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Z Strain: A Zombie Love Story
When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the earth. Three days. Not much time. Hardly time to change anything, really. Lilith, Queen of the Whores, has three days. Three days to build an army. Three days to unleash Hell. Not much time. Certainly not to become a hero. That's what Dee thought. Before the zombies. The eating. The dying. Before Lilith called to him. Before he loved her. Three days until the end of the world. What he would give to get those three days back. "Z Strain". Book one of the "Zee Series Trilogy" by Rutger Klamor. Full of all the gritty realism any hard-core zombie fan craves. You know what I mean. Violence served cold. Sex served hot. And Zees. A whole army of 'em! This book isn't for the faint of heart or easily offended. You've been warned. Hang on to your brain pans. Here come the Zees! This is gonna be one hell of a thrill ride!
410 pages, Paperback
First published December 2, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 4, 2012
Originally posted on http://theaussiezombie.blogspot.com
The sub-title of Z-Strain is “A Zombie Love Story”. And it is, but certainly not of the traditional kind! Lilith, the woman originally destined for Adam, was a little too feisty and ended up as a demon, a succubus who has the power to turn any man (and quite a few zombies) to do her bidding. As a demon, naturally Lilith’s bidding means taking over the world, with a not-so-merry band of zombies as her army in her quest to steal the soul of one seemingly average ex-military paramedic.
The introduction of demons from Jewish mythology gives Z-Strain a unique twist, entwined with the lives of a small band of human survivors, the government and military, and a mysterious specter known only as The Watcher.
Z-Strain is an intense book – there are no holds-barred in the violence, gore, language or “funky time” departments, but the story is well-written and the characters (in particular Lilith’s three demon lackeys) are either unique or likeable (I couldn’t say the demons were likeable!).
I admit I did get a little lost with the part of the book set in the middle ages – I had trouble keeping track of the characters and it wasn’t until much later in the book that I understood who was who and what exactly was happening and why.
This is the first book in a series, so of course the ending isn’t really an “ending” but enough questions are resolved that I felt satisfied, but still intrigued about the next book.
The sub-title of Z-Strain is “A Zombie Love Story”. And it is, but certainly not of the traditional kind! Lilith, the woman originally destined for Adam, was a little too feisty and ended up as a demon, a succubus who has the power to turn any man (and quite a few zombies) to do her bidding. As a demon, naturally Lilith’s bidding means taking over the world, with a not-so-merry band of zombies as her army in her quest to steal the soul of one seemingly average ex-military paramedic.
The introduction of demons from Jewish mythology gives Z-Strain a unique twist, entwined with the lives of a small band of human survivors, the government and military, and a mysterious specter known only as The Watcher.
Z-Strain is an intense book – there are no holds-barred in the violence, gore, language or “funky time” departments, but the story is well-written and the characters (in particular Lilith’s three demon lackeys) are either unique or likeable (I couldn’t say the demons were likeable!).
I admit I did get a little lost with the part of the book set in the middle ages – I had trouble keeping track of the characters and it wasn’t until much later in the book that I understood who was who and what exactly was happening and why.
This is the first book in a series, so of course the ending isn’t really an “ending” but enough questions are resolved that I felt satisfied, but still intrigued about the next book.
January 26, 2012
Z Strain... where do I begin with this book? its a book you love to hate I suppose. After winning this book in a goodreads give away I was ecstatic. I mean how amazing does a zombie love story sound for a romance reader like myself? I do have to admit I did not want to love this book however, after suffering the first 100 or so pages I grew very fond of the rising plot. in the beginning I fell in love with the historical reference from the fifties. it was so intriguing and actually encouraged me to read on, but my intrigue died shortly after morphing into confusion. the way this book jumps back and forth between time and characters had my mind reeling. I couldn't keep up. but do not fret because you get used to it and ut becomes rather important. once the full story between Lilith and her generals unraveled and we learned what intertwines Dee and his friends into it I couldn't put the book down. in attempt to keep the book as Mysterious as what I'm guessing Rutger Klamor intended I will not go further into what intrigued me about this story. although I will say I was upset about how the character I fell in love with wound up in the end. it truly hurt my feelings as a Dee fan.
January 25, 2012
I really enjoyed the zombie theme, it has a really involved plot with a constantly changing and evolving story line. I knew with my love of horror that I would like this author he is very descriptive through out the book which really sets the scenes for this book. I really got sucked into the prophecy part of this story and after all the carnage and zombie raising I was really in for the long hall wanting to know how everything played out.
January 28, 2012
this was a first reads win and again i was very fortunate that i won a great book. rutger klamor must be a very interesting person or at least as an author his writing shows a far reaching and almost mind boggling journey and most of all, extremely entertaining. thanks again to goodreads for the first reads win and to rutger for a fun read.
January 28, 2012
Wow! I really don't know where to begin since it seems like there's so much to this book. It was a journey that kept me both guessing and completely engaged in the kind of way I've almost forgotten a book can do. It was like losing time in a video game as I read this. I can't recall feeling anything like that about a book since I read "The Shining" - not that this is anything like that book, but the immersion I had in the story and characters feels the same for me and it's been years (decades, I think) since I first read that awesome King book. I can honestly say this is anything but your "ordinary, run of the mill" zombie novel. If for nothing else other than the experience of feeling what I felt, I highly encourage you to check this book out.
