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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
“Superheroes and zombies in one novel? Peter Clines presents a very strong and entertaining novel that will keep you flicking through the pages.” ~The Founding Fields
I love any zombie fiction, and when you combine them with superheroes, I’m instantly sold on the idea. So much so that I didn’t even read the blurb before delving into EX-Heroes, as I already knew that this would be a combination of the two before downloading it from NetGalley. As it turned out, EX-Heroes was certainly an entertaining, action-packed read, and I can recommend it a lot to fans of either the masked crime-fighters or the Walking Dead.
As EX-Heroes is targeted mainly at geeks like myself, there’s a lot of references thrown to various pop culture elements in the novel, most of which I managed to spot. Whilst some people might enjoy the odd mention of other things, there comes a point when the line is crossed and it feels like too much references are being crammed into one novel and there is a chance that the reader will certainly not get all of them. (Just a quick question, for those who have read the novel – did you mind the amount of references to pop culture in here? I didn’t, but I can see that there might be a few who do).
Read the full review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/01/ex-heroes-peter-clines-book-review-bane-kings/
I love any zombie fiction, and when you combine them with superheroes, I’m instantly sold on the idea. So much so that I didn’t even read the blurb before delving into EX-Heroes, as I already knew that this would be a combination of the two before downloading it from NetGalley. As it turned out, EX-Heroes was certainly an entertaining, action-packed read, and I can recommend it a lot to fans of either the masked crime-fighters or the Walking Dead.
Stealth. Gorgon. Regenerator. Cerberus. Zzzap. The Mighty Dragon. They were heroes. Vigilantes. Crusaders for justice, using their superhuman abilites to make Los Angeles a better place. Then the plague of living death spread around the globe. Despite the best efforts of the superheroes, the police, and the military, the hungry corpses rose up and overwhelmed the country. The population was decimated, heroes fell, and the city of angels was left a desolate zombie wasteland like so many others. Now, a year later, the Mighty Dragon and his companions must overcome their differences and recover from their own scars to protect the thousands of survivors sheltered in their film studio-turned-fortress, the Mount. The heroes lead teams out to scavenge supplies, keep the peace within the walls of their home, and try to be the symbols the survivors so desperately need. For while the ex-humans walk the streets night and day, they are not the only threat left in the world, and the people of the Mount are not the only survivors left in Los Angeles. Across the city, another group has grown and gained power. And they are not heroes.
As EX-Heroes is targeted mainly at geeks like myself, there’s a lot of references thrown to various pop culture elements in the novel, most of which I managed to spot. Whilst some people might enjoy the odd mention of other things, there comes a point when the line is crossed and it feels like too much references are being crammed into one novel and there is a chance that the reader will certainly not get all of them. (Just a quick question, for those who have read the novel – did you mind the amount of references to pop culture in here? I didn’t, but I can see that there might be a few who do).
Read the full review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/01/ex-heroes-peter-clines-book-review-bane-kings/
This sounded like it should be right up my alley, but ended up being rather a slog. There was a zombie apocalypse, superheroes, gang warfare, a mysterious (female!) leader.... yet, somehow I got annoyed with the whole thing. It switches between two temporal stories (and I cared about one more than another), plus I didn't feel like the ending resolved everything it set up. I know it's first in a series, but I'm not sure I'm going to keep going.
Peter Clines takes a break from the serious novels like 14 and The Fold and goes all in on zombies, superheroes and military battle stories.
It shouldn't work, but somehow it does, primarily because it's all done with a solid portion of humour and secondly because Clines knows he's craft.
As it's a quick read, the following instalments will fit nicely as breaks between longer novels.
It shouldn't work, but somehow it does, primarily because it's all done with a solid portion of humour and secondly because Clines knows he's craft.
As it's a quick read, the following instalments will fit nicely as breaks between longer novels.
Well Written, Well paced and Well worked.
Ex heroes brings forth a very fun premise and plays it in a great way. The novel starts slow to dip us into it's world and then just guns if for the action and the all time fun. The human factor is there but is only skimmed on making way for the more entertaining parts of the development. Conflict comes from the past so it gives it a sense fo stability and understanding while we wade through the undead world which Ex-Heroes is a host of.
