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Day by Day Armageddon #1-2
Origin to Exile
TWO TERRIFYING THRILLERS OF THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE IN THE ACCLAIMED SERIES FROM J.L. BOURNE
Two shattering accounts of human survival on the jagged edges of global disaster -- handwritten journal entries from the front lines in the war between scattered bands of mortal refugees and their soulless, undead enemies, armies of diseased corpses hungering for human flesh.
DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON
The novel that started it all!
DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON: BEYOND EXILE
The chilling sequel -- chaos and violence across a Texas wasteland.
ALSO INCLUDES THE ALL-NEW SHORT STORY "IF YOU CAN READ THIS"
Two shattering accounts of human survival on the jagged edges of global disaster -- handwritten journal entries from the front lines in the war between scattered bands of mortal refugees and their soulless, undead enemies, armies of diseased corpses hungering for human flesh.
DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON
The novel that started it all!
DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON: BEYOND EXILE
The chilling sequel -- chaos and violence across a Texas wasteland.
ALSO INCLUDES THE ALL-NEW SHORT STORY "IF YOU CAN READ THIS"
513 pages, Paperback
First published September 27, 2011
24 people are currently reading
738 people want to read
About the author
J.L. Bourne
11 books1,112 followersWelcome to the Official J.L. Bourne Goodreads page.
J.L. Bourne is a retired military officer and national best selling author of the horror series, DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON, and dystopian thriller, TOMORROW WAR.
With twenty years of active military and intelligence community service behind him, J.L. brands a realistic and unique style of fiction.
J.L. lives on the Gulf Coast but is sometimes spotted toting a rifle and a knife in the rural hills of Arkansas where he grew up.
J.L. Bourne is a retired military officer and national best selling author of the horror series, DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON, and dystopian thriller, TOMORROW WAR.
With twenty years of active military and intelligence community service behind him, J.L. brands a realistic and unique style of fiction.
J.L. lives on the Gulf Coast but is sometimes spotted toting a rifle and a knife in the rural hills of Arkansas where he grew up.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
May 14, 2020
If you're looking to start a new book full of zombies, dystopian troubles and an apocalypse then this is a great book for you!
Origin to Exile includes the first two books in the Day by Day Armageddon series. The first book is so incredibly good - written in journal articles, following a vet trying to figure out what he's doing with zombies running around. The second book slows down a lot and didn't work as well for me, but I'm also not a big zombie apocalypse book fan.
The premise is unique and very cool. I think horror fans will love this book and eat it up (pun intended). There's lots going on in this book, but you'll need to finish the series to understand everything that's going on. Some wild plot twists happen that will leave you scratching your head.
Three out of five stars.
Origin to Exile includes the first two books in the Day by Day Armageddon series. The first book is so incredibly good - written in journal articles, following a vet trying to figure out what he's doing with zombies running around. The second book slows down a lot and didn't work as well for me, but I'm also not a big zombie apocalypse book fan.
The premise is unique and very cool. I think horror fans will love this book and eat it up (pun intended). There's lots going on in this book, but you'll need to finish the series to understand everything that's going on. Some wild plot twists happen that will leave you scratching your head.
Three out of five stars.
March 13, 2015
This was a decent post-apoc zombie tale, pretty standard stuff.
Recommended to fans of the genre but that would be about it.
Recommended to fans of the genre but that would be about it.
September 28, 2011
Day By Day Armageddon Origin to Exile
First I love omnibuses. Not the big red ones in London, the book type compilation of a series or combination of some stand alones. I like them because the save me money and I love them because they often include an entire series and I am one of those freaks of nature that hate starting a series until I own the whole thing.
This is an omnibus containing the original book, Day by Day Armageddon and the follow up, Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile.
These are Zombie genre books. They are presented as hand written entries in a journal of a survivor. The links go to my original reviews.
This book contains a short but again disturbing Zombie tale of twin survivors.
Look for the omnibus it will save you money and perhaps hook you on the Zombie genre.
First I love omnibuses. Not the big red ones in London, the book type compilation of a series or combination of some stand alones. I like them because the save me money and I love them because they often include an entire series and I am one of those freaks of nature that hate starting a series until I own the whole thing.
This is an omnibus containing the original book, Day by Day Armageddon and the follow up, Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile.
These are Zombie genre books. They are presented as hand written entries in a journal of a survivor. The links go to my original reviews.
This book contains a short but again disturbing Zombie tale of twin survivors.
Look for the omnibus it will save you money and perhaps hook you on the Zombie genre.
September 1, 2012
Day by Day Armageddon: Origin to Exile is the first zombie book I have read. I am a fan of the Walking Dead TV series, so when I ran across this book at a local bookstore, I was intrigued.
The book cover described its contents as the survival story of a military aviator on his own after a zombie epidemic. I glanced through several pages. The diary format caught my attention. The purchase was a given at that point.
Finished reading it last night. As a former military office myself, I felt a kinship to the protagonist in the story. With both the slower and faster parts of the story, the book kept my attention. The military terms were familiar (maybe nostalgic). I could agree with the reasoning and decisions made by the main character.
The descriptions of zombies for the most part were not overly graphic so I could read on without hesitation.
Other reviews critique misspellings and grammar challenges by the author. Intentional or not, I think it is consistent with a guy under duress in crumbling, dangerous surroundings. Some reviews comment that the main character appears to do everything right (maybe unrealistically) and has everything available that he needs. I viewed it part of staying alive. Given the build up to things falling apart, I think survivors would need to be very smart/capable to be able to survive and/or very lucky or the be the benefactor of others that were either very smart or very lucky.
The story line for the 1st five months of the diary was excellent. The remainder took a different and slightly unexpected twist, but was still engaging.
The ending was very unexpected and not consistent with build up to the end. Clearly there is potential material for a Book 3 which I understand comes out Fall 2012. Despite the mixed ending, I still look forward to reading Book 3.
Given that I read most of this book spread out over late evenings before going to sleep (yes, interesting dreams), I look forward to rereading the book to pick up details I likely missed. I understand the story incorporates real locations in TX. As I reread the book, I look forward to keeping Google Maps nearby to reference. I think aerial photos of sites in the book should nicely compliment the reading. Nice edition to my library. You should like it too if you like anything to do with zombies and a post-apocalyptic world.
The book cover described its contents as the survival story of a military aviator on his own after a zombie epidemic. I glanced through several pages. The diary format caught my attention. The purchase was a given at that point.
Finished reading it last night. As a former military office myself, I felt a kinship to the protagonist in the story. With both the slower and faster parts of the story, the book kept my attention. The military terms were familiar (maybe nostalgic). I could agree with the reasoning and decisions made by the main character.
The descriptions of zombies for the most part were not overly graphic so I could read on without hesitation.
Other reviews critique misspellings and grammar challenges by the author. Intentional or not, I think it is consistent with a guy under duress in crumbling, dangerous surroundings. Some reviews comment that the main character appears to do everything right (maybe unrealistically) and has everything available that he needs. I viewed it part of staying alive. Given the build up to things falling apart, I think survivors would need to be very smart/capable to be able to survive and/or very lucky or the be the benefactor of others that were either very smart or very lucky.
The story line for the 1st five months of the diary was excellent. The remainder took a different and slightly unexpected twist, but was still engaging.
The ending was very unexpected and not consistent with build up to the end. Clearly there is potential material for a Book 3 which I understand comes out Fall 2012. Despite the mixed ending, I still look forward to reading Book 3.
Given that I read most of this book spread out over late evenings before going to sleep (yes, interesting dreams), I look forward to rereading the book to pick up details I likely missed. I understand the story incorporates real locations in TX. As I reread the book, I look forward to keeping Google Maps nearby to reference. I think aerial photos of sites in the book should nicely compliment the reading. Nice edition to my library. You should like it too if you like anything to do with zombies and a post-apocalyptic world.
Read
November 30, 2012This book by J.L. Bourne is an eye sore at first sight. The zombie scare has been around for centuries, and various authors, story tellers, and screen writers have used the "Global Outbreak!" for many, many, many, stories. So what makes this one so different, you ask? First thing I noticed picking up the book was the format in which it was written. Rather than a boring plot where someone survives only to be picked off, and its narrated for us in vivid detail the entire, plot, over the course of an overly long book, which could have been summarized in a paragraph, this book is written as a journal. Using a format similar to the popular "World War Z," the book is an account of someone who was actually there, or at least in the ever evolving world the book lays out for us. There's decisions which made even me think, and theres the ever present danger around every corner, yet theres thorough character development throughout the entire story, and the people in the book feel larger than life. I finished this book in a surprising 4 days. It was that good. I'd recommend it to almost anyone; it fits the bill for sure. It has romance, it has a action/ adventure feel to it, and I'm sure it would make a good read for anyone.
May 21, 2012
Became one of my favorite books very quickly. Usually in a post-apocalyptic zombie scenario, the author will eventually make one of the characters do something amazingly STUPID to get themselves or others killed, but the way J.L. writes his characters, they are not stupid. They don't do something dumb as a device to move the story, they are very intelligent characters that react in very realistic ways.
Also of note is how this story takes place, told through the viewpoint of a journal. I love the use of this method for writing. Some books drag in too many details, too much 'fluff', but by using the journal everything is concise and moves along at a great pace without feeling you're missing out on anything.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough, I enjoyed everything about this book.
If you love zombie, READ THIS BOOK. Go... Now... Are you still reading this???... Leave!... Pick this book up!
Also of note is how this story takes place, told through the viewpoint of a journal. I love the use of this method for writing. Some books drag in too many details, too much 'fluff', but by using the journal everything is concise and moves along at a great pace without feeling you're missing out on anything.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough, I enjoyed everything about this book.
If you love zombie, READ THIS BOOK. Go... Now... Are you still reading this???... Leave!... Pick this book up!
January 30, 2014
A journal of the end days at five stars? Yes this really is that damn good. The author through his main characters daily writing, some days are skipped, conveys the downfall of mankind and the possible hope of survival perfectly spiced with moments of sheer terror. The first book was a definite five star while the second book would have went four if reviewed separately. The second book was going along somewhat slowly but picked up nicely only to flutter a bit at the end. Still great reading just a bit off of what the first offered. This edition also included a short story that tells how one of the undead the main character dispatches in book one met his end when the SHTF. If at all possible find this edition and pick it up for some great zombie reading. If not by all means grab Day by Day Armageddon and go for it. This is primo zombie material, definitely at the top of the pile of zombie books proliferating readers choices.
December 4, 2014
I didn't end up finishing this since it became sort of redundant & dull. I did finish what would be considered the first book. I liked reading about this zombie apocalypse from the POV of a military officer; it's not a POV I'd normally seek out so it was new for me. I didn't find the main protagonist very sympathetic yet I still liked reading his "journal" on how he managed to survive day by day. It just seemed like the story was going nowhere & there hadn't been enough character development to care what was going to happen next with the group.
May 28, 2013
Terrorizing and gripping! I couldn't put this book down! If someone had told me it was a military man's log of the first six months after a zombie outbreak, detailing his day by day struggles, I don't think I would have read this. I'm glad I did. I was on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, and wondering what was going to happen next. It was one of the most suspenseful zombie books I've ever read!
August 23, 2013
An average zombie apocalypse book.
As I have commented during the read, that the book LACKED information. It was just a straight story of a guy who awol'ed the military for the sole purpose of survival, he didn't even tackle further on what happened to his family. did not even drove him crazy. a typical I'm a MAN and I MUST DEAL WITH THIS SHIT type of hero.
As I have commented during the read, that the book LACKED information. It was just a straight story of a guy who awol'ed the military for the sole purpose of survival, he didn't even tackle further on what happened to his family. did not even drove him crazy. a typical I'm a MAN and I MUST DEAL WITH THIS SHIT type of hero.
January 3, 2013
Love a good "disaster" book, add zombies and you have the recipe for a truly great book. If you like your books fast paced and "hold your breath" then this is one for you. Loved it, couldn't put it down.
April 17, 2012
I really liked the tactical side of this book. Not much on interrelations between characters but I liked that he did that. Definitely a great book for learning what to do and what not to do in a Zombie ridden world.
November 24, 2011
I loved the first 2 books!
April 23, 2012
Some interesting moments but better choices are out there in this genre from The Passage to World War Z.
November 7, 2022
I enjoyed this a lot. It’s definitely one of the better zombie series I’ve read, and I’ve read a fair bit. I was iffy about the method of story telling at first, but it didn’t take long for me to adapt to it. Usually I’ve moved on to Christmas reads by now, but I want to know how this series ends, so I’m seriously considering reading the last 2 books before switching into Christmas gear (this publication is an omnibus including the first 2 books, but the next 2 in the quadrilogy are separate books).
November 19, 2014
WARNING - Some spoilers!!!!
I'm not even sure where to start with this review...
I just 100% LOVED this book.
Again, I love supporting one of our bravest, as J.L. Bourne is an active duty military officer...Sooo, I'm guessing J.L. Bourne is a pseudonym...
There are a few acronyms and military references in here that some may not know, but you can always google it if it's throwing you a curve.
I was a little skeptical of the journal style of writing at the very beginning. I wasn't sure if it was going to be distracting...But within only a few pages, I actually loved it. I found myself checking the date/time stamps to see how long it had been, etc...It made the writing flow so believably. It was a casual journal to himself, which made reading it seem personal.
I liked that even though he's a military officer, he has no qualms about expressing his fear of the zombies, the brigands, the loneliness...
The day by day decline of America, captured in a journal was believable. The details like searching radio stations, watching television hang on for dear life and then dissolve...Oh and the water!!! GAH!!! Terrifying...
I liked how the entire situation devolves piece by piece in the words and personal diary of just a basic survivor.
This guy can write. But I really love detailed character development. I like specific details and descriptions. There was a little of that, but not as much as I like. I want to know more about each character's behavior, appearance, back-story...I realize the book can only be so long, but I just enjoy that.
I'm still curious about Remote Six. I wonder if that will be covered more in Shattered Hourglass...
The romance is lacking...lololol...I get that he and Tara are an item, but it's vague. That's okay, I think the point is made that that is the last thing people are thinking about in a zombie apocalypse...But if you're going to mention it, delve just a little deeper...
I was happy that our military wasn't made out to be horrid people...Thankfully that's no doubt to the author being an officer...I liked that The Marines worked with him to help civilians and establish their safe zone.
Hotel 23 was a great idea on the author's part...I hate Remote Six.
The nuclear catastrophe was a really good idea by the author too. This really effectively addressed my ongoing internal/personal debate I've had for 20 years of zombie movies about, "How long until these things decompose to non-threats? Eventually, the majority have to just fall into piles of bones..." No. Not the case here. And the running, stronger, radiated zombies with some minor acquity....Horrific.
The massive, massive, massive half-million hoard and its dust cloud is terrifying...And knowledge of other massive hoards. It makes sense too. Zombies are attracted to noise, and other zombies make noise, so they are attracted to each other and after a year or so...They're massive, immense, terrifying, fast hoards...ugh.
Okay...I could go on forever here...Suffice to say, this is a fantastic read for any zombie fan. I read it much faster than I read normally because I couldn't put it down...I lost many hours of sleep because of this baby. That's okay, you can sleep when you're dead.
I'm not even sure where to start with this review...
I just 100% LOVED this book.
Again, I love supporting one of our bravest, as J.L. Bourne is an active duty military officer...Sooo, I'm guessing J.L. Bourne is a pseudonym...
There are a few acronyms and military references in here that some may not know, but you can always google it if it's throwing you a curve.