It begins in a manner, as has been noted by others I've read here, that is somewhat confusing with changes in time and setting but hang in there, it comes together in a manner that more than rewards the effort. But it really wasn't "effort" to me at all as the style of the author and the characterization makes the "hanging in there" part the best part. Klamor definitely isn't afraid to challenge his readers as this is anything but your typical formulaic storyline and deadpan voice. It's one of those you get it or you don't kind of books I think. At times it was like I was reading a comic book but in novel form - really kind of fun for a comic fan like me. It was like there were two different stories going on that came together towards the end of the book for a very satisfying climax. Like I said, it's been years.
As far as the characters go, there are some I never, ever would've guessed would be in a zombie book. Like Lilith and Chains, for example. It all started from an unexpected place, for sure. Personally, I really enjoyed the progression of Chains as the story went along, hating him... but loving him in a tragic way. The zombie army's generals were pretty cool, too and also something I never figured for a zombie story. I guess this isn't just a "zombie" story, per se. And it certainly isn't your typical "love story"!
Since I don't want to spoil the story and I've never been good at reviewing books, I'm trying to focus on my personal experience as a reader rather than details of plot and such. I hope readers who read just for the pleasure of the escape will get where I'm coming from here. This was one escape that will be very hard to forget!
It begins in a manner, as has been noted by others I've read here, that is somewhat confusing with changes in time and setting but hang in there, it comes together in a manner that more than rewards the effort. But it really wasn't "effort" to me at all as the style of the author and the characterization makes the "hanging in there" part the best part. Klamor definitely isn't afraid to challenge his readers as this is anything but your typical formulaic storyline and deadpan voice. It's one of those you get it or you don't kind of books I think. At times it was like I was reading a comic book but in novel form - really kind of fun for a comic fan like me. It was like there were two different stories going on that came together towards the end of the book for a very satisfying climax. Like I said, it's been years.
As far as the characters go, there are some I never, ever would've guessed would be in a zombie book. Like Lilith and Chains, for example. It all started from an unexpected place, for sure. Personally, I really enjoyed the progression of Chains as the story went along, hating him... but loving him in a tragic way. The zombie army's generals were pretty cool, too and also something I never figured for a zombie story. I guess this isn't just a "zombie" story, per se. And it certainly isn't your typical "love story"!
Since I don't want to spoil the story and I've never been good at reviewing books, I'm trying to focus on my personal experience as a reader rather than details of plot and such. I hope readers who read just for the pleasure of the escape will get where I'm coming from here. This was one escape that will be very hard to forget!
September 28, 2015
If you enjoy the Evil Dead movies, then you'll enjoy this novel.
I won this novel from a First Reads giveaway. This is a zombie love story, but not in the normal sense. It is a "love" story with zombies. I love the original approach to zombies - not your stereotypical zombie creation story. I went into reading this having no idea what it was about but assuming that it was much like the other zombie novels I have read, boy, was I wrong. It's more of a religious (not in your face religion, but based off the premise), mythological zombie.
I will say that I was confused at first. Often, I have a hard time in the beginning following novels that have alternating view points. It was kind of confusing until about a quarter of the way into it. It then started to get past the background and information and slow rising action of the novel and into the real nitty gritty zombie/dramatic aspects of the novel. It was quite funny at times and once I started to be able to fully grasp who played each part in the novel, it became really enjoyable.
Bringing it back to the Evil Dead reference, this novel had all the campiness of a good horror movie. There is plenty of sex, gore, and demons. There was a lot of humor strung throughout intense scenes of gore and sex. Total 70s/80s horror movie.
I just wish it would have started a bit more quickly, but being someone who suffers from slight adult adhd and rarely reads novels over 300 pages (although it is done every once in a while), this could just be my own preference.
I won this novel from a First Reads giveaway. This is a zombie love story, but not in the normal sense. It is a "love" story with zombies. I love the original approach to zombies - not your stereotypical zombie creation story. I went into reading this having no idea what it was about but assuming that it was much like the other zombie novels I have read, boy, was I wrong. It's more of a religious (not in your face religion, but based off the premise), mythological zombie.
I will say that I was confused at first. Often, I have a hard time in the beginning following novels that have alternating view points. It was kind of confusing until about a quarter of the way into it. It then started to get past the background and information and slow rising action of the novel and into the real nitty gritty zombie/dramatic aspects of the novel. It was quite funny at times and once I started to be able to fully grasp who played each part in the novel, it became really enjoyable.
Bringing it back to the Evil Dead reference, this novel had all the campiness of a good horror movie. There is plenty of sex, gore, and demons. There was a lot of humor strung throughout intense scenes of gore and sex. Total 70s/80s horror movie.
I just wish it would have started a bit more quickly, but being someone who suffers from slight adult adhd and rarely reads novels over 300 pages (although it is done every once in a while), this could just be my own preference.
November 3, 2012
This book was a wee bit disappointing to me, but I had won it and felt I should at least read it with an open mind. I'd score it a 6 out of 10 simply because it had too many characters that gave their own points of view. There were at least 8 characters that I can recall from the top of my mind that had many of their own chapters to explain what was going on. The chapters weren't titled by character names, so that made it hard to know who's POV I was reading on many occasions. Not to mention the HUNDRED'S (I am being serious, there were hundreds)of spelling and grammatical errors. Now, if this had been an advanced reader's copy (more commonly known as ARC) I would have ignored the errors. This was not an ARC though, which really aggravated me. I am a known grammar nazi, and I strive for proper grammar in everything. BUT on the flipside, the storyline was good, I just feel that the book should have been better thought through, and better edited.
May 24, 2015
is there another? i want more
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews