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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Full disclosure: I got waylaid on this book because of NaNoWriMo. Otherwise, I probably would've finished it much sooner.
This book isn't perfect. Having skimmed a few of the top reviews you can see some of the problems that others have pointed out. But despite the faults and failings this was still an immensely enjoyable book.
It was fun, fast paced and gripping throughout. Though the back and forth past/present third person/first person bit with the chapters took a bit getting used to, I found that I appreciated these little insights into the history and backstory of these characters.
I thought the final reveal with the "big bad" was kind of... disappointing? I mean, it was a neat premise and concepts altogether, but I found it lacking. There were some great twists though.
Overall, if you're into zombies and superheroes you should definitely give it a shot.
This book isn't perfect. Having skimmed a few of the top reviews you can see some of the problems that others have pointed out. But despite the faults and failings this was still an immensely enjoyable book.
It was fun, fast paced and gripping throughout. Though the back and forth past/present third person/first person bit with the chapters took a bit getting used to, I found that I appreciated these little insights into the history and backstory of these characters.
I thought the final reveal with the "big bad" was kind of... disappointing? I mean, it was a neat premise and concepts altogether, but I found it lacking. There were some great twists though.
Overall, if you're into zombies and superheroes you should definitely give it a shot.
Superheroes plus zombies sounded like it could make for an interesting book, but this is the first book in a while that I had to stop before I finished. Every female character was super sexualized and/or referred to as a bitch (and one was even knocked unconscious because she was talking too much). It didn't seem like the female characters were actual characters but rather just fantasies for the author. The writing didn't seem that great either including one point where the author used "they" to refer to separate people from the ones he had just been discussing in the previous sentence. Not a huge deal, but it seems like something they teach you pretty early on. Some people may be able to ignore those things and enjoy the story, but I couldn't.
A science fiction novel that combines, arguably, to of my favorite subjects. Super Heroes and Zombies. Starting out I was trying to read it slowly to make it last, but with each turn of the page I got more and more invested into the story. This book easily jumped into my list of favorite Science-Fiction universes, period. The way Clines combined zombies and super heroes is absolutely incredible. In my opinion it is a must read to anyone who enjoys zombie, super hero or just plain science fiction writing in general.
No thanks. I can't finish this one. The characters are very stereotypical superheroes and it reads as if it's for a prepubescent boy, which I'm not. I don't think this is a horrible book, it's just not for me at all.
This isn't a perfect novel by any means. I'd argue some reviews are unfair with their expectations in getting mad at a novel about superheros fighting zombies for having superhero and zombie tropes in it, but that'd be screaming into the void of baseless accusations of racism and sexism.
That being said, there is definitely a heaping scoop of ogling going on with heroes and heroines alike.
If this was a Walking Dead-esque novel I'd take issue with something like the narrator describing a zombie's boobs in any level of detail, but each chapter of Ex-Heroes allows the narrative to be driven by a specific character, and a lot of the characters are surviving in an area of Hollywood they are intimately familiar with. Literally the only thing that changes is the physical appearance of the Exes (zombies), it makes sense they would take note.
I found the book to have an interesting take on the hyper-sexualization of heroines by having an asexual character who has incredible strength and mental capacity, but is cursed with the body of a Miss Universe winner (no really, she won Miss Universe while getting her doctorate). Her character arc doesn't involve her suddenly becoming not-ace after a trip to the bone zone, in fact she mentions an almost scientific experimentation with sex in college with both genders just to verify her stance on sexuality. Stealth is perfectly fine with her sexuality, and she's also perfectly fine using her physical attributes as a psychological weapon.
This is classic Clines in that Ex-Heroes has an ensemble of characters who slowly reveal the true story behind what the reader is seeing piece by piece, allowing for many "HOLY HELL" moments along the way as the puzzle piece mentally click in.
My only real issue with the novel is my issue with any superhero story: There exists a character (in this case Zzzap, a man who can turn into pure energy a'la The Human Torch) who could solve any problem in the book faster than the average human could process with their eyes. Several characters end up in situations where Zzzap could just fly in, make a bad guy's head explode by punching it, then fly away.
Instead we're given a half-assed explanation that Zzzap doesn't like flying through zombies or living people because it feels super icky to him.
Boo-frickin-hoo.
Except for a handful of moments in which Zzzap physically couldn't assist, there are no moments at which a protagonist is in peril during the "now" segments of the novel in which he couldn't fix the situation immediately with his powers.
As long as you can let go of that going in, this is definitely a fun read. I don't know if it's "five sequels" good but the first book has a satisfactory end that doesn't shamelessly set up a sequel.
That being said, there is definitely a heaping scoop of ogling going on with heroes and heroines alike.
If this was a Walking Dead-esque novel I'd take issue with something like the narrator describing a zombie's boobs in any level of detail, but each chapter of Ex-Heroes allows the narrative to be driven by a specific character, and a lot of the characters are surviving in an area of Hollywood they are intimately familiar with. Literally the only thing that changes is the physical appearance of the Exes (zombies), it makes sense they would take note.
I found the book to have an interesting take on the hyper-sexualization of heroines by having an asexual character who has incredible strength and mental capacity, but is cursed with the body of a Miss Universe winner (no really, she won Miss Universe while getting her doctorate). Her character arc doesn't involve her suddenly becoming not-ace after a trip to the bone zone, in fact she mentions an almost scientific experimentation with sex in college with both genders just to verify her stance on sexuality. Stealth is perfectly fine with her sexuality, and she's also perfectly fine using her physical attributes as a psychological weapon.
This is classic Clines in that Ex-Heroes has an ensemble of characters who slowly reveal the true story behind what the reader is seeing piece by piece, allowing for many "HOLY HELL" moments along the way as the puzzle piece mentally click in.
My only real issue with the novel is my issue with any superhero story: There exists a character (in this case Zzzap, a man who can turn into pure energy a'la The Human Torch) who could solve any problem in the book faster than the average human could process with their eyes. Several characters end up in situations where Zzzap could just fly in, make a bad guy's head explode by punching it, then fly away.
Instead we're given a half-assed explanation that Zzzap doesn't like flying through zombies or living people because it feels super icky to him.
Boo-frickin-hoo.
Except for a handful of moments in which Zzzap physically couldn't assist, there are no moments at which a protagonist is in peril during the "now" segments of the novel in which he couldn't fix the situation immediately with his powers.
As long as you can let go of that going in, this is definitely a fun read. I don't know if it's "five sequels" good but the first book has a satisfactory end that doesn't shamelessly set up a sequel.
You know, I've been hearing about how amazing Peter Clines's EX-HEROES is for so long that you'd think I'd have posted about it by now myself. Sadly craziness chez moi has delayed it but here it is! (And I'm happy to say that in this case you can believe all of the hype -- EX-HEROES is fabulous!)
It's been a year since the exes began making their appearance. No one calls them zombies -- instead, they are exes, as in ex- humans. A plague of them has taken over forcing those left alive to band together for survival. A group of them have made a home on an old movie lot in LA where they are protected by a group of superheroes: The Mighty Dragon, Gorgon, Cerberus, Zzzap, Regenerator, and Stealth. And it's fortunate that they have these heroes on their side because something much worse than the exes is rising in LA!
C'mon, folks. Even Nathan Fillion blurbed Peter Clines! Nathan freaking Fillion!
Clines is the latest in a growing list of authors to be snatched up by one of the big six soon to be five after his books were released by the folks over at Permuted Press (remember David Wong's JOHN DIES AT THE END?). PP released Clines's first two installments in the series (EX-HEROES and EX-PATRIOTS) as well as the stand alone 14 - which I also hear is mind blowingly amazing. Crown's Broadway Paperbacks has reissued book one and has a new edition of book two, EX-PATRIOTS, due out next week. Books three and four are both due out later this year.
This first in the series alternates between the present, or one year after the ex infestation, and the onset of the outbreak. The flashback portions also provide a bit of our heroes' backstories as well as set up for the uber bad they begin to discover they're up against.
It's true that this is a bit of a HEROES meets WALKING DEAD love child and I'd be willing to bet money that fans of either or both will be able to at least temporarily fill the void left by both shows with Clines's gruesome superheroes vs zombies series (at least until WALKING DEAD returns this fall). I particularly enjoy the twisted sense of humor injected into the tale (points for celebrity kills in LA, yeah).
It's been a year since the exes began making their appearance. No one calls them zombies -- instead, they are exes, as in ex- humans. A plague of them has taken over forcing those left alive to band together for survival. A group of them have made a home on an old movie lot in LA where they are protected by a group of superheroes: The Mighty Dragon, Gorgon, Cerberus, Zzzap, Regenerator, and Stealth. And it's fortunate that they have these heroes on their side because something much worse than the exes is rising in LA!
C'mon, folks. Even Nathan Fillion blurbed Peter Clines! Nathan freaking Fillion!
Clines is the latest in a growing list of authors to be snatched up by one of the big six soon to be five after his books were released by the folks over at Permuted Press (remember David Wong's JOHN DIES AT THE END?). PP released Clines's first two installments in the series (EX-HEROES and EX-PATRIOTS) as well as the stand alone 14 - which I also hear is mind blowingly amazing. Crown's Broadway Paperbacks has reissued book one and has a new edition of book two, EX-PATRIOTS, due out next week. Books three and four are both due out later this year.
This first in the series alternates between the present, or one year after the ex infestation, and the onset of the outbreak. The flashback portions also provide a bit of our heroes' backstories as well as set up for the uber bad they begin to discover they're up against.
It's true that this is a bit of a HEROES meets WALKING DEAD love child and I'd be willing to bet money that fans of either or both will be able to at least temporarily fill the void left by both shows with Clines's gruesome superheroes vs zombies series (at least until WALKING DEAD returns this fall). I particularly enjoy the twisted sense of humor injected into the tale (points for celebrity kills in LA, yeah).
Superheroes meet the Walking Dead. I really enjoyed this book. The action starts from page one and does not stop until the last page. Peter Clines is a master of building a rich world. Though the story pulls for two well known genres, the overall story is original and interesting. Revelations towards the end were surprising and tied everything together nicely. My only problem was there were so many characters and so many names of people introduced at once that it was difficult to keep track at times. However, if you push through you get a great story and a lot of backstory told in flashbacks. Overall, a really fun and exciting read.
Oh, man. I really loved this!! If I weren’t trying to read 26 more books on my physical TBR by the end of the year, I would definitely run out and by the sequel ASAP. I have officially added it to my Christmas wish list though!
My only complaint truly has to do with the audiobook. I got some of the superheroes confused while listening! That being said, I loved the narration and I would still recommend listening to it if you want. (Just play close attention!)
My only complaint truly has to do with the audiobook. I got some of the superheroes confused while listening! That being said, I loved the narration and I would still recommend listening to it if you want. (Just play close attention!)
Really good read. Zombies meet the super hero genre. A great cast of original supers, interesting (if gritty) world and enough moral ambiguity to keep modern and not 4 color. I'm hoping that most of the world exposition is out of the way we're going to drill down into the characters a bit more. Not quite as good as "Super Heorine", but certainly EX-cellent. :)