The main characters are fun to read and relatable in their humanity. Their very human motivations make them likeable while at the same time letting us see them in more vulnerable light and not feeling let down by their misbehaving.
All in all a great book, fun most of all.
Ex heroes brings forth a very fun premise and plays it in a great way. The novel starts slow to dip us into it's world and then just guns if for the action and the all time fun. The human factor is there but is only skimmed on making way for the more entertaining parts of the development. Conflict comes from the past so it gives it a sense fo stability and understanding while we wade through the undead world which Ex-Heroes is a host of.
The main characters are fun to read and relatable in their humanity. Their very human motivations make them likeable while at the same time letting us see them in more vulnerable light and not feeling let down by their misbehaving.
All in all a great book, fun most of all.
Superheroes, zombies, super-zombies... Non stop action & fun
I've heard good things about this book for a while and I finally picked it up as "prep" for SRP. I'm damn glad I did. I loved the chapters that alternated between the present plot and the backstories for each of the heroes. I loved that each superhero had unique superpowers, some of which I'd never seen in other stories/media before. I loved that it was a SUPERHERO BOOK WITH ZOMBIES. Or, alternately, A ZOMBIE BOOK WITH SUPERHEROES. Two of my favorite things! I was glad to see that this is the first book in a series; hopefully I'll have time to read the rest soon. There was only one thing that was not explained that left me kind of confused and frustrated, but I suppose it's not ultimately THAT important, so I'll let it slide. All in all, I found this book very fun to read.
Another zombie apocalypse book? Even with my limited forays into this arena, I thought I had reached my interest limit.
WRONG.
LOVED IT. Can't wait to meet the author at Booktopia!
WRONG.
LOVED IT. Can't wait to meet the author at Booktopia!
I originally thought this was a graphic novel for some reason so I was a bit surprised to discover it was a regular fiction novel. But I really enjoyed it. Around halfway through, there was a big surprise that hooked me and another twist had me reading the last 100 pages in one sitting. One thing that bothered me was Stealth. I didn't like that her defining feature is her incredible beauty, which she must keep hidden at all times because otherwise no one would listen to or respect her. I think Clines was trying to make a decent point here but the execution was pretty poor. However, I liked the diversity of characters from the abilities and backgrounds to their styles, ambitions, and secrets. Looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
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3.5 Stars (It seems to be my default rating)
Before you read this book you have to ask yourself:
1. Do I like Books that read like summer blockbuster movies?
2. Do I like Flawed Superheroes that aren’t completely altruistic?
3. Do I like Zombie Books?
4. Do I like dark humor that also includes pop culture references?
5. If Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams had a son that only wrote books would he be Peter Clines?
If you said yes three or more of the above questions then Ex-Heroes is probably right up your alley.
I really enjoyed how this book took two genres and really combined them together seamlessly. It could have become extra cheesy with Superheroes and Zombies but I really enjoyed the moments that were serious and the others that made fun of the zombie apocalypse itself. I alternated between the Audio (which is fantastic and I totally recommend if you listen to Audiobooks at all) and the ebook.
The story is set around a group of Superheroes who have come together Avenger style to protect a group of people inside a former movie studio. The story is revealed in a past/present multiple POV telling much in the style of LOST. From the POV of the Superheroes there are a few chapters in the present and then a chapter from the past and the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. In the collapse of society it isn’t just the Zombies that our Heroes have to face. They are also in a turf war with a gang from LA who wants the guns and ammunition the Heroes have stockpiled.
With the way the story is told the reader gets a sense of the decay of society and how it all went downhill so fast. Plus Peter Clines did something that no other Zombie book I’ve read to date has done. He actually showed us how the Zombie virus got start and who was Patient Zero. It was done in such a great way that I thought it blended in with the story perfectly, so bravo on that.
There are plenty of times to be serious throughout the book and well not everyone makes it out alive (it’s a zombie book I don’t think anyone should be surprised by that) there is enough dark humor to keep me engaged in the story. Clines even included a game of your top 5 celebrity kills to kind of show how in the aftermath people are trying to keep spirits up. What an interesting take on the fall of society and there is even the new additional problems of former superheroes as Zombies.
Peter Clines gave every POV a very distinctive feel and even changed the way the story was told in a few chapters to really change the voice of each. The way the chapter on Cairax was written in particular was my favorite.
There were only a few things I struggled with. There are a lot of characters and all the Superheroes have their secret identity name and then their Superhero name. I got a little confused keeping them all straight for a little while sorta like a George RR Martin Book I needed a character tree. But by the end I totally had the hang of it I hope. Because there are so many characters it was hard to get a really in-depth look at any. But since this is a series I’m sure that will be ultimately remedied.
The only other issue I had was with the action sequences getting a little bit repetitive that I lost focus. But I’m totally a girl and that would happen for me in a blockbuster movie as well. There are great moments in the action sequences too, like using one zombie to knock around others and such but I only have a limited attention span for fight scenes.
All and all this was a lot of fun and as I didn’t know anything about this book other than I liked a different Peter Clines book called 14 I wasn’t sure what to expect. I will just say that I’m pleasantly surprised and can’t wait to see what the next installment brings.
3.5 Stars (It seems to be my default rating)
It doesn’t matter. I don’t care what you believe in. The Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, faked moon landings, the 2000 election results—you can believe in whatever fairy tale you want.
Before you read this book you have to ask yourself:
1. Do I like Books that read like summer blockbuster movies?
2. Do I like Flawed Superheroes that aren’t completely altruistic?
3. Do I like Zombie Books?
4. Do I like dark humor that also includes pop culture references?
5. If Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams had a son that only wrote books would he be Peter Clines?
If you said yes three or more of the above questions then Ex-Heroes is probably right up your alley.
I really enjoyed how this book took two genres and really combined them together seamlessly. It could have become extra cheesy with Superheroes and Zombies but I really enjoyed the moments that were serious and the others that made fun of the zombie apocalypse itself. I alternated between the Audio (which is fantastic and I totally recommend if you listen to Audiobooks at all) and the ebook.
The story is set around a group of Superheroes who have come together Avenger style to protect a group of people inside a former movie studio. The story is revealed in a past/present multiple POV telling much in the style of LOST. From the POV of the Superheroes there are a few chapters in the present and then a chapter from the past and the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. In the collapse of society it isn’t just the Zombies that our Heroes have to face. They are also in a turf war with a gang from LA who wants the guns and ammunition the Heroes have stockpiled.
People could say a lot of negative things about the apocalypse, but there was no arguing the air quality in Los Angeles had really improved.
With the way the story is told the reader gets a sense of the decay of society and how it all went downhill so fast. Plus Peter Clines did something that no other Zombie book I’ve read to date has done. He actually showed us how the Zombie virus got start and who was Patient Zero. It was done in such a great way that I thought it blended in with the story perfectly, so bravo on that.
There are plenty of times to be serious throughout the book and well not everyone makes it out alive (it’s a zombie book I don’t think anyone should be surprised by that) there is enough dark humor to keep me engaged in the story. Clines even included a game of your top 5 celebrity kills to kind of show how in the aftermath people are trying to keep spirits up. What an interesting take on the fall of society and there is even the new additional problems of former superheroes as Zombies.
Peter Clines gave every POV a very distinctive feel and even changed the way the story was told in a few chapters to really change the voice of each. The way the chapter on Cairax was written in particular was my favorite.
There were only a few things I struggled with. There are a lot of characters and all the Superheroes have their secret identity name and then their Superhero name. I got a little confused keeping them all straight for a little while sorta like a George RR Martin Book I needed a character tree. But by the end I totally had the hang of it I hope. Because there are so many characters it was hard to get a really in-depth look at any. But since this is a series I’m sure that will be ultimately remedied.
The only other issue I had was with the action sequences getting a little bit repetitive that I lost focus. But I’m totally a girl and that would happen for me in a blockbuster movie as well. There are great moments in the action sequences too, like using one zombie to knock around others and such but I only have a limited attention span for fight scenes.
All and all this was a lot of fun and as I didn’t know anything about this book other than I liked a different Peter Clines book called 14 I wasn’t sure what to expect. I will just say that I’m pleasantly surprised and can’t wait to see what the next installment brings.