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birdloveranne's review
4.0
Pretty good story. I liked it for the most part. Lots of good action scenes. But you have to read the whole trilogy, I guess. Nothing with these characters is wrapped up.
butterfly2507's review
1.0
Ugh. I really wanted to like this books cause I goddamn adore zombie books. This however was just not it. Stereotypical "i'm a man and older than you girlie" and "i'm serving in the army i'm a big guy huh huh" nonsense. give me zombies, not men with a small ...
librarian09's review
3.0
I wanted to like this book. I listened to it on Audible. I don't know what it was but it was flat. I can't decide if it was the narrator's voice or the book itself. I barely paid attention the entire time I was listening. There wasn't anything new to add to zombie fiction. I didn't care about the characters. Meh.
I love zombie books. They are my favorite thing to read. So I don't mind bad language that much. But the swearing in this book offended me as it was more blasphemous than just bad words. Usually creative and offensive swearing with regard to God. Just a head's up for anyone who that may bother. Everything else about this book was bland.
I love zombie books. They are my favorite thing to read. So I don't mind bad language that much. But the swearing in this book offended me as it was more blasphemous than just bad words. Usually creative and offensive swearing with regard to God. Just a head's up for anyone who that may bother. Everything else about this book was bland.
rae_pdf's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
xterminal's review
4.0
Z. A. Recht, The Morningstar Strain: Plague of the Dead (Permuted Press, 2006)
The late Zachary Recht died in December of 2009 at the age of twenty-six, leaving behind roughly half of the final book in the Morningstar Strain trilogy. Word on the street is that it will eventually be fleshed out by another author and released by Permuted, with the blessings of Recht's family. Good news indeed, as the Morningstar Strain books are quite a surprise, if you're not familiar with Permuted stuff. A number of Permuted authors have recently gone, pardon the pun, viral; David Moody was picked up by Thomas Dunne, Kim Paffenroth has published through Baylor University Press, and just before his death, Recht was picked up by Simon and Schuster. As a result of the latter, Plague of the Dead, which had been out of print for a while, got itself a re-release and shelf space in major bookstores.
We start off with a nasty new disease coming out of the African jungles, where so many of these ugly things have started (Ebola, Marburg, supposedly HIV...). If you've seen a few fast-zombie-that-aren't-really-zombie movies (think 28 Days Later...), you've got an idea of the first stage of the disease, known as Morningstar. The trick of it is that carriers who aren't correctly dispatched also rise from the dead, seeming more like Romero-style zombies (shuffling and moaning and all that). Plague of the Dead takes us through the first months of the disease as it spreads from Africa to the rest of the planet through the eyes of a number of people: an Army general, a Red Cross worker, a virologist who's become the greatest living expert on Morningstar, and a number of others. This is an ensemble-cast book, but an ensemble-cast book in the way Dean Koontz does it; they all start out in different places, but you know they'll all wind up together eventually.
At least, you know that after the first few chapters. The introduction of Rebecca (the Red Cross volunteer) threw me for a loop for a good few pages until I figured out what Recht was doing, and then I got back on track well enough. After that one hiccup, everything went smoothly, and I ended up finishing the book in a weekend (taking time out to devote to other books I'm in the middle of as well); Recht has some fine ideas about the zombie apocalypse, and seems to have had enough sense of his own limitations to keep the scenarios he spins on a very small scale (most of the scenes gravitate towards small rooms), looking at one piece of the puzzle rather than trying to give an overall picture—a trap many purveyors of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy fall into all too often.
The book does have its shortcomings, though the majority of them (having to do with proofreading) can be laid at the feet of Pocket/Simon and Schuster, but the typo level is about standard for modern novels, so if you've gotten used to it, no problem. Also, I tend to like my series books to at least have the illusion of being standalones, and the ending of Plague of the Dead leaves no doubt in your mind that there is another book coming. None of this in any way constitutes not recommending the book, however; this is, in the vein of many recent survival-horror novels, less about horror than it is about action (Recht, a vet himself, devotes a number of pages to the military's operations against the undead—your mileage may vary, but the reason I love fantasy novels by authors like Elizabeth Moon and Steven Erikson is exactly this), but there are some passages where things get pretty creepy as well. If you like this kind of mix, then you definitely want to pick this one up. I've already got Thunder and Ashes, the second book, waiting for me on the shelf. *** ½
The late Zachary Recht died in December of 2009 at the age of twenty-six, leaving behind roughly half of the final book in the Morningstar Strain trilogy. Word on the street is that it will eventually be fleshed out by another author and released by Permuted, with the blessings of Recht's family. Good news indeed, as the Morningstar Strain books are quite a surprise, if you're not familiar with Permuted stuff. A number of Permuted authors have recently gone, pardon the pun, viral; David Moody was picked up by Thomas Dunne, Kim Paffenroth has published through Baylor University Press, and just before his death, Recht was picked up by Simon and Schuster. As a result of the latter, Plague of the Dead, which had been out of print for a while, got itself a re-release and shelf space in major bookstores.
