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markarubin's review against another edition
5.0
I was concerned about starting this because I wasn't sure a book about super-heroes dealing with a zombie apocalypse could live up to my nerd-expectations, but I was extremely pleased with the way it all turned out. I loved the characters, even though they aren't totally original -- a fire-breathing Superman, a woman Batman, a woman Iron Man -- but what's original these days in super-heroes anyway? It all just works. The more unique heroes (Gorgon, the amazingly-named Zzzap, Cairax) are very interesting, and it's a treat to learn that these were characters thought up by the author when he was a kid. There are some plot holes, and some of the humans come across as generic and interchangeable, but at its most basic this book is just a blast. The final act would be right at home in any big-ticket Hollywood film. Looking forward to reading the next in the series.
Spoiler
(how did the leader of the Seventeens get his powers?),beardedbarista's review against another edition
5.0
Super glad that Barnes and Nobles puts a great display of books out on there up front tables.
Peter Clines [a:Peter Clines|3396842|Peter Clines|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1314048538p2/3396842.jpg] Ex-Heroes [b:Ex-Heroes|16479439|Ex-Heroes (Ex-Heroes, #1)|Peter Clines|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360646185s/16479439.jpg|10753679] would have probably been over looked by me if not. I will thank my friends Gabi and Wesley for one wanting the book and the latter buying it for her while I was in his presence. <--- not really a good review yet :)
The book is great! I am a huge comic book fan and this spoke to me immediately. I love the characters and their unique powers. And for a first book Peter killed it. Just the right amount of action, sex, and fun that I want and descriptive enough for me to be engrossed in the look and feel of a post apocalyptic world with Ex's and Superheroes fighting it out.
ALSO my mind just blew up to find out (literally seconds ago) that there are 4 books in this series!!!! I guess I will be buying 3 more books :)
Peter Clines [a:Peter Clines|3396842|Peter Clines|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1314048538p2/3396842.jpg] Ex-Heroes [b:Ex-Heroes|16479439|Ex-Heroes (Ex-Heroes, #1)|Peter Clines|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360646185s/16479439.jpg|10753679] would have probably been over looked by me if not. I will thank my friends Gabi and Wesley for one wanting the book and the latter buying it for her while I was in his presence. <--- not really a good review yet :)
The book is great! I am a huge comic book fan and this spoke to me immediately. I love the characters and their unique powers. And for a first book Peter killed it. Just the right amount of action, sex, and fun that I want and descriptive enough for me to be engrossed in the look and feel of a post apocalyptic world with Ex's and Superheroes fighting it out.
ALSO my mind just blew up to find out (literally seconds ago) that there are 4 books in this series!!!! I guess I will be buying 3 more books :)
dlsmall's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5…Not the Clines that I have gotten used to, but still an interesting mashup of the superhero and zombie genres.
lostlenore's review against another edition
1.0
Overly sexualized women. Annoying alpha males. None of the characters felt remotely lifelike or believable, and the attempts at “witty” banter were just awful. I found myself not caring for anything about this novel. The plot is contrived and falls into every trope from both the zombie and superhero aspect. Plus a gratuitous, unnecessary amount of gore. I’m not against gore when it’s used effectively, but in this book that was not the case.
When reading the sections from female POVs, I often found myself actively rolling my eyes.
Won’t be coming back to this series.
When reading the sections from female POVs, I often found myself actively rolling my eyes.
Won’t be coming back to this series.
raychan18's review against another edition
2.0
If you like books filled with sexism and unnecessary, extreme gore this book is for you!
Plot was good. Writing- eh...
Plot was good. Writing- eh...
catbooking's review against another edition
4.0
This was fun. Like an action movie sort of fun. But also had some dark moments, because not everything is peachy in Super-hero-ville.
The heroes felt unique, both in their abilities and their approach to problem solving, but not to the point of sowing discontent. I guess I am a sucker for stories about people working together for some common goal, it gives me hope that not everything is lost.
I do have a few of complaints though. First, the sexualization of Stealth is annoying. Once or twice, it was worth a mention, but after that I could really do without. Second, it was concerning that I could figure out what was going on before the super smart strategist did, while we were given the same information. I mean, yeah Stealth is not infallible, but it breaks the immersion when the smartest hero grabs the 'idiot ball'. Third, Zzzap is very overpowered. I do understand the difficulty of making heroes both awe inspiring and yet vulnerable, but having a literal god hang around fixing things or being conveniently absent is very hand wavy on the part of the author.
I will definitely read book 2, if only because my brain is craving junk food reads, while also hoping it gets better.
The heroes felt unique, both in their abilities and their approach to problem solving, but not to the point of sowing discontent. I guess I am a sucker for stories about people working together for some common goal, it gives me hope that not everything is lost.
I do have a few of complaints though. First, the sexualization of Stealth is annoying. Once or twice, it was worth a mention, but after that I could really do without. Second, it was concerning that I could figure out what was going on before the super smart strategist did, while we were given the same information. I mean, yeah Stealth is not infallible, but it breaks the immersion when the smartest hero grabs the 'idiot ball'. Third, Zzzap is very overpowered. I do understand the difficulty of making heroes both awe inspiring and yet vulnerable, but having a literal god hang around fixing things or being conveniently absent is very hand wavy on the part of the author.
I will definitely read book 2, if only because my brain is craving junk food reads, while also hoping it gets better.
patlo's review against another edition
2.0
This will certainly be optioned as a movie (if it hasn't yet), and it'll be a good summer popcorn flick. But it was pretty silly at many points.
gemmaduds's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't finish this book I'm afraid (I seem to be getting better at putting books aside if they're not doing it for me). After expecting something really spectacular, I was very disappointed with it and just couldn't carry on.
My main gripe was with the characters. There wasn't a single protagonist that felt well-rounded to me, and all of the female characters seemed over-sexualised or cliched. The bad guys were also one dimensional, and I just couldn't connect, sympathise or feel any kind of emotion towards anyone in the book.
The final factor in my decision to put the story down was that I didn't like Clines' writing style, to me it lacked personality. The plot felt flat and I couldn't see it going anywhere exciting.
I'm sure that others might have had a better reading experience of this one, but although I really loved the concept of superheroes and zombies - there was nothing here that got me hooked!
My main gripe was with the characters. There wasn't a single protagonist that felt well-rounded to me, and all of the female characters seemed over-sexualised or cliched. The bad guys were also one dimensional, and I just couldn't connect, sympathise or feel any kind of emotion towards anyone in the book.
The final factor in my decision to put the story down was that I didn't like Clines' writing style, to me it lacked personality. The plot felt flat and I couldn't see it going anywhere exciting.
I'm sure that others might have had a better reading experience of this one, but although I really loved the concept of superheroes and zombies - there was nothing here that got me hooked!