I was a little skeptical of the journal style of writing at the very beginning. I wasn't sure if it was going to be distracting...But within only a few pages, I actually loved it. I found myself checking the date/time stamps to see how long it had been, etc...It made the writing flow so believably. It was a casual journal to himself, which made reading it seem personal.
I liked that even though he's a military officer, he has no qualms about expressing his fear of the zombies, the brigands, the loneliness...
The day by day decline of America, captured in a journal was believable. The details like searching radio stations, watching television hang on for dear life and then dissolve...Oh and the water!!! GAH!!! Terrifying...
I liked how the entire situation devolves piece by piece in the words and personal diary of just a basic survivor.
This guy can write. But I really love detailed character development. I like specific details and descriptions. There was a little of that, but not as much as I like. I want to know more about each character's behavior, appearance, back-story...I realize the book can only be so long, but I just enjoy that.
I'm still curious about Remote Six. I wonder if that will be covered more in Shattered Hourglass...
The romance is lacking...lololol...I get that he and Tara are an item, but it's vague. That's okay, I think the point is made that that is the last thing people are thinking about in a zombie apocalypse...But if you're going to mention it, delve just a little deeper...
I was happy that our military wasn't made out to be horrid people...Thankfully that's no doubt to the author being an officer...I liked that The Marines worked with him to help civilians and establish their safe zone.
Hotel 23 was a great idea on the author's part...I hate Remote Six.
The nuclear catastrophe was a really good idea by the author too. This really effectively addressed my ongoing internal/personal debate I've had for 20 years of zombie movies about, "How long until these things decompose to non-threats? Eventually, the majority have to just fall into piles of bones..." No. Not the case here. And the running, stronger, radiated zombies with some minor acquity....Horrific.
The massive, massive, massive half-million hoard and its dust cloud is terrifying...And knowledge of other massive hoards. It makes sense too. Zombies are attracted to noise, and other zombies make noise, so they are attracted to each other and after a year or so...They're massive, immense, terrifying, fast hoards...ugh.
Okay...I could go on forever here...Suffice to say, this is a fantastic read for any zombie fan. I read it much faster than I read normally because I couldn't put it down...I lost many hours of sleep because of this baby. That's okay, you can sleep when you're dead.
December 30, 2011
WOW.
Did I say wow?
excellent book, which is written in journal style and flows so well that you do not even notice when the writing style switches back and forth, reads so smoothly it just disappears all to quickly into the been read pile.
Main character is no Chuck Norris just a regular guy who wants to do the right thing and survive, no one who is introduced in the book is a superman just people who live, love and survive.
Most importantly they do not want to be eaten by the undead, characters 5 stars, plot 5 stars, length of the story 4 stars, but only because I did not want it to end.
Mind you this is two books in one book and a short story that fills you in on a little minor character you meet earlier.
Worth the time to read.
Grab a cup of coffee, a shotgun, and curl up in your bunker for the weekend and read it.
Did I say wow?
excellent book, which is written in journal style and flows so well that you do not even notice when the writing style switches back and forth, reads so smoothly it just disappears all to quickly into the been read pile.
Main character is no Chuck Norris just a regular guy who wants to do the right thing and survive, no one who is introduced in the book is a superman just people who live, love and survive.
Most importantly they do not want to be eaten by the undead, characters 5 stars, plot 5 stars, length of the story 4 stars, but only because I did not want it to end.
Mind you this is two books in one book and a short story that fills you in on a little minor character you meet earlier.
Worth the time to read.
Grab a cup of coffee, a shotgun, and curl up in your bunker for the weekend and read it.
February 7, 2015
In a lot of ways I found this book very similar to other Zombie novels I have read. Day by Day Armageddon : Origin was different in that you follow the same character all the way through the novel, through his journal entry's. I found this aspect to be the most interesting part of the book, that we get to see through his eyes only, other characters make appearances in his journal but only from his point of view. It was also nice to have a main character not make continues mistakes and screw ups all the way through, and make some very smart decisions regarding his survival, and that with his history makes him believable.
