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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Superheroes and the zombie apocalypse. Kind of a best of both worlds if you're into that sort of thing.
A pretty fun read, but I had a few issues with it. Having lived in Southern California for over 40 years, it always bugs me when I read stories about the area where everything in LA revolves around the movie & TV industry. Over 15 million people live in this area, we mostly don't work or care that much about the entertainment industry. In this story, the superheroes have gathered all the survivors they could find and fortressed up in Paramount Studios complex not a bad decision but still it would be nice if they explained why moving out of the area where most of the zombies were concentrated was a bad idea. Next issue, the story takes place a couple years into the apocalypse (with alternating chapter flashbacks to superhero origin stories) and it's well established that the only way to kill zombies is with a shot or blow to the head that crushes the skull and the superheros call out the rookies on this mistake several times and yet later in the book the heroes are all about the body shots and pummeling the baddies. WTH. I almost started yelling at the audiobook narrator it was so dumb.
A pretty fun read, but I had a few issues with it. Having lived in Southern California for over 40 years, it always bugs me when I read stories about the area where everything in LA revolves around the movie & TV industry. Over 15 million people live in this area, we mostly don't work or care that much about the entertainment industry. In this story, the superheroes have gathered all the survivors they could find and fortressed up in Paramount Studios complex not a bad decision but still it would be nice if they explained why moving out of the area where most of the zombies were concentrated was a bad idea. Next issue, the story takes place a couple years into the apocalypse (with alternating chapter flashbacks to superhero origin stories) and it's well established that the only way to kill zombies is with a shot or blow to the head that crushes the skull and the superheros call out the rookies on this mistake several times and yet later in the book the heroes are all about the body shots and pummeling the baddies. WTH. I almost started yelling at the audiobook narrator it was so dumb.
fast-paced
This was fine. I liked the banter and the introduction of the heroes in between the main story. The fight scenes could be confusing sometimes.
Going out for new years managed to finish my 50 book goal before the new year. I'll post a real review later.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm not a huge fan of zombie stories, but I'm a die hard superhero fan, so I had to read this one. I loved the afterword, where the author talks about resurrecting heroes he'd created in middle school. I really liked some of the superheroes, even some of the more typical ones. An added bonus that puts this story at a solid 3.5 stars: winning Doctor Who reference. ♥♥♥
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
I gave this 4 stars to describe how well it fits into the superhero/zombie/action genres. It was a lot of fun to read, like reading a "popcorn movie" another reviewer said. I actually found myself staying up to read it which is unusual these days.
It's not particularly deep, it's not dark, the characters aren't a very ethnically diverse group of people. But it _is_ fast-paced, it explains the existence of zombies in a way just plausible enough to carry me through, it doesn't try to explain how the heroes get their powers(which I appreciate), it's well-edited, the action is well-written and translates well to the page.
I'm interested to see if the author can expand on the characters in the follow-ons.
It's not particularly deep, it's not dark, the characters aren't a very ethnically diverse group of people. But it _is_ fast-paced, it explains the existence of zombies in a way just plausible enough to carry me through, it doesn't try to explain how the heroes get their powers(which I appreciate), it's well-edited, the action is well-written and translates well to the page.
I'm interested to see if the author can expand on the characters in the follow-ons.
Just when you think you're sick and tired of zombie books, someone does something different with them. In the case of Ex-Heroes, it's a blend of superheroes and zombies that somehow keeps either concept from feeling entirely absurd.
Ex-Heroes takes place a year after the zombie apocalypse. There's a pocket of survivors in a movie studio lot, protected by the few superheroes that survived. They have a secure perimeter, housing, gardens, and regular scavenging runs. They even have electricity, provided by Zzzap, who's basically a small sentient sun.
Roughly a third of the story is told through flashbacks to before and during the zombie apocalypse. We learn that superheroes are a new phenomenon, having appeared in the last couple of years following a mysterious meteor shower. The story is told through several points of view, but goes back most often to that of St. George, who's roughly equivalent to Superman in terms of morality, and the fact that he's the strongest of them.
