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sheilaokeefe's review against another edition
4.0
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the narrator.
I love a good zombie apocalypse, and this is a good one. The characters are well-drawn and the plot involves more than just the "run, scavenge and survive" present in all zombie tales. There's social, political, and religious commentary/snark. It is irreverent, crude and gory. I largely enjoyed the social, political, and religious commentary/snark, although some is bit stereotypical. The gore didn't bother me, but this book is probably not for the really squeamish. I did find a few of the sexual depictions verged on offensive, particularly those involving Rand and his VR collar. Definitely written from a male point of view, but luckily these scenes weren't too prevalent or lengthy. The presence of strong female characters with agency redeemed the author.
There is a large cast of characters. The novel jumps around from character group to character group. All interact in the end, but you do need to pay attention to keep track of them all and follow the action, particularly in the beginning when the jumps can be a little confusing.
The narration is very well-done. I'd recommend the audio - this is the type of tale I like to listen to while gardening, doing dishes, etc. Because of some of the gory and/or explicit sexual scenes, watch out if listening while driving with the windows down. I had one awkward moment while stopped at a red light.
I love a good zombie apocalypse, and this is a good one. The characters are well-drawn and the plot involves more than just the "run, scavenge and survive" present in all zombie tales. There's social, political, and religious commentary/snark. It is irreverent, crude and gory. I largely enjoyed the social, political, and religious commentary/snark, although some is bit stereotypical. The gore didn't bother me, but this book is probably not for the really squeamish. I did find a few of the sexual depictions verged on offensive, particularly those involving Rand and his VR collar. Definitely written from a male point of view, but luckily these scenes weren't too prevalent or lengthy. The presence of strong female characters with agency redeemed the author.
There is a large cast of characters. The novel jumps around from character group to character group. All interact in the end, but you do need to pay attention to keep track of them all and follow the action, particularly in the beginning when the jumps can be a little confusing.
The narration is very well-done. I'd recommend the audio - this is the type of tale I like to listen to while gardening, doing dishes, etc. Because of some of the gory and/or explicit sexual scenes, watch out if listening while driving with the windows down. I had one awkward moment while stopped at a red light.
renee_conoulty's review against another edition
3.0
The Ghoul Archipelago is a zombie apocalypse novel, but not the average survival in the suburbia style. Mostly set on tropical islands, with pirates, religious zealots, a money hungry techno entrepreneur, and then the military join the party. I was left spinning, trying to figure out who the bad guys were.
This is the second book I have read by Stephen. This was less humorous and more gruesome than Braineater Jones. I'm not generally a horror reader, so was a little apprehensive when I picked this up, but it wasn't as horrific as I expected. I think I cope with gory words better than gory movies.
I loved the sex drives and jar heads. There were so many characters involved that I didn't relate to any one in particular. I was hoping that the theory of why zombies existed would be explained, and I wasn't disappointed. I might use "because I said so" on my kids, but that just doesn't cut it for me in a zombie novel.
I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book I have read by Stephen. This was less humorous and more gruesome than Braineater Jones. I'm not generally a horror reader, so was a little apprehensive when I picked this up, but it wasn't as horrific as I expected. I think I cope with gory words better than gory movies.
I loved the sex drives and jar heads. There were so many characters involved that I didn't relate to any one in particular. I was hoping that the theory of why zombies existed would be explained, and I wasn't disappointed. I might use "because I said so" on my kids, but that just doesn't cut it for me in a zombie novel.
I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.
ctorretta's review against another edition
4.0
This starts off AMAZINGLY! Right away we meet two guys that are on an island and a gal has been (cover your eyes if you’re squeamish) impaled through the eyeball! HELLO! That would hurt. This was the introduction to the book so I just knew I was going to love this one.
Let me start with the downsides then I’ll go on singing Stephen Kozeniewski’s praises. Firstly, there are a ton of characters. This isn’t a really long book but wow… I had to sometimes stop and refresh my thinking as the point of view would change or I would lose who a character was. There’s a lot. Secondly, although this started wonderfully, there were some lulls. For a book with 360 pages I think some of the lulls could have been edited.
Now the awesomeness! I loved the writing. I don’t know what it is about Stephen’s writing but he just drew me in. Even with the lulls the writing was great. There is also a TON going on. There are zombies, and politicians (I don’t know which is worse honestly), and pirates! The plot is engaging and interesting and really made me think. And to make things even better this isn’t just your average run of the mill zombie story. There is a lot in here, twists and things that I just would not have imagined. Stephen Kozeniewski does an amazing job of relying the detail and the horror of what is going on and makes you feel like you’re going to have nightmares! I love it! And to top all of that off this is even satirical, if you can imagine that!
In short; amazing for horror lovers everywhere! Those that are squeamish may want to get ready for nightmares.
Let me start with the downsides then I’ll go on singing Stephen Kozeniewski’s praises. Firstly, there are a ton of characters. This isn’t a really long book but wow… I had to sometimes stop and refresh my thinking as the point of view would change or I would lose who a character was. There’s a lot. Secondly, although this started wonderfully, there were some lulls. For a book with 360 pages I think some of the lulls could have been edited.
Now the awesomeness! I loved the writing. I don’t know what it is about Stephen’s writing but he just drew me in. Even with the lulls the writing was great. There is also a TON going on. There are zombies, and politicians (I don’t know which is worse honestly), and pirates! The plot is engaging and interesting and really made me think. And to make things even better this isn’t just your average run of the mill zombie story. There is a lot in here, twists and things that I just would not have imagined. Stephen Kozeniewski does an amazing job of relying the detail and the horror of what is going on and makes you feel like you’re going to have nightmares! I love it! And to top all of that off this is even satirical, if you can imagine that!
In short; amazing for horror lovers everywhere! Those that are squeamish may want to get ready for nightmares.
serena_dawn's review against another edition
4.0
I've learned that zombie apocalypse books with pirates are something of a rarity, more so than I thought they would be in a world with a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie and ride. Stephen's book, like those of [a:John Ringo|14219|John Ringo|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1324507839p2/14219.jpg]'s Black Tide Rising series take place during the end of the world brought about because of the returning dead. Within this book there are pirates, preachers, smugglers, marines, and billionaire 'Sex Drive' CEOs all being used, and using each other and the zombies to further their own ends and survive in a South Pasific that's made the Curiens a archipelago of ghouls... and not all 'evil' is undead.
ericarobyn's review against another edition
4.0
The Ghoul Archipelago by Stephen Kozeniewski is fun page-turner that will delight you with each turn that the story takes! Of course, as this tale also features zombies, there is some wonderfully vivid violence scattered throughout.
I had so much fun with this one!
This story is a character-driven tale that will have you either rooting for the characters, or wishing that they would meet a sudden demise!
At the beginning of the novel, the chapters were organized in a way that would feature one group of characters at a time before jumping to another group. As each grouping was very intriguing to me, I couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to see how things were going to turn out for each of them! I absolutely loved that we kept jumping from group to group until each storylines began to merge with one another.
While some of the storylines were very different from one another, there was one element that was present throughout: the dead were rising.
It was so much fun to see how each group was handling that fact because they were all extremely different; we had some that were simply killing them, some that wanted to save their souls, and some that wanted to control them and use them for… various things.
The overall pacing was wonderful, the plot was perfectly organized, the characters and their relationships were fun, the dialogue was great! All around, this was an awesome book! It will definitely be one that I return to again when I need a fun zombie tale.
My Favorite Passages
Hannibal Mo’s lower jaw ground back and forth like a cricket’s legs serenading the night.
But he, personally, whether it was superstition or some latent belief in some kind of higher power, believed that it was the height of bad luck to give anyone his name. Rumpelstiltskin had been undone by it, and, personally, he intended to spin a lot keel straw into gold before he died.
For once, he was thankful for his cheap, raggedy boots. Many of the Mariners of the Rey Gould had lost their boots to the pirates. Papi’s hadn’t been worth stealing. He relish that now as he twisted his toes back and forth, sending vertebrae floating to the water surface like a loose piano keys. He would have despised doing that barefoot.
My Final Thoughts
I am a total sucker for zombie tales! And this one? This was such a fun twist on the traditional zombie. I loved the technology element that played a major role throughout, and all of the characters were so wonderful.
I definitely recommend this one to you if you enjoy stories centered around amazing characters, zombies, and interesting technology!
I had so much fun with this one!
This story is a character-driven tale that will have you either rooting for the characters, or wishing that they would meet a sudden demise!
At the beginning of the novel, the chapters were organized in a way that would feature one group of characters at a time before jumping to another group. As each grouping was very intriguing to me, I couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to see how things were going to turn out for each of them! I absolutely loved that we kept jumping from group to group until each storylines began to merge with one another.
While some of the storylines were very different from one another, there was one element that was present throughout: the dead were rising.
It was so much fun to see how each group was handling that fact because they were all extremely different; we had some that were simply killing them, some that wanted to save their souls, and some that wanted to control them and use them for… various things.
The overall pacing was wonderful, the plot was perfectly organized, the characters and their relationships were fun, the dialogue was great! All around, this was an awesome book! It will definitely be one that I return to again when I need a fun zombie tale.
My Favorite Passages
Hannibal Mo’s lower jaw ground back and forth like a cricket’s legs serenading the night.
