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wicked_turtle's review against another edition
3.0
Good stuff first:
This book has a fantastic premise: what would a group of superheroes do in the event of a zombie apocalypse? In the world Peter Clines has created, the heroes team up and create a safe haven in Los Angeles at a former movie studio (Paramount, known in the book simply as “The Mount”). But even behind the relative safety of concrete walls, these survivors' lives are not without struggle. I enjoyed learning about each of the heroes, what motivates them to keep fighting, what their hopes and fears are, and how they approach their roles as protectors for the remaining civilian population. The action sequences are blistering and hard-hitting. There are also multiple sources of tension to keep things interesting, with the most fun stuff occurring between the heroes themselves. I think the main characters are wonderful: the enigmatic leader, Stealth (analogous to Bat Woman), the “boy scout” St. George (similar to Superman but with fire breath instead of ice breath), and the tough-talkin’ Gorgon (who has an interesting vampire-like power) were my favorites of the group.
I also liked the structure of the narrative. There’s two ongoing stories, one that takes place “then” and one that takes place “now.” All of the “then” sections features one of the heroes and their experiences during the beginning of the zombie apocalypse, all told from first person POV. I enjoyed these vignettes because they provided more backstory and a better understanding of why the heroes – those who survived, anyway – act the way they do in the present. The main story takes place in the “now” sections, which are in third person omniscient but usually following one or two of the superheroes. This is where the majority of the plot movement takes place, and where we get to see the heroes doing what they do best: killing zombies and getting into trouble.
So, the story is fun, but there were some things that bothered me:
I’ve lived in southern California all my life, with about 15+ of those years spent in Los Angeles. While Clines has a strong grasp of all the streets and landmarks, I don’t think he captured the diversity of the community. The vast majority of survivors and superheroes are all white. With the exception of Zzzap, who is African-American and in a wheel chair, the other heroes don’t reflect real-life LA demographics. Sure, there’s a Korean American hero, but she’s only seen in flashbacks. And speaking of Asian Americans (because I’m a part of that community), I find it problematic that a Korean American hero would willfully choose a Japanese name (“Banzai”) that has a lot of negative connotations thanks to WWII. One of her parents even brings that up, but the character brushes it aside. Maybe it can pass as a teenager being rebellious and getting under her parents’ skin – in the worst way possible – but then she needs their permission to go out at night and fight crime! That doesn’t work, especially when she tells her parents that “Banzai” is just a word. No, it’s a loaded word, and this whole scene should have been approached with more respect towards Korean Americans. The whole “Korean hero using a Japanese name and wearing a ninja-inspired costume” issue also plays to the stereotype that “all Asians are alike and interchangeable.” Furthermore, two Asian women in the book are both described as “bitchy,” which propagates another terrible stereotype.
Continuing with the fact that most of the “good” survivors are white, I also find it cringe-worthy that the only other large community of survivors left in LA is a Latino gang portrayed as bloodthirsty, violent people. It wouldn’t be so bad if there were Latino characters representing the good guys’ side, but there are none to be found… in Los Angeles! LA has a huge Latino population, not to mention that the name of the city itself is in Spanish! It’s kind of ridiculous that the only featured Latino characters are evil gang bangers. Again, terrible stereotyping.
One more thing that irked me – the zombies are all described as having gray, decaying skin. The main narrative appears to take place a year or so since the collapse of government, so that makes sense. Why, then, does Clines find it important to describe the zombies by their ethnicity? It’s fine when he describes them by their clothing, but how can you possibly identify a gray, decaying zombie as “black,” “Mexican,” or “Asian” during a fight scene? Are the white narrators really categorizing all of this information while chopping the zombies’ heads off? There’s one scene where it’s really problematic: a bloated zombie in a bathtub attacks one of the survivors, and the zombie is described as being “Mexican or Indian” because the narrator couldn’t tell with all the decomposition. Ummm… Why does that even matter?! Can’t he just say it was a large, bloated carcass? I appreciate the fact that the zombies are so diverse (sarcasm), but I would have loved it even more if the group of heroes reflected the same diversity. Spider-Man: Homecoming did it for New York. I know it can be done for Los Angeles, too.
“Ex-Heroes” has a fun premise and an interesting plot, but the offensive stereotypes puts a huge dent in the whole experience. I would have given it 4 stars, but I'm knocking it down to 3 because of bad characterization.
This book has a fantastic premise: what would a group of superheroes do in the event of a zombie apocalypse? In the world Peter Clines has created, the heroes team up and create a safe haven in Los Angeles at a former movie studio (Paramount, known in the book simply as “The Mount”). But even behind the relative safety of concrete walls, these survivors' lives are not without struggle. I enjoyed learning about each of the heroes, what motivates them to keep fighting, what their hopes and fears are, and how they approach their roles as protectors for the remaining civilian population. The action sequences are blistering and hard-hitting. There are also multiple sources of tension to keep things interesting, with the most fun stuff occurring between the heroes themselves. I think the main characters are wonderful: the enigmatic leader, Stealth (analogous to Bat Woman), the “boy scout” St. George (similar to Superman but with fire breath instead of ice breath), and the tough-talkin’ Gorgon (who has an interesting vampire-like power) were my favorites of the group.
I also liked the structure of the narrative. There’s two ongoing stories, one that takes place “then” and one that takes place “now.” All of the “then” sections features one of the heroes and their experiences during the beginning of the zombie apocalypse, all told from first person POV. I enjoyed these vignettes because they provided more backstory and a better understanding of why the heroes – those who survived, anyway – act the way they do in the present. The main story takes place in the “now” sections, which are in third person omniscient but usually following one or two of the superheroes. This is where the majority of the plot movement takes place, and where we get to see the heroes doing what they do best: killing zombies and getting into trouble.
So, the story is fun, but there were some things that bothered me:
I’ve lived in southern California all my life, with about 15+ of those years spent in Los Angeles. While Clines has a strong grasp of all the streets and landmarks, I don’t think he captured the diversity of the community. The vast majority of survivors and superheroes are all white. With the exception of Zzzap, who is African-American and in a wheel chair, the other heroes don’t reflect real-life LA demographics. Sure, there’s a Korean American hero, but she’s only seen in flashbacks. And speaking of Asian Americans (because I’m a part of that community), I find it problematic that a Korean American hero would willfully choose a Japanese name (“Banzai”) that has a lot of negative connotations thanks to WWII. One of her parents even brings that up, but the character brushes it aside. Maybe it can pass as a teenager being rebellious and getting under her parents’ skin – in the worst way possible – but then she needs their permission to go out at night and fight crime! That doesn’t work, especially when she tells her parents that “Banzai” is just a word. No, it’s a loaded word, and this whole scene should have been approached with more respect towards Korean Americans. The whole “Korean hero using a Japanese name and wearing a ninja-inspired costume” issue also plays to the stereotype that “all Asians are alike and interchangeable.” Furthermore, two Asian women in the book are both described as “bitchy,” which propagates another terrible stereotype.
Continuing with the fact that most of the “good” survivors are white, I also find it cringe-worthy that the only other large community of survivors left in LA is a Latino gang portrayed as bloodthirsty, violent people. It wouldn’t be so bad if there were Latino characters representing the good guys’ side, but there are none to be found… in Los Angeles! LA has a huge Latino population, not to mention that the name of the city itself is in Spanish! It’s kind of ridiculous that the only featured Latino characters are evil gang bangers. Again, terrible stereotyping.
One more thing that irked me – the zombies are all described as having gray, decaying skin. The main narrative appears to take place a year or so since the collapse of government, so that makes sense. Why, then, does Clines find it important to describe the zombies by their ethnicity? It’s fine when he describes them by their clothing, but how can you possibly identify a gray, decaying zombie as “black,” “Mexican,” or “Asian” during a fight scene? Are the white narrators really categorizing all of this information while chopping the zombies’ heads off? There’s one scene where it’s really problematic: a bloated zombie in a bathtub attacks one of the survivors, and the zombie is described as being “Mexican or Indian” because the narrator couldn’t tell with all the decomposition. Ummm… Why does that even matter?! Can’t he just say it was a large, bloated carcass? I appreciate the fact that the zombies are so diverse (sarcasm), but I would have loved it even more if the group of heroes reflected the same diversity. Spider-Man: Homecoming did it for New York. I know it can be done for Los Angeles, too.
“Ex-Heroes” has a fun premise and an interesting plot, but the offensive stereotypes puts a huge dent in the whole experience. I would have given it 4 stars, but I'm knocking it down to 3 because of bad characterization.
h3dakota's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not a huge fan of zombie stories, but I'm a die hard superhero fan, so I had to read this one. I loved the afterword, where the author talks about resurrecting heroes he'd created in middle school. I really liked some of the superheroes, even some of the more typical ones. An added bonus that puts this story at a solid 3.5 stars: winning Doctor Who reference. ♥♥♥
rpych2's review against another edition
4.0
This one has been on my tbr forever, so when I saw it in person for the first time at the bookstore by my apartment I immediately bought it. It’s definitely one that is right up my alley; The Avengers meets The Walking Dead? Count me in. And it was really good, but it left something to be desired that kept it from being five stars.
The story was super fun, it’s a bunch of superheroes living at Paramount Studios trying to survive the zombie apocalypse and keep the people in their community safe. The few twists in the story were fantastic and definitely added a few different elements to the story that I loved. And I felt like most of the characters were pretty cool. Stealth seemed way she was too over the top and a wish fulfillment sorta thing (I mean, a former Miss Teen Universe that wears a super revealing costume and also has multiple PhDs and is the leader and one of the strongest superheroes is a bit much). But beyond that I didn’t have any issues with them. It’s definitely a series I’m going to keep going with it.
The story was super fun, it’s a bunch of superheroes living at Paramount Studios trying to survive the zombie apocalypse and keep the people in their community safe. The few twists in the story were fantastic and definitely added a few different elements to the story that I loved. And I felt like most of the characters were pretty cool. Stealth seemed way she was too over the top and a wish fulfillment sorta thing (I mean, a former Miss Teen Universe that wears a super revealing costume and also has multiple PhDs and is the leader and one of the strongest superheroes is a bit much). But beyond that I didn’t have any issues with them. It’s definitely a series I’m going to keep going with it.
jwanz86's review against another edition
4.0
Totally Avengers meets Walking Dead, minus the boring bits. It's a unique approach to a zombie apocalypse and a very intriguing superhero tale. Some super powered people seem very familiar to other comic characters but this is firmly grounded in modern day pop culture. It's a fun book, and even more intriguing to have it as a series. It's a solid, fun, nerdy read.
swkotor's review against another edition
2.0
I guess it was a cool idea to have super heroes fighting zombies but it was just too slow and not interesting enough.
erinld2005's review against another edition
1.0
No thanks. I can't finish this one. The characters are very stereotypical superheroes and it reads as if it's for a prepubescent boy, which I'm not. I don't think this is a horrible book, it's just not for me at all.
teachinsci's review against another edition
4.0
This was a well written book in terms of characterization and action sequences. For fans of both the superhero and the zombie apocalypse genres. Personally, I like how very few characters lives were sacred in the writing and I look forward to reading the next book in the series (with book 3 coming out soon).
guyfantastic's review against another edition
5.0
Super-heroes versus zombies...sounds like it'd be written for junior high school boys - lots of posing on skyscrapers, catch phrases, a dash of sex. Well, it's not. It reminds me a bit of Watchmen - these are real characters with depth and personalities, and they aren't superior in every way to the rest of us. Would super-fast reflexes make you good at killing zombies? Sure...for a while.
The book throws you into the middle of the zombie apocalypse, and then back-fills with flashbacks that cover some origin stories and other history. It leaves a few open questions, but mostly gives the full picture of what's happening and why. The book starts out pretty predictable, but takes a turn later on with a few surprises. I think if there was one flaw, it'd be that it doesn't have enough surprises. But it conveys a real sense of discovery both in the nature of the new world the heroes inhabit, and in the heroes' powers themselves, and I think that more than made up for it.
...Okay, if there were two flaws, the second would be that it wasn't grand enough in scope. The story is good, the character interaction is very good, but the scope is fairly limited. It has three or four major non-flashback scenes, all over the course of a few days. I'm glad to see that there is a sequel, and a third planned. Ex-Heroes definitely left me wanting more of the same.
The book throws you into the middle of the zombie apocalypse, and then back-fills with flashbacks that cover some origin stories and other history. It leaves a few open questions, but mostly gives the full picture of what's happening and why. The book starts out pretty predictable, but takes a turn later on with a few surprises. I think if there was one flaw, it'd be that it doesn't have enough surprises. But it conveys a real sense of discovery both in the nature of the new world the heroes inhabit, and in the heroes' powers themselves, and I think that more than made up for it.
...Okay, if there were two flaws, the second would be that it wasn't grand enough in scope. The story is good, the character interaction is very good, but the scope is fairly limited. It has three or four major non-flashback scenes, all over the course of a few days. I'm glad to see that there is a sequel, and a third planned. Ex-Heroes definitely left me wanting more of the same.
eatenbysharks's review against another edition
4.0
Very fun read. Superheroes and zombies...I mean, what's not to love.
matthewwester's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars. The premise alone hooked me -- A group of superheroes try to protect a film-studio-turned-fortress from a world full of zombies.
Even though this book dealt with unbelievable things (heroes and zombies), everything in the book felt genuine. The heroes were fleshed out, I thought the fortress system looked like something survivors would actually try, and I enjoyed hearing about missions into zombie-infested territories.
I was expecting a little more from the ending, meh, but overall not bad. A fun read.
Even though this book dealt with unbelievable things (heroes and zombies), everything in the book felt genuine. The heroes were fleshed out, I thought the fortress system looked like something survivors would actually try, and I enjoyed hearing about missions into zombie-infested territories.
I was expecting a little more from the ending, meh, but overall not bad. A fun read.