Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Zombies are easy. I mean, they were old in 1999 as a metaphor. Romero is the original and no one since has really done anything too new with it. I'll admit, I liked the Walking Dead comics...to a point. The torture issue finished it for me, and I never went back. But I did appreciate the theme running through WD that no matter how brutal the zombies were, it was the cruelty of the living humans that was always the greatest. But zombies were old in 1999 when I mocked the gimmick in my first novel, Death by Zamboni, by having the main character riff on how fun it was to beat up zombies. You can tear 'em apart...or whatever...just for fun. See, no one cares if you kill zombies. It's the perfect excuse for violence. We can glorify the violence and excuse the heroes brutality...because they are dead things, after all. Just viruses controlling bodies for inscrutable reasons.
And that brings us to Ex Heroes, a mash-up of superheroes and zombies, which allows for R-rated superhero violence in that exact manner. No one can think badly of them for tearing apart a zombie, right? Well, actually. My gut reaction to this book was that it was racist. I gave it a chance because I thought, it might end up having a racial theme arise somewhere later in the story. But no. Two things made me feel it was racist. One, every time an individual zombie was described (gleefully) as being ripped apart, we were told what race they belonged to. Since this book happened to be set in LA, there were quite a few Asians. He'd also describe if they were blonde or brunette or old or young. But especially the race and especially Asian. Then second, there was the Latino gang that was portrayed as being lead by a single intelligent undead monster. Who could control zombies with his superpower. The gang members were portrayed as animalistic, for the most part, in the most old skool clichéd gang fashion. Like something from a 70s movie like The Warriors or Mad Max perhaps. Their humanity was not really acknowledged by the author.
The racism may very well have been unintentional, and I am not saying the author is personally racist. But I found his book to be racist and expressed joyful detail in tearing apart zombies. Once I noticed it, I felt that subtly, the Asian zombies got it worse than the others. I'm sure it was a...coincidence.
And that brings us to Ex Heroes, a mash-up of superheroes and zombies, which allows for R-rated superhero violence in that exact manner. No one can think badly of them for tearing apart a zombie, right? Well, actually. My gut reaction to this book was that it was racist. I gave it a chance because I thought, it might end up having a racial theme arise somewhere later in the story. But no. Two things made me feel it was racist. One, every time an individual zombie was described (gleefully) as being ripped apart, we were told what race they belonged to. Since this book happened to be set in LA, there were quite a few Asians. He'd also describe if they were blonde or brunette or old or young. But especially the race and especially Asian. Then second, there was the Latino gang that was portrayed as being lead by a single intelligent undead monster. Who could control zombies with his superpower. The gang members were portrayed as animalistic, for the most part, in the most old skool clichéd gang fashion. Like something from a 70s movie like The Warriors or Mad Max perhaps. Their humanity was not really acknowledged by the author.
The racism may very well have been unintentional, and I am not saying the author is personally racist. But I found his book to be racist and expressed joyful detail in tearing apart zombies. Once I noticed it, I felt that subtly, the Asian zombies got it worse than the others. I'm sure it was a...coincidence.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Just no.
Great book! If you happened to have read Marvel Zombies and didn't like it much for all the lack of hope and characters not being heroes, I'd check this out. I will definitely be reading the sequel; a good mix of horror, super heroes and succeeding against impossible odds while not losing your humanity.
Audiobook is well narrated.
Audiobook is well narrated.
There were certainly some aspects that I. Let could have been done better- better reviews have been written outlining these things.
That said. I've been wanting to pick this book up for LITERAL YEARS. but due to a fear of zombies, never had. I finally decided to give it a go and Am glad I did. Very engaging and entertaining. Not something you're going to read to figure out the mysteries of the universe, but certainly time well spent.
That said. I've been wanting to pick this book up for LITERAL YEARS. but due to a fear of zombies, never had. I finally decided to give it a go and Am glad I did. Very engaging and entertaining. Not something you're going to read to figure out the mysteries of the universe, but certainly time well spent.
This was all kinds of yes for me! The superheroes in this book are like a more bad ass group of Avengers. I especially liked the story of Cairax. I thought the way the outbreak started was really inventive. I will be recommending this one to many people.
trash reading. may as well have been a graphic novel. a bad one.
