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alice_digest's review against another edition
3.0
I'm finally up to date with this series and while I'm still finding it highly entertaining, and I read this book in a little over a day, I'm starting to wish Clines would find a little more direction.. and maybe some new ideas rather than recycling the same stuff from the first two books.. again.
So yet another character we thought was dead from book two is back again, and while the plot is quite a neat idea the device he uses to pull it off is too similar to how Rodney/Peasy/Legion managed to survive. Things get very Matrix, or Inception - whichever your preferred dream state world - with the opening of the books seeing George and the other heroes living their pre-superpowers pre-zombie apocalypse lives. Only Maddy seems aware that it isn't real and she tries to convince George and the others so they can wake up and deal with whatever the latest threat to The Mount is.
It was a refreshing change to have our heroes in a functioning recognisable world and relearning their powers to an extent. Stealth also is out of her masked ninja fetish outfit and in normal clothes (so we get a billion descriptions of her impossibly beautiful face). It definitely mixed things up in a way that was refreshing, although the pop culture references that I usually enjoy began to reach a critical mass as they tried to figure things out. I'm never adverse to a Monty Python sketch though.
George is still in the main protagonist seat, and once again there was maybe too little of my favourites Barry and Danielle. I enjoy learning more about Stealth's backstory (her father in this case). The action is still as ridiculous as you'd expect from these books - pretty epic "boss fight." There is a particularly awesome bit of window jumping from Stealth! I felt it was a bit cruel to dangle Gorgon and Banzai in front of me.. I'm still not over that! (Goddamn I loved Gorgon). Plus in true comic book style the rules of the universe and what the limits of people's powers are continue to change on a whim.
I've got to a point now though where I feel after four books there should be a bit of an overall direction or story arc to this now. 'Monster of the week' only is interesting for so long before it gets repetitive.. especially when you are recycling the same three bloody villains! (There is no Legion, for which I am eternally grateful for). Please, please get some new ideas Peter Clines. I love these books, they're insane fun but I need something actually new to happen now.
The ending was kind of cool so I still have hopes for another books!
So yet another character we thought was dead from book two is back again, and while the plot is quite a neat idea the device he uses to pull it off is too similar to how Rodney/Peasy/Legion managed to survive. Things get very Matrix, or Inception - whichever your preferred dream state world - with the opening of the books seeing George and the other heroes living their pre-superpowers pre-zombie apocalypse lives. Only Maddy seems aware that it isn't real and she tries to convince George and the others so they can wake up and deal with whatever the latest threat to The Mount is.
It was a refreshing change to have our heroes in a functioning recognisable world and relearning their powers to an extent. Stealth also is out of her masked ninja fetish outfit and in normal clothes (so we get a billion descriptions of her impossibly beautiful face). It definitely mixed things up in a way that was refreshing, although the pop culture references that I usually enjoy began to reach a critical mass as they tried to figure things out. I'm never adverse to a Monty Python sketch though.
George is still in the main protagonist seat, and once again there was maybe too little of my favourites Barry and Danielle. I enjoy learning more about Stealth's backstory (her father in this case). The action is still as ridiculous as you'd expect from these books - pretty epic "boss fight." There is a particularly awesome bit of window jumping from Stealth! I felt it was a bit cruel to dangle Gorgon and Banzai in front of me.. I'm still not over that! (Goddamn I loved Gorgon). Plus in true comic book style the rules of the universe and what the limits of people's powers are continue to change on a whim.
I've got to a point now though where I feel after four books there should be a bit of an overall direction or story arc to this now. 'Monster of the week' only is interesting for so long before it gets repetitive.. especially when you are recycling the same three bloody villains! (There is no Legion, for which I am eternally grateful for). Please, please get some new ideas Peter Clines. I love these books, they're insane fun but I need something actually new to happen now.
The ending was kind of cool so I still have hopes for another books!
aestro's review against another edition
4.0
Even though the whole zombie genre is running out steam, I found this book to be highly enjoyable. As with the rest of the series, the zombies are more of a background character than a full fledge enemy, being more of a mild annoyance to the superheroes characters. Ex-purgatory sees the return of all the superheroes we have come to like in the ex series, but this time we can see what their life would had been like if the outbreak did not happen. I find Clines to be a guilty pleasure, his books having the rhythm that has more in common with a TV show than a book. The action advances a bit slower in this case, but you always want to know what mystery lies at the bottom of the story.
My only complaint is that it is hard to believe the origin story of the main villain and the whole idea seems a little bit stretched. But Overall, I would definitively recommend this book.
My only complaint is that it is hard to believe the origin story of the main villain and the whole idea seems a little bit stretched. But Overall, I would definitively recommend this book.
scottpm's review against another edition
4.0
A little bit of a longer read than other books in the series and a slower pace. Still a great story.
I also love the concept. Zombies+Superheroes+a Villan=TONS OF FUN AWESOMENESS!!!
I also love the concept. Zombies+Superheroes+a Villan=TONS OF FUN AWESOMENESS!!!
stridera's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. It had enough intrigue to keep me in suspense through most of it. It kept me curious of what was happening next pretty much the whole time and I couldn't put it down.
shan198025's review against another edition
4.0
At first I was confused. Was this whole book a flashback? What the heck. Finally figured it out. Pretty good.
beardedbarista's review against another edition
5.0
This book series is going to be the next big thing! Read them now so you can be more hip than your friends and make sure to tell them I told you so!
Clines does it again with this fourth and most thought provoking book! It is awesome getting to know these characters more and will be so pumped when they green light the movies into existence!!
Book gets 5 stars! Series gets a sweeping 5 stars and I am sure when book 5 comes out I will slam my clicky arrow down hard on the 5th star once more!
Peter Clines FTW! EX-Heroes FTW!!
Clines does it again with this fourth and most thought provoking book! It is awesome getting to know these characters more and will be so pumped when they green light the movies into existence!!
Book gets 5 stars! Series gets a sweeping 5 stars and I am sure when book 5 comes out I will slam my clicky arrow down hard on the 5th star once more!
Peter Clines FTW! EX-Heroes FTW!!
addypap's review against another edition
3.0
Nice idea, I don't think I can get into super hero books.
mferrante83's review against another edition
4.0
Peter Clines Ex-Heroes has quickly become one my favorite series in recent years. In fact, it is just about the only zombie-related series I’m currently reading or listening to. The Ex-Heroes series takes place in a world ravaged by a tide of undead (referred to in the series as ex-humans) where the last vestiges of humanity in the Los Angeles area are defended by a group of superheroes. Throughout the series Clines has done an excellent job of creating heroes who feel similar to more familiar comic book heroes while maintaining enough originality to let them stand on their own. Together with the people they defend the heroes of Peter Clines’ series have survived numerous ordeals from battles with former L. A. gangs, the obligitory hordes of zombies, to the remnants of s secret military project. Ex-Purgatory shakes things up a bit with a bit of a cold open. Readers are introduced to a young girl in the midst of a therapy session as she discusses with her doctor the fact that every night she dreams of a world full of zombies and heroes; a world that she insists is real. Immediately after readers are thrust into the life of George Bailey, who series regulars will immediately recognize as St. George/The Mighty Dragon, however this is a George whose life is fairly normal and who lives and works in a L. A. seemingly untouched by neither zombie or apocalypse. It is a clever play, clever enough to make even me wonder if what we had read before in the previous novels was reality or dream.
The premise Clines employs is one that could have easily become annoying but the strength of Clines’ series has always been in the characters he has created and Ex-Purgatory is no different. Despite existing in a world wildly different from the one we’ve come to know the characters that are reintroduced over the course of the novel still manage to provide insight and depth into the psyche of the heroes we have come know and love. Since over the course of the first three novels we never get to see the heroes in a “normal” life Ex-Purgatory gives us an excellent sampling of what these heroes were like in their daily lives before the apocalypse. Where previous novels used flashbacks to flesh out the back-story of the characters the device always felt a bit cumbersome to me as the action and story in the present always seemed far more interesting. By casting the heroes in something a mystery while allowing characters appear and act as they did before the zombie apocalypse we get an inside glimpse, at least o a certain extent, of who they were in the past. As more about the “new” world our heroes are living in becomes apparent we begin to see more how the weight of their lives and actions in the previous novels has come to affect them. Clines takes an interesting mystery and uses it to really up the ante on character development for many of the heroes.
As usual the audiobook version of Ex-Purgatory is absolutely phenomenal. Where previous books in the series have offered multiple narrators seriously enhancing the novels by providing distinct voices for different character perspectives. for Ex-Purgatory Jay Snyder goes it alone. With the bulk of the narrative belonging to St. George this manages to work out well. While I still missed Mark Boyett and Khristine Hvam, Snyder definitely manages to carry the ball here. Thankfully Snyder doesn’t try to imitate the female voices instead raising his pitch only slightly for female characters and letting the natural quirks the female character’s dialogue carry his performance. While I hope to see a return to multiple narrators in future volumes Snyder is skilled enough that he can carry the book on his own.
This series has gotten consistently better with each offering and Ex-Purgatory continues that trend. While the market for zombie fiction has become over-saturated Clines has crafted believable and fascinating characters in an interesting as world. By grounding those characters in a specific place, The Mount, Clines has manages to really create what feels like a living breathing post-apocalyptic society. The strong sense of place allows Clines to explore his characters in detail without sacrificing action and excitement. If you’re tired of your standard zombie-laden fiction I’d still recommend you give the Ex-Heroes series a shot. Clines has consistently managed to one-up himself and Ex-Purgatory only leaves me hungry for more adventures in this world.
The premise Clines employs is one that could have easily become annoying but the strength of Clines’ series has always been in the characters he has created and Ex-Purgatory is no different. Despite existing in a world wildly different from the one we’ve come to know the characters that are reintroduced over the course of the novel still manage to provide insight and depth into the psyche of the heroes we have come know and love. Since over the course of the first three novels we never get to see the heroes in a “normal” life Ex-Purgatory gives us an excellent sampling of what these heroes were like in their daily lives before the apocalypse. Where previous novels used flashbacks to flesh out the back-story of the characters the device always felt a bit cumbersome to me as the action and story in the present always seemed far more interesting. By casting the heroes in something a mystery while allowing characters appear and act as they did before the zombie apocalypse we get an inside glimpse, at least o a certain extent, of who they were in the past. As more about the “new” world our heroes are living in becomes apparent we begin to see more how the weight of their lives and actions in the previous novels has come to affect them. Clines takes an interesting mystery and uses it to really up the ante on character development for many of the heroes.
As usual the audiobook version of Ex-Purgatory is absolutely phenomenal. Where previous books in the series have offered multiple narrators seriously enhancing the novels by providing distinct voices for different character perspectives. for Ex-Purgatory Jay Snyder goes it alone. With the bulk of the narrative belonging to St. George this manages to work out well. While I still missed Mark Boyett and Khristine Hvam, Snyder definitely manages to carry the ball here. Thankfully Snyder doesn’t try to imitate the female voices instead raising his pitch only slightly for female characters and letting the natural quirks the female character’s dialogue carry his performance. While I hope to see a return to multiple narrators in future volumes Snyder is skilled enough that he can carry the book on his own.
This series has gotten consistently better with each offering and Ex-Purgatory continues that trend. While the market for zombie fiction has become over-saturated Clines has crafted believable and fascinating characters in an interesting as world. By grounding those characters in a specific place, The Mount, Clines has manages to really create what feels like a living breathing post-apocalyptic society. The strong sense of place allows Clines to explore his characters in detail without sacrificing action and excitement. If you’re tired of your standard zombie-laden fiction I’d still recommend you give the Ex-Heroes series a shot. Clines has consistently managed to one-up himself and Ex-Purgatory only leaves me hungry for more adventures in this world.
pingthevile's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it! Another great addition to the Ex-Heroes series!