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koalathebear's review
5.0
Really enjoyed this novel. A zombie novel set in Australia is always a plus, but this one was very well-written and engaging. Author also has no compunction about killing off his main and likeable characters, which is sad - but also suspenseful.
Can't wait to read the next book - whenever that comes out!
Can't wait to read the next book - whenever that comes out!
villyidol's review
4.0
I’m not really that interested in zombie books. But I’ve read Hodge’s [b: The Cavern|45026095|The Cavern|Alister Hodge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1564468562l/45026095._SY75_.jpg|69705921], which was great fun. So when my reading buddy Cathy suggested this book, I was willing to give it a try. It turned out to be a buddy-read in SpecFic (waves at Cheryl and Ian).
Even though I haven‘t read a zombie book before (a couple of comics aside), I’m nevertheless quite accustomed to the genre. I’ve seen a lot of movies, played all the Resident Evil games, until they started to turn into mind- and soulless action crap, and I’ve watched the first six seasons of The Walking Dead, before I gave up on that one too.
This is mainly similar to The Walking Dead. Almost all the main ingridients are there and, a few hiccups aside, are competently put together by Alister Hodge. We’ve got the initial disbelief and denial, which causes people to do stupid things that ultimately costs them their life. There’s the spinning out of control of the disease, that leads to groups of people basically being "run" over by a herd of zombies. We’ve got the government and the army trying, and failing, and trying again to deal with the situation. There’s the gradual breakdown of almost all infrastructure. There’s the search for supplies, which leads people to leave their seemingly safe surroundings and risk getting in dangerous situations with zombies and/or other people. We’ve got people turning into savages and trying to take whatever they want from whomever they want. At the same time others try to adjust to their new surroundings, creating a small community, where people have to toughen up and learn new skills just to survive. The group of main characters sets up a safe home for themselves, which then, of course, gets under attack. People are getting trapped in a seemingly impasse with one or a couple of zombies. There’s lots of gore and sudden deaths of major characters. And so on.
What this book doesn’t have though, are interesting characters. The main protagonists are all fairly one-dimensional. So there’s just no real bond between them and the reader. This makes scenes where they are in grave danger less exciting, and when something seriously bad happens to them it is less impactful than it could have been. The potential was there to have some really emotional and hard-hitting moments. But it didn’t materialize.
The book is also devoid of surprises. Not even for me, with my limited experience with zombie literature, was there something new or unexpected. Like I said earlier, I’ve seen The Walking Dead. There’s nothing here that I haven’t seen there already.
All in all, 3.5 stars. I round up (just), because it was an entertaining read with lots of action and also a bit of suspense. It was basically all I had expected to get out of this, and maybe even a little bit more. Because it provided me with some encouragement that zombies can indeed be interesting in books as well. Nicely done, Mr. Hodge. But for the second book a couple of fresh ideas and better character development would be nice.
Walk on! (waves at Ian again)
Even though I haven‘t read a zombie book before (a couple of comics aside), I’m nevertheless quite accustomed to the genre. I’ve seen a lot of movies, played all the Resident Evil games, until they started to turn into mind- and soulless action crap, and I’ve watched the first six seasons of The Walking Dead, before I gave up on that one too.
This is mainly similar to The Walking Dead. Almost all the main ingridients are there and, a few hiccups aside, are competently put together by Alister Hodge. We’ve got the initial disbelief and denial, which causes people to do stupid things that ultimately costs them their life. There’s the spinning out of control of the disease, that leads to groups of people basically being "run" over by a herd of zombies. We’ve got the government and the army trying, and failing, and trying again to deal with the situation. There’s the gradual breakdown of almost all infrastructure. There’s the search for supplies, which leads people to leave their seemingly safe surroundings and risk getting in dangerous situations with zombies and/or other people. We’ve got people turning into savages and trying to take whatever they want from whomever they want. At the same time others try to adjust to their new surroundings, creating a small community, where people have to toughen up and learn new skills just to survive. The group of main characters sets up a safe home for themselves, which then, of course, gets under attack. People are getting trapped in a seemingly impasse with one or a couple of zombies. There’s lots of gore and sudden deaths of major characters. And so on.
What this book doesn’t have though, are interesting characters. The main protagonists are all fairly one-dimensional. So there’s just no real bond between them and the reader. This makes scenes where they are in grave danger less exciting, and when something seriously bad happens to them it is less impactful than it could have been. The potential was there to have some really emotional and hard-hitting moments. But it didn’t materialize.
The book is also devoid of surprises. Not even for me, with my limited experience with zombie literature, was there something new or unexpected. Like I said earlier, I’ve seen The Walking Dead. There’s nothing here that I haven’t seen there already.
All in all, 3.5 stars. I round up (just), because it was an entertaining read with lots of action and also a bit of suspense. It was basically all I had expected to get out of this, and maybe even a little bit more. Because it provided me with some encouragement that zombies can indeed be interesting in books as well. Nicely done, Mr. Hodge. But for the second book a couple of fresh ideas and better character development would be nice.
Walk on! (waves at Ian again)
cathepsut's review
4.0
“There’s a bite mark on her left forearm that appears grossly infected. Before she became confused, a bat was mentioned – not sure if that’s what caused the wound.“
Fasten your seatbelts, because....
Well... this is pretty standard fare for a zombie book, nothing new. But good entertainment and well written. I had some pretty strong Walking Dead moments.
I read an underwater/cave horror book by the author before, [b:The Cavern|45026095|The Cavern|Alister Hodge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1564468562l/45026095._SY75_.jpg|69705921], and can recommend him for (trashy) horror fun. I would pick him up again.
Fasten your seatbelts, because....
Well... this is pretty standard fare for a zombie book, nothing new. But good entertainment and well written. I had some pretty strong Walking Dead moments.
I read an underwater/cave horror book by the author before, [b:The Cavern|45026095|The Cavern|Alister Hodge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1564468562l/45026095._SY75_.jpg|69705921], and can recommend him for (trashy) horror fun. I would pick him up again.
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