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gnashchick's review
5.0
I’m not a big fan of the zombie apocalypse. I’ve read and reviewed only a handful of “zompoc” stories that I actually liked. This is one of them. Up until The Walking Dead premiered on TV, my exposure was limited to the great, and not-so-great zombie-flavored offerings from Hollywood. I’ll argue that Return of the Living Dead is one of the finest zombie movies of all time, because it threw humor into the mayhem and gore of the genre.
Time of Death: Induction injects a little of that humor into what is otherwise a very physical horror novel. Rest assured, people are going to die, zombies are going to infect and eat anything they can reach and there is absolutely nowhere that’s safe from the plague. But the whole story is lightened by a dose of smartass snark, unexpected humor, and the official mascot of the Time of Death zombie apocalypse, Daphne the Yorkie.
I am giving this book a high rating because it grabbed my imagination and didn’t let go. When I had to put it down to do other things, it became my reward. “When I finish this, I get to spend the rest of the night reading!” Even though I’m not a huge fan of the genre, the characters and the story kept me going for “just one more chapter.”
If you like zombie fiction, read this book. You will not be disappointed.
#
Full disclosure: The author is a professional colleague. She’s seen my reviews and she’s well aware that if her book were lacking in any way, I would gleefully slash through every problem I found and set fire to the corpse. Alas, as much as I wanted to have something to tease her about, there’s nothing I could find to criticize that was outside of the acceptable limits of suspension of disbelief. Even the cover art is good.
Time of Death: Induction injects a little of that humor into what is otherwise a very physical horror novel. Rest assured, people are going to die, zombies are going to infect and eat anything they can reach and there is absolutely nowhere that’s safe from the plague. But the whole story is lightened by a dose of smartass snark, unexpected humor, and the official mascot of the Time of Death zombie apocalypse, Daphne the Yorkie.
I am giving this book a high rating because it grabbed my imagination and didn’t let go. When I had to put it down to do other things, it became my reward. “When I finish this, I get to spend the rest of the night reading!” Even though I’m not a huge fan of the genre, the characters and the story kept me going for “just one more chapter.”
If you like zombie fiction, read this book. You will not be disappointed.
#
Full disclosure: The author is a professional colleague. She’s seen my reviews and she’s well aware that if her book were lacking in any way, I would gleefully slash through every problem I found and set fire to the corpse. Alas, as much as I wanted to have something to tease her about, there’s nothing I could find to criticize that was outside of the acceptable limits of suspension of disbelief. Even the cover art is good.
jasonsweirdreads's review
4.0
When I met Jen, my wife, about twelve or thirteen years ago, I tried to find common ground with her. We were both avid readers, but different kinds of readers. She liked romance while I liked horror. So she found herself reading John Irving (not horror, but nonetheless a favourite of mine), while I, with no particular interest in tackling the romance genre, suggested chick-lit. Back then, the term chick-lit was making its first marketing waves and books, like Bridget Jones’s Diary and the Shopaholic series, were transparent in their new marketing schemes.
What does this have to do with Shana Festa’s debut novel, Time of Death: Induction?
That’s a good question. Picture chick-lit written for a guy like me. You have a woman protagonist, Emma, written in a somewhat light, comedic way with these horrible things happening around her, her husband, and her dog. A zombie virus hits and knocks out civilization pretty quickly and our protagonists find themselves on the run for their lives. All they want is to find a safe place to hold up.
The more they travel and the more people they meet, however, the more they learn that safe is an old-world term, and that to sit in one spot for too long results in tragedy.
As Time of Death: Induction is the first in a series of novels by Jana, it will be really interesting to see where she takes Emma’s character, the dark places she will visit not only within this violent new world, but also within Emma herself as a person.
What I really enjoyed about Induction was recognizing and remembering that chick lit feel to some of those books I read way back when first trying to impress the woman who would become my wife. I guess my scheming worked. I’m not sure how, though. Jen became a John Irving fan where as I left chick lit behind. It’s not that I didn’t like the genre. It’s more like it didn’t really hold anything of value for me.
Jana, however, puts the type of value that gives me my kicks when reading horror novels and fused it well with that old marketing scheme. It’s also a heck of a lot of fun to read. The action almost never stops and is well-written. There are also some pretty awesome gory scenes in here as well.
Well done!
What does this have to do with Shana Festa’s debut novel, Time of Death: Induction?
That’s a good question. Picture chick-lit written for a guy like me. You have a woman protagonist, Emma, written in a somewhat light, comedic way with these horrible things happening around her, her husband, and her dog. A zombie virus hits and knocks out civilization pretty quickly and our protagonists find themselves on the run for their lives. All they want is to find a safe place to hold up.
The more they travel and the more people they meet, however, the more they learn that safe is an old-world term, and that to sit in one spot for too long results in tragedy.
As Time of Death: Induction is the first in a series of novels by Jana, it will be really interesting to see where she takes Emma’s character, the dark places she will visit not only within this violent new world, but also within Emma herself as a person.
What I really enjoyed about Induction was recognizing and remembering that chick lit feel to some of those books I read way back when first trying to impress the woman who would become my wife. I guess my scheming worked. I’m not sure how, though. Jen became a John Irving fan where as I left chick lit behind. It’s not that I didn’t like the genre. It’s more like it didn’t really hold anything of value for me.
Jana, however, puts the type of value that gives me my kicks when reading horror novels and fused it well with that old marketing scheme. It’s also a heck of a lot of fun to read. The action almost never stops and is well-written. There are also some pretty awesome gory scenes in here as well.
Well done!
chllybrd's review
4.0
We can't imagine what it would truly be like to live during the zombie apocalypse, but author Shana Festa does a great job giving us an idea. Chaos and destruction rains down on Emma's life as her and her husband set out to escape the rising dead during a category 3 hurricane, with no time to prepare.
I'm not really sure what to say about INDUCTION without giving away spoilers. Emma was easy to follow. I would like to think I would be as strong as she was while having to deal with the end of the world as I know it. She has a deep loyalty to those that mean something to her, but is able to get past losing people as well. There are a ton of characters throughout the book that we meet. A LOT are lost of course but I had no trouble following along with who was who.
Everything that happened felt so genuine. The author really did a good job with her world building and keeping things real. You get romance, action, zombies and a great storyline all in one with INDUCTION. I'm very excited to see where this story goes next. If you're looking for a new zombie read you've come to the right place.
* This book was provided free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not really sure what to say about INDUCTION without giving away spoilers. Emma was easy to follow. I would like to think I would be as strong as she was while having to deal with the end of the world as I know it. She has a deep loyalty to those that mean something to her, but is able to get past losing people as well. There are a ton of characters throughout the book that we meet. A LOT are lost of course but I had no trouble following along with who was who.
Everything that happened felt so genuine. The author really did a good job with her world building and keeping things real. You get romance, action, zombies and a great storyline all in one with INDUCTION. I'm very excited to see where this story goes next. If you're looking for a new zombie read you've come to the right place.
* This book was provided free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.
renee_conoulty's review
4.0
This is the third zombie book I have ever read, I don't usually go for horror, but I felt like a bit of a change. It was exactly what I thought a Zombie Apocalypse should be! A fantastic blend of action and gruesome horror with a splattering of romance and humour. I found the characters likable. The plot was fast paced and engaging. I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator was clearly spoken and easy to listen to.
I recieved this book free in exchange for an honest review.
I recieved this book free in exchange for an honest review.
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