We start off with a nasty new disease coming out of the African jungles, where so many of these ugly things have started (Ebola, Marburg, supposedly HIV...). If you've seen a few fast-zombie-that-aren't-really-zombie movies (think 28 Days Later...), you've got an idea of the first stage of the disease, known as Morningstar. The trick of it is that carriers who aren't correctly dispatched also rise from the dead, seeming more like Romero-style zombies (shuffling and moaning and all that). Plague of the Dead takes us through the first months of the disease as it spreads from Africa to the rest of the planet through the eyes of a number of people: an Army general, a Red Cross worker, a virologist who's become the greatest living expert on Morningstar, and a number of others. This is an ensemble-cast book, but an ensemble-cast book in the way Dean Koontz does it; they all start out in different places, but you know they'll all wind up together eventually.
At least, you know that after the first few chapters. The introduction of Rebecca (the Red Cross volunteer) threw me for a loop for a good few pages until I figured out what Recht was doing, and then I got back on track well enough. After that one hiccup, everything went smoothly, and I ended up finishing the book in a weekend (taking time out to devote to other books I'm in the middle of as well); Recht has some fine ideas about the zombie apocalypse, and seems to have had enough sense of his own limitations to keep the scenarios he spins on a very small scale (most of the scenes gravitate towards small rooms), looking at one piece of the puzzle rather than trying to give an overall picture—a trap many purveyors of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy fall into all too often.
The book does have its shortcomings, though the majority of them (having to do with proofreading) can be laid at the feet of Pocket/Simon and Schuster, but the typo level is about standard for modern novels, so if you've gotten used to it, no problem. Also, I tend to like my series books to at least have the illusion of being standalones, and the ending of Plague of the Dead leaves no doubt in your mind that there is another book coming. None of this in any way constitutes not recommending the book, however; this is, in the vein of many recent survival-horror novels, less about horror than it is about action (Recht, a vet himself, devotes a number of pages to the military's operations against the undead—your mileage may vary, but the reason I love fantasy novels by authors like Elizabeth Moon and Steven Erikson is exactly this), but there are some passages where things get pretty creepy as well. If you like this kind of mix, then you definitely want to pick this one up. I've already got Thunder and Ashes, the second book, waiting for me on the shelf. *** ½
pingthevile's review
2.0
I listened to this book narrated by Oliver Wyman, one of my absolute favorite Audible narrators. Partway through the book, I felt that something was off... it wasn't clicking. Then I realized that it was because a fantastic narrator was narrating a sub-par book.
The story was passable for the most part. There was nothing particularly stand-outish about the book. What was "off" was the dialogue. It was terribly written, to the point where I actually backed the audio up a few times just to make sure I heard what I thought I heard.
Add the poor dialogue to some blatantly stupid things and some incorrect things (Ben Franklin was not the inventor to say that he found 1,000 ways not to go about something, for instance) and I put this book very firmly in the "Don't bother" category.
The story was passable for the most part. There was nothing particularly stand-outish about the book. What was "off" was the dialogue. It was terribly written, to the point where I actually backed the audio up a few times just to make sure I heard what I thought I heard.
Add the poor dialogue to some blatantly stupid things and some incorrect things (Ben Franklin was not the inventor to say that he found 1,000 ways not to go about something, for instance) and I put this book very firmly in the "Don't bother" category.
rebeccapanks's review
4.0
This was a very light-hearted novel that is full of energy. It was short, at about 350 pages (at least, on kindle), but it has some good ideas on the types of zombie and, while not detailed with it's science, it is believable enough. It was a little cheesy at times, but that sort of adds to the appeal. It's refreshingly light, despite covering horror-based topics.
I am a little disappointed that the novel isn't quite as self-contained as I'd like it to be (I like books with sequels to end all current plot threads in book 1, rather than have main things carry on into the sequels - at least I presume that's what it does). However, I really want to buy the next book and continue the story.
The characters are great and it has quite a cut-throat attitude. It didn't quite get a five-star rating from me, because it will always be over-shadowed by World War Z... but worth a read anyhow.
I am a little disappointed that the novel isn't quite as self-contained as I'd like it to be (I like books with sequels to end all current plot threads in book 1, rather than have main things carry on into the sequels - at least I presume that's what it does). However, I really want to buy the next book and continue the story.
The characters are great and it has quite a cut-throat attitude. It didn't quite get a five-star rating from me, because it will always be over-shadowed by World War Z... but worth a read anyhow.
rovertoak's review
5.0
This is an extremely exciting, action-filled zombie book! Good character development makes and keeps readers emotionally engaged with the people on the pages. I just pre-ordered book 2 of Morningstar from Permuted Press. Can't wait to read it!
dabnor's review
4.0
I have been waiting to read Plague of the Dead for ages. I don't remember where or when I first heard of it, but it went right on my Amazon wishlist. Before I got chance to buy it, it became unavailable. Maybe it was out of print, I just know I couldn't get it. Not being able to get it just made me want it all the more and I guess it became somehow fetishized? I finally have a copy though, now. So was it worth the wait?
I tore through thee book over the course of the weekend. I read one chapter before work on Friday, but other than that, it was all read on Saturday and Sunday. So, yeah, interesting and compelling, no doubt. I really enjoyed it and look forward to picking up Thunder and Ashes before too long.
I tore through thee book over the course of the weekend. I read one chapter before work on Friday, but other than that, it was all read on Saturday and Sunday. So, yeah, interesting and compelling, no doubt. I really enjoyed it and look forward to picking up Thunder and Ashes before too long.
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