Scan barcode
taytayj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
amisner's review against another edition
5.0
Given that this series revolves around superheroes fighting off a zombie apocalypse, I'm pleased to say that this entry is far less off the wall than the last two were.
To be fair, they were fighting a man-shark dictator that ruled an island made of boats.... But still much better than the last two.
Had a difficult time putting this down to do homework or go to work or, you know, sleep. So hopefully that's a solid recommendation.
To be fair, they were fighting a man-shark dictator that ruled an island made of boats.... But still much better than the last two.
Had a difficult time putting this down to do homework or go to work or, you know, sleep. So hopefully that's a solid recommendation.
telegramsam's review against another edition
5.0
Another great addition to the Ex-Heroes series. I've loved all of them, but for some reason this one really was my jam. Maybe it was the vague "Apocalypse Now" vibe, or the character development of Danielle/Cerberus, but whatever. It was a great read that kept me up past my bed time several nights in a row.
drtlovesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
What it's about: The survivors of the Ex Virus have grown their stronghold, the Mount, to about 20,000, but a fire has destroyed their food stores. They've been preparing a new food location, but it's not ready, so the Unbreakables are sent to secure it. But there are simmering tensions that lead to a serious problem in this new area known as Eden.
At the same time, Zzzap has found a "floating island" - a group of ships lashed together - with a few thousand survivors floating in the Pacific. He, St. George, and Corpse Girl head out to let those ocean-going survivors know that there are other survivors in the world. But when they arrive, they're confronted by a hero who claims to be St. George's best friend, even though St. George has never seen him before. This leads to accusations and conflict. And though St. George may be nearly invulnerable, he still needs to breath - and an ocean-based hero might be more than he can take on.
What I thought: Clines doesn't do a lot of character development with these books. It's pretty much plot-plot-plot-plot-plot. And they're fun, and fine for what they are.
But it was generally an enjoyable zombie story. I'm not super jazzed about the ending - it is heavily implied that Danielle/Cerberus was bitten by an ex, which kinda sucks; but I guess it fits with a lot of the way Ceasar/The Driver has been moved to basically take over the Cerberus armor. But until the next book arrives - and who knows when that might be - there's no way to tell how that's going to pan out.
Why I rated it like I did: It's been a little bit since I read the previous book in this series, so I just might not be remembering, but I spent a lot of this book going, "Oh, yeah, that's going to be a thing" for a few chapters before the thing actually happened. Lots of telegraphing of the main conflict moments. And I was also wondering several times why the characters weren't seeing what I was seeing.
At the same time, Zzzap has found a "floating island" - a group of ships lashed together - with a few thousand survivors floating in the Pacific. He, St. George, and Corpse Girl head out to let those ocean-going survivors know that there are other survivors in the world. But when they arrive, they're confronted by a hero who claims to be St. George's best friend, even though St. George has never seen him before. This leads to accusations and conflict. And though St. George may be nearly invulnerable, he still needs to breath - and an ocean-based hero might be more than he can take on.
What I thought: Clines doesn't do a lot of character development with these books. It's pretty much plot-plot-plot-plot-plot. And they're fun, and fine for what they are.
But it was generally an enjoyable zombie story. I'm not super jazzed about the ending -
Why I rated it like I did: It's been a little bit since I read the previous book in this series, so I just might not be remembering, but I spent a lot of this book going, "Oh, yeah, that's going to be a thing" for a few chapters before the thing actually happened. Lots of telegraphing of the main conflict moments. And I was also wondering several times why the characters weren't seeing what I was seeing.
ryter89's review against another edition
3.0
While I still enjoyed this one, I didn't like the plot as much as the other books. It seemed too basic. There wasn't a twist or a even a hook. I just wanted and was expecting more.
felyn's review
4.0
A very strange installment to the series, but very necessary and interesting nonetheless. The group from the Mount finds another group of survivors, an ocean-bound group on a flotilla of ships. They have their own hero... this one with a secret that puts St. George, Zzap, and Corpse Girl in very real danger.
veronica87's review
3.0
This was another good entry into the Ex-Heroes series. I'm not rating it as high as the others simply because there were several decisions the Heroes made early on that just didn't make sense. They were necessary for plot points that occurred in the last third or so of the story, I guess, but they didn't serve the front end of the story very well, sticking out as they did as why-in-the-blazes-would-you-make-this-choice moments. After reading the author's note at the end though I can understand how things may have gone a little crooked in this book since the author admits that he used some different writing techniques for this book. All that said, the action and suspense was still quite strong.
errantdreams's review
4.0
Although it’s a small thing, I’d like to point out the idiocy of taking along Madelyn when attempting to meet new people. She may not be an ex-, but she sure as hell looks like one.
Hearkening back to old times, I love that Clines still designates his chapters by “THEN” and “NOW” rather than expecting us to keep up with a complex timeline.
Understandably, the folks on the ships don’t greet our heroes with open arms. Every stranger is a possible enemy, and it doesn’t help that the good buys brought Corpse Girl with them. Add in a megalomaniacal hero called Nautilus, who’s willing to endanger children in order to ensure cooperation, and everything goes to hell. It doesn’t help that Nautilus has told all of the people on the ships that LA, among other major cities, got nuked. Since our heroes come from LA, they’re immediately pegged as liars.
Back at Eden, there’s something worrisome going on with the supersoldiers. They’re being secretive and working harder than usual at exercising and keeping their strength up, down to stealing certain supplies. When the others notice, they fear a possible coup. To make things even more uncertain, some of the gang members who joined up think that the soldiers’ odd behavior means they plan to kill all the ex-gang members. They start planning diversions and escapes in case they’re needed.
There’s some great material in here regarding the Cerberus suit, Cesar, Danielle, and so on. I look forward to seeing more of that if there’s a next book in the series. It’s fantastic character growth material.
Ex-Isle brings us multiple zombie incursions in multiple tender spots–there’s plenty of creative battling, particularly when ammo runs low. We also get to see superhero clashes and plans for the LA safe zone to grow and take care of its people. The pacing is great, the characters are wonderful, and I absolutely love the world-building.
To view a longer review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/02/review-ex-isle-peter-clines/
Hearkening back to old times, I love that Clines still designates his chapters by “THEN” and “NOW” rather than expecting us to keep up with a complex timeline.
Understandably, the folks on the ships don’t greet our heroes with open arms. Every stranger is a possible enemy, and it doesn’t help that the good buys brought Corpse Girl with them. Add in a megalomaniacal hero called Nautilus, who’s willing to endanger children in order to ensure cooperation, and everything goes to hell. It doesn’t help that Nautilus has told all of the people on the ships that LA, among other major cities, got nuked. Since our heroes come from LA, they’re immediately pegged as liars.
Back at Eden, there’s something worrisome going on with the supersoldiers. They’re being secretive and working harder than usual at exercising and keeping their strength up, down to stealing certain supplies. When the others notice, they fear a possible coup. To make things even more uncertain, some of the gang members who joined up think that the soldiers’ odd behavior means they plan to kill all the ex-gang members. They start planning diversions and escapes in case they’re needed.
There’s some great material in here regarding the Cerberus suit, Cesar, Danielle, and so on. I look forward to seeing more of that if there’s a next book in the series. It’s fantastic character growth material.
Ex-Isle brings us multiple zombie incursions in multiple tender spots–there’s plenty of creative battling, particularly when ammo runs low. We also get to see superhero clashes and plans for the LA safe zone to grow and take care of its people. The pacing is great, the characters are wonderful, and I absolutely love the world-building.
To view a longer review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/02/review-ex-isle-peter-clines/
thalialata's review against another edition
4.0
3.75/5 stars
Barry/Zzzap discovers a man-made island in the Pacific, consisting of several ships lashed together. The Mount sends a diplomatic mission of Barry, St. George and Madelyn the Corpse Girl, but what they find is not what they expected - a people who believe they are the only ones left, that the Mount heroes are all liars and follow their aquatic leader out of fear. Meanwhile, a PTSD-stricken Danielle travels to the Mount's newest outpost, Eden, as part of its security detail, taking the still-undergoing-repairs Cerberus suit and Cesar with her. But something's fishy there too, and Danielle struggles to piece it together as she overcomes her own fears.
The previous book in the series, Ex-Purgatory, was a bit of an oddball, with a very different plot and feel than the prior books. With Ex-Isle, Clines is back to the style of his earlier books - a much more straightforward adventure story. It certainly bolstered my feelings toward the book, which I enjoyed much more than its predecessor.
Its best moments stem from Danielle, which was somewhat unexpected. She has never been my favorite character (I prefer Stealth and Barry), but Clines has painted such a realistic, touching picture of her PTSD. It's been building quietly in the background of the last few books, but here we see it at its climax. It's debilitating - the others call Danielle out for never leaving her workshop, and even the faintest sound of exes chattering their teeth makes her cringe. She is eminently sympathetic, because which one of us would not be terrified in her shoes? That half of the plot hinges on her overcoming her fears, with the climax forcing her to confront those fears and reach the realization that she is Cerberus, with or without her suit. Clines executes this flawlessly, in my opinion, and I think it's the best character work he's done in the series to date.
The other plotline is a little weaker. I cannot understand why in the world Stealth would agree to let Madelyn go on a diplomatic mission, particularly one to a place so isolated. But having Madelyn along does let us learn a lot more about her powers and abilities (at the same time she discovers them). It turns out she can build new memories over time, though she still loses most of the previous day or so, and she can't be killed - her nanobots will try to piece her back together (resulting in one grotesque but oddly intriguing scene about midway through the book).
Read the rest of my review online
Barry/Zzzap discovers a man-made island in the Pacific, consisting of several ships lashed together. The Mount sends a diplomatic mission of Barry, St. George and Madelyn the Corpse Girl, but what they find is not what they expected - a people who believe they are the only ones left, that the Mount heroes are all liars and follow their aquatic leader out of fear. Meanwhile, a PTSD-stricken Danielle travels to the Mount's newest outpost, Eden, as part of its security detail, taking the still-undergoing-repairs Cerberus suit and Cesar with her. But something's fishy there too, and Danielle struggles to piece it together as she overcomes her own fears.
The previous book in the series, Ex-Purgatory, was a bit of an oddball, with a very different plot and feel than the prior books. With Ex-Isle, Clines is back to the style of his earlier books - a much more straightforward adventure story. It certainly bolstered my feelings toward the book, which I enjoyed much more than its predecessor.
Its best moments stem from Danielle, which was somewhat unexpected. She has never been my favorite character (I prefer Stealth and Barry), but Clines has painted such a realistic, touching picture of her PTSD. It's been building quietly in the background of the last few books, but here we see it at its climax. It's debilitating - the others call Danielle out for never leaving her workshop, and even the faintest sound of exes chattering their teeth makes her cringe. She is eminently sympathetic, because which one of us would not be terrified in her shoes? That half of the plot hinges on her overcoming her fears, with the climax forcing her to confront those fears and reach the realization that she is Cerberus, with or without her suit. Clines executes this flawlessly, in my opinion, and I think it's the best character work he's done in the series to date.
The other plotline is a little weaker. I cannot understand why in the world Stealth would agree to let Madelyn go on a diplomatic mission, particularly one to a place so isolated. But having Madelyn along does let us learn a lot more about her powers and abilities (at the same time she discovers them). It turns out she can build new memories over time, though she still loses most of the previous day or so, and she can't be killed - her nanobots will try to piece her back together (resulting in one grotesque but oddly intriguing scene about midway through the book).
Read the rest of my review online