But he, personally, whether it was superstition or some latent belief in some kind of higher power, believed that it was the height of bad luck to give anyone his name. Rumpelstiltskin had been undone by it, and, personally, he intended to spin a lot keel straw into gold before he died.
For once, he was thankful for his cheap, raggedy boots. Many of the Mariners of the Rey Gould had lost their boots to the pirates. Papi’s hadn’t been worth stealing. He relish that now as he twisted his toes back and forth, sending vertebrae floating to the water surface like a loose piano keys. He would have despised doing that barefoot.
My Final Thoughts
I am a total sucker for zombie tales! And this one? This was such a fun twist on the traditional zombie. I loved the technology element that played a major role throughout, and all of the characters were so wonderful.
I definitely recommend this one to you if you enjoy stories centered around amazing characters, zombies, and interesting technology!
mikekaz's review
4.0
While I've really enjoyed Kozeniewski's novels so far, this one was a little harder for me to get into. I'm not exactly sure why because the world was fully developed and the characters were pretty three dimensional. By process of elimination, that kind of leaves the story but I also don't really want to point my finger there. Well, let me try to sum up the story and then see if I can figure out where I had issues.
One of the main characters is Captain Martigan; he commands his own freighter in the South Pacific. He's in the Curien islands, making deliveries for a criminal overlord when he gets a distress call. Then there's Reverend Sonntag, a religious zealout who uses the zombie apocalypse to gain more followers and more power. Then add Rand Bergeron to the list; he's a genius and immoral businessman who made his fortune by inventing a virtual reality box focused on sex. These characters, plus more, are vying for control: controlling the world, controlling people, or even just controlling their little corner of the world. And while there might be a common theme, the storylines connecting the characters was disjointed.
To start, each chapter is from a different character's point of view. Not a problem except that it took me a few chapters to figure out where each character intersected with the other characters. Another early problem that I had was I couldn't figure out when or how severe the zombie apocalypse was. Was it the recent past? Far past? Localized or global? The different point of views in each chapter made it more difficult since I thought maybe this character is in the past but this other character is in the future. Eventually I figured out it was all the same timeline and the characters' lives would cross over with each other. But then I had another dilemma, every character that I started liking and connecting with would get killed. Normally I like when a character's death is unexpected and I'm saddened when it happens. Unfortunately it happened frequently enough that didn't want to like anyone else because it meant that they would die. I don't want to sound too negative because the book really is good. I wouldn't have felt sad if I didn't care about the characters. The horrors visited upon everyone were pretty vile. I could picture the world around the characters even when I had problems connecting the dots. And maybe that is what it comes down to: I thought it was too fractured. Or maybe I should have realized sooner that it was all set in the same time and the characters would intercept with each other. I don't know. I suppose I would have to say be prepared for a crazy story that takes you in a lot of directions. If you find this book daunting, I would instead recommend a different Kozeniewski book: BILLY AND THE CLONEASAURUS. A crazy title but a more straight-forward, touching and impactful story.
One of the main characters is Captain Martigan; he commands his own freighter in the South Pacific. He's in the Curien islands, making deliveries for a criminal overlord when he gets a distress call. Then there's Reverend Sonntag, a religious zealout who uses the zombie apocalypse to gain more followers and more power. Then add Rand Bergeron to the list; he's a genius and immoral businessman who made his fortune by inventing a virtual reality box focused on sex. These characters, plus more, are vying for control: controlling the world, controlling people, or even just controlling their little corner of the world. And while there might be a common theme, the storylines connecting the characters was disjointed.
To start, each chapter is from a different character's point of view. Not a problem except that it took me a few chapters to figure out where each character intersected with the other characters. Another early problem that I had was I couldn't figure out when or how severe the zombie apocalypse was. Was it the recent past? Far past? Localized or global? The different point of views in each chapter made it more difficult since I thought maybe this character is in the past but this other character is in the future. Eventually I figured out it was all the same timeline and the characters' lives would cross over with each other. But then I had another dilemma, every character that I started liking and connecting with would get killed. Normally I like when a character's death is unexpected and I'm saddened when it happens. Unfortunately it happened frequently enough that didn't want to like anyone else because it meant that they would die. I don't want to sound too negative because the book really is good. I wouldn't have felt sad if I didn't care about the characters. The horrors visited upon everyone were pretty vile. I could picture the world around the characters even when I had problems connecting the dots. And maybe that is what it comes down to: I thought it was too fractured. Or maybe I should have realized sooner that it was all set in the same time and the characters would intercept with each other. I don't know. I suppose I would have to say be prepared for a crazy story that takes you in a lot of directions. If you find this book daunting, I would instead recommend a different Kozeniewski book: BILLY AND THE CLONEASAURUS. A crazy title but a more straight-forward, touching and impactful story.
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