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Infected City #1
Emergency Broadcast
"Lock your doors, cover your windows, and avoid making noise. Do not, for any reason, go outside."
When James witnesses a brutal killing outside his home, he must choose between seeking help or waiting for rescue in a city overrun by the infected.
Trapped in his lab as the city descends into chaos, scientist Daniel waits for the infected surrounding the building to disperse. When they refuse to budge even days later, he realizes he’s going to be stuck there for a long time.
The already frayed relationship between Heather and her sister with autism will be put to the test as they brave the streets overrun by the infected.
Pierce is a soldier sent on a secret mission inside the quarantine zone. What he discovers inside the dead city will have him question the orders he’s been given.
Krista’s son shows signs of infection, but she’s going to do everything in her power to protect him.
Caught in the middle of chaos, Ben must make a choice between risking his safety to find his wife or focusing on his own survival.
Who will make it out alive in a city where the infected roam free?
When James witnesses a brutal killing outside his home, he must choose between seeking help or waiting for rescue in a city overrun by the infected.
Trapped in his lab as the city descends into chaos, scientist Daniel waits for the infected surrounding the building to disperse. When they refuse to budge even days later, he realizes he’s going to be stuck there for a long time.
The already frayed relationship between Heather and her sister with autism will be put to the test as they brave the streets overrun by the infected.
Pierce is a soldier sent on a secret mission inside the quarantine zone. What he discovers inside the dead city will have him question the orders he’s been given.
Krista’s son shows signs of infection, but she’s going to do everything in her power to protect him.
Caught in the middle of chaos, Ben must make a choice between risking his safety to find his wife or focusing on his own survival.
Who will make it out alive in a city where the infected roam free?
173 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 23, 2023
811 people are currently reading
1026 people want to read
About the author
Boris Bacic
34 books461 followers"Boris is my favorite author on Nosleep, he's always killing it with his stories!"
"The security guard series is the best one ever!!"
"I love the subtle connection between each story."
"Like R.L. Stine, but better."
"I want to see this book as a Netflix mini-series!"
"No one can scare me like Boris."
Both traditionally and self-published, Boris is a prolific writer whose horror novels often find themselves on the #1 bestselling ranks. With the books he has published, he is quickly becoming a big name in the horror community.
His stories have been narrated by famous YouTube and podcast narrators, including MrCreepypasta, CreepsMcPasta, DrCreepen, etc. His book, Tales of a Security Guard, is currently in the works to become a short film.
"The security guard series is the best one ever!!"
"I love the subtle connection between each story."
"Like R.L. Stine, but better."
"I want to see this book as a Netflix mini-series!"
"No one can scare me like Boris."
Both traditionally and self-published, Boris is a prolific writer whose horror novels often find themselves on the #1 bestselling ranks. With the books he has published, he is quickly becoming a big name in the horror community.
His stories have been narrated by famous YouTube and podcast narrators, including MrCreepypasta, CreepsMcPasta, DrCreepen, etc. His book, Tales of a Security Guard, is currently in the works to become a short film.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
January 5, 2025
I can be the subject of your dreams, your sickening desire / Don't you wanna see your man up close? A phoenix in the fire (Bite – Troye Sivan).
Here’s something new about me that you might not know; I’ve been really into the zombie genre for the last couple of months or so. I mean, I’ve always liked zombie movies and the like, and I've got opinions about them floating up to here, but I don’t think I’ve been this into them in… well, ever! I've got the craving. I'd say that I could easily ace trivia night whenever they get to the topic, but knowing me I'd probably choke and forget everything I've ever known and ever will know. But since I'm here, I'll just to try and prove my credentials by doing one of my favorite things to do: list a bunch things. Yay! Let's see, off the top of my head, we’ve got Dying Light 2, Dead Island 2, 28 Weeks Later, Night of the Living Dead, both Dawn of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead, and now this book, Emergency Broadcast, argh my brain is overloaded with useless information about zombie tropes! Wait, I think there’s a zombie joke in there somewhere that I can't think of right now, can we just pretend like I actually made it? Thanks. No, but really though, the amount of zombie media I’ve consumed in such a short amount of time is actually kind of staggering. I’m stuck in zombieland and nothing can satiate this hunger! All this preamble is my way of adding context, I guess, but what I’m really getting at is that I really enjoyed Emergency Broadcast. It’s good old zombie fun and fits perfectly in that list up there! But I think this book’s biggest strength really is that… it really just focuses on the zombie threat. No duh, right? I know this is sounding like faint praise, but you’d be surprised at how many of these new age zombie flicks try to move past the whole “walking dead” thing as quick as they possibly can. It’s sad, really. The thing is that a lot of zombie stories are so dead-set on being as depressing as possible in an attempt to be taken seriously as a medium, that it’s almost easy to forget how silly the premise of zombies actually is. Because the truth of the matter is that most zombie stories pretty much all come to the same conclusions in their messaging. Yeah yeah, dehumanization or consumerism, it was said first (and best) by George A. Romero and everybody else has mostly been just riding his coattails ever since. Sure, that doesn’t mean that a zombie story should never try to arrive at something deeper and more poignant, but when you have a million stories all hammering in the same “humans are the real monsters” message, it can come as a relief whenever a zombie thing just focuses on being as thrilling and creepy as possible without doubling down on some kind of lofty and harrowing moral.
For example, obviously The Last of Us is better and of a higher quality than the Resident Evil movies (not the games, the movies, the MOVIES), I think we’re all in agreement there, but there’s no denying that there's something more tangible and realistic in how Resident Evil will place the blame of all of its world ending conflicts on corporations being cartoonishly evil rather than The Last of Us or The Walking Dead's cynical idea that people's base form will always default to being as selfish and cruel as possible given the opportunity to live without the constructs of society. It's just that these super serious and philosophical zombie stories have always had the vibe of being embarrassed at both their medium and the context in which its subject matter exists. No shade, but I’ve always felt like there was this underlying resentful writing style to The Last of Us due to the fact it’s still essentially just a zombie flick. They've got a serious chip on their shoulder about it all and you just know that they hate having to deal with the fact that their world is full of zombies. Oops, I mean "Clickers," my bad. Yeah so, it’s hard not to roll my eyes whenever they’ve got Troy Baker out there frowning in his super serious black-and-white photo shoots in a diner and touting about how his zombie thing isn't just a zombie thing and The Last of Us is an elevated piece of art and by calling it a “zombie” story, you're diminishing its meaning. Shut up, dude. The meaning is that "people are selfish and cruel," we get it. Well, I like zombie things, and I’m not ashamed to say it! I don’t know, I guess what I’m trying to get at is that if there’s hardly anything new to say with the genre, then why not take a note from Emergency Broadcast’s page and have some fun with it? I should mention that there’s a fine line, tonally, because while I say that this book very exciting and fun, it still plays its premise as straight as possible (really though, where are all the gay people?) and deals with the zombies about as seriously as somebody in the real world probably would. I’d say that if anything, this book reminded me the most of The Walking Dead: 400 Days, which follows the journey of several survivors (who are all also jerks) at different points in the first 400 days of a zombie apocalypse, and then it eventually ends with them meeting up in a (debatably) satisfying way. Similarly, Emergency Broadcast also features five or six different people in the hours leading up to them getting the titular emergency broadcast that reads that it’s of the utmost importance that they “stay inside, don’t make too much noise, and wait for further instructions.” Woah, that’s pretty creepy, right? I mean, I thought so. Otherwise, I can see how a person going into this might be a little disappointed at how long it takes for the story to get to the whole zombie thing (and then it ends on a cliffhanger, which was pretty annoying, I can't lie), but my favorite part of a horror movie is always the beginning bit, where everything is sunshiny cool but with a understated sinister vibe contrasting against it, helping to highlight the horror.
And while nothing in this book is played for laughs at all, I couldn’t help but think that it was super funny how nobody takes the broadcast seriously at first and just how slowly it takes for several of the characters to catch on the fact that, hey, maybe they shouldn’t mess around with the very obviously reanimated corpses milling about. And I know that it’s really easy to scoff and laugh at the dumb behavior of the protagonists in a horror story, but I can’t say with complete certainty that it's actually unrealistic. People are always doing some dumb shit in a panic, that's just how it is. Of course, I’d like to think I’d catch on real quick like Jim from The Office in A Quiet Place: Part 2, but the truth is that if I got an official text message telling me to hide and stay inside, close the blinds, and make as little noise as possible, my mind wouldn’t immediately jump to the conclusion that zombies are roaming the land. In fact, I’d probably just assume that there’s some fucked up new Mr. Beast, Squid Game-esque torture labyrinth thing going on out there that he’s been allowed to conduct in my city for some dumbass reason. Seriously though, what's up with that guy? But I digress, I’m just saying that it’s really easy to watch a horror movie and point out all the wrong decisions that the characters made along the way, but let's be real for a second, who out there is actually ready to deal with the dead being reanimated? Don’t answer that. Anyway, final point, because while I did like this, I’ve got to give out my own emergency broadcast warning to everyone looking to read this that the characters in this book leave a lot to be desired. They’re literally all shitty people. And it’s not even a “the end of the world brings out the worst in us” kind of thing, because these people don’t even know they’re in a zombie apocalypse for most of the book, so we’re just following a bunch of assholes! First of all, every male character is operating on thinly veiled misogyny and not to be dramatic, but I think all of them deserve to be stuck in a plague ridden city full of zombies. I don’t know if we’re supposed to be rooting for them to escape the city per se, but just know that whenever they were in trouble, I was busy chanting “I send a pestilence and plague, into your house, into your bed, into your streams, into your streets, into your drink, into your bread,” so you know where I stand on the matter. On the flip-side, it doesn’t help that all the women are either characterized as either being "homewreckers" who are constantly in need of a man’s approval or women whose “maternal instinct” leads to them needing protection… from a man. So yeah, that bit kind of sucked, and it’s the main reason why I didn’t love love this book the way I would have liked to. Can’t have it all, I suppose. On to the next one?
“So, they’re like zombies, essentially,” Lincoln said.
“They’re more dangerous than zombies. They’re very aggressive. They can run, and they don’t stop attacking until they’re dead. Not very smart, though, so you at least don’t need to worry about that. I don’t need to mention you’re authorized to shoot on sight. Just be ready to haul your asses out of there because gunshots are sure to attract more of them.”
…So, they’re like zombies, essentially.
Here’s something new about me that you might not know; I’ve been really into the zombie genre for the last couple of months or so. I mean, I’ve always liked zombie movies and the like, and I've got opinions about them floating up to here, but I don’t think I’ve been this into them in… well, ever! I've got the craving. I'd say that I could easily ace trivia night whenever they get to the topic, but knowing me I'd probably choke and forget everything I've ever known and ever will know. But since I'm here, I'll just to try and prove my credentials by doing one of my favorite things to do: list a bunch things. Yay! Let's see, off the top of my head, we’ve got Dying Light 2, Dead Island 2, 28 Weeks Later, Night of the Living Dead, both Dawn of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead, and now this book, Emergency Broadcast, argh my brain is overloaded with useless information about zombie tropes! Wait, I think there’s a zombie joke in there somewhere that I can't think of right now, can we just pretend like I actually made it? Thanks. No, but really though, the amount of zombie media I’ve consumed in such a short amount of time is actually kind of staggering. I’m stuck in zombieland and nothing can satiate this hunger! All this preamble is my way of adding context, I guess, but what I’m really getting at is that I really enjoyed Emergency Broadcast. It’s good old zombie fun and fits perfectly in that list up there! But I think this book’s biggest strength really is that… it really just focuses on the zombie threat. No duh, right? I know this is sounding like faint praise, but you’d be surprised at how many of these new age zombie flicks try to move past the whole “walking dead” thing as quick as they possibly can. It’s sad, really. The thing is that a lot of zombie stories are so dead-set on being as depressing as possible in an attempt to be taken seriously as a medium, that it’s almost easy to forget how silly the premise of zombies actually is. Because the truth of the matter is that most zombie stories pretty much all come to the same conclusions in their messaging. Yeah yeah, dehumanization or consumerism, it was said first (and best) by George A. Romero and everybody else has mostly been just riding his coattails ever since. Sure, that doesn’t mean that a zombie story should never try to arrive at something deeper and more poignant, but when you have a million stories all hammering in the same “humans are the real monsters” message, it can come as a relief whenever a zombie thing just focuses on being as thrilling and creepy as possible without doubling down on some kind of lofty and harrowing moral.
For example, obviously The Last of Us is better and of a higher quality than the Resident Evil movies (not the games, the movies, the MOVIES), I think we’re all in agreement there, but there’s no denying that there's something more tangible and realistic in how Resident Evil will place the blame of all of its world ending conflicts on corporations being cartoonishly evil rather than The Last of Us or The Walking Dead's cynical idea that people's base form will always default to being as selfish and cruel as possible given the opportunity to live without the constructs of society. It's just that these super serious and philosophical zombie stories have always had the vibe of being embarrassed at both their medium and the context in which its subject matter exists. No shade, but I’ve always felt like there was this underlying resentful writing style to The Last of Us due to the fact it’s still essentially just a zombie flick. They've got a serious chip on their shoulder about it all and you just know that they hate having to deal with the fact that their world is full of zombies. Oops, I mean "Clickers," my bad. Yeah so, it’s hard not to roll my eyes whenever they’ve got Troy Baker out there frowning in his super serious black-and-white photo shoots in a diner and touting about how his zombie thing isn't just a zombie thing and The Last of Us is an elevated piece of art and by calling it a “zombie” story, you're diminishing its meaning. Shut up, dude. The meaning is that "people are selfish and cruel," we get it. Well, I like zombie things, and I’m not ashamed to say it! I don’t know, I guess what I’m trying to get at is that if there’s hardly anything new to say with the genre, then why not take a note from Emergency Broadcast’s page and have some fun with it? I should mention that there’s a fine line, tonally, because while I say that this book very exciting and fun, it still plays its premise as straight as possible (really though, where are all the gay people?) and deals with the zombies about as seriously as somebody in the real world probably would. I’d say that if anything, this book reminded me the most of The Walking Dead: 400 Days, which follows the journey of several survivors (who are all also jerks) at different points in the first 400 days of a zombie apocalypse, and then it eventually ends with them meeting up in a (debatably) satisfying way. Similarly, Emergency Broadcast also features five or six different people in the hours leading up to them getting the titular emergency broadcast that reads that it’s of the utmost importance that they “stay inside, don’t make too much noise, and wait for further instructions.” Woah, that’s pretty creepy, right? I mean, I thought so. Otherwise, I can see how a person going into this might be a little disappointed at how long it takes for the story to get to the whole zombie thing (and then it ends on a cliffhanger, which was pretty annoying, I can't lie), but my favorite part of a horror movie is always the beginning bit, where everything is sunshiny cool but with a understated sinister vibe contrasting against it, helping to highlight the horror.
And while nothing in this book is played for laughs at all, I couldn’t help but think that it was super funny how nobody takes the broadcast seriously at first and just how slowly it takes for several of the characters to catch on the fact that, hey, maybe they shouldn’t mess around with the very obviously reanimated corpses milling about. And I know that it’s really easy to scoff and laugh at the dumb behavior of the protagonists in a horror story, but I can’t say with complete certainty that it's actually unrealistic. People are always doing some dumb shit in a panic, that's just how it is. Of course, I’d like to think I’d catch on real quick like Jim from The Office in A Quiet Place: Part 2, but the truth is that if I got an official text message telling me to hide and stay inside, close the blinds, and make as little noise as possible, my mind wouldn’t immediately jump to the conclusion that zombies are roaming the land. In fact, I’d probably just assume that there’s some fucked up new Mr. Beast, Squid Game-esque torture labyrinth thing going on out there that he’s been allowed to conduct in my city for some dumbass reason. Seriously though, what's up with that guy? But I digress, I’m just saying that it’s really easy to watch a horror movie and point out all the wrong decisions that the characters made along the way, but let's be real for a second, who out there is actually ready to deal with the dead being reanimated? Don’t answer that. Anyway, final point, because while I did like this, I’ve got to give out my own emergency broadcast warning to everyone looking to read this that the characters in this book leave a lot to be desired. They’re literally all shitty people. And it’s not even a “the end of the world brings out the worst in us” kind of thing, because these people don’t even know they’re in a zombie apocalypse for most of the book, so we’re just following a bunch of assholes! First of all, every male character is operating on thinly veiled misogyny and not to be dramatic, but I think all of them deserve to be stuck in a plague ridden city full of zombies. I don’t know if we’re supposed to be rooting for them to escape the city per se, but just know that whenever they were in trouble, I was busy chanting “I send a pestilence and plague, into your house, into your bed, into your streams, into your streets, into your drink, into your bread,” so you know where I stand on the matter. On the flip-side, it doesn’t help that all the women are either characterized as either being "homewreckers" who are constantly in need of a man’s approval or women whose “maternal instinct” leads to them needing protection… from a man. So yeah, that bit kind of sucked, and it’s the main reason why I didn’t love love this book the way I would have liked to. Can’t have it all, I suppose. On to the next one?
“So, they’re like zombies, essentially,” Lincoln said.
“They’re more dangerous than zombies. They’re very aggressive. They can run, and they don’t stop attacking until they’re dead. Not very smart, though, so you at least don’t need to worry about that. I don’t need to mention you’re authorized to shoot on sight. Just be ready to haul your asses out of there because gunshots are sure to attract more of them.”
…So, they’re like zombies, essentially.
May 1, 2023
It’s a little clunky but moves at a good pace once it gets going. A fast read overall but short and ends on a “to be continued”, thankfully free on kindle so I can move right ahead. It ain’t much but it’s free. Otherwise decent zombie outbreak stuff. Has its moments.
May 7, 2024
4.25 stars ...
That was awes🤯me! In an oh-my-gawd-it's-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-I-can't-look-away awesome! 😅😱🙈😂😝
That was awes🤯me! In an oh-my-gawd-it's-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-I-can't-look-away awesome! 😅😱🙈😂😝
October 11, 2025
"Maybe the taste for the macabre helped the person feel more alive."
Quick read, really great for being Boris's first apocalyptical novel. And he has a talent for writing that makes me want to keep reading.
Great for spooky October, I guess?
Don't know if I'll continue the series, but that's fine. 🌚✨
Quick read, really great for being Boris's first apocalyptical novel. And he has a talent for writing that makes me want to keep reading.
Great for spooky October, I guess?
Don't know if I'll continue the series, but that's fine. 🌚✨
May 11, 2023
Abandoning.
Sorry peeps. I truly hate to DNF and leave a bad review. But
This book is poorly written and would benefit majorly from a good editor or a dictionary.
Examples you ask? Well if you insist.
After our fearless heroine escapes having her “tiny frame stomped” (men, please stop describing women this way)
Someone grabs her arm and she “glanced up at the person leading her, and assurance enveloped her while her eyes fell on the glistening, hairless top in front of her” (not that kind of top you naughty birds! It’s her bald headed hubs)
“Rivulets of blood spurted out of his throat”
“he’d always known chief Skinner to be a person whose attitude never surpassed that of cavalier” (is cavalier what anyone wants from their security chief?)
“He broke into a gait toward the front door”
I do not think those words mean what you think they mean my friend…
Sorry peeps. I truly hate to DNF and leave a bad review. But
This book is poorly written and would benefit majorly from a good editor or a dictionary.
Examples you ask? Well if you insist.
After our fearless heroine escapes having her “tiny frame stomped” (men, please stop describing women this way)
Someone grabs her arm and she “glanced up at the person leading her, and assurance enveloped her while her eyes fell on the glistening, hairless top in front of her” (not that kind of top you naughty birds! It’s her bald headed hubs)
“Rivulets of blood spurted out of his throat”
“he’d always known chief Skinner to be a person whose attitude never surpassed that of cavalier” (is cavalier what anyone wants from their security chief?)
“He broke into a gait toward the front door”
I do not think those words mean what you think they mean my friend…
January 9, 2025
4⭐️
First of all thank you @Noah for recommending this, it was great! Second of all, what was that ending?? I’m so glad I’m reading it when all the books are out because man I would be really ticked for it to end like that and I would have to wait forever to read the second.
At first I thought it was just another zombie book, but then as I got into it I was addicted. I need to know more. I need more. I’m so hooked it’s insane. I have been on the edge of my seat for the past 30 minutes.
I enjoyed that it goes through different people’s POVs. How different people from different walks of life are going through all this chaos. It really is all about survival and sometimes you gotta remember to think of yourself before others. Like the whole, “got to put your mask on first” thing they do on planes. Some of the characters, I was appalled by the way they handled this, but then you also have to think they are just doing their best. Sometimes you get overwhelmed, panic, just straight up terrified. People do crazy things when their life is in mortal danger.
I was here for it.
First of all thank you @Noah for recommending this, it was great! Second of all, what was that ending?? I’m so glad I’m reading it when all the books are out because man I would be really ticked for it to end like that and I would have to wait forever to read the second.
At first I thought it was just another zombie book, but then as I got into it I was addicted. I need to know more. I need more. I’m so hooked it’s insane. I have been on the edge of my seat for the past 30 minutes.
I enjoyed that it goes through different people’s POVs. How different people from different walks of life are going through all this chaos. It really is all about survival and sometimes you gotta remember to think of yourself before others. Like the whole, “got to put your mask on first” thing they do on planes. Some of the characters, I was appalled by the way they handled this, but then you also have to think they are just doing their best. Sometimes you get overwhelmed, panic, just straight up terrified. People do crazy things when their life is in mortal danger.
I was here for it.
March 29, 2023
Bacic really managed to cram in A LOT of characters and world building in very few pages and the characters are actually pretty nuanced and complex. That being said it's still a fairly fast paced quick read with zombies (red eyed people) who deviate from the most common zombie model.
February 13, 2024
For what it is, it was a good setup for future books. My only complaint is there is so many povs and each chapter we are with a different character. It makes edge story feel really choppy and a bit confusing. I don't think I'll be continuing with this series.
September 10, 2023
This book needs several passes by an editor. The writing is really clunky and passive.
Also, am I supposed to be rooting for the characters? They’re all so awful, between a girl abusing her younger sister, a man cheating on his wife then letting his mistress get brutally murdered, and a “scientist” yelling at women because he feels like it, I really don’t know who I’m supposed to want to survive.
I really wanted to like this because I love zombie stuff and this has a lot of good ideas. But it’s painful to read tbh.
Also, am I supposed to be rooting for the characters? They’re all so awful, between a girl abusing her younger sister, a man cheating on his wife then letting his mistress get brutally murdered, and a “scientist” yelling at women because he feels like it, I really don’t know who I’m supposed to want to survive.
I really wanted to like this because I love zombie stuff and this has a lot of good ideas. But it’s painful to read tbh.
April 28, 2025
Wow!! This was probably the best Zombie book I’ve read since World War Z! This has an incredible amount of bloodshed and gore, with Zombies that can run and even form words. Scariest part for me is when a guys neighbor knocks on his door and says “Let in. Let in. In. In. In.” I was like nope hell naw! 😂 But the great thing among many great things was how it shows how unprepared people are when crisis happens. Most didn’t have enough food and didn’t know how to protect their houses. Many were so focused on helping others (not that it’s a bad thing) that they never asked if they could survive a day without their iPhone or TV. It’s like they needed the government to tell them what to do.
Also, the vast amount of characters were fantastic! Some were awesome and some were asshats but I loved them because it was real. This is a series and I’m afraid for many of these characters because I know they don’t know how to deal with a Zombie Apocolypse, which is exactly what this is!
Also, the vast amount of characters were fantastic! Some were awesome and some were asshats but I loved them because it was real. This is a series and I’m afraid for many of these characters because I know they don’t know how to deal with a Zombie Apocolypse, which is exactly what this is!
May 31, 2025
I know I know, in a world of saturated zombie storylines, this was nothing new. This was not extravagant or anything either. The audio version definitely made this for me because it had male/female narrators and if you're familiar with the tv show Black Summer, this reminded me so much of that with the alternating storylines.
As I said, it wasn't anything that hasn't been done before. I'm just a sucker for a to the point, gory, multiple narrator audiobook. 🧟♀️
As I said, it wasn't anything that hasn't been done before. I'm just a sucker for a to the point, gory, multiple narrator audiobook. 🧟♀️
May 14, 2023
I liked this first book in the series … gotta love zombies
Read
May 27, 2025DNF 50%
September 25, 2024
Listen. The characters all suck. They’re terrible people. I have a love/hate relationship with the very short chapters and constantly changing POVs. On one hand, it’s a short book, so flipping through the different perspectives so constantly does do very well in keeping track of wtf is going on. On the other hand, maybe we stay with the characters a little longer and flesh them out a little more? Idk. It’s always interesting seeing the way different people react while facing an apocalypse scenario but as a lot of other people say, there’s no real “plot” to this book. It’s just pure exposition and world building for the start to the series. I hope it gets better as the books go on.
August 18, 2024
I absolutely would not survive in a zombie apocalypse. I am unprepared. But also glad there are five more books in this series.
March 23, 2023
Red eyes
Withering seems like an ordinary town until one day when its residents get an emergency broadcast. The broadcast tells them to stay inside, lock the doors,and not go out. Some people are going crazy and attacking others. Their eyes are red, and they will not stop until they are dead. A few survivors are trying to make it to check points. Will they be saved? How were they infected? Amazing characters some you love a few you hate. Intense read pulls you in.
Withering seems like an ordinary town until one day when its residents get an emergency broadcast. The broadcast tells them to stay inside, lock the doors,and not go out. Some people are going crazy and attacking others. Their eyes are red, and they will not stop until they are dead. A few survivors are trying to make it to check points. Will they be saved? How were they infected? Amazing characters some you love a few you hate. Intense read pulls you in.
April 11, 2024
Does the bare minimum
It's well written, but it's a very basic plot. I've read a lot of zombie apocalypse stories, that try much harder to create something unique and special with the same old premise. This one, however, does not. Infact to make matters worse, it ends abruptly, hardly anything even ever happens in the first book. Quite disappointing.
It's well written, but it's a very basic plot. I've read a lot of zombie apocalypse stories, that try much harder to create something unique and special with the same old premise. This one, however, does not. Infact to make matters worse, it ends abruptly, hardly anything even ever happens in the first book. Quite disappointing.
March 22, 2023
Witherton is a peaceful town until people suddenly go berserk. Suddenly the town is filled with crazy people assaulting and killing people without any reason. Worse still is that the dead don't stay dead. The few survivors are trying their best to get away from the madness. How long can they survive? A gripping and suspenseful page turner.
August 26, 2023
A lot of characters but super easy to follow. This story kept me glued to the book but I love zombies
January 15, 2024
Fun and very fast paced.
May 21, 2025
Edit - I can no longer recommend this book in good faith and I have reduced my rating from 2 stars to 1 star to reflect that. In the following book, Necrotic Streets, the problem I described here with Heather and Abby got significantly worse. Please see that review for more detail. Or don’t, it’s a free country!
TLDR - The book is a decent, short and sweet zombie romp, following several initial outbreak survivors in the city of Witherton. The pace of the book flows quite nicely, with natural ups and downs depending on the character POV, (of which there are constant switches between.) It’s not particularly well written or groundbreaking, but it’s a good, enjoyable, mindless read, which is what a 3 star usually is for me. This book would have been a 3 star without Heather and Abby, AKA 'The Problem.' More on that below.
The Town
Witherton was almost a character in itself, and it felt like it was a place Bacic put significant thought into. I don’t know how to put it into words, but the atmosphere certainly was atmosphering. Universally disliked by all characters, I found some of my favourite quotes were slights on the city. I’m excited to see where the lore goes in future books.
“On her drive back, the radio in the car spoke about strange occurrences inside the city and people going crazy and violently attacking others – in Baldwin River, of course, because where else would it happen?”
“He managed to catch a glimpse of two police officers restraining a woman who was thrashing and screaming her lungs out. I hear you, lady. I hate living here just as much as you do, James thought to himself.”
The Zombies
The zombies are the rage-filled type – super fast, strong and will keep going until they die. I liked some of the more unique characteristics Bacic gave them – they twitch, their faces are often described as twisted into a bizarre smile or a snarl and they seem to have some modicum of intelligence, in that they can still express basic thoughts.
“The grimace turned into something that was supposed to be a smile then curved into a snarl. “Let in,” she said, a single sentence that she went to repeat a few more times… The glass produced a squeaky sound, coupled with the hollow tapping of her broken fingernail.”
I personally pictured the possessed sims from Strangerville.
The Characters
The characters are basically all unlikeable, but most were tolerable in the context of the setting. Who doesn’t love assholes getting what’s coming to them?
Krista’s family were good people I found myself rooting for. Krista’s son is sick and the husband is capable and supportive. I found it a shame they .
James was fine, no comment there. His personality was about as interesting as a soggy piece of cardboard, but I enjoyed the creepiness of the zombies in his story the most. The slowburning, suspenseful atmosphere was very different to the thrilling chaos most of the stories provided.
Pierce was a bit of a fly-on-the-wall in his team of soldiers, but he and the female soldier were the decent ones in a group of showboats willing to sacrifice innocent civilians for? Reasons?? Blegh.
Daniel was another blegh. He’s a scientist that makes ~edgy jokes~ in bad situations and seems to know more about the outbreak than he’s letting on. Overall, he comes off badly. I would say that he gives me incel vibes, with how he speaks to the female scientist, but that’s an extreme label to slap on such an underdeveloped character.
Ben was a raging asshole, but I sometimes like those kinds of POV characters in zombie books. He’s cheating on his wife with a younger woman and will sacrifice anyone and anything to survive. Love it, good stuff, hope he dies horribly in a future book.
The Problem
Then there is Heather. Heather and Abby's story left a bad taste in my mouth. Heather is the caregiver of her 7 year old autistic sister, Abby. As an autistic adult myself, Heather's treatment of her came off as hateful and abusive, without excuse.
In their first POV, Heather is repeatedly interrupted by Abby while on a phone call to her boss. Frustrating, no? But instead of going into the room to visually see what Abby was doing, if she was okay, she just screams at Abby to be quiet, assuming that whatever she wanted was unimportant. In a zombie outbreak.
Bacic writes, “She didn’t mean to swear, but she lost her temper. It happened often. Living with a seven-year-old child that had autism tended to cause such outbursts.”
Firstly, Abby does not ‘have’ autism, it’s not tucked away in her pocket, it’s not a disease she carries. She is autistic, that is who she is. And, no, living with an autistic child doesn’t mean you often get angry, Heather often gets angry because she’s a miserable little– nope, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Heather explains nothing to Abby about what is going on outside, as demonstrated by this interaction in the next POV:
“Heather, when can we go outside?”
“Later, Abby, okay?”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
“In a few hours?”
“Probably not.”
“Why not?”
“Because I said so.”
Do I really have to explain how unhelpful this is? Abby is not being pushy, as you might read it at first. She’s asking for clarification, so that she’s mentally prepared. ‘Later’ could mean in an hour, in a week, in a month. ‘Probably not’ could mean that Heather is busy, that she doesn’t want to, that something happened outside.
So speak to her Heather, she can understand you! Heather seems to treat her like a disobedient dog that follows her around asking for walkies, but she’s fully capable of doing as you ask if you tell her what’s happening. Not the gory details, just something simple and age appropriate.
Heather also Abby. Yes, Heather was frustrated. Yes, Abby was unintentionally being annoying. But she. Knows. Nothing. She has no idea that Heather’s mad, that something is wrong, that she’s stressed out of her mind because of the rise of the living dead. But that’s Heather’s fault, she takes it out on Abby, and then blames her for ruining her life.
Lovely jubbly. Because everyone knows we need to read more of the ‘autism ruins lives’ narrative. By a more skilled author, in a different book, Heather’s pity party could have read as a commentary on parentification and her inability to care for her sister’s support needs. Instead, it’s a frustrating whine fest about ~how badly autism hurts good ole american families~ in a book about zombies. A book about zombies I’m supposed to be reading to forget my problems. ~Thaaanks I hate it~ (Not the book, my problems ;)
TLDR - The book is a decent, short and sweet zombie romp, following several initial outbreak survivors in the city of Witherton. The pace of the book flows quite nicely, with natural ups and downs depending on the character POV, (of which there are constant switches between.) It’s not particularly well written or groundbreaking, but it’s a good, enjoyable, mindless read, which is what a 3 star usually is for me. This book would have been a 3 star without Heather and Abby, AKA 'The Problem.' More on that below.
The Town
Witherton was almost a character in itself, and it felt like it was a place Bacic put significant thought into. I don’t know how to put it into words, but the atmosphere certainly was atmosphering. Universally disliked by all characters, I found some of my favourite quotes were slights on the city. I’m excited to see where the lore goes in future books.
“On her drive back, the radio in the car spoke about strange occurrences inside the city and people going crazy and violently attacking others – in Baldwin River, of course, because where else would it happen?”
“He managed to catch a glimpse of two police officers restraining a woman who was thrashing and screaming her lungs out. I hear you, lady. I hate living here just as much as you do, James thought to himself.”
The Zombies
The zombies are the rage-filled type – super fast, strong and will keep going until they die. I liked some of the more unique characteristics Bacic gave them – they twitch, their faces are often described as twisted into a bizarre smile or a snarl and they seem to have some modicum of intelligence, in that they can still express basic thoughts.
“The grimace turned into something that was supposed to be a smile then curved into a snarl. “Let in,” she said, a single sentence that she went to repeat a few more times… The glass produced a squeaky sound, coupled with the hollow tapping of her broken fingernail.”
I personally pictured the possessed sims from Strangerville.
The Characters
The characters are basically all unlikeable, but most were tolerable in the context of the setting. Who doesn’t love assholes getting what’s coming to them?
Krista’s family were good people I found myself rooting for. Krista’s son is sick and the husband is capable and supportive. I found it a shame they .
James was fine, no comment there. His personality was about as interesting as a soggy piece of cardboard, but I enjoyed the creepiness of the zombies in his story the most. The slowburning, suspenseful atmosphere was very different to the thrilling chaos most of the stories provided.
Pierce was a bit of a fly-on-the-wall in his team of soldiers, but he and the female soldier were the decent ones in a group of showboats willing to sacrifice innocent civilians for? Reasons?? Blegh.
Daniel was another blegh. He’s a scientist that makes ~edgy jokes~ in bad situations and seems to know more about the outbreak than he’s letting on. Overall, he comes off badly. I would say that he gives me incel vibes, with how he speaks to the female scientist, but that’s an extreme label to slap on such an underdeveloped character.
Ben was a raging asshole, but I sometimes like those kinds of POV characters in zombie books. He’s cheating on his wife with a younger woman and will sacrifice anyone and anything to survive. Love it, good stuff, hope he dies horribly in a future book.
The Problem
Then there is Heather. Heather and Abby's story left a bad taste in my mouth. Heather is the caregiver of her 7 year old autistic sister, Abby. As an autistic adult myself, Heather's treatment of her came off as hateful and abusive, without excuse.
In their first POV, Heather is repeatedly interrupted by Abby while on a phone call to her boss. Frustrating, no? But instead of going into the room to visually see what Abby was doing, if she was okay, she just screams at Abby to be quiet, assuming that whatever she wanted was unimportant. In a zombie outbreak.
Bacic writes, “She didn’t mean to swear, but she lost her temper. It happened often. Living with a seven-year-old child that had autism tended to cause such outbursts.”
Firstly, Abby does not ‘have’ autism, it’s not tucked away in her pocket, it’s not a disease she carries. She is autistic, that is who she is. And, no, living with an autistic child doesn’t mean you often get angry, Heather often gets angry because she’s a miserable little– nope, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Heather explains nothing to Abby about what is going on outside, as demonstrated by this interaction in the next POV:
“Heather, when can we go outside?”
“Later, Abby, okay?”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
“In a few hours?”
“Probably not.”
“Why not?”
“Because I said so.”
Do I really have to explain how unhelpful this is? Abby is not being pushy, as you might read it at first. She’s asking for clarification, so that she’s mentally prepared. ‘Later’ could mean in an hour, in a week, in a month. ‘Probably not’ could mean that Heather is busy, that she doesn’t want to, that something happened outside.
So speak to her Heather, she can understand you! Heather seems to treat her like a disobedient dog that follows her around asking for walkies, but she’s fully capable of doing as you ask if you tell her what’s happening. Not the gory details, just something simple and age appropriate.
Heather also Abby. Yes, Heather was frustrated. Yes, Abby was unintentionally being annoying. But she. Knows. Nothing. She has no idea that Heather’s mad, that something is wrong, that she’s stressed out of her mind because of the rise of the living dead. But that’s Heather’s fault, she takes it out on Abby, and then blames her for ruining her life.
Lovely jubbly. Because everyone knows we need to read more of the ‘autism ruins lives’ narrative. By a more skilled author, in a different book, Heather’s pity party could have read as a commentary on parentification and her inability to care for her sister’s support needs. Instead, it’s a frustrating whine fest about ~how badly autism hurts good ole american families~ in a book about zombies. A book about zombies I’m supposed to be reading to forget my problems. ~Thaaanks I hate it~ (Not the book, my problems ;)
August 29, 2023
DNF - Too many character prespectives.
February 10, 2024
There’s a lot of potential in the storyline but it would have greatly benefited from a strong editor. The other problem with the book is the characters themselves. No one stands out as someone you would want to root for. They’re all pretty unlikeable. Even the military members sent to save a character are both unlikeable and unrealistic.
For many reasons I am not going to continue the series. And I ultimately finished the book just to have another book towards my yearly goal. Had it been much longer than it is I would have left it as a DNF.
For many reasons I am not going to continue the series. And I ultimately finished the book just to have another book towards my yearly goal. Had it been much longer than it is I would have left it as a DNF.
January 14, 2024
This book was trash literal trash.
The author sounds like a misogynistic pig. The writing is in third person and sounds like it was written by someone who hasn’t read a lot of books, yet will occasionally throw in a big word here or there that is from the 19th century to sound smart.
The author sounds like a misogynistic pig. The writing is in third person and sounds like it was written by someone who hasn’t read a lot of books, yet will occasionally throw in a big word here or there that is from the 19th century to sound smart.
July 6, 2023
Too any characters for such a short book. I just could not connect well with them. I did enjoy the fast pace though.
May 11, 2024
Love this book! Excellent story, characters you'll love and hate, and lots of zombie action. Get ready for a true look into the reality of people during the zombie apocalypse.
June 9, 2024
nearly did not finish
For as short as this book was, i found it very difficult to continue reading, and i probably will not finish the series
For as short as this book was, i found it very difficult to continue reading, and i probably will not finish the series
December 8, 2025
Something is fucking wrong with this city. What the fuck is happening? Why isn’t the government doing anything?
Everyone who lives in Witherton is used to the sprawling crimes and less than ideal loving situations. Horrible apartments run the strips and very few are lucky enough to afford the nicer properties kept isolated from downtown. Several survivors relive the moments their ordinary lives were shifted, as each witnesses unexplainable and horrific events while the outbreak began running rampant. Krista and Eric are desperate for a doctor to save their son Neslon as the boy has fallen into a delirious fever he's barely staying conscious from. When the hospital suddenly turns them away, they see the crazed red eyed people begin attacking anyone they can grab. Fleeing to the safety of their home, they fought off one of their neighbors who's been turned by the unexplainable outbreak. Knowing come morning Eric needs to leave the safety of their home to try and find help for their son, they both know this truly can be the last time they ever see each other alive. Heather is tasked with raising her autistic seven year old sister Abby after her parents passed and burdened her with the task. Working shifts at the local diner, it's barely enough to keep their mediocre apartment over their heads. Seeing the world below them turn to violence and death, she knows things are getting blesker. Low on food and other supplies, she's relying on the emergency broadcast text alerts as the Internet and TV fell pretty quickly. Seeing military checkpoints near their house, she knows they need to hit the streets and make their way to one if they stand any chances of survival. Convincing her in a game of sneaking, she's hoping it's enough to keep her sister close and quiet to stay alive.
Her upper lip rose, revealing something green lodged between the chipped teeth. The grimace turned into something that was supposed to be a smile then curved into a snarl. “Let in,” she said, a single sentence that she went to repeat a few more times.
“Let in. Let in. Let in. Let in.” A smile tugged at her lips, and then she let out a shrill, “Ha.” Spittle flew from her mouth and sprayed the window. She pressed her cheek against the glass, smearing the blood and spit while never letting James out of her sight. The glass produced a squeaky sound, coupled with the hollow tapping of her broken fingernail.
Meanwhile, James is excited about a weekend of PTO away from his grueling job. Ignoring his phone and the chaos around him, he's blind to the monsters lurking around. When he hears scratching and knocking on his windows and doors, he's scared by the voices he hears. Desperate to come in and maul him to death, he regrets ever peeking through his window and alerting them that he was there. When he spies Angela and Travis outside fighting for their loves, he makes the dumb move to let them into his house. Now, he's forced to accept this new reality and come along with them, otherwise it's only a matter of time before the monsters find their ways into his house. Down by the edge of the city, Alpha was being deployed to help recover a scientist who has information and testing on a possible vaccine. Pierce, Lincoln, Shepherd and Reynolds are used for top secret missions that would terrify civilians. As they begin picking their way through the boards, they are learning really quick not everything is what it seems. Unfortunately, Stephanie and Ben have learned first hand how ruthless these people can become as Ben watches his mistress he torn to shreds after he locked her out of her own car. While his wife Melissa is at Welco Labs, he's busy satisfying his cravings with the nineteen year old girl who's willing to provide them. Unable to get to his wife, he's now racked with the indecisions to either save himself or risk it all by going to the city and save her. As he pulls deeper into his own survival, chances are he's going to leave his wife to die just as he did Stephanie.
“This is an emergency government broadcast for the citizens of Witherton. Stay inside your homes. Lock your doors, cover your windows, and avoid making too much noise. Do not go outside under any circumstances. You will receive further instructions soon.”
Everyone who lives in Witherton is used to the sprawling crimes and less than ideal loving situations. Horrible apartments run the strips and very few are lucky enough to afford the nicer properties kept isolated from downtown. Several survivors relive the moments their ordinary lives were shifted, as each witnesses unexplainable and horrific events while the outbreak began running rampant. Krista and Eric are desperate for a doctor to save their son Neslon as the boy has fallen into a delirious fever he's barely staying conscious from. When the hospital suddenly turns them away, they see the crazed red eyed people begin attacking anyone they can grab. Fleeing to the safety of their home, they fought off one of their neighbors who's been turned by the unexplainable outbreak. Knowing come morning Eric needs to leave the safety of their home to try and find help for their son, they both know this truly can be the last time they ever see each other alive. Heather is tasked with raising her autistic seven year old sister Abby after her parents passed and burdened her with the task. Working shifts at the local diner, it's barely enough to keep their mediocre apartment over their heads. Seeing the world below them turn to violence and death, she knows things are getting blesker. Low on food and other supplies, she's relying on the emergency broadcast text alerts as the Internet and TV fell pretty quickly. Seeing military checkpoints near their house, she knows they need to hit the streets and make their way to one if they stand any chances of survival. Convincing her in a game of sneaking, she's hoping it's enough to keep her sister close and quiet to stay alive.
Her upper lip rose, revealing something green lodged between the chipped teeth. The grimace turned into something that was supposed to be a smile then curved into a snarl. “Let in,” she said, a single sentence that she went to repeat a few more times.
“Let in. Let in. Let in. Let in.” A smile tugged at her lips, and then she let out a shrill, “Ha.” Spittle flew from her mouth and sprayed the window. She pressed her cheek against the glass, smearing the blood and spit while never letting James out of her sight. The glass produced a squeaky sound, coupled with the hollow tapping of her broken fingernail.
Meanwhile, James is excited about a weekend of PTO away from his grueling job. Ignoring his phone and the chaos around him, he's blind to the monsters lurking around. When he hears scratching and knocking on his windows and doors, he's scared by the voices he hears. Desperate to come in and maul him to death, he regrets ever peeking through his window and alerting them that he was there. When he spies Angela and Travis outside fighting for their loves, he makes the dumb move to let them into his house. Now, he's forced to accept this new reality and come along with them, otherwise it's only a matter of time before the monsters find their ways into his house. Down by the edge of the city, Alpha was being deployed to help recover a scientist who has information and testing on a possible vaccine. Pierce, Lincoln, Shepherd and Reynolds are used for top secret missions that would terrify civilians. As they begin picking their way through the boards, they are learning really quick not everything is what it seems. Unfortunately, Stephanie and Ben have learned first hand how ruthless these people can become as Ben watches his mistress he torn to shreds after he locked her out of her own car. While his wife Melissa is at Welco Labs, he's busy satisfying his cravings with the nineteen year old girl who's willing to provide them. Unable to get to his wife, he's now racked with the indecisions to either save himself or risk it all by going to the city and save her. As he pulls deeper into his own survival, chances are he's going to leave his wife to die just as he did Stephanie.
“This is an emergency government broadcast for the citizens of Witherton. Stay inside your homes. Lock your doors, cover your windows, and avoid making too much noise. Do not go outside under any circumstances. You will receive further instructions soon.”
June 28, 2023
A well written, interesting tale built on a fatal flaw.
Feel free to ignore this review if you enjoy "series". I have no problem with stories that inspire sequels or that have multiple parts where each part feels slightly different than the last. But this book hits a pet peeve of mine.
Let me start a little earlier, when I chose to get the book. I usually avoid series. It's a red flag when there are many books published in a short period within the series. But the mention of "No Sleep" in Reddit and the name "Infected City" peaked my interest. I actually was mistaken though - I was thinking of a series of No Sleep posts called "Infected TOWN" by vainercupid (worth reading on Reddit for sure).
Oh well, no worries, the story that Boris Bacic tees up is pretty solid. Think the first 15 minutes of the Dawn of the Dead remake. Or what happens while our protagonist from 28 Days Later is comatose. These are less zombies and more "Rage" infected. Homicidal, adrenaline pumped to the max, looking, listening, sniffing the air for anyone that isn't infected to maul horrifically. And by the time our characters realize the danger they are in, the rage-infected are everywhere.
The characters are solid as well. We have a cheating husband, going through some self-pity, a doctor that may have a solution but cannot get out to share it, a military unit sent to extract the doctor, a woman caring her an autistic little sister, among others. People with different backgrounds and goals, all stuck in a scenario that is frankly impossible to plan for and has no room for error.
Sounds like a 4 or 5 star book, right? Yeah, it's pretty solid and probably should be. However, it's all setup. There's no story arc to be found, so I don't feel like I read a book, I feel like I read the first third-to-half of a book. So, we're back to the peeve that was mentioned at the start. Despite being a great setup, there isn't really a multiple-act story here. I can appreciate a good cliffhanger and have no issues if some characters have strings left untied to help entice the reader to be excited for the next book. Unfortunately this one just stops. All strings untied. No unifying story, no matter how small, that comes to some sort of closure, no matter how tenuous.
To be clear, I enjoyed what I read. I'm torn on continuing as this may well be an enjoyable anthology once it's all ingested. But as a stand-alone piece, these are ingredients of the highest quality still sitting on a counter waiting to be made into a meal. I'm splitting it down the middle with a three. It doesn't deserve to be eviscerated just due to my particular opinion on ending books randomly to sell other books. It also doesn't deserve to be fawningly praised for the work within as if there isn't a giant flaw awaiting readers at the end that were looking for, you know, a story. If you enjoy series, I'd recommend it. If you want a somewhat complete story, you won't find it here. Maybe after a few more books, but not here.
Feel free to ignore this review if you enjoy "series". I have no problem with stories that inspire sequels or that have multiple parts where each part feels slightly different than the last. But this book hits a pet peeve of mine.
Let me start a little earlier, when I chose to get the book. I usually avoid series. It's a red flag when there are many books published in a short period within the series. But the mention of "No Sleep" in Reddit and the name "Infected City" peaked my interest. I actually was mistaken though - I was thinking of a series of No Sleep posts called "Infected TOWN" by vainercupid (worth reading on Reddit for sure).
Oh well, no worries, the story that Boris Bacic tees up is pretty solid. Think the first 15 minutes of the Dawn of the Dead remake. Or what happens while our protagonist from 28 Days Later is comatose. These are less zombies and more "Rage" infected. Homicidal, adrenaline pumped to the max, looking, listening, sniffing the air for anyone that isn't infected to maul horrifically. And by the time our characters realize the danger they are in, the rage-infected are everywhere.
The characters are solid as well. We have a cheating husband, going through some self-pity, a doctor that may have a solution but cannot get out to share it, a military unit sent to extract the doctor, a woman caring her an autistic little sister, among others. People with different backgrounds and goals, all stuck in a scenario that is frankly impossible to plan for and has no room for error.
Sounds like a 4 or 5 star book, right? Yeah, it's pretty solid and probably should be. However, it's all setup. There's no story arc to be found, so I don't feel like I read a book, I feel like I read the first third-to-half of a book. So, we're back to the peeve that was mentioned at the start. Despite being a great setup, there isn't really a multiple-act story here. I can appreciate a good cliffhanger and have no issues if some characters have strings left untied to help entice the reader to be excited for the next book. Unfortunately this one just stops. All strings untied. No unifying story, no matter how small, that comes to some sort of closure, no matter how tenuous.
To be clear, I enjoyed what I read. I'm torn on continuing as this may well be an enjoyable anthology once it's all ingested. But as a stand-alone piece, these are ingredients of the highest quality still sitting on a counter waiting to be made into a meal. I'm splitting it down the middle with a three. It doesn't deserve to be eviscerated just due to my particular opinion on ending books randomly to sell other books. It also doesn't deserve to be fawningly praised for the work within as if there isn't a giant flaw awaiting readers at the end that were looking for, you know, a story. If you enjoy series, I'd recommend it. If you want a somewhat complete story, you won't find it here. Maybe after a few more books, but not here.
August 27, 2023
Sadly, a boring and generic read.
Emergency Broadcast starts the Infected City series of zombie novellas with quite the high risks already introducing a plethora of characters and multiple POVs that switch back and forth constantly. With such a short duration, it is almost impossible to get emotionally invested in any of the characters; it's already a chore trying to even memorize who is who and what are they doing, and seems like it doesn't really get nowhere.
I imagine this is because of its series mechanic status. It is supposed to be first introduction to this story, after all, but when you decide to divide your story in multiple novellas, pacing is also very important. This books has the speed. It reads fast and moves constantly, but at the same time it feels like the story is not going anywhere interesting, or at least anywhere fun.
It's just too basic in scope and flow, with average writing and generic scenarios. For one, the characters seem nuanced enough, each one having a different personality that can be understandable human, yet, because there's so many of damn and so few pages, by the end of it I remembered like two characters, max.
I didn't enjoy this one. It has its moments, and it's very popcorn-centric, but it didn't work well for me due to its messy structure and uninspiring story.
Emergency Broadcast starts the Infected City series of zombie novellas with quite the high risks already introducing a plethora of characters and multiple POVs that switch back and forth constantly. With such a short duration, it is almost impossible to get emotionally invested in any of the characters; it's already a chore trying to even memorize who is who and what are they doing, and seems like it doesn't really get nowhere.
I imagine this is because of its series mechanic status. It is supposed to be first introduction to this story, after all, but when you decide to divide your story in multiple novellas, pacing is also very important. This books has the speed. It reads fast and moves constantly, but at the same time it feels like the story is not going anywhere interesting, or at least anywhere fun.
It's just too basic in scope and flow, with average writing and generic scenarios. For one, the characters seem nuanced enough, each one having a different personality that can be understandable human, yet, because there's so many of damn and so few pages, by the end of it I remembered like two characters, max.
I didn't enjoy this one. It has its moments, and it's very popcorn-centric, but it didn't work well for me due to its messy structure and uninspiring story.
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