July 3, 2014
When I first looked at this book I was a bit skeptical of it cause it was written in a diary format, which I've never had any good reading experiences with. But as soon as I started reading it I was pleasantly surprised by how well written the book was and the depth of the story, it really pulled me in and made me feel like I was there. Now as one of those that loves anything zombie horror related I would highly recommend it to other zombie horror fanatics as it gives a really believable military aspect and jorgon to the story even more so than any other zombie storyline that I have seen so far.
June 13, 2014
I'm a pretty big post apocalypse/apocalypse/zombie fan. I enjoyed the slightly different take that this book (series) has. I still have to read the 3rd book but once I got used to the perspective it was pretty exciting. Very well paced, I never got bored while reading it. I really enjoyed the military perspective and that the romance was kept to a real minimum. You could tell some real research and thought went into this. I would give it 5 stars but I don't think this is a book for everyone and the writing style takes some getting used to. But I thoroughly enjoyed it.
March 7, 2012
It was....well, a nice thought in principle. In execution it was repetitious and unimaginative. I liked that the story centered on a former military man. Throw in a couple of nice plot twists. But overall, it reads exactly like one would expect from a military man who's attempting to make an entrance onto the fiction scene. Nice try, Bourne but stick to what you know (hint: it's not writing fiction)
July 14, 2012
This was an amazing read!! Aside from the military jargon and gun references, I loved every page...it played out so well in my mind as I read, my heart raced and I became a little jumpy. I really enjoyed the journal style, it kept it focused on his story and did not get overly emotional in situations that could have taken away from the real story. I can not wait for the third book...very well done, right up there with World War Z.
July 6, 2014
I'll say 4.5 stars, I like the novelty of a daily journal of post-apocalypse of zombie outbreak. I really enjoyed seeing different method of communication and survival steps written. It was nice to see the progress of learning what is going on and the understanding of the threat and ideas to dispatch the threats which is unusual in zombies novels. I'm going to keep on reading the series as it was very interesting enough.
July 3, 2014
Decent zombie story, seems to have spent a long while setting up for a much more compelling tale with sinister undertones. Story moves at a good pace, told from the perspective on just one character. I am hoping that subsequent books will broaden the the voices telling the tale.
All things being equal, I recommend this but still doesn't quite meet the standard set by World War Z (no, not the movie)
All things being equal, I recommend this but still doesn't quite meet the standard set by World War Z (no, not the movie)
August 4, 2013
Best zombie series ever! This is a survival manual on how to plan, prepare, think and act for the apocalypse, zombie or otherwise. Zombies are the metaphor for the unknown terror. This is the most intelligent series on the topic i have read due to the technical detail and the realism of the story and the characters, never overdone. Love him and wish he' d write more!!
November 9, 2013
Does what it says on the tin. A day by day Diary of a US Airforce officer as he survives (and leads other survivors) after a Zombie apocalypse.
Gritty, clever and full of survivalist genius. Zombie fiction as it's meant to be written. A must for Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z (the book, not the woeful film.)
Gritty, clever and full of survivalist genius. Zombie fiction as it's meant to be written. A must for Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z (the book, not the woeful film.)
February 4, 2012
Overall it was a good book and had me wanting to read it every chance I got. The ending was very frustrating for me. They could have ended the book like 10-15 pages earlier and I would have been happier with it.
September 23, 2013
This is actually one of the best zombie books i've read in a while since World War Z. The book might be long, but the pace is right. The reviews don't lie. If you're a fan of the whole zombie cult, this should definitely be part of your to-read list :)
October 23, 2013
Disappointing after the first two books. I missed the "Kilroy" that was so present before. This entire book felt rushed. It was still a good read, don't get me wrong. It just did not keep me up all night to finish.
December 21, 2013
The first book was difficult for me due to some editing issues. However, the story unfolds in a captivating manner and improves with each book. If you enjoy this genre, you will certainly enjoy this series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews