sueotwell's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the new angle of zombie apocalypse story. I actually liked how Moody put off bringing Michael and Emma back until we met another group of survivors. I also like how they show if the 'virus' was a one time thing or if it is still lingering. ...
sueotwell's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed the book although I didnt connect as well with these characters as I have with the previous books. I hope to reconnect in the next book.
zodwallop's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Autumn is... slow. The book starts with a great evocation of the plague that causes this particular zombie uprising. The initial outbreak is handled really well and moody has some unique ideas with his zombies. Ideas that work and don't break what makes Romero-style zombies work.
But man. For the first half of the book, a group of survivors gather and then... sit around and mope. Perhaps it's a difference between US culture and UK culture. But I just kept waiting for the survivors to get up off their asses. Gather some supplies. Figure out how they are going to take care of themselves. Something. The first half just went on without momentum. Which could work with a lot of solid character work. But David Moody, while not a bad writer, just isn't Stephen King.
In George's zombie movies, the living dead were an omnipresent background threat, but the source of real tension was always toxic combinations of survivors. However in Autumn, all those nice British people were just too agreeable for this to work. So we have low tension and no forward momentum with characters that aren't especially engaging.
The book picks up some momentum in the second half. But even then, the speed goes from a slow walk to a moderate trot.
In the end, Autumn was okay. But I really have problems seeing how such slow paced book where nothing much happened spawned a nine book series.
But man. For the first half of the book, a group of survivors gather and then... sit around and mope. Perhaps it's a difference between US culture and UK culture. But I just kept waiting for the survivors to get up off their asses. Gather some supplies. Figure out how they are going to take care of themselves. Something. The first half just went on without momentum. Which could work with a lot of solid character work. But David Moody, while not a bad writer, just isn't Stephen King.
In George's zombie movies, the living dead were an omnipresent background threat, but the source of real tension was always toxic combinations of survivors. However in Autumn, all those nice British people were just too agreeable for this to work. So we have low tension and no forward momentum with characters that aren't especially engaging.
The book picks up some momentum in the second half. But even then, the speed goes from a slow walk to a moderate trot.
In the end, Autumn was okay. But I really have problems seeing how such slow paced book where nothing much happened spawned a nine book series.
koalathebear's review against another edition
1.0
I felt very disappointed in this. The reviews have been excellent and I had been looking forward to this novel and the others in the series. I'm stopping after this one because it felt lacklustre, unmemorable and the neither the characters nor the plotlines made an impression. There are definitely better zombie novels not there.
rynisreading's review against another edition
2.0
This book had a lot of potential based on the idea of the plot... but I found it to be pretty dull. It started out fairly promising but by about halfway through it was really just dragging on; it felt like the author had ran out of ideas and didn't really know where to take the story.
jrobles76's review against another edition
4.0
A great addition to the zombie genre. Moody did a great job with the Hater series in really bringing you into the action and emotion of what an apocalypse feels like, and with this story he really brings you into the Zombie Apocalypse. I love that everyone in the story has a fear of the walking dead, even though they weren't even aggressors for most of the story. It's a really great slow burn novel. I hope to read the other 4 in the series by the end of the year.
gnomon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
trudilibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
If there is such a thing as “a nice little zombie story” then Moody’s Autumn is it. It sticks fairly close to Romero zombie canon right down to the survivors barricading themselves in a farmhouse. What I did enjoy tremendously was Moody’s slow build. Some have found it annoying and dull – I was actually grooving it. First everyone drops dead – shock, horror! Then a third of the corpses gets up and begins to walk again. WTF!!!??? Holy Moses on a crutch!
Then as if you aren’t PTSD’ing enough, the brainless, wandering, dumb-like-cattle corpses suddenly start to be attracted to noise, to light and finally to YOU. They’re slow, they’re stupid, but they’re determined and now seem to have a single-minded purpose. To grab at you. To pull at you. One of them coming at you is laughable. Twenty a bit upsetting. These zombies aren’t biting yet, gutting you and pulling out your insides, but a hundred can smother you. A thousand will crush you. Where do you go? How do you keep them away from you? And is such a world really worth fighting to survive?
The zombies are never called zombies of course. I’m hard-pressed to think of a zombie apocalypse in fiction where the creatures already existed in popular culture when the real thing comes along. The only example that comes to mind is the classic, not-to-be-missed horror/comedy Return of the Living Dead. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, what the hell are you waiting for??? An actual zombie apocalypse? In it, the dead come to life and start lurching around screaming for brains and correct me if I’m wrong zombie-lovers, but this may be the first time ever on film that we get the now famous imagery of zombies hungering for brains. I think the whole “brains and zombies” thing definitely started with this movie. What’s more, the characters first try to kill a zombie by putting a pick-axe through its skull and then when that doesn’t work, chopping its head, which still doesn’t work prompting the following memorable dialogue:
Burt: I thought you said if we destroyed the brain, it'd die!
Frank: It worked in the movie!
Burt Wilson: Well, it ain't working now, Frank!
Freddy: You mean the movie lied?
Yes! The movie lied. But I digress.
Overall, there’s nothing hugely original or compelling in Moody’s little zombie tale, but I still had a great time reading it. The prose is a little rough (and it could use some editing), but this gives the novel a pulpy feel that works so well for this genre. I will definitely be reading on in this series, suspecting the zombies are only going to get much worse (if they don’t rot away to skeletons first, because they do appear to be still decaying!). Recommended for zombie lovers and apocalypse addicts everywhere.
Then as if you aren’t PTSD’ing enough, the brainless, wandering, dumb-like-cattle corpses suddenly start to be attracted to noise, to light and finally to YOU. They’re slow, they’re stupid, but they’re determined and now seem to have a single-minded purpose. To grab at you. To pull at you. One of them coming at you is laughable. Twenty a bit upsetting. These zombies aren’t biting yet, gutting you and pulling out your insides, but a hundred can smother you. A thousand will crush you. Where do you go? How do you keep them away from you? And is such a world really worth fighting to survive?
The zombies are never called zombies of course. I’m hard-pressed to think of a zombie apocalypse in fiction where the creatures already existed in popular culture when the real thing comes along. The only example that comes to mind is the classic, not-to-be-missed horror/comedy Return of the Living Dead. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, what the hell are you waiting for??? An actual zombie apocalypse? In it, the dead come to life and start lurching around screaming for brains and correct me if I’m wrong zombie-lovers, but this may be the first time ever on film that we get the now famous imagery of zombies hungering for brains. I think the whole “brains and zombies” thing definitely started with this movie. What’s more, the characters first try to kill a zombie by putting a pick-axe through its skull and then when that doesn’t work, chopping its head, which still doesn’t work prompting the following memorable dialogue:
Burt: I thought you said if we destroyed the brain, it'd die!
Frank: It worked in the movie!
Burt Wilson: Well, it ain't working now, Frank!
Freddy: You mean the movie lied?
Yes! The movie lied. But I digress.
Overall, there’s nothing hugely original or compelling in Moody’s little zombie tale, but I still had a great time reading it. The prose is a little rough (and it could use some editing), but this gives the novel a pulpy feel that works so well for this genre. I will definitely be reading on in this series, suspecting the zombies are only going to get much worse (if they don’t rot away to skeletons first, because they do appear to be still decaying!). Recommended for zombie lovers and apocalypse addicts everywhere.
trudilibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
I expect a lot from my zombie fiction – terror, suspense, action, snappy dialogue, characters I can care about – and if it’s a novel really firing on all cylinders, originality. In other words, authors don’t get a free pass to slack off just because they’ve gone the zombie route. It’s true that part of the genre’s enduring appeal comes from its familiar tropes – I read the books (and watch the movies) because the stuff I’m pretty certain will happen is all good, reliable fun. So while the overall story always feels familiar, the devil is in the details. If an author / filmmaker can take what’s so awesome about the genre but add a twist or two that’s totally new and unexpected, well then, ladies and gentlemen, what you have is a champion.
David Moody has come dangerously close to outright failure on all these counts with this second installment of his Autumn series. Words cannot express how supremely disappointed I am in this book but I’m gonna try. First off, this is a “companion” book, not a sequel, because it really doesn’t move the story along at all, but rather re-tells the plot of Book 1, just from the perspective of a different group of survivors. Two characters from Book 1 show up again and briefly add to the action. A review here on Goodreads points out: “Had you not read the 1st book in the series you could still pick this one up and start without being lost.” Yeah you could, because it’s essentially the same goddamn book! The only thing that prevents it from being identical is that the story is moved a smidge forward in the last few pages to set up Book 3. What could have improved things tremendously is if the two books and 600 pages had been edited down to 350 pages and one book. So, strike one.
Strike two: this book is DULL. How the hell can a zombie apocalypse ever be dull? I didn’t think it was possible, but there’s just no fierce tension or heart-pounding action. There are some scenes running from zombies that should get the adrenaline going, but just fall flat. And for this I’m really pissed because I know Moody can write awesome action sequences like nobody’s business (check out [b:Hater|263460|Hater (Hater, #1)|David Moody|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266509430s/263460.jpg|255392]), and draw out the suspense until you scream Uncle. This effort just doesn’t cut it. No way no how. I love zombies, and I think Moody is pretty cool, but I refuse to let this one slide, regardless of the book blurbs waxing poetic on its awesomeness and even the gushing reviews here on Goodreads. What the hell people? Have your standards dropped so low, or is that all you expect from zombie fiction these days?
Strike three: I know I mentioned that “different” or original is good, but zombies that don’t bite (and continue to decay) kinda suck ass. The premise sort of intrigued me in Book 1. Moody almost had me convinced that zombies don’t have to rip you up to be frightening – get enough of them and you’re either smothered or crushed. But after reading another 320 pages of this kind of lurching zombie behavior, with no gore, no ripping, no biting, I’m suddenly not so enamored anymore.
So three strikes you’re out, right? ::sigh:: I am going to read on in this series though, because I have to believe it will get better. I’m also curious to see just how far Moody will take the story. So far, he’s only tackled the first weeks of the apocalypse. That’s the easy part to tell. The tough part is what happens next. Will he go there, and what will his post-apocalyptic world look like populated by desiccated reanimated corpses?
David Moody has come dangerously close to outright failure on all these counts with this second installment of his Autumn series. Words cannot express how supremely disappointed I am in this book but I’m gonna try. First off, this is a “companion” book, not a sequel, because it really doesn’t move the story along at all, but rather re-tells the plot of Book 1, just from the perspective of a different group of survivors. Two characters from Book 1 show up again and briefly add to the action. A review here on Goodreads points out: “Had you not read the 1st book in the series you could still pick this one up and start without being lost.” Yeah you could, because it’s essentially the same goddamn book! The only thing that prevents it from being identical is that the story is moved a smidge forward in the last few pages to set up Book 3. What could have improved things tremendously is if the two books and 600 pages had been edited down to 350 pages and one book. So, strike one.
Strike two: this book is DULL. How the hell can a zombie apocalypse ever be dull? I didn’t think it was possible, but there’s just no fierce tension or heart-pounding action. There are some scenes running from zombies that should get the adrenaline going, but just fall flat. And for this I’m really pissed because I know Moody can write awesome action sequences like nobody’s business (check out [b:Hater|263460|Hater (Hater, #1)|David Moody|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266509430s/263460.jpg|255392]), and draw out the suspense until you scream Uncle. This effort just doesn’t cut it. No way no how. I love zombies, and I think Moody is pretty cool, but I refuse to let this one slide, regardless of the book blurbs waxing poetic on its awesomeness and even the gushing reviews here on Goodreads. What the hell people? Have your standards dropped so low, or is that all you expect from zombie fiction these days?
Strike three: I know I mentioned that “different” or original is good, but zombies that don’t bite (and continue to decay) kinda suck ass. The premise sort of intrigued me in Book 1. Moody almost had me convinced that zombies don’t have to rip you up to be frightening – get enough of them and you’re either smothered or crushed. But after reading another 320 pages of this kind of lurching zombie behavior, with no gore, no ripping, no biting, I’m suddenly not so enamored anymore.
So three strikes you’re out, right? ::sigh:: I am going to read on in this series though, because I have to believe it will get better. I’m also curious to see just how far Moody will take the story. So far, he’s only tackled the first weeks of the apocalypse. That’s the easy part to tell. The tough part is what happens next. Will he go there, and what will his post-apocalyptic world look like populated by desiccated reanimated corpses?
suey_library's review against another edition
5.0
Whew! As many of you know this past year has not been kind to me with reading motivation but when I say all I needed was a good zombie dystopian genius to pull me out, David Moody was the right amount. Being a huge fan of his Hater Series as well as some of his novella works, I was excited to finally go back and finish reading Autumn. I mean honestly, when the recommendations say ‘A bastard hybrid of War of the Worlds and Night of the Living Dead‘ how can you not want to see for yourself if it lives up to expectations.