The zombies aren't the main conflict, though, as in all good zombie fiction. There's a gang that was a big deal before the apocalypse, and it turns out they're still around, growing by the day, and they have a secret weapon. They want our heroes' weapons and for them to turn over one of their own, and they're willing to wage war to get it.
The story is told in a way that evokes comic books very strongly. The scene is often set, like the one-panel first page of an issue, then the characters move about the space in a very visual way. Unfortunately, that sometimes made it hard to keep track of characters and action. The story often jumped from one end of the action to the other without warning, just like in a comic book. It relied on us to have a good image of each of the characters in play. And, toward the beginning of the book, that was tricky. It took about five chapters before I felt I had a handle on most of the characters, and I never really wrapped my mind around Miss B.
I had a hard time telling if the female characterizations were meant to be subverting comic book tropes, or if they were accepting them unironically. Female characters were described in terms of their looks, even when the story was being told from a female perspective. Male characters' looks were sketched in terms of how strong they were or what their costumes were. And the entire character of Stealth and her dynamic with St. George was problematic, to say the least.
It was an enjoyable read, though, and the story builds on itself nicely. The flashbacks are all necessary to the story, and give the reader important information they need for the present. I liked the character development, and I'm interested to read more about superheroes in a post-apocalyptic landscape infested with zombies.
I listened to this book on audio. It had a male and female narrator. The woman read all the female parts, including dialogue, while the man read all the male parts. It was a good way to get around the problem of how silly one gender can sound reading off dialogue of the other, and it helped me tell who was speaking at any given moment. I don't think it would work for all books, but I liked it, once I adjusted.
Ex-Heroes takes place a year after the zombie apocalypse. There's a pocket of survivors in a movie studio lot, protected by the few superheroes that survived. They have a secure perimeter, housing, gardens, and regular scavenging runs. They even have electricity, provided by Zzzap, who's basically a small sentient sun.
Roughly a third of the story is told through flashbacks to before and during the zombie apocalypse. We learn that superheroes are a new phenomenon, having appeared in the last couple of years following a mysterious meteor shower. The story is told through several points of view, but goes back most often to that of St. George, who's roughly equivalent to Superman in terms of morality, and the fact that he's the strongest of them.
The zombies aren't the main conflict, though, as in all good zombie fiction. There's a gang that was a big deal before the apocalypse, and it turns out they're still around, growing by the day, and they have a secret weapon. They want our heroes' weapons and for them to turn over one of their own, and they're willing to wage war to get it.
The story is told in a way that evokes comic books very strongly. The scene is often set, like the one-panel first page of an issue, then the characters move about the space in a very visual way. Unfortunately, that sometimes made it hard to keep track of characters and action. The story often jumped from one end of the action to the other without warning, just like in a comic book. It relied on us to have a good image of each of the characters in play. And, toward the beginning of the book, that was tricky. It took about five chapters before I felt I had a handle on most of the characters, and I never really wrapped my mind around Miss B.
I had a hard time telling if the female characterizations were meant to be subverting comic book tropes, or if they were accepting them unironically. Female characters were described in terms of their looks, even when the story was being told from a female perspective. Male characters' looks were sketched in terms of how strong they were or what their costumes were. And the entire character of Stealth and her dynamic with St. George was problematic, to say the least.
It was an enjoyable read, though, and the story builds on itself nicely. The flashbacks are all necessary to the story, and give the reader important information they need for the present. I liked the character development, and I'm interested to read more about superheroes in a post-apocalyptic landscape infested with zombies.
I listened to this book on audio. It had a male and female narrator. The woman read all the female parts, including dialogue, while the man read all the male parts. It was a good way to get around the problem of how silly one gender can sound reading off dialogue of the other, and it helped me tell who was speaking at any given moment. I don't think it would work for all books, but I liked it, once I adjusted.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic