who or what they were. Until 3/4 of the book I tried to remember a couple of names and everybody else was confusing. And everyone dies and without purpose. They were cannon fodder.
- Dialogues & Writing: My god, what a mess. In one chapter we are with one character and without any indication in the next sentence another character in a different location is talking. It made the storyline falter at some points.
- Proff-reading and editing, anyone? Was it making a script for a movie/game or a novel?
- Pet Zombies & Zombies that just don't die. Interesting no? Well, no. How does a zombie survive without a head? Only a body?
Things that could be Good
- Death - Great character (the end where he made a choice that had dire consequences to him) but unfortunally it appears not so often to be good and it's not that well characterzied.
- It was in the year 2112 but with an unbelieveble scenario
- Maybe the sequel will be better but we will never see it because I won't be buying more.
Good
- Meh. Maybe chapter 41 where Death talks to someone in a higher place.
Conclusion
I pay almost 10 euros for a book for a tradepaperback with only 280 pages and with big letters. It would fit into a mass book with 200/220 pages easily. And unfortunally (again) it's the first of a series. I bought this one but I don't see myself buying the second. If you like zombies and read everything else then try this one. If you like Romero's movies or "normal" zombies or you are new to them then don't pick this book. There are a lot books out there greater than this one.
It had some good premise but everting fails.First a cross-breading virus that makes thing undead. Not just people but also animals, fish and it's hinted insects as well. But would life still exist after 100 years? The zombies in the other end are a little better. As they feed on other animals they gain power and become runners or more powerful. The inverse what happen? They died? After 100 years is there any abundant life avaiable to them?
(More) Criticisms
- Too many characters: At times I could figure it out who was who or what they were. Until 3/4 of the book I tried to remember a couple of names and everybody else was confusing. And everyone dies and without purpose. They were cannon fodder.
- Dialogues & Writing: My god, what a mess. In one chapter we are with one character and without any indication in the next sentence another character in a different location is talking. It made the storyline falter at some points.
- Proff-reading and editing, anyone? Was it making a script for a movie/game or a novel?
- Pet Zombies & Zombies that just don't die. Interesting no? Well, no. How does a zombie survive without a head? Only a body?
Things that could be Good
- Death - Great character (the end where he made a choice that had dire consequences to him) but unfortunally it appears not so often to be good and it's not that well characterzied.
- It was in the year 2112 but with an unbelieveble scenario
- Maybe the sequel will be better but we will never see it because I won't be buying more.
Good
- Meh. Maybe chapter 41 where Death talks to someone in a higher place.
Conclusion
I pay almost 10 euros for a book for a tradepaperback with only 280 pages and with big letters. It would fit into a mass book with 200/220 pages easily. And unfortunally (again) it's the first of a series. I bought this one but I don't see myself buying the second. If you like zombies and read everything else then try this one. If you like Romero's movies or "normal" zombies or you are new to them then don't pick this book. There are a lot books out there greater than this one.
horrorghoul's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this book. Angel Of Death, zombies, and a creepy dude with a dog mask = win!
moto1480's review against another edition
2.0
UGH. So much potential in this book and most of it wasted. The author seemed unable to decide whether he wanted the story to be: 1) supernatural and Lovecraft-like, 2) a gritty, military Band of Brothers tale, 3) a survival against the odds, 4) commentary on the US government or 5) Death (the horseman) shows up and takes back the world from the zombies. It feels like he just threw all of these ideas against a wall and hoped that a coherent story came out of it. I'm sure you could guess how that went.
Also, violence against women: can we quit using that as an insta-sympathize card? It just felt gratuitous and completely unnecessary. The character that experienced said violence was already in a terrible situation without that added to it. In the same vein, why was there not one, but TWO, pedophiles in this book? I could understand the writer's need to have the villain lean that way, but for the other character? Not relevant and added nothing to the story. Finally, some pointless death is acceptable (after all, it's a story about zombies) but there were several characters who were introduced only to die in the next, or sometimes even the same, chapter. Why am I supposed to care who lives or dies if they're all theoretically going to go for no good reason except to raise the body count?
The tragedy of this book is that there is a good story in the text dying (no pun intended) to get out. The Death plotline by itself was excellent. I found myself greedily reading through the chapters he appeared in and hoping he'd show up more. Most of the human characters were completely unlikable. I don't necessarily need someone to root for in the books I read, but when the only two decent human characters are a child (who is the epitome of naive and serves no real purpose but to move the plot along) and a reverend who has mostly lost her faith...well, out of a cast of about 20-25 characters, it gets tiring.
So much chaff, not enough wheat. I'll probably read the sequel, but only because I want more Death.
Also, violence against women: can we quit using that as an insta-sympathize card? It just felt gratuitous and completely unnecessary. The character that experienced said violence was already in a terrible situation without that added to it. In the same vein, why was there not one, but TWO, pedophiles in this book? I could understand the writer's need to have the villain lean that way, but for the other character? Not relevant and added nothing to the story. Finally, some pointless death is acceptable (after all, it's a story about zombies) but there were several characters who were introduced only to die in the next, or sometimes even the same, chapter. Why am I supposed to care who lives or dies if they're all theoretically going to go for no good reason except to raise the body count?
The tragedy of this book is that there is a good story in the text dying (no pun intended) to get out. The Death plotline by itself was excellent. I found myself greedily reading through the chapters he appeared in and hoping he'd show up more. Most of the human characters were completely unlikable. I don't necessarily need someone to root for in the books I read, but when the only two decent human characters are a child (who is the epitome of naive and serves no real purpose but to move the plot along) and a reverend who has mostly lost her faith...well, out of a cast of about 20-25 characters, it gets tiring.
So much chaff, not enough wheat. I'll probably read the sequel, but only because I want more Death.
rovertoak's review against another edition
4.0
Plenty of action, horror, and suspense and good writing to boot. From the description, I figured the spectre of "Death" would play more of a role against the undead, but he plays more of a minor role. This ended up working very well. Recommended to fans of the genre!
patchy710's review against another edition
2.0
Not my type of zombie novel. The author took the concept of the zombie to a different level. As the undead eat they become more and more lifelike. The color of their skin even returns. No Me Gusta.
horrorghoul's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this book. Angel Of Death, zombies, and a creepy dude with a dog mask = win!
swarnell's review against another edition
1.0
could not finish this book. got halfway and was still having a difficult time getting into it, decided to put myself out of my misery and stop reading. very disappointing, such an awesome idea. just not executed well.