Right at the jump, we are thrown into a couple of dynamics between three main characters at the start of pandemic. Carl, Emma, and Micheal. Carl is thrown into a morally grey encounter to race home only to find his wife and daughter dead, Emma stayed home sick for the day but finally goes out and watches people around her drop then buries herself under the safety of her covers, and lastly Micheal who was in the middle of a public service at a school only to watch as teenagers drop dead in a matter of minutes.
What I like most about the start of the character development is the reader is presented with three main individuals who are forced into coexistence for survival mode. Emotions are high, gritting fear and uncertainty while trying to understand the others personality enough to build some type of connection. How does the end of humanity result on the morals of human nature? And more importantly, are there more survivors? Surprise, there are. Not all though are sane, and some are the dead walking around.
"Up ahead of them, a couple of hundred meters away at most, was a huge crows of bodies just as the girl had said. The early-morning gloom made if difficult to estimate how many of them were there. They stood their ground; a tightly packed, incalculable number of figures which seemed in the low light to have become a single solid dark shape. DAVID MOODY | AUTUMN PG 80
So here we are, what is the world now? At the beginning there is a group of survivors that our trio is involved with, at first they are all soaking in the current state of the area. Then as human nature would react, everyone is trying to figure out the next steps all the while the dead bodies that littered the streets are starting to change. One by one, they get up, stagger around, eventually start to become more mobile, more coherent to the surroundings.
For me, what I liked more about this eerie scenario is that the suspense of the changes is what keeps you on the edge of the seat. The group inspects bodies, walk near them, even touches them at certain points and all the while the reader is just waiting for the moment when one reacts. Snatching a character to bite into their flesh. But it is a slow building, a slow yet crippling build. Obviously the inevitable does happen however the build getting to that point was beautifully structured, left the heart pounding with each encounter. Each time the group went out to collect supplies or inspected the area it was like my mind reeling at the possibilities of when someone would be a meal…
Oh man, and the times when the bodies grouped up. Oh my lanta, there were shakes. I physically shake reading the moments when the undead circled the van, the fence, oh gosh, the farm. Just… wow.
"You can’t begin to imagine what this feels like… This is killing me. Every morning I wake up and I wish that it was over. Every single day the pain is worse than the last. I still can’t accept that they’ve gone and I just…" DAVID MOODY | AUTUMN PG 188
The entire novel was a constant change between the world building and the characters reactions towards it. Emma is trying to figure out what truly caused the pandemic, Carl is completely grief stricken while Michael, even in his arrogant blunt form is just trying to be the voice of reason. And honestly, I loved that the conversations between the characters was realistic. There are moments of reminiscing, collective thoughts on ‘what would you be doing now’ or thinking about what day it was. Then you have the anger, the heated conversations that starts to play out on how the characters are truly coping.
Once the trio established themselves in Penn Farm, there starts to become an unspoken routine between them. A feeling of safe yet this hovering gloom of terror waiting for it to be destroyed. I did feel a sort of foreshadowing with Carl, he was very much split on wanting to survive and wanting an excuse to stop. Then when he wanted to separate himself, go back to the community center in the city, my heart dropped. I can’t say too much without spoilers, but I just really liked how the three of them reacted so differently in the same situation, it developed so many volumes of what a true person would react when faced in this pandemic. Really played on my mind on the ‘what if’ this and that.
"After a brief moment of awkwardness and reluctance they both began to cry freely. For the first time since they’d lost everything on that desperate autumn morning two weeks ago, they both finally dropped their guard. They cried for all they’d lost and left behind, they cried for their absent friend, and they cried for each other." DAVID MOODY | AUTUMN PG 241
Bottom line, I needed this read. I enjoyed it beyond words. I was hooked the second I read the first page of prologue and instantly connected with the characters. I really enjoyed how the raw emotions of each character was well thought out to grip the reader. You felt their fear as they felt it, the uncertainty, the courage and the pain. Its beyond creepy and beautifully bleak.
I am excited to see what will come of Emma and Micheal. I found myself semi-rooting for a budding romance, which might come as a surprise to most with my love for romance books, but when it comes to horror genre, I much prefer the world building and gore of the plot rather than adding some forced relationship. But oh my lanta, watching their friendship develop has made me interested to see where this might lead for the two. Dare I say I have hope with that being said Moody does not kill them off…
Well we are off to Autumn: The City!
Right at the jump, we are thrown into a couple of dynamics between three main characters at the start of pandemic. Carl, Emma, and Micheal. Carl is thrown into a morally grey encounter to race home only to find his wife and daughter dead, Emma stayed home sick for the day but finally goes out and watches people around her drop then buries herself under the safety of her covers, and lastly Micheal who was in the middle of a public service at a school only to watch as teenagers drop dead in a matter of minutes.
What I like most about the start of the character development is the reader is presented with three main individuals who are forced into coexistence for survival mode. Emotions are high, gritting fear and uncertainty while trying to understand the others personality enough to build some type of connection. How does the end of humanity result on the morals of human nature? And more importantly, are there more survivors? Surprise, there are. Not all though are sane, and some are the dead walking around.
"Up ahead of them, a couple of hundred meters away at most, was a huge crows of bodies just as the girl had said. The early-morning gloom made if difficult to estimate how many of them were there. They stood their ground; a tightly packed, incalculable number of figures which seemed in the low light to have become a single solid dark shape. DAVID MOODY | AUTUMN PG 80
So here we are, what is the world now? At the beginning there is a group of survivors that our trio is involved with, at first they are all soaking in the current state of the area. Then as human nature would react, everyone is trying to figure out the next steps all the while the dead bodies that littered the streets are starting to change. One by one, they get up, stagger around, eventually start to become more mobile, more coherent to the surroundings.
For me, what I liked more about this eerie scenario is that the suspense of the changes is what keeps you on the edge of the seat. The group inspects bodies, walk near them, even touches them at certain points and all the while the reader is just waiting for the moment when one reacts. Snatching a character to bite into their flesh. But it is a slow building, a slow yet crippling build. Obviously the inevitable does happen however the build getting to that point was beautifully structured, left the heart pounding with each encounter. Each time the group went out to collect supplies or inspected the area it was like my mind reeling at the possibilities of when someone would be a meal…
Oh man, and the times when the bodies grouped up. Oh my lanta, there were shakes. I physically shake reading the moments when the undead circled the van, the fence, oh gosh, the farm. Just… wow.
"You can’t begin to imagine what this feels like… This is killing me. Every morning I wake up and I wish that it was over. Every single day the pain is worse than the last. I still can’t accept that they’ve gone and I just…" DAVID MOODY | AUTUMN PG 188
The entire novel was a constant change between the world building and the characters reactions towards it. Emma is trying to figure out what truly caused the pandemic, Carl is completely grief stricken while Michael, even in his arrogant blunt form is just trying to be the voice of reason. And honestly, I loved that the conversations between the characters was realistic. There are moments of reminiscing, collective thoughts on ‘what would you be doing now’ or thinking about what day it was. Then you have the anger, the heated conversations that starts to play out on how the characters are truly coping.
Once the trio established themselves in Penn Farm, there starts to become an unspoken routine between them. A feeling of safe yet this hovering gloom of terror waiting for it to be destroyed. I did feel a sort of foreshadowing with Carl, he was very much split on wanting to survive and wanting an excuse to stop. Then when he wanted to separate himself, go back to the community center in the city, my heart dropped. I can’t say too much without spoilers, but I just really liked how the three of them reacted so differently in the same situation, it developed so many volumes of what a true person would react when faced in this pandemic. Really played on my mind on the ‘what if’ this and that.
"After a brief moment of awkwardness and reluctance they both began to cry freely. For the first time since they’d lost everything on that desperate autumn morning two weeks ago, they both finally dropped their guard. They cried for all they’d lost and left behind, they cried for their absent friend, and they cried for each other." DAVID MOODY | AUTUMN PG 241
Bottom line, I needed this read. I enjoyed it beyond words. I was hooked the second I read the first page of prologue and instantly connected with the characters. I really enjoyed how the raw emotions of each character was well thought out to grip the reader. You felt their fear as they felt it, the uncertainty, the courage and the pain. Its beyond creepy and beautifully bleak.
I am excited to see what will come of Emma and Micheal. I found myself semi-rooting for a budding romance, which might come as a surprise to most with my love for romance books, but when it comes to horror genre, I much prefer the world building and gore of the plot rather than adding some forced relationship. But oh my lanta, watching their friendship develop has made me interested to see where this might lead for the two. Dare I say I have hope with that being said Moody does not kill them off…
Well we are off to Autumn: The City!