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Day by Day Armageddon #3
Shattered Hourglass
The acclaimed military thriller of the zombie apocalypse from the author of Day by Day Armageddon and Day by Day Beyond Exile!In a desperate bid to take back the continental United States—where hordes of undead now dominate the ravaged human population—a Navy commander leads a global mission to the heart of the pandemic. Task Force Hourglass is humanity’s final hope, and his team’s agonizing decisions could mean living one more day—or surrendering to the eternal hell that exists between life and death.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
157 people are currently reading
2556 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 308 reviews
January 2, 2013
I was a huge fan of the first two books. The unique narrative, where the protagonist tells the story via his diary, made the story incredibly gripping and compelling. The story was all about the individual struggles of the protagonist as he adjusts to a post-apocalyptic world. Finding food, water, ammunition -- things that we all take for granted. It really made you think about what's important in life. It also made you connect with the protagonist in a way that few other books have been able to do.
The third book takes all of that and chucks it out the window. Gone is the unique narrative, replaced by a more traditional (some would say boring) novel format. Multiple characters are introduced and the story revolves through each of their perspectives. Gone is the gritty, visceral struggle for survival, replaced instead by a cookie-cutter military novel plotline, replete with cartoonish bad guy trying to take over the world.
It's almost like the author decided he wanted to try his hand at being Clancy and forgot everything that made the first two books so great.
In case it isn't obvious, this book was a HUGE disappointment for me. If you really enjoyed the first two, be prepared to hate this one. I sure did.
The third book takes all of that and chucks it out the window. Gone is the unique narrative, replaced by a more traditional (some would say boring) novel format. Multiple characters are introduced and the story revolves through each of their perspectives. Gone is the gritty, visceral struggle for survival, replaced instead by a cookie-cutter military novel plotline, replete with cartoonish bad guy trying to take over the world.
It's almost like the author decided he wanted to try his hand at being Clancy and forgot everything that made the first two books so great.
In case it isn't obvious, this book was a HUGE disappointment for me. If you really enjoyed the first two, be prepared to hate this one. I sure did.
April 11, 2014
After being a huge fan of the first two books, I was really disappointed with this one. It got a little better in the second half, and had some horrific moments, but overall it changed from being a small band of survivors type story to a military strategy course with spy thriller type action.
I stopped reading this one for a while because it felt like a bunch of action, then a bunch of planning of military ops, and all along I got very little engagement on a character level. There is a lot of narrative summary and the ending was a let down because of how easy it was once they reached their mission destination. They even mention something like how missions have so much build up and then the last stage is over before you know it. That may be how it is in real life, but I like my stories to build up to a fireworks kind of finale and make me emotionally effected.
The idea shown in the following short story, Day by Day Armageddon: Grey Fox, redeems this series for me, but I hope future books focus more on story engagement through characters instead of through military strategy. Bourne has a unique ability to give us what the strategy and problems would be, but I need to have more heart involved to care about what's happening.
I stopped reading this one for a while because it felt like a bunch of action, then a bunch of planning of military ops, and all along I got very little engagement on a character level. There is a lot of narrative summary and the ending was a let down because of how easy it was once they reached their mission destination. They even mention something like how missions have so much build up and then the last stage is over before you know it. That may be how it is in real life, but I like my stories to build up to a fireworks kind of finale and make me emotionally effected.
The idea shown in the following short story, Day by Day Armageddon: Grey Fox, redeems this series for me, but I hope future books focus more on story engagement through characters instead of through military strategy. Bourne has a unique ability to give us what the strategy and problems would be, but I need to have more heart involved to care about what's happening.
January 19, 2013
***Some might consider this review contains spoilers, so read at your own risk.
Well, I have to admit that the first two books were much better than this one. But I think the biggest reason for that is the huge shift in the author's writing style. Moving from a first person perspective, the author decided to tell the story from a third-person, omniscient, point of view. The story switches between several different groups of survivors rather than just told from the main character's perspective. The main character is actually a relatively minor character in this story. I needed to witness the internal thoughts and stress and fear that the first person narrative offered to really feel like a part of this story rather than an on-looker. I felt distanced from the action. I almost think he could have pulled all of those stories apart, made them into short stories, and instead told them from each character's perspective. It would have brought back that intensity I felt in the first two books.
I also felt like the author tried to throw too much into this book. There were so many different story lines going on it almost felt diluted and the addition of more technical jargon lost me in a few places, too. My biggest complaint though is the rushed ending. After putting the characters into seemingly impossible to survive situations throughout the first two books, the characters seem to prevail much too easily in this book. As the ending approached, I was a little disappointed in how quickly things were wrapped up. I thought more time could have been spent on that than on some of the other story lines. I still really liked the book and the action kept me wanting to read it. But I definitely didn't devour it like I did the first two books.
Having said all of that, I thought the author did a great job continuing the explanation behind the why and the how of the "anomaly". There was plenty of zombie mayhem involved and a lot of action and adventure.
Well, I have to admit that the first two books were much better than this one. But I think the biggest reason for that is the huge shift in the author's writing style. Moving from a first person perspective, the author decided to tell the story from a third-person, omniscient, point of view. The story switches between several different groups of survivors rather than just told from the main character's perspective. The main character is actually a relatively minor character in this story. I needed to witness the internal thoughts and stress and fear that the first person narrative offered to really feel like a part of this story rather than an on-looker. I felt distanced from the action. I almost think he could have pulled all of those stories apart, made them into short stories, and instead told them from each character's perspective. It would have brought back that intensity I felt in the first two books.
I also felt like the author tried to throw too much into this book. There were so many different story lines going on it almost felt diluted and the addition of more technical jargon lost me in a few places, too. My biggest complaint though is the rushed ending. After putting the characters into seemingly impossible to survive situations throughout the first two books, the characters seem to prevail much too easily in this book. As the ending approached, I was a little disappointed in how quickly things were wrapped up. I thought more time could have been spent on that than on some of the other story lines. I still really liked the book and the action kept me wanting to read it. But I definitely didn't devour it like I did the first two books.
Having said all of that, I thought the author did a great job continuing the explanation behind the why and the how of the "anomaly". There was plenty of zombie mayhem involved and a lot of action and adventure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2019
And the beat goes on. . . What a phenomenal plot!!
These zombies are in a class all their own. . . Fright and the unexpected get amped up to a whole new level, and succeeds quite consistently in scaring the bejeezus outta me. . . (which I wouldn't have any other way:) Love to be scared, yet also have an intelligent plot with relatable characters. This series succeeds (and then some) on all these fronts.
Day by Day Armageddon is a must listen, and the narration is perfect!!
These zombies are in a class all their own. . . Fright and the unexpected get amped up to a whole new level, and succeeds quite consistently in scaring the bejeezus outta me. . . (which I wouldn't have any other way:) Love to be scared, yet also have an intelligent plot with relatable characters. This series succeeds (and then some) on all these fronts.
Day by Day Armageddon is a must listen, and the narration is perfect!!
February 14, 2013
Thursday Morning: Okay, so I just got started last night on this book. I swore after how bad the first book was and how horribly awful the second book was that I would not read the third. I lied. I picked it up at the library and saw a format change(thank God I never actually paid for any of his books, and by the way, I DO buy most of my books so the authors see the money, which we should all do). I also saw what looked like an apology for the first two books in the author's forward. "This one will be different, you'll see" he wrote, so I guess he has taken the critism and is trying harder now or took some online writing courses. I saw a problem with the author's need to explain the first two books, that was a red flag. The first book was so simple that the 2 days it took me to read it didn't seem like such a waste of time, why explain that? But, the second book went way off track and brought the first book down with it (it didn't have far to fall). But, it was still very simply written and if anyone needed to synopsis to understand that poorly written drivel...well, that would be just sad. And reading the breakdown of the first two books, anyone picking up the third without reading them would chuckle at the explaination and throw it back. I read them and I almost threw it back myself. More to come as I read.
Like I said, I have read the first part of the book last night and so far it is dreadfully dull. The change in format is good for him, though. He was not able to pull off the journal style very well and got worse in the second installment. If you want to see what a good written journal type zombie book is like, read the last book I read, "Apocalypse Z" (review upcoming). So I am giving Bourne a chance on this one and I hope it is good enough to finish. My God, I finished his second in this series so I must be a glutton for pain and suffering. But, second, or third chances should always be given. And the genre always needs support, so choke down the first two books and take your punishment for the cause.
Saturday Morning: I wanted to update as I went along on this book to see for myself if it got any better. I didn't post after the second night of reading because nothing happened in the book of any importance whatsoever. Sadly, after reading another night, nothing has still happened. The author has indeed gotten better at writing. But, there is no story here, it is just better written. I have a feeling I will finish this book, but it will be like "I have to read one more chapter to see if anything happens". I am sure something will happen, it has to....right? While reading last night and sifting through useless jargon, it hit me what the author should really be writing about. I have read a few military/special ops books that are like 50 pages of technical terms with a page or two of actually meat. My brother (who I got the books from) loves these types of books. They bore me to tears. This is one of those books only with(a few, so far)zombies. Now most zombie genre readers like action. Not just some. Constant action. There have been just a few "slow" zombie books that I have liked. Zone One, for example, was a great book that probably bored other genre readers. But, for the most part, kill kill!!! Bourne's new book is snooze, snore, so far. I know I am really hard on these books, but Goodreads is for honest appraisal and I feel I have to be as honest as I can be. I wish I could write like this guy, albiet bad, because I can't write jack. He beats the living snot out of me there. But, so far with this book there have been a couple of things that has bugged the crap out of me, other than the bad story and useless technical jargon (802.11n wireless was actually a description of the wireless setup in the book. Seriously, and this is just one example, but do we really need to know the 802.11n part of this? Yeah, it is written on the box when I bought the modem and peripherels, but I don't tell everyone I have a 802.11g, 2.4GHz wireless router. Useless information. Like do we really need to know down to the part number and the person's social security number who made it where the freaking assault weapon came from?). The "hero", which is now like a bit player, is a freaking Commander now. A FREAKING COMMANDER!! (yeah, I know this happened in the last book, but I still can't get over this. And it has become even sillier now that I know alot of other people exist and should have been bumped up to that position before him.) The guy who ditched his unit and went AWOL at the beginning of the first book is now being treated like he is a go-to guy with special knowledge over the people that have been responding to this event from the beginning. Both sequels have made HUUUUUUGE jumps in that character's development. Another small thing, but it is so annoying is his new name. Kil. Yeah, it was a sorta-kinda funny part where it came from, but come on. It doesn't make him appear any cooler in text. It just is a sad attempt to give him a badass persona that the people that has followed this all the way has seen right through. Kil. Really? The other thing that bothered me is Jonathan Maberry. You say whaaaaa? I have read a few of his books including Patient Zero and liked them. He left praise for these books on the inside of the cover. How can I trust Maberry again?
Tuesday Morning: Okay, I read a little of a short story book I picked up (Revenge). Really good so far, so I missed some time reading DbDA:SH. I read quite a bit last night and have made it past halfway through. Yeah, I know, I am kinda shocked I made it this far. But, once I start a book, I tend to finish it no matter the harm it does me. I have only put down one book that I didn't finish and that was a short story collection of supposedly horror stories a couple of years ago. During the reading on this book, in this period, something finally happened! Well, it was referenced at the end of the last book, so it wasn't a surprize, but it was something. Also, there was actual contact with a zombie. Like a page of action. This book isn't even fitting into the above mentioned 50 pages of useless crap to actual event ratio. It is on a 100 page per event bend. So the military/special ops book readers would LOVE this guy to just write that shhhtuff. I have said this after reading the other times and it is true. The author is a much better writer than he was in previous books. That is obvious. But, the story is still so slow and dull that it doesn't help. He might as well be writing the instructions for constructing an entertainment center. And the book is spread so thin. There are 5 different storylines going on, somewhat connected, and it jumps around alot. That would be awesome if something ever happened in any of the unique settings. There is no character that is worth caring about, even the main guy. No descriptions of actual people but I think I can build a Ham radio or break down an assault weapon now after reading this book. Useless info. I read alot of reviews on here to get other takes on books that I am going to read or have already read and there were alot of great reviews of this book. It is pleasing and puzzling to see that people liked it. When I read that some people liked the action, I just scratch my head. The way I read the reviews, this book has about 2/5 of the book left for something to happen because alot say the ending is rushed. That makes me even more confused at the reviews. If nothing has happened so far, no action worth speaking of, then there must be 10 times more action in the next 100 pages than ever written before by any person in any book. I am doubting this greatly. Sigh. I have left reviews and have graded many books on Goodreads. I almost always leave at least 3 stars or more, if only for effort. I tend to be easier on new authors because they deserve the encouragement for trying to entertain me. I think I could count on one hand the 2 or less star grades I have left for any book. That is another puzzlement for me. Why is this book (and the two previous)so bad for me? I ask myself this as I read and wonder if it is me, am I missing something? Probably. But, honesty is the best policy and all that crap. So, over halfway through I can continue to say that this book is still awful. I will probably read the other book tonight to keep things in balance, but I really, really want to be done with this book. And you know the sad thing? If the author writes more, I will probably pick it up to see if he got any better at story telling. I am an idiot.
Thursday Morning: I set my jaw and said I NEEDED to get done with this book. I read almost the entire last half last night. It was chopped up so much with the jumping around that is was easy to get that much read. I faded out after chapter 54, and finished it up in the parking lot of the library so I would know that this book was not going back home with me. I unknowingly stopped last night at the chapter right before the story blew up into a million little pieces and became utterly ridiculous. When people stated that the ending was rushed, they were not BSing. Even before that, with the aircraft carrier, things jumped at an amazing pace. It went from "Hey, I think something is on here" to "Hey, we are totally screwed and it is all over, no action to see here". I was actually surprized when the little group escaped and tied the hatch shut, because there may have been survivors down there. Heck, the one they cried for a little later may have been one of them beating on the door yelling "let me out you mf'ing, self absorbed asshats". As with the aircraft carrier story line, he cut out the action parts and left in the dull back and forth between the different story lines (5). And the story lines? Two of the story lines were needed (well, take that with a grain of salt). I saw no use for two of the story lines at all at all. (the arctic one was only for relaying messages, frozen body fat and getting rescued). And the third (which could have been folded into the other useless story arcs) had the only decent chapter in the book (35) but still didn't have to be in the book at all (the climax with Remote 6 could have been at either one of the two useless storylines). And let me say something about Remote 6. Here is a super secret organization that has controlled almost every event that has ever happened and they couldn't get to a downed plane before a another group could? They were everywhere at all time when it was needed. And naming the top R6 guy god and having him make a "I would have got away with it all if it weren't for you meddling kids" speech was a full on laugh riot. Remote 6 ended up being a bumbling set of fools ran my the villan from the Smurfs. Throughout the book there was so much not happening that the shockingly fast ending was the biggest surprize in the book. And that is not a good thing. The romantic relationship in the book was depressingly dull and totally not important at all. I think that is the desired word for 9/10ths of this book. Unimportant filler. Seriously, this book could have easily been a short story and would have still been dull. Albiet there was never any tension built up for the ending so the reveal of the reason they went into China was flat and unimportant. I never figured out why the hero was in this book at all. He did absolutely nothing. And here is this guy (Kil) that over the trilogy became a freaking technical genius, but didn't figure out for quite a while the reference his neighbor (from the beginning of first book, who somehow by odd chance became the communications guy on another ship) had sent no matter how terribly simple the encrypted messages he was sending him. The only action Kil saw was that he was on the last and most uneventful end story in history. This should have been the most exciting part in the book. Kil's friend (Kil ended up just being a bit of a prick), the Afghani terrorist turned Kil's secret love crush, was useless. Yeah, he shot a few zombies, big deal. He mostly just walked around the ship and took up some page space. And that is what I think this book was, a book full of filler. I can not imagine there was a contract for the author that he had to finish a trilogy, but it damn sure felt like he didn't put any thought into anything but the useless jargon. There was no story worth speaking of. I could describe the book in 3 sentences, one little paragraph. I did so to my wife last night and she just laughed. The shifts in time were staggering. From the above mentioned aircraft carrier to the amazing fast trip to China, it sucked all of the air out of a breathless book that was turning blue within the first few chapters. By the time it died before the ending even started to flash before my eyes, I was already wishing someone would shoot it in the head so another one didn't pop up and eat a few days out of my life.
So, I go into review mode of the rant above. Don't read this book. It is that simple. It is terribly boring, dreadfully slow for the first 9.5/10 of the book and mopped up with amazing speed and inefficiency. You won't give a crap about any of the characters. There is no good description of anyone, physically or emotionally. When someone dies, it just doesn't matter. Hell, the ones that lived I still didn't give a shite about. If you liked the first two books, first off I feel bad for you, secondly, this one is way worse than the first two. Nothing is ever a waste of time, mostly, and I did get entertainment out of this and the other two books. I entertained myself by reviewing them as honestly as I possibly could. I am just happy that it is over with and I can move onto something just as interesting. Like reading the phone book or peeling my nails off with a pair of needlenose pliers.
Like I said, I have read the first part of the book last night and so far it is dreadfully dull. The change in format is good for him, though. He was not able to pull off the journal style very well and got worse in the second installment. If you want to see what a good written journal type zombie book is like, read the last book I read, "Apocalypse Z" (review upcoming). So I am giving Bourne a chance on this one and I hope it is good enough to finish. My God, I finished his second in this series so I must be a glutton for pain and suffering. But, second, or third chances should always be given. And the genre always needs support, so choke down the first two books and take your punishment for the cause.
Saturday Morning: I wanted to update as I went along on this book to see for myself if it got any better. I didn't post after the second night of reading because nothing happened in the book of any importance whatsoever. Sadly, after reading another night, nothing has still happened. The author has indeed gotten better at writing. But, there is no story here, it is just better written. I have a feeling I will finish this book, but it will be like "I have to read one more chapter to see if anything happens". I am sure something will happen, it has to....right? While reading last night and sifting through useless jargon, it hit me what the author should really be writing about. I have read a few military/special ops books that are like 50 pages of technical terms with a page or two of actually meat. My brother (who I got the books from) loves these types of books. They bore me to tears. This is one of those books only with(a few, so far)zombies. Now most zombie genre readers like action. Not just some. Constant action. There have been just a few "slow" zombie books that I have liked. Zone One, for example, was a great book that probably bored other genre readers. But, for the most part, kill kill!!! Bourne's new book is snooze, snore, so far. I know I am really hard on these books, but Goodreads is for honest appraisal and I feel I have to be as honest as I can be. I wish I could write like this guy, albiet bad, because I can't write jack. He beats the living snot out of me there. But, so far with this book there have been a couple of things that has bugged the crap out of me, other than the bad story and useless technical jargon (802.11n wireless was actually a description of the wireless setup in the book. Seriously, and this is just one example, but do we really need to know the 802.11n part of this? Yeah, it is written on the box when I bought the modem and peripherels, but I don't tell everyone I have a 802.11g, 2.4GHz wireless router. Useless information. Like do we really need to know down to the part number and the person's social security number who made it where the freaking assault weapon came from?). The "hero", which is now like a bit player, is a freaking Commander now. A FREAKING COMMANDER!! (yeah, I know this happened in the last book, but I still can't get over this. And it has become even sillier now that I know alot of other people exist and should have been bumped up to that position before him.) The guy who ditched his unit and went AWOL at the beginning of the first book is now being treated like he is a go-to guy with special knowledge over the people that have been responding to this event from the beginning. Both sequels have made HUUUUUUGE jumps in that character's development. Another small thing, but it is so annoying is his new name. Kil. Yeah, it was a sorta-kinda funny part where it came from, but come on. It doesn't make him appear any cooler in text. It just is a sad attempt to give him a badass persona that the people that has followed this all the way has seen right through. Kil. Really? The other thing that bothered me is Jonathan Maberry. You say whaaaaa? I have read a few of his books including Patient Zero and liked them. He left praise for these books on the inside of the cover. How can I trust Maberry again?
Tuesday Morning: Okay, I read a little of a short story book I picked up (Revenge). Really good so far, so I missed some time reading DbDA:SH. I read quite a bit last night and have made it past halfway through. Yeah, I know, I am kinda shocked I made it this far. But, once I start a book, I tend to finish it no matter the harm it does me. I have only put down one book that I didn't finish and that was a short story collection of supposedly horror stories a couple of years ago. During the reading on this book, in this period, something finally happened! Well, it was referenced at the end of the last book, so it wasn't a surprize, but it was something. Also, there was actual contact with a zombie. Like a page of action. This book isn't even fitting into the above mentioned 50 pages of useless crap to actual event ratio. It is on a 100 page per event bend. So the military/special ops book readers would LOVE this guy to just write that shhhtuff. I have said this after reading the other times and it is true. The author is a much better writer than he was in previous books. That is obvious. But, the story is still so slow and dull that it doesn't help. He might as well be writing the instructions for constructing an entertainment center. And the book is spread so thin. There are 5 different storylines going on, somewhat connected, and it jumps around alot. That would be awesome if something ever happened in any of the unique settings. There is no character that is worth caring about, even the main guy. No descriptions of actual people but I think I can build a Ham radio or break down an assault weapon now after reading this book. Useless info. I read alot of reviews on here to get other takes on books that I am going to read or have already read and there were alot of great reviews of this book. It is pleasing and puzzling to see that people liked it. When I read that some people liked the action, I just scratch my head. The way I read the reviews, this book has about 2/5 of the book left for something to happen because alot say the ending is rushed. That makes me even more confused at the reviews. If nothing has happened so far, no action worth speaking of, then there must be 10 times more action in the next 100 pages than ever written before by any person in any book. I am doubting this greatly. Sigh. I have left reviews and have graded many books on Goodreads. I almost always leave at least 3 stars or more, if only for effort. I tend to be easier on new authors because they deserve the encouragement for trying to entertain me. I think I could count on one hand the 2 or less star grades I have left for any book. That is another puzzlement for me. Why is this book (and the two previous)so bad for me? I ask myself this as I read and wonder if it is me, am I missing something? Probably. But, honesty is the best policy and all that crap. So, over halfway through I can continue to say that this book is still awful. I will probably read the other book tonight to keep things in balance, but I really, really want to be done with this book. And you know the sad thing? If the author writes more, I will probably pick it up to see if he got any better at story telling. I am an idiot.
Thursday Morning: I set my jaw and said I NEEDED to get done with this book. I read almost the entire last half last night. It was chopped up so much with the jumping around that is was easy to get that much read. I faded out after chapter 54, and finished it up in the parking lot of the library so I would know that this book was not going back home with me. I unknowingly stopped last night at the chapter right before the story blew up into a million little pieces and became utterly ridiculous. When people stated that the ending was rushed, they were not BSing. Even before that, with the aircraft carrier, things jumped at an amazing pace. It went from "Hey, I think something is on here" to "Hey, we are totally screwed and it is all over, no action to see here". I was actually surprized when the little group escaped and tied the hatch shut, because there may have been survivors down there. Heck, the one they cried for a little later may have been one of them beating on the door yelling "let me out you mf'ing, self absorbed asshats". As with the aircraft carrier story line, he cut out the action parts and left in the dull back and forth between the different story lines (5). And the story lines? Two of the story lines were needed (well, take that with a grain of salt). I saw no use for two of the story lines at all at all. (the arctic one was only for relaying messages, frozen body fat and getting rescued). And the third (which could have been folded into the other useless story arcs) had the only decent chapter in the book (35) but still didn't have to be in the book at all (the climax with Remote 6 could have been at either one of the two useless storylines). And let me say something about Remote 6. Here is a super secret organization that has controlled almost every event that has ever happened and they couldn't get to a downed plane before a another group could? They were everywhere at all time when it was needed. And naming the top R6 guy god and having him make a "I would have got away with it all if it weren't for you meddling kids" speech was a full on laugh riot. Remote 6 ended up being a bumbling set of fools ran my the villan from the Smurfs. Throughout the book there was so much not happening that the shockingly fast ending was the biggest surprize in the book. And that is not a good thing. The romantic relationship in the book was depressingly dull and totally not important at all. I think that is the desired word for 9/10ths of this book. Unimportant filler. Seriously, this book could have easily been a short story and would have still been dull. Albiet there was never any tension built up for the ending so the reveal of the reason they went into China was flat and unimportant. I never figured out why the hero was in this book at all. He did absolutely nothing. And here is this guy (Kil) that over the trilogy became a freaking technical genius, but didn't figure out for quite a while the reference his neighbor (from the beginning of first book, who somehow by odd chance became the communications guy on another ship) had sent no matter how terribly simple the encrypted messages he was sending him. The only action Kil saw was that he was on the last and most uneventful end story in history. This should have been the most exciting part in the book. Kil's friend (Kil ended up just being a bit of a prick), the Afghani terrorist turned Kil's secret love crush, was useless. Yeah, he shot a few zombies, big deal. He mostly just walked around the ship and took up some page space. And that is what I think this book was, a book full of filler. I can not imagine there was a contract for the author that he had to finish a trilogy, but it damn sure felt like he didn't put any thought into anything but the useless jargon. There was no story worth speaking of. I could describe the book in 3 sentences, one little paragraph. I did so to my wife last night and she just laughed. The shifts in time were staggering. From the above mentioned aircraft carrier to the amazing fast trip to China, it sucked all of the air out of a breathless book that was turning blue within the first few chapters. By the time it died before the ending even started to flash before my eyes, I was already wishing someone would shoot it in the head so another one didn't pop up and eat a few days out of my life.
So, I go into review mode of the rant above. Don't read this book. It is that simple. It is terribly boring, dreadfully slow for the first 9.5/10 of the book and mopped up with amazing speed and inefficiency. You won't give a crap about any of the characters. There is no good description of anyone, physically or emotionally. When someone dies, it just doesn't matter. Hell, the ones that lived I still didn't give a shite about. If you liked the first two books, first off I feel bad for you, secondly, this one is way worse than the first two. Nothing is ever a waste of time, mostly, and I did get entertainment out of this and the other two books. I entertained myself by reviewing them as honestly as I possibly could. I am just happy that it is over with and I can move onto something just as interesting. Like reading the phone book or peeling my nails off with a pair of needlenose pliers.
April 17, 2017
This book takes the form of a straight novel instead of a diary from the outset which gave me hope that we would see more of my favourite characters-John and Annabelle. However the author then decides to add more new characters and use multiple POVs which I did not think was required. We follow Kil and Saien on their mission to China, survivors at a remote station in the frozen north, soldiers trying to reach Hotel 23, Admiral of the Fleet, Remote 6, a seal team on Hawaii etc. We do get the odd thought of John and Tara but not anywhere near enough.
What did I like? Well the mission of the seal team on Hawaii was the best thing in the book. There was a real purpose to it, it was exciting and nerve shredding, just like Kil and John's initial adventures in the first book. Really enjoyed that. The few bits we got of John kicking ass with Annabelle and the Hotel 23 survivors was good but not enough of it. The marines going to Hotel 23 was also a decent subplot.
What I didn't like? The whole Arctic outpost story was not necessary and it slowed the entire story down. With that and the alien plot, I felt as if this was a fanfic version of The Thing rather than a zombie novel. Tara whining and sobbing all the time made me want to throw her overboard. Going to the ship outbreak after the event and telling us what happened instead of the excitement of showing us John and the others in the battle. I can't even tell you how disappointing that was. The ease of the mission to China and the actual point of it. I just didn't find any of that interesting.
I didn't find the ending greatly satisfying other than the Remote Six outcome. It all felt a bit rushed and a bit of an anti-climax really. The story is left open for a possible follow up but unless it was based fully on the Hotel 23 people, I wouldn't be that interested in following it. A bit of a tame end to a series that started so well.
What did I like? Well the mission of the seal team on Hawaii was the best thing in the book. There was a real purpose to it, it was exciting and nerve shredding, just like Kil and John's initial adventures in the first book. Really enjoyed that. The few bits we got of John kicking ass with Annabelle and the Hotel 23 survivors was good but not enough of it. The marines going to Hotel 23 was also a decent subplot.
What I didn't like? The whole Arctic outpost story was not necessary and it slowed the entire story down. With that and the alien plot, I felt as if this was a fanfic version of The Thing rather than a zombie novel. Tara whining and sobbing all the time made me want to throw her overboard. Going to the ship outbreak after the event and telling us what happened instead of the excitement of showing us John and the others in the battle. I can't even tell you how disappointing that was. The ease of the mission to China and the actual point of it. I just didn't find any of that interesting.
I didn't find the ending greatly satisfying other than the Remote Six outcome. It all felt a bit rushed and a bit of an anti-climax really. The story is left open for a possible follow up but unless it was based fully on the Hotel 23 people, I wouldn't be that interested in following it. A bit of a tame end to a series that started so well.
April 5, 2013
To all the "literary genius critics" out there...get a grip. These are largely self funded and published books in a specialist category. Zombie literature is either something you enjoy and read as if you have just found a journal written as society is consumed by the undead..or a poorly written disjointed torture session. If you fall into the latter category, I'm sure Penguin Books has something new you will enjoy.
I eagerly awaited this third installment in JL Bourne's series "Day by Day Armageddon" and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes he knows military jargon and yes he uses too much of it, yes sometimes the story drags, but there is enough scares, tension and compassion for largely well defined empathetic characters.
This book sees Kil, Tara, John and the rest of the Hotel 23 inhabitants at sea aboard an aircraft carrier as the radiated mainland remains a hostile home to roving super hordes of the undead.
This book introduces the tragic team abandoned in the Artic and their perilous grip on life along with various specialist teams searching for answers and life in Kils old home and in China.
There are a lot of leaps and character developments, but I thoroughly enjoyed this, as I do with all my Zom_Lit...lighten up and enjoy it for what it is ...literary pop corn.
I eagerly awaited this third installment in JL Bourne's series "Day by Day Armageddon" and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes he knows military jargon and yes he uses too much of it, yes sometimes the story drags, but there is enough scares, tension and compassion for largely well defined empathetic characters.
This book sees Kil, Tara, John and the rest of the Hotel 23 inhabitants at sea aboard an aircraft carrier as the radiated mainland remains a hostile home to roving super hordes of the undead.
This book introduces the tragic team abandoned in the Artic and their perilous grip on life along with various specialist teams searching for answers and life in Kils old home and in China.
There are a lot of leaps and character developments, but I thoroughly enjoyed this, as I do with all my Zom_Lit...lighten up and enjoy it for what it is ...literary pop corn.
January 16, 2013
First off, I am REALLY surprised at how many negative reviews this got on Good reads. Most of the ones I read seemed to be very peeved by the change in narrative style and were convinced, based on assumptions only apparently, that the change in style was done because of pressure from his publisher. This was entirely not the case and I am basing this on things he has said on his facebook page and his website. He seems to be a man who takes and keeps strong control of his work and protects it like a loved one. I was going to link to his fan forum where he talked about why there is almost no chance of a movie of the book being made while he's alive, but it seems to be down. Any ways, at the end of book two the story was at a point where it needed to switch narration styles if the story was going to be continued. There were just to many characters and plot threads heading in too many different directions.
So what did I think? I thought the book was nearly as good as the last two, almost a five star review. Just like the last two books I had a hard time putting it down and I felt very immersed in the narrative. I know a lot of non-military readers were put off by the constant military jargon, but I found this to be one of the many things that made the story so real and engaging. He also did a good job at explaining to the reader what different military terms meant through the narrative either directly (like when he would straight up explain them Saien) or indirectly, surrounding the term with enough context for you to be able to figure it out yourself.
Another big complaint I frequently saw was that the end was both rushed and anti-climatic. As I was approaching the end of the book I found my self wondering how in the world there was enough time to finish all of the stories, but as I read those last twenty to thirty pages I felt like I was on a roller coaster and thoroughly enjoyed them. I had a feeling from the very beginning CHANG was not going to be the golden goose everyone hoped for, that was just to much of a fairy tail ending and wouldn't have fit in with the rest of the story. I felt the ending matched the previous two books perfectly, answering the immediate danger but leaving many questions and the future of the characters totally up in the air.
A final thing that really makes me think of this as such a great book is that it was not only well written and engaging, but that it adds something to the Zombie lit genre. Bourne's perspective as an active duty serviceman brings bounds and leaps to a story told from a military perspective. The nature of the infection, it's origins, and the way the zombies act are all unique enough in my mind to file this under the previously stated "adds something to the zombie lit genre" category.
Now that I've gushed I feel I have to point out what kept it from a five star review. I liked the writing style, but it did come across as a bit rougher than his previous two books. It definitely felt like his first novel written in the traditional narrative. Some of the dialog for non-military people came off as a little simple and unrealistic, but those moments were far out-shadowed by the rest of the dialog that came off spot on. There were also a few times where I felt he didn't use the new narrative style to it's full worth, the biggest thing being the exclusion of how the outbreak started on the carrier.
All in all it was an amazing read, and I heartily look forward to re-reading all three books again before too long. I felt it ended in a place that could be the end of the series, but is left open with plenty of room for at least one more volume. I still want to know whats the deal with the Quantum's, who were they really helping and why? I want to know more about CHANG, where he came from and how. I want to know what was in those data cubes. and as horrible as it is to say it, even about fictional characters, I want a major outbreak to happen on their little island so Kil and his little family have to sail away back into the wastes on their boat so I can see him survive Day by Day once again.
So what did I think? I thought the book was nearly as good as the last two, almost a five star review. Just like the last two books I had a hard time putting it down and I felt very immersed in the narrative. I know a lot of non-military readers were put off by the constant military jargon, but I found this to be one of the many things that made the story so real and engaging. He also did a good job at explaining to the reader what different military terms meant through the narrative either directly (like when he would straight up explain them Saien) or indirectly, surrounding the term with enough context for you to be able to figure it out yourself.
Another big complaint I frequently saw was that the end was both rushed and anti-climatic. As I was approaching the end of the book I found my self wondering how in the world there was enough time to finish all of the stories, but as I read those last twenty to thirty pages I felt like I was on a roller coaster and thoroughly enjoyed them. I had a feeling from the very beginning CHANG was not going to be the golden goose everyone hoped for, that was just to much of a fairy tail ending and wouldn't have fit in with the rest of the story. I felt the ending matched the previous two books perfectly, answering the immediate danger but leaving many questions and the future of the characters totally up in the air.
A final thing that really makes me think of this as such a great book is that it was not only well written and engaging, but that it adds something to the Zombie lit genre. Bourne's perspective as an active duty serviceman brings bounds and leaps to a story told from a military perspective. The nature of the infection, it's origins, and the way the zombies act are all unique enough in my mind to file this under the previously stated "adds something to the zombie lit genre" category.
Now that I've gushed I feel I have to point out what kept it from a five star review. I liked the writing style, but it did come across as a bit rougher than his previous two books. It definitely felt like his first novel written in the traditional narrative. Some of the dialog for non-military people came off as a little simple and unrealistic, but those moments were far out-shadowed by the rest of the dialog that came off spot on. There were also a few times where I felt he didn't use the new narrative style to it's full worth, the biggest thing being the exclusion of how the outbreak started on the carrier.
All in all it was an amazing read, and I heartily look forward to re-reading all three books again before too long. I felt it ended in a place that could be the end of the series, but is left open with plenty of room for at least one more volume. I still want to know whats the deal with the Quantum's, who were they really helping and why? I want to know more about CHANG, where he came from and how. I want to know what was in those data cubes. and as horrible as it is to say it, even about fictional characters, I want a major outbreak to happen on their little island so Kil and his little family have to sail away back into the wastes on their boat so I can see him survive Day by Day once again.
October 7, 2013
All that I can say is "what happened?" I am not totally against Bourne's departure from the journal format, but I am against the way it was executed. Instead of getting a detailed look into the mind of Kil once again, we get a brief look at a bunch of new characters. I have no problem with adding new characters if had Bourne bothered to develop any of them or even make us care about them a little bit.
The ending is a cop-out in my opinion. We start of with this guy trying to survive on his own with his skills and now all of the sudden we are now wrapped up in plot where the main character is in a position to save the world.
Also the military jargon was a bit much. As someone who works in the military and with the technologies mentioned in this book I can say that no one would ever talk like that. In fact its laughable at some points. We get it - the military uses acronyms and you know a bunch of them.
I hate to sound too negative, because I liked the first two books so much and I am trying not to let this one taint my opinion. This book had the potential to make DBDA the best zombie series of all time however it fell short.
The ending is a cop-out in my opinion. We start of with this guy trying to survive on his own with his skills and now all of the sudden we are now wrapped up in plot where the main character is in a position to save the world.
Also the military jargon was a bit much. As someone who works in the military and with the technologies mentioned in this book I can say that no one would ever talk like that. In fact its laughable at some points. We get it - the military uses acronyms and you know a bunch of them.
I hate to sound too negative, because I liked the first two books so much and I am trying not to let this one taint my opinion. This book had the potential to make DBDA the best zombie series of all time however it fell short.
November 12, 2022
This second book is just as good as the first. Admittedly, after having gotten used to the journal entry method of storytelling in the first book, it then took me a few chapters to readjust back to the more common 3rd person storytelling method used on this second book. I did really like how the storyline followed not only our main character, but several others from his group of surviving “Hotel 23” comrades - plus the addition of new characters that Kil ends up working with in task force Hourglass, the members of task force Phoenix, and an entirely new group of people also trying to survive in an Arctic outpost. The annihilation of the “rogue” government group, Remote Six, was extremely satisfying, and the rescue of the surviving Arctic men was the cherry on top. Now on to the last book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2014
Having read the first two books I could tell this author would be a new favorite. I read both the previous books in single settings and right away paid the full MSRP price for Shattered Hourglass which is something I rarely do because I am a cheapo and know somewhere out there the book is on amazon or ebay for $1 with 3.99 shipping.
But I hate this book.. its terrible. What made the first two novels great were the following through a diary of a single persons struggle. Every page you would turn would be new excitement as with all diaries only the important details were included which made for fast and excited reading.
None of that is here.. I think the author has let all the "You are so great" and pampering from the publisher go to his head. He completely left his original formula of a single mans struggle and has now come up with a very bland zombie book. There is no diary, there is no cool hand written notes or pictures as were included with the first to books to add to the ambiance. This time around the main hero from the previous two books is just a side character and he is now telling the story of about 3 different groups of people, all rather boring, all have a boring back story and unlike the original Hero who you have built a relationship with over the course of the first two books, these new offshoot stories have no connection and you find yourself not caring and saying "ok is the next chapter going to have the original guy in it?".
What makes it even worse is the story is just bland as hell.. Ok you went all indiana jones and the crystal skull with us by saying aliens brought the zombie disease.. But how could the author make it so boring? Chapter after chapter is just talking about Fixing "communication problems" on a aircraft carrier, or the 3 chapters of talking about how depressing and boring the Submarine is for our hero and his companion.(The author literally talks about him jogging and working out on the sub and attending meetings we have already been told the purpose of several times). The boring does not end there in this slow paced book, there are also many chapters dedicated to a team in the arctic repelling down a cliff and going back up..
You quickly forget this is a zombie apoc book and start skipping whole paragraphs, pages and eventually chapters to try and find the good stuff. I am at page 128 and have to say I have not reached the good stuff. Its taken me 4 days to get to this point, had this book even had 1/10th of what the original two novels had, I would already be done with it in a single setting.
I am tossing this book out, keeping the previous two and making up my own story for the hero in my head.. a GOOD ending. I really think this upcoming author let the fame go to his head and instead of doing what everyone loved, he tried something different and failed. Pay no attention to the good ratings of this book, like most authors or celebrities or sports stars, they have a following who acts as if they can do no wrong.
This book was such a let down and I intend to give it one more hour of decent reading before I give up on it.
JL Bourne.. Please please please pull your head out of your *** and return this to the original heroes diary or at least stop using "We are trying to repair communications" as filler for 4+ chapters..
1 out of 5 stars, its a solid one.
But I hate this book.. its terrible. What made the first two novels great were the following through a diary of a single persons struggle. Every page you would turn would be new excitement as with all diaries only the important details were included which made for fast and excited reading.
None of that is here.. I think the author has let all the "You are so great" and pampering from the publisher go to his head. He completely left his original formula of a single mans struggle and has now come up with a very bland zombie book. There is no diary, there is no cool hand written notes or pictures as were included with the first to books to add to the ambiance. This time around the main hero from the previous two books is just a side character and he is now telling the story of about 3 different groups of people, all rather boring, all have a boring back story and unlike the original Hero who you have built a relationship with over the course of the first two books, these new offshoot stories have no connection and you find yourself not caring and saying "ok is the next chapter going to have the original guy in it?".
What makes it even worse is the story is just bland as hell.. Ok you went all indiana jones and the crystal skull with us by saying aliens brought the zombie disease.. But how could the author make it so boring? Chapter after chapter is just talking about Fixing "communication problems" on a aircraft carrier, or the 3 chapters of talking about how depressing and boring the Submarine is for our hero and his companion.(The author literally talks about him jogging and working out on the sub and attending meetings we have already been told the purpose of several times). The boring does not end there in this slow paced book, there are also many chapters dedicated to a team in the arctic repelling down a cliff and going back up..
You quickly forget this is a zombie apoc book and start skipping whole paragraphs, pages and eventually chapters to try and find the good stuff. I am at page 128 and have to say I have not reached the good stuff. Its taken me 4 days to get to this point, had this book even had 1/10th of what the original two novels had, I would already be done with it in a single setting.
I am tossing this book out, keeping the previous two and making up my own story for the hero in my head.. a GOOD ending. I really think this upcoming author let the fame go to his head and instead of doing what everyone loved, he tried something different and failed. Pay no attention to the good ratings of this book, like most authors or celebrities or sports stars, they have a following who acts as if they can do no wrong.
This book was such a let down and I intend to give it one more hour of decent reading before I give up on it.
JL Bourne.. Please please please pull your head out of your *** and return this to the original heroes diary or at least stop using "We are trying to repair communications" as filler for 4+ chapters..
1 out of 5 stars, its a solid one.
February 14, 2013
Finally, the conclusion to the "Day by Day Armageddon" series by J.L. Bourne! Was this book the best one from the trilogy? Sadly, no. The first book was the best of them, especially as the perspective or the "journal" treatment is no longer present in this one. Since the events of the second book, the whole plot zooms out and takes on a larger scale. The main character is now just one of the proponents of the numerous events occurring in the apocalypse. This is both beneficial and detrimental to the series, as the book loses the same appeal that made the first two books interesting. I could understand the need for this but it would have been awesome if the author found a way to retain that while still being able to narrate the events from the other characters' points-of-view. This book focuses on the military groups and the operations they had to undergo to reach the conclusion of the series. And well, that's the part where it loses steam. We're presented with several squads that are undertaking their respective missions, which, while unpredictable and had some suspense, became overbearing. How often can you describe the events of a 4-man squad going to their mission, being presented with obstacles, losing some members but still overcoming the challenges and eventually accomplishing their objective/s. For me, that became tedious and unoriginal. Also, the ending was anti-climactic. Sure, the sudden Roswell / Chang incidents introduced at the end of the second book have been fleshed-out in the third installment, but how it was all handled at the end, and the final outcome of the succeeding events was just...meh. It could have been written and thought-out better. The entire trilogy deserves a better ending, in my opinion. Not that I don't recommend the entire series, but don't expect to be blown away.
January 24, 2019
The third part in the Day by Day Armageddon series greatly expands upon the world developed in the first two parts of the series. Many new characters are introduced, and there is a greater emphasis upon unravelling the mysteries developed during the first two parts of the series. Readers learn more about Remote Six and the important questions of where and how the anomaly occurred are largely revealed; of course, many questions remain and are likely to be answered in future installments. The original group is also separated early on, and so this part of the series contained several spinning storylines that all fed into one another. I did find the use of military jargon was ramped-up this time, often feeling forced for the sake of inclusion and for the most part unnecessary; almost as though the author came up with a checklist of terms for inclusion and made every effort to incorporate as many of the terms within the story as possible. For the most part it's not that noticeable, but where I did notice it, as the saying goes, "when it rains, it pours." A great addition to one of the better zombie apocalypse series out there (and there are quite a few these days). Deserving of a 3.5, but reduced to a 3 rather than a 4 due to the issues noted and the growing feeling throughout the book that it was all going to be concluded with a lead-up to a sequel.
January 12, 2019
2.5 stars for me really, but I could tell how much effort went into writing it. Sometimes it was too full of military/technical jargon and made it a little difficult to read. I think video game players would have no problem with it.
If there happen to be more books in the series this is where I will stop. Thank you for the fun times.
If there happen to be more books in the series this is where I will stop. Thank you for the fun times.
August 11, 2024
3.25
The overall story is still solid, since it is a zombie story after all
little to no character development
way too much military jargon, i don't care if he knows it, lording knowledge is arrogant
the disappearance of the journal format was a huge mistake, this is a fine zombie story but without the actual day by day delivery, it's simply like all the others now
The overall story is still solid, since it is a zombie story after all
little to no character development
way too much military jargon, i don't care if he knows it, lording knowledge is arrogant
the disappearance of the journal format was a huge mistake, this is a fine zombie story but without the actual day by day delivery, it's simply like all the others now
January 21, 2023
*3.5 stars** Teased as we were at the end of "Beyond Exile," we just knew our protagonist would be heading into the mother of all zombie @#$%-storms -- and indeed, here he is in the opening pages, speeding over the Panama Canal to the USS Virginia for what he sincerely hopes is not a one way trip to China to find the source of the zombie epidemic in hopes it will provide clues to a cure.
The change this time is that we're not reading the pages of our newly promoted naval officer's journal. Instead, we're treated to a 3rd person narration. The advantages are obvious -- the reader can now see the interweaving plots points in all the places across the globe as the hope (or doom) of humanity is determined. New characters with parallel struggles are introduced; we even get to see into the mysterious "Remote 6" which was so pivotal in the previous novel, complete with more backstory.
The downside is that some of the immediacy of the previous books is lost with the lack of first person narration and his distinctive voice. 3rd person could have provided an opportunity to better flesh out some of the recurring characters, let alone the protagonist. Unfortunately, that mostly doesn't happen. We still don't even get his name (he's simply 'Kil' aka 'Kilroy',Sayien's nickname for him that apparently stuck). Even with more room to breathe in their 2nd and 3rd appearances and the help of the 3rd person voice, some of the female characters are still rather thin, as are all the children. The writing gets a little ham-handed occasionally; Bourne wears his politics on his sleeve in a couple places. Many of the other military characters seem stereotypical. The special ops guys seem to act like special ops characters out of the movies; is that a stereotype, or is it simply that special ops guys are really like that? I don't honestly know, never having served with any.
But let's face it - we're not reading "Shattered Hourglass" in the hopes of interacting with authentic female characters; we're coming back for more because we want to know what's going to happen next. Bourne still has a way with his action sequences, and his military experiences here still do him credit. Not every shot kills. Not everything works the way it's supposed to. Those in charge aren't often the smartest guys in the room. Tactically you might be sitting pretty in some moments, but strategically you're still screwed. There is plenty of action, both with our crew heading to China by way of Hawaii, as well as on the carrier, at "Remote 6", and at an arctic research station. For me, some of the most compelling bits come from this latter subplot, where it becomes a bit of "The Thing" with a zombie twist. Kudos to Bourne for creating a palpable sense of dread as those men run silent and deep on their way to China, knowing that they've just left behind 300 million undead only to be stuck with over a billion of them. Worse still, it's clear that Kil isn't being told the whole story and we're almost left wondering whether he's being set up to fail. And at all times, our various heroes and heroines are just one missed meal, gun jam, missed zombie bite, or spare part failure away from disaster --and civilization is distinctly starting to wear *very* thin.
Other reviews have mentioned that the ending is a little anti-climactic. I somewhat agree. I was beginning to think for sure we were being set up for a book 4 (and I wouldn't be surprised if there still will be), but rest assured there is closure in the various story lines raised in "Shattered Hourglass." It probably isn't the closure or unabashedly hopeful ending one might be expecting, but I strongly suspect that is the point. Even so, things are rushed a bit.
All in all, it's another enjoyable entry and worthy of attention from the zombie fan, action fan, and survivalist set.
The change this time is that we're not reading the pages of our newly promoted naval officer's journal. Instead, we're treated to a 3rd person narration. The advantages are obvious -- the reader can now see the interweaving plots points in all the places across the globe as the hope (or doom) of humanity is determined. New characters with parallel struggles are introduced; we even get to see into the mysterious "Remote 6" which was so pivotal in the previous novel, complete with more backstory.
The downside is that some of the immediacy of the previous books is lost with the lack of first person narration and his distinctive voice. 3rd person could have provided an opportunity to better flesh out some of the recurring characters, let alone the protagonist. Unfortunately, that mostly doesn't happen. We still don't even get his name (he's simply 'Kil' aka 'Kilroy',Sayien's nickname for him that apparently stuck). Even with more room to breathe in their 2nd and 3rd appearances and the help of the 3rd person voice, some of the female characters are still rather thin, as are all the children. The writing gets a little ham-handed occasionally; Bourne wears his politics on his sleeve in a couple places. Many of the other military characters seem stereotypical. The special ops guys seem to act like special ops characters out of the movies; is that a stereotype, or is it simply that special ops guys are really like that? I don't honestly know, never having served with any.
But let's face it - we're not reading "Shattered Hourglass" in the hopes of interacting with authentic female characters; we're coming back for more because we want to know what's going to happen next. Bourne still has a way with his action sequences, and his military experiences here still do him credit. Not every shot kills. Not everything works the way it's supposed to. Those in charge aren't often the smartest guys in the room. Tactically you might be sitting pretty in some moments, but strategically you're still screwed. There is plenty of action, both with our crew heading to China by way of Hawaii, as well as on the carrier, at "Remote 6", and at an arctic research station. For me, some of the most compelling bits come from this latter subplot, where it becomes a bit of "The Thing" with a zombie twist. Kudos to Bourne for creating a palpable sense of dread as those men run silent and deep on their way to China, knowing that they've just left behind 300 million undead only to be stuck with over a billion of them. Worse still, it's clear that Kil isn't being told the whole story and we're almost left wondering whether he's being set up to fail. And at all times, our various heroes and heroines are just one missed meal, gun jam, missed zombie bite, or spare part failure away from disaster --and civilization is distinctly starting to wear *very* thin.
Other reviews have mentioned that the ending is a little anti-climactic. I somewhat agree. I was beginning to think for sure we were being set up for a book 4 (and I wouldn't be surprised if there still will be), but rest assured there is closure in the various story lines raised in "Shattered Hourglass." It probably isn't the closure or unabashedly hopeful ending one might be expecting, but I strongly suspect that is the point. Even so, things are rushed a bit.
All in all, it's another enjoyable entry and worthy of attention from the zombie fan, action fan, and survivalist set.
March 12, 2022
MILITÄRISCHE BLEIWÜSTE
Menschenfressende Zombies und mittendrin wenig Überlebende - so sieht die nahe Zukunft der Bevölkerung aus. Die Menschen geben sich angesichts der Apokalypse nicht geschlagen und der Überlebende Kilroy begibt sich auf eine Mission, um Patient Null zu finden.
Bei „Tagebuch der Apokalypse 3“ handelt es sich um den dritten Band einer legendären Zombie-Reihe. Der erste Teil war packend, glaubwürdig und authentisch umgesetzt, im zweiten Teil hat das Militär bereits seine Nase in die Reihe gesteckt und in diesem Band ist es komplett in die Handlung einmarschiert.
Mir hat das erste Tagebuch der Apokalypse wahnsinnig imponiert und es hat mich begeistert. Ein relativ normaler Typ mit militärischem Hintergrund erzählt in seinen persönlichen Aufzeichnungen davon, wie eine Zombie-Invasion über die USA hereinbricht. Weiters fand ich die Figur des Schreibenden exzellent gelungen, weil er normal wirkte und sich nicht als heldenhafter Superstar entpuppte.
Im zweiten Tagebuch war es ähnlich, obwohl sich langsam das Militär seinen Weg ins Buch bahnte. In den USA ist mehr oder weniger das menschliche Leben ausgerottet. Die spärlichen Überlebenden haben sich verschanzt, kämpfen täglich auf’s Neue gegen die Invasion und im Hintergrund baut sich das übrige Militär auf, um den USA aus der Misere zu helfen.
In diesem dritten Band hat das Militär vollkommen die Kontrolle übernommen. Meiner Meinung nach ist in dem Zusammenhang auch nicht mehr von einem Tagebuch zu sprechen, weil das Buch nicht mehr in dieser Form erzählt wird. Es gibt unzählige Perspektiven, worunter der Schreibende aus dem ersten und zweiten Teil zu finden ist. Er - wie alle anderen Figuren ebenso - werden an den Rand gedrückt, während sich der Roman wie ein Bericht nach einem Militäreinsatz liest.
Ich fand es total anstrengend, dieses Buch zu lesen. Es fehlte mir an jedem Bezug zu den Figuren. Dabei war es egal, ob ich sie schon vom ersten Band an kannte oder sie neu in der Handlung auftauchten. Sie sind kaum mehr als Namen in einem Einsatzbericht. Ihre Hoffnungen, Ängste, Wünsche beziehungsweise ihr gesamtes Erleben bleiben völlig auf der Strecke.
Es kommt dazu, dass es unzählige Namen sind, die sich durch diverse Militärmanöver navigieren. Entweder werden Manöver geplant, gerade durchgeführt, sind am Scheitern oder werden verworfen. Eine Krisensitzung folgt der nächsten, ein militärischer Einsatz reiht sich an den anderen, Ränge werden erklärt, es wird salutiert und stramm gestanden, ohne im Geringsten Leser:innen zu berühren oder auf die bereits bekannten Figuren und ihre Gedanken einzugehen.
Dementsprechend liest sich der Roman trocken, wirkt einschläfernd und ich fragte mich, wo der authentische Esprit vom Auftaktband geblieben ist.
Zudem wird die Handlung von dem ermüdenden Stil dermaßen in die Knie gedrückt, dass ich ihr kaum folgen konnte, weil alles in diesem Buch wie eine monotone, militärische Bleiwüste auf mich wirkt.
Es ist äußerst schade, dass sich der besondere Flair der Reihe dadurch selbst zerstört. Ich denke, diese Fortsetzung ist nur mehr eingefleischten Fans oder militärisch Interessierten zu empfehlen. Andere Leser und Leserinnen werden vermutlich - ähnlich wie ich - enttäuscht sein.
Die Tagebücher der Apokalypse:
1) Tagebuch der Apokalypse 1
2) Tagebuch der Apokalypse 2
3) Tagebuch der Apokalypse 3
4) Tagebuch der Apokalypse 4
Menschenfressende Zombies und mittendrin wenig Überlebende - so sieht die nahe Zukunft der Bevölkerung aus. Die Menschen geben sich angesichts der Apokalypse nicht geschlagen und der Überlebende Kilroy begibt sich auf eine Mission, um Patient Null zu finden.
Bei „Tagebuch der Apokalypse 3“ handelt es sich um den dritten Band einer legendären Zombie-Reihe. Der erste Teil war packend, glaubwürdig und authentisch umgesetzt, im zweiten Teil hat das Militär bereits seine Nase in die Reihe gesteckt und in diesem Band ist es komplett in die Handlung einmarschiert.
Mir hat das erste Tagebuch der Apokalypse wahnsinnig imponiert und es hat mich begeistert. Ein relativ normaler Typ mit militärischem Hintergrund erzählt in seinen persönlichen Aufzeichnungen davon, wie eine Zombie-Invasion über die USA hereinbricht. Weiters fand ich die Figur des Schreibenden exzellent gelungen, weil er normal wirkte und sich nicht als heldenhafter Superstar entpuppte.
Im zweiten Tagebuch war es ähnlich, obwohl sich langsam das Militär seinen Weg ins Buch bahnte. In den USA ist mehr oder weniger das menschliche Leben ausgerottet. Die spärlichen Überlebenden haben sich verschanzt, kämpfen täglich auf’s Neue gegen die Invasion und im Hintergrund baut sich das übrige Militär auf, um den USA aus der Misere zu helfen.
In diesem dritten Band hat das Militär vollkommen die Kontrolle übernommen. Meiner Meinung nach ist in dem Zusammenhang auch nicht mehr von einem Tagebuch zu sprechen, weil das Buch nicht mehr in dieser Form erzählt wird. Es gibt unzählige Perspektiven, worunter der Schreibende aus dem ersten und zweiten Teil zu finden ist. Er - wie alle anderen Figuren ebenso - werden an den Rand gedrückt, während sich der Roman wie ein Bericht nach einem Militäreinsatz liest.
Ich fand es total anstrengend, dieses Buch zu lesen. Es fehlte mir an jedem Bezug zu den Figuren. Dabei war es egal, ob ich sie schon vom ersten Band an kannte oder sie neu in der Handlung auftauchten. Sie sind kaum mehr als Namen in einem Einsatzbericht. Ihre Hoffnungen, Ängste, Wünsche beziehungsweise ihr gesamtes Erleben bleiben völlig auf der Strecke.
Es kommt dazu, dass es unzählige Namen sind, die sich durch diverse Militärmanöver navigieren. Entweder werden Manöver geplant, gerade durchgeführt, sind am Scheitern oder werden verworfen. Eine Krisensitzung folgt der nächsten, ein militärischer Einsatz reiht sich an den anderen, Ränge werden erklärt, es wird salutiert und stramm gestanden, ohne im Geringsten Leser:innen zu berühren oder auf die bereits bekannten Figuren und ihre Gedanken einzugehen.
Dementsprechend liest sich der Roman trocken, wirkt einschläfernd und ich fragte mich, wo der authentische Esprit vom Auftaktband geblieben ist.
Zudem wird die Handlung von dem ermüdenden Stil dermaßen in die Knie gedrückt, dass ich ihr kaum folgen konnte, weil alles in diesem Buch wie eine monotone, militärische Bleiwüste auf mich wirkt.
Es ist äußerst schade, dass sich der besondere Flair der Reihe dadurch selbst zerstört. Ich denke, diese Fortsetzung ist nur mehr eingefleischten Fans oder militärisch Interessierten zu empfehlen. Andere Leser und Leserinnen werden vermutlich - ähnlich wie ich - enttäuscht sein.
Die Tagebücher der Apokalypse:
1) Tagebuch der Apokalypse 1
2) Tagebuch der Apokalypse 2
3) Tagebuch der Apokalypse 3
4) Tagebuch der Apokalypse 4
November 13, 2016
Time taken to read - 3 days
Pages - 336
Publisher - Permuted Press
Blurb from Goodreads
START INTERCEPT
Armies of undead have risen up across the U.S. and around the globe;there is no safe haven from the diseased corpses hungering for human flesh. But in the heat of a Texas wasteland, a small band of survivors attempt to counter the millions closing in around them.
INTERCEPT COMPLETE
Survivor,Day by day, the handwritten journal entries of one man caught in a worldwide cataclysm capture the desperation—and the will to survive—as he joins forces with a handful of refugees to battle surviving enemies both human and inhuman from inside an abandoned strategic missile facility.But in the world of the undead, is mere survival enough?
My Review
This is book three in a series and I would advise reading the first two if you haven't already. The previous books are written in diary format and catalog our main characters journey from the outbreak and those he meets along the way. This book takes a different format, instead of the diary entries we have come accustomed to first person narration this book switched. We start in third person narrative, going across many locations and different people who are surviving the world now as we know it. We still hear from Kil in journal format however these entries are few and far between. The book still goes through the battle of surviving the undead and we revisit some of our previous books characters but now we have a wealth of new ones too.
So I really liked the first two books, this one has taken a really different turn, instead of our wee group from before, we now have loads of military and groups carrying out operations/missions. It has been a while since I read the last one but I don't remember having all these military folk and this book doesn't really address the sudden appear of them. There is also a lot of military jargon being used with no glossary list to help the reader out with what terms or acronyms stand for which is a little off putting.
I think fans of the series will still enjoy the book, I would certainly not start with this one as it isn't the strongest of the series by any means and you need the back story of the group. As I said lots of new characters introduced and I think a bit more meat added to their stories would have gave the book more strength. 3/5 for me this time, I will certainly get the next in the series as I need to know what happens next and hope to get a bit more insight into the new characters I don't feel had much development in this book.
Pages - 336
Publisher - Permuted Press
Blurb from Goodreads
START INTERCEPT
Armies of undead have risen up across the U.S. and around the globe;there is no safe haven from the diseased corpses hungering for human flesh. But in the heat of a Texas wasteland, a small band of survivors attempt to counter the millions closing in around them.
INTERCEPT COMPLETE
Survivor,Day by day, the handwritten journal entries of one man caught in a worldwide cataclysm capture the desperation—and the will to survive—as he joins forces with a handful of refugees to battle surviving enemies both human and inhuman from inside an abandoned strategic missile facility.But in the world of the undead, is mere survival enough?
My Review
This is book three in a series and I would advise reading the first two if you haven't already. The previous books are written in diary format and catalog our main characters journey from the outbreak and those he meets along the way. This book takes a different format, instead of the diary entries we have come accustomed to first person narration this book switched. We start in third person narrative, going across many locations and different people who are surviving the world now as we know it. We still hear from Kil in journal format however these entries are few and far between. The book still goes through the battle of surviving the undead and we revisit some of our previous books characters but now we have a wealth of new ones too.
So I really liked the first two books, this one has taken a really different turn, instead of our wee group from before, we now have loads of military and groups carrying out operations/missions. It has been a while since I read the last one but I don't remember having all these military folk and this book doesn't really address the sudden appear of them. There is also a lot of military jargon being used with no glossary list to help the reader out with what terms or acronyms stand for which is a little off putting.
I think fans of the series will still enjoy the book, I would certainly not start with this one as it isn't the strongest of the series by any means and you need the back story of the group. As I said lots of new characters introduced and I think a bit more meat added to their stories would have gave the book more strength. 3/5 for me this time, I will certainly get the next in the series as I need to know what happens next and hope to get a bit more insight into the new characters I don't feel had much development in this book.
February 3, 2013
Still one of my favorite zombie series, but this book loses some steam.
It's inevitable, it's a series, and most zombie books deal with the 'outbreak' premise and then the first days of survival. They find a convenient triumph (with or without annihilating/curing all zombies) and let the sun set. (Unless they start after the 'Big Battle Was Won' and go retrospect - a la WWZ.)
So, I have to admire Bourne for keeping this going. Although I have the same complaint other readers do, I'm disappointed he gave up the exclusive first person journal format to tell the story. I can see why he did it (limited perspective and we wouldn't have the awesome bits of Task Force Phoenix. I could do without the Remote Six stuff.)
It's interesting how the zombies have more or less become almost backdrop to the human survival drama (again, it's inevitable, and a lot of this reminded me of the "Walking Dead" tv show.)
The ending was rushed after a lot of buildup, and so it was kinda disappointing rather than relieving. (I won't spoiler it, but I wish there had been more time spent on China and less on Hawaii - that was just... dumb. Even if it WAS realistic.)
I think the book just suffered from too many perspectives, and also WAAAAAY too much description of military hardware. (I know Bourne is a commissioned officer in the Navy, but as a non-gun-nut, I care more about the scenery and inner dialog of the characters than what covert-ops, experimental carbine they get to use THIS time... because guess what? they all still run out of bullets and someone gets chomped. I will give him credit for keeping up the details on the smell and moaning - because yeah, it's easy to let that fade into the background after chapter one- or plot point key moments.)
I don't want to sound like I hated this book. Bourne just set the bar pretty high for himself in the previous entries. He has a following and an audience now, who (like me) have EXPECTATIONS. He has DEADLINES. I DO hope he continues it.
It's inevitable, it's a series, and most zombie books deal with the 'outbreak' premise and then the first days of survival. They find a convenient triumph (with or without annihilating/curing all zombies) and let the sun set. (Unless they start after the 'Big Battle Was Won' and go retrospect - a la WWZ.)
So, I have to admire Bourne for keeping this going. Although I have the same complaint other readers do, I'm disappointed he gave up the exclusive first person journal format to tell the story. I can see why he did it (limited perspective and we wouldn't have the awesome bits of Task Force Phoenix. I could do without the Remote Six stuff.)
It's interesting how the zombies have more or less become almost backdrop to the human survival drama (again, it's inevitable, and a lot of this reminded me of the "Walking Dead" tv show.)
The ending was rushed after a lot of buildup, and so it was kinda disappointing rather than relieving. (I won't spoiler it, but I wish there had been more time spent on China and less on Hawaii - that was just... dumb. Even if it WAS realistic.)
I think the book just suffered from too many perspectives, and also WAAAAAY too much description of military hardware. (I know Bourne is a commissioned officer in the Navy, but as a non-gun-nut, I care more about the scenery and inner dialog of the characters than what covert-ops, experimental carbine they get to use THIS time... because guess what? they all still run out of bullets and someone gets chomped. I will give him credit for keeping up the details on the smell and moaning - because yeah, it's easy to let that fade into the background after chapter one- or plot point key moments.)
I don't want to sound like I hated this book. Bourne just set the bar pretty high for himself in the previous entries. He has a following and an audience now, who (like me) have EXPECTATIONS. He has DEADLINES. I DO hope he continues it.
June 19, 2013
My zombie apocalypse obsession continues with the third installment of the Day by Day Armageddon series by J.L. Bourne.
The story of the small group of survivors from Hotel 23 begins with them onboard the USS George Washington. Our protagonist, Kil, is sent to one of the few remaining US subs (the Virginia) on a secret mission to China to find CHANG, believed to be the first carrier of the virus. Another team of military officers is sent to Hotel 23 to secure the nuclear bomb that is housed there. We also meet a very small group of survivors from an Arctic outpost.
I'm giving this 3.5 stars because if you can kind of turn off your mind for a while, it's an enjoyable time. However, I much preferred the first book in the series and feel that the journal format used in books 1-2 was more effective. This standard format with just a few journal entries thrown in wasn't as compelling. And, I started to feel that the author was adding in everything and the kitchen sink. We had some malevolent force that was overseeing everything (I think it may have been AI a la Robopocalypse), aliens (I'm sick to death of references to Roswell), time travel, government and military conspiracies. There was also ALOT of military jargon that wasn't as noticeable in the first 2 books. It was too much and took away from the core story. When we stuck to the interpersonal relationships and to the primary action (fighting zombies, duh!), it is at its' best.
Will I continue to read this series? Yes, for now. But I hope that he goes back to basics with the next one.
Recommended for hard-core zombie or military fiction fans.
The story of the small group of survivors from Hotel 23 begins with them onboard the USS George Washington. Our protagonist, Kil, is sent to one of the few remaining US subs (the Virginia) on a secret mission to China to find CHANG, believed to be the first carrier of the virus. Another team of military officers is sent to Hotel 23 to secure the nuclear bomb that is housed there. We also meet a very small group of survivors from an Arctic outpost.
I'm giving this 3.5 stars because if you can kind of turn off your mind for a while, it's an enjoyable time. However, I much preferred the first book in the series and feel that the journal format used in books 1-2 was more effective. This standard format with just a few journal entries thrown in wasn't as compelling. And, I started to feel that the author was adding in everything and the kitchen sink. We had some malevolent force that was overseeing everything (I think it may have been AI a la Robopocalypse), aliens (I'm sick to death of references to Roswell), time travel, government and military conspiracies. There was also ALOT of military jargon that wasn't as noticeable in the first 2 books. It was too much and took away from the core story. When we stuck to the interpersonal relationships and to the primary action (fighting zombies, duh!), it is at its' best.
Will I continue to read this series? Yes, for now. But I hope that he goes back to basics with the next one.
Recommended for hard-core zombie or military fiction fans.
March 8, 2015
Shattered Hourglass picks up with Kil’s story right where Beyond Exile left us off. Kil is on a submarine headed to China to extract “Chang”, the source of the virus that has decimated the world population. He has left all of his Hotel 23 friends behind on the carrier except for Saien, he needs someone to cover his back.
Shattered Hourglass marks an important change in the series. The journal format of the first two book is gone, except for a few small sections. Kil’s journal format was something that set the Day by Day franchise apart from the cornucopia of books in the post-apocalyptic genre. The transition was well done and necessary. Kil is not alone in the world, and there are other parts to the story that must be told and are key to putting Shattered Hourglass together and making it complete.
I don’t think that there is anyone who can question J.L. Bourne’s knowledge of the military equipment and technology prevalent throughout the book, I certainly cannot. As a layperson, I found it a bit heavy on the technical side, but it brings Kil to life as a military guy, for whom these items and terms are part of his everyday life.
As for Kil, he’s a fantastic character. I have followed him through the first two books and now have seen his journey through to the end. He has grown as a character throughout the series. Kil has always valued life and has never hesitated to help others, but now in Shattered Hourglass, he has realized that some sacrifices must be made for the greater good.
This was an excellent end to one of my favorite P.A. series. But I do see the possibility left open for more adventures should J.L. Bourne decide to go that route.
4 Stars
Shattered Hourglass marks an important change in the series. The journal format of the first two book is gone, except for a few small sections. Kil’s journal format was something that set the Day by Day franchise apart from the cornucopia of books in the post-apocalyptic genre. The transition was well done and necessary. Kil is not alone in the world, and there are other parts to the story that must be told and are key to putting Shattered Hourglass together and making it complete.
I don’t think that there is anyone who can question J.L. Bourne’s knowledge of the military equipment and technology prevalent throughout the book, I certainly cannot. As a layperson, I found it a bit heavy on the technical side, but it brings Kil to life as a military guy, for whom these items and terms are part of his everyday life.
As for Kil, he’s a fantastic character. I have followed him through the first two books and now have seen his journey through to the end. He has grown as a character throughout the series. Kil has always valued life and has never hesitated to help others, but now in Shattered Hourglass, he has realized that some sacrifices must be made for the greater good.
This was an excellent end to one of my favorite P.A. series. But I do see the possibility left open for more adventures should J.L. Bourne decide to go that route.
4 Stars
May 11, 2016
Bourne abandons the journal style (mostly) that he used for the previous two entries in this series, with mixed results. It allows for a wider scope instead of focusing purely on the protagonist, but for some unknown reason Bourne keeps switching from this new POV back to the journal format. This makes things a bit messy.
The use of several groups of characters made this the best story of the 3 for me, giving the reader more threads to follow, but unfortunately there were too many negatives to take advantage of this new direction.
At some point in the second book, the main character leaves a note saying "Kilroy was here", causing a new character to call him Kilroy. By the time Shattered Hourglass starts, bizarrely everyone is calling him "Kill", which I found to be ridiculous.
Whenever a message is transmitted, Bourne feels the need to precede it with a (very) lengthy stream of meaningless and repetitive characters. Anyone reading would have skipped it, but as I was listening to the audio version I couldn't. I don't care whether this was realistic, in a novel it's annoying and unnecessary.
Overall, the Day by Day Armageddon series is an okay read, but this installment became a bit confusing and messy with a few annoyances that nearly stopped me from finishing it. Fans of the genre will probably enjoy it if they are willing to look past these issues.
The use of several groups of characters made this the best story of the 3 for me, giving the reader more threads to follow, but unfortunately there were too many negatives to take advantage of this new direction.
At some point in the second book, the main character leaves a note saying "Kilroy was here", causing a new character to call him Kilroy. By the time Shattered Hourglass starts, bizarrely everyone is calling him "Kill", which I found to be ridiculous.
Whenever a message is transmitted, Bourne feels the need to precede it with a (very) lengthy stream of meaningless and repetitive characters. Anyone reading would have skipped it, but as I was listening to the audio version I couldn't. I don't care whether this was realistic, in a novel it's annoying and unnecessary.
Overall, the Day by Day Armageddon series is an okay read, but this installment became a bit confusing and messy with a few annoyances that nearly stopped me from finishing it. Fans of the genre will probably enjoy it if they are willing to look past these issues.
August 4, 2013
Zzzzzzzzzzz.........
As other reviewers have noted, this book is weighed down by a ridiculous amount of military jargon and very little zombie action. The writer abandoned the journal format, presumably to visit other story lines/POVs; however, the characters are all so poorly developed that it is a fruitless endeavor. We have so little detail on most of the characters that it's sometimes impossible to tell them apart, let alone build much tension or even care if they die. The ending was definitely rushed and anti-climactic (as you can gather from the reviews). Bourne somehow even manages to turn zombies overrunning the USS George Washington into a complete snooze-fest. Remote 6 was perhaps the lamest of all, abandoning any shades of gray to become the cartoonish "bad guy" who is foiled by the old switch-a-roo (despite all its tech/AI hype). The Hotel 23 group was really the only remotely interesting thing in this book, which makes it all the more crap-tastic when Bourne completely abandons the storyline (seriously, they rescue the 2 guys in the Arctic but can't pick up their own dudes at Hotel 23??). This book was a huge disappointment and total waste of time.
As other reviewers have noted, this book is weighed down by a ridiculous amount of military jargon and very little zombie action. The writer abandoned the journal format, presumably to visit other story lines/POVs; however, the characters are all so poorly developed that it is a fruitless endeavor. We have so little detail on most of the characters that it's sometimes impossible to tell them apart, let alone build much tension or even care if they die. The ending was definitely rushed and anti-climactic (as you can gather from the reviews). Bourne somehow even manages to turn zombies overrunning the USS George Washington into a complete snooze-fest. Remote 6 was perhaps the lamest of all, abandoning any shades of gray to become the cartoonish "bad guy" who is foiled by the old switch-a-roo (despite all its tech/AI hype). The Hotel 23 group was really the only remotely interesting thing in this book, which makes it all the more crap-tastic when Bourne completely abandons the storyline (seriously, they rescue the 2 guys in the Arctic but can't pick up their own dudes at Hotel 23??). This book was a huge disappointment and total waste of time.
February 12, 2013
After reading the first two books, which I enjoyed despite being overly simple and straightforward, I was eager to read the third installment in the series. When I saw the author apologizing for the first two books and changes he brought to the third, I thought, "not a good sign!".
I'll agree with what other reviewers have stated as the book being an absolute bore. A whole lot of nothing happens through 98% of the book, only to have the climax and the denoument be covered in a rapid and rushed final chapter.
I was thoroughly disappointed with this book, and glad I didn't purchase it, but read a pdf version instead. If you've read the first two installments and liked them, don't read the third! It will ruin the series for you!
I'll agree with what other reviewers have stated as the book being an absolute bore. A whole lot of nothing happens through 98% of the book, only to have the climax and the denoument be covered in a rapid and rushed final chapter.
I was thoroughly disappointed with this book, and glad I didn't purchase it, but read a pdf version instead. If you've read the first two installments and liked them, don't read the third! It will ruin the series for you!
December 31, 2012
This book was a lot different than the first 2. It took me awhile to get past the change in perspective - this book is not written in day-by-day journal format like the others, and that was something I really liked about those books. I listened to the audio format, which I liked for the first 2 books, but for this one, I probably would have preferred the written format. I had to go back several times to check confusing facts. I found it hard to keep track of all the locations, the characters, their missions, and what was currently going on. Have to say I was disappointed in the conclusion of this series.
April 18, 2013
La trilogía de "Day by Day Armageddon" es sin lugar a duda el mejor thriller de supervivencia zombie que he leído y en general es de los mejores libros que han pasado por mis manos.
J.L. Bourne cierra magistralmente la narración de Kil, el protagonista, en esta tercera entrega "Shattered Hourglass".
Prefiero no revelar detalles de la trama pero les pido que por favor, lean los tres libros, se sorprenderán gratamente.
"Day by Day Armageddon" es un libro que debe ser leído por los amantes de la cultura zombie, los fanáticos del "survivor" y los seguidores de la narrativa bélica y militar.
J.L. Bourne cierra magistralmente la narración de Kil, el protagonista, en esta tercera entrega "Shattered Hourglass".
Prefiero no revelar detalles de la trama pero les pido que por favor, lean los tres libros, se sorprenderán gratamente.
"Day by Day Armageddon" es un libro que debe ser leído por los amantes de la cultura zombie, los fanáticos del "survivor" y los seguidores de la narrativa bélica y militar.
October 16, 2013
I'm giving this book a 3.5. I really thought I would fall in love with it, but it was nothing like the first two books unfortunately... I'm not saying it wasn't good, but I couldn't get into it like the others which surprises me considering my favorite genre is zombies. However it did succeed in giving me a mild nightmare lol. I just hate that is was all military based. The characters however were very well developed.
September 9, 2013
Pretty good except for two things - it ended rather abruptly I felt (the pace changed dramatically in the last 20 pages) and two, the idea that nuclear weapons strengthen the zombies is way beyond believable (and I get the irony of making a statement about believability when discussing a zombie story).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2014
Me parece que el autor cayo en el error de querer explicar la razón de la "anomalía" y esto lo llevo a perder y diluir demasiado el tema. Un final la verdad que no me termino de convencer ademas de sentir que se precipito de forma acelerada cerrando todos los hilos de narración que creo a como pudo. De los tres libros me quedo con el primero.
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