Yet another zombie series but this one has a new component that I've wanted for some time - super heroes (actually, more closer to mutants but you get the idea). It's a mash-up of a zombie apocalypse (set in LA) and superheroes who are fighting to protect an enclave in the middle of a city of zombies.
It worked for me on all levels. The plot was nothing new but the super powers where well-done and , in some cases, damn interesting. The main characters were engaging, believable, and developed in interesting ways as the story progressed. One of the mechanics I thought worked very well was the short flash-backs for each of the main characters; mainly focusing on the time when they acquired their powers or were actively using them before the apocalypse hit.
All in all, a great read for those who are looking for something new from the walking dead and those caped crusaders.
It worked for me on all levels. The plot was nothing new but the super powers where well-done and , in some cases, damn interesting. The main characters were engaging, believable, and developed in interesting ways as the story progressed. One of the mechanics I thought worked very well was the short flash-backs for each of the main characters; mainly focusing on the time when they acquired their powers or were actively using them before the apocalypse hit.
All in all, a great read for those who are looking for something new from the walking dead and those caped crusaders.
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the first book in Peter Clines' "Ex-Heroes" series. This is a "zombie apocalypse" book with superheroes. I know what you are thinking...for I was also taken aback (slightly) when I read the blurb on Goodreads.
You need to understand something about my views on "zombie apocalypses" before I continue with this review. I have a hard time suspending my disbelief when it comes to "zombie apocalypses". In general, I do not find them very logical. I am not talking about the logical quagmire of the mere existence of ambulatory dead people (aka zombies). What beggars my imagination is the premise they could ever pose much of a threat. The majority of zombie antagonists (not talking about the zombie crackheads on that World War Z movie) are stupid, slow, and easily tricked. Heck, each person on "The Walking Dead" TV show dispatches roughly 50 zombies each day, every day. Even the little kid on that show slaughters zombies wholesale. I normally do not buy what your typical zombie author is selling.
Then Peter Clines comes along and makes me revisit my opinion of "zombie apocalypse" viability. I do not want to spoil anything by talking more in depth about Clines' zombies, but let me just say that well before the end of the book, I was able to suspend my disbelief to really enjoy the ride. Kudos, Mr. Clines!
In summary...
"Ex-Heroes" starts fast and stays interesting. This book follows a pattern I really enjoy. Action...followed by flashbacks that provide character origin/development...followed by more Action, etc. This pattern kept me flipping the pages. It made me drool during the big fight scenes. The superheroes acted like real people with superpowers. They lost their temper, felt fear when threatened, felt sadness when comrades fell. Too often in superhero literature, the hero is an unbelievable collection of pure virtue with all the depth of a cardboard cutout (looking at you, Superman). In "Ex-Heroes", the supers retained their humanity...which made them more interesting to me.
I liked this book and plan to buy the next book in the series..."Ex-Patriots". 4.5 stars!
You need to understand something about my views on "zombie apocalypses" before I continue with this review. I have a hard time suspending my disbelief when it comes to "zombie apocalypses". In general, I do not find them very logical. I am not talking about the logical quagmire of the mere existence of ambulatory dead people (aka zombies). What beggars my imagination is the premise they could ever pose much of a threat. The majority of zombie antagonists (not talking about the zombie crackheads on that World War Z movie) are stupid, slow, and easily tricked. Heck, each person on "The Walking Dead" TV show dispatches roughly 50 zombies each day, every day. Even the little kid on that show slaughters zombies wholesale. I normally do not buy what your typical zombie author is selling.
Then Peter Clines comes along and makes me revisit my opinion of "zombie apocalypse" viability. I do not want to spoil anything by talking more in depth about Clines' zombies, but let me just say that well before the end of the book, I was able to suspend my disbelief to really enjoy the ride. Kudos, Mr. Clines!
In summary...
"Ex-Heroes" starts fast and stays interesting. This book follows a pattern I really enjoy. Action...followed by flashbacks that provide character origin/development...followed by more Action, etc. This pattern kept me flipping the pages. It made me drool during the big fight scenes. The superheroes acted like real people with superpowers. They lost their temper, felt fear when threatened, felt sadness when comrades fell. Too often in superhero literature, the hero is an unbelievable collection of pure virtue with all the depth of a cardboard cutout (looking at you, Superman). In "Ex-Heroes", the supers retained their humanity...which made them more interesting to me.
I liked this book and plan to buy the next book in the series..."Ex-Patriots". 4.5 stars!