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The End of the World Playlist
The world as we knew it had ended. Deep in the mountains of the west coast, six men survived. In the town of River’s Bend, these six friends continued on with their lives as zombies inherited the Earth. As they navigated the world that had been left behind, the soundtrack of life played on.
88 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 17, 2012
1 person is currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
Dan O'Brien
47 books175 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
I have been writing novels for over a decade and had a couple published by traditional, small houses. Riding the self-publishing boom, I have four books in print that are available in paperback or e-book format. If you are interested in reading them, I am always open to sending out samples (or PDFs) to those who are interested.
I was born on the east coast and spent most of my life moving around. I recently settled into California where I am a graduate student in Experimental Psychology. I was a fitness trainer and am a lifelong student of martial arts. I write a little bit of everything and have lately been focusing on a few new novels, continuing some series and embarking on a screenplay binge.
Hope to hear from other avid readers and novelists out there.
I have been writing novels for over a decade and had a couple published by traditional, small houses. Riding the self-publishing boom, I have four books in print that are available in paperback or e-book format. If you are interested in reading them, I am always open to sending out samples (or PDFs) to those who are interested.
I was born on the east coast and spent most of my life moving around. I recently settled into California where I am a graduate student in Experimental Psychology. I was a fitness trainer and am a lifelong student of martial arts. I write a little bit of everything and have lately been focusing on a few new novels, continuing some series and embarking on a screenplay binge.
Hope to hear from other avid readers and novelists out there.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 27, 2014
Yet another completely unnecessary addition to zombie fiction. There are so many out there, it's like every author wants to drop his two cents in the zombie jar and so few of them are ever original or worth the time. Playlist, so titled because every chapter is a name of a classic song, is a very much play like story about a bunch of guys surviving the zombie apocalypse. Play like since it opens and closes as a play and is primarily dialogue driven. If you're sensitive to language, this might not be the right choice, since the dialogue is very heavily seasoned with expletives. It sounded pretty realistic, like guys probably would talk, certainly more realistic than when they get all weird, contraction free and somber toward the end. Nothing special here, quick read. Indiscriminate zombie aficionado might enjoy this one.
December 20, 2017
2.5 - 3 Stars (review to follow)
Read
February 25, 2012It’s been a while since I read a zombie novel so I was quite excited when I picked this one up and discovered there were zombies.
My excited turned to odd curiosity when I got into the story I found it to be very different to anything I’ve ever read before. For most of the book I felt as though I wasn’t sure whether I liked this book or not. It was like I didn’t really know if I wanted to continue reading but some unknown force kept me reading through.
One thing I do have to warn about is that there is a lot of swearing so if you don’t like that sort of thing then you may be put off by this book. And I mean there is A LOT of swearing. A LOT. I’m not a person who is bothered by swearing but if you are particularly sensitive about swearing, do not even touch this book with a ten foot pole!
That being said, I actually found End of the World Playlist to be quite intriguing and not all that bad. Granted this book is not going to be for everybody. I feel like this one is a more gritty and tragic look at what happens if the world ends via zombie invasion. I really liked the ending, it was just something a little different that I found really refreshing.
Overall, I quite enjoyed End of the World Playlist.
My excited turned to odd curiosity when I got into the story I found it to be very different to anything I’ve ever read before. For most of the book I felt as though I wasn’t sure whether I liked this book or not. It was like I didn’t really know if I wanted to continue reading but some unknown force kept me reading through.
One thing I do have to warn about is that there is a lot of swearing so if you don’t like that sort of thing then you may be put off by this book. And I mean there is A LOT of swearing. A LOT. I’m not a person who is bothered by swearing but if you are particularly sensitive about swearing, do not even touch this book with a ten foot pole!
That being said, I actually found End of the World Playlist to be quite intriguing and not all that bad. Granted this book is not going to be for everybody. I feel like this one is a more gritty and tragic look at what happens if the world ends via zombie invasion. I really liked the ending, it was just something a little different that I found really refreshing.
Overall, I quite enjoyed End of the World Playlist.
September 17, 2025
This book was...well...it started out with so much promise. I love the premise. I paused at the beginning of each chapter and listened to the song and got super into it. I was ready. Unfortunately, I don't feel like the book delivered. First, there isn't much background. We dive right into the zombie fighting without any context of the how and why zombies took over the world. We never learn much about the characters. We know a couple of them are brothers and one of them lost his wife. That about sums it up. And look, I know it's a novella, but you can still cram a lot of details into a short story. Even that could probably be overlooked if the story still made sense, but then he would refer to things like 'the giant' or 'the smaller man' without any actual description or even clarification on which was which. I couldn't tell you anything about any of the men, except one of them is apparently very big and another one is less big. My second complaint was the conversations within the book. All six guys were assholes and talked like assholes. They made fun of 'retards' and said a lot of very inappropriate comments. They teased each other about being gay like it was this horrible thing. Their conversations were either crass or awkward. It's like the author didn't know how men talk unless they are being douches. I'm fairly confident if you're one of six dudes left in a post-apocalyptic scenario, not everything coming out of your mouth is going to be sunshine and roses. But maybe it could not be douchey and could make sense?
Now for the parts I liked or even loved. The songs. The playlist. The songs fit what was going on actually pretty spot on. I loved that aspect. They also (for some unknown reason, maybe just boredom?) kept random zombies alive and chained up at the various stores in the town they lived in. And they were all Bob. Bob the Liquor Store Zombie. Bob the Paint Counter Zombie. Bob the Blind Zombie. The guys all knew the Bobs and would talk to them when they went into town. It was hilarious and a nice bit of levity in a dark world. The book did make me cry at one point. Lets just say one or more of the guys got zombo biten and had to be put down. You can infer the rest. So the author did something right if it brought up enough emotion I cried.
Anyway...can we have a redo? Can someone else redo this. Or this same author, I don't care, as long as it does the songs it claims justice. Like I said, I love the premise.
Now for the parts I liked or even loved. The songs. The playlist. The songs fit what was going on actually pretty spot on. I loved that aspect. They also (for some unknown reason, maybe just boredom?) kept random zombies alive and chained up at the various stores in the town they lived in. And they were all Bob. Bob the Liquor Store Zombie. Bob the Paint Counter Zombie. Bob the Blind Zombie. The guys all knew the Bobs and would talk to them when they went into town. It was hilarious and a nice bit of levity in a dark world. The book did make me cry at one point. Lets just say one or more of the guys got zombo biten and had to be put down. You can infer the rest. So the author did something right if it brought up enough emotion I cried.
Anyway...can we have a redo? Can someone else redo this. Or this same author, I don't care, as long as it does the songs it claims justice. Like I said, I love the premise.
February 19, 2012
Bizare Little Tale: Disambiguation
Dan O'Brien certainly has the credentials to be an established writer, having written both novels and screenplays. He is young (born 1981 in Connecticut) and has a fascinating background: originally from the East Coast he now lives in California where in addition to writing (his passion) he is a graduate student in Experimental Psychology, a fitness trainer, and a practitioner of martial arts. He is an astute member of the leading edge of self publishing and understands how to not only write his books but how to get them in front of the public eye. In his words, `I was under an impression - perhaps a misguided one - that led me to believe that being a successful novelist meant attaining a lucrative contract with a top tier publishing house. This is not to say that such an achievement is not my goal. That is hardly the case. What is the case is managing a more realistic outlook on the kind of writer I am right now. I am not a mass product capable of attracting the attention of those kinds of monoliths of the writing industry because my writing does not have that mass appeal so important in that world. As such, I need to cultivate the smaller markets and advertise where I can.'
His latest novel is THE END OF THE WORLD PLAYLIST in which he paints a world that has come to an end, leaving only a small group of very strange male survivors embedded in the hills of California, coping with each other's idiosyncrasies as well as the cast of thousand Zombies who have taken over the deserted world: think Cormac McCarthy with slimy zombies or Jose Saramago's Blindness with unnatural creatures instead of people.
Does the novel work? That depends on personal preferences for themes: those who love vampires, werewolves and zombies (and they seem to be legion) will probably enjoy this story. The writing is raw, heavily loaded with profanity and dark words that at times seem to be an end in themselves, the descriptions of brutality and mayhem are razor sharp, but in the end, despite some insights into the now generation and where it may be headed, we are left with characters about whom we simply do not dare.
Dan O'Brien is plowing the turf of fantasy and science fiction at present and he is so committed to his craft that likely he will eventually land with his feet on the ground with a novel of significance. This one doesn't seem to be it.
Grady Harp
Dan O'Brien certainly has the credentials to be an established writer, having written both novels and screenplays. He is young (born 1981 in Connecticut) and has a fascinating background: originally from the East Coast he now lives in California where in addition to writing (his passion) he is a graduate student in Experimental Psychology, a fitness trainer, and a practitioner of martial arts. He is an astute member of the leading edge of self publishing and understands how to not only write his books but how to get them in front of the public eye. In his words, `I was under an impression - perhaps a misguided one - that led me to believe that being a successful novelist meant attaining a lucrative contract with a top tier publishing house. This is not to say that such an achievement is not my goal. That is hardly the case. What is the case is managing a more realistic outlook on the kind of writer I am right now. I am not a mass product capable of attracting the attention of those kinds of monoliths of the writing industry because my writing does not have that mass appeal so important in that world. As such, I need to cultivate the smaller markets and advertise where I can.'
His latest novel is THE END OF THE WORLD PLAYLIST in which he paints a world that has come to an end, leaving only a small group of very strange male survivors embedded in the hills of California, coping with each other's idiosyncrasies as well as the cast of thousand Zombies who have taken over the deserted world: think Cormac McCarthy with slimy zombies or Jose Saramago's Blindness with unnatural creatures instead of people.
Does the novel work? That depends on personal preferences for themes: those who love vampires, werewolves and zombies (and they seem to be legion) will probably enjoy this story. The writing is raw, heavily loaded with profanity and dark words that at times seem to be an end in themselves, the descriptions of brutality and mayhem are razor sharp, but in the end, despite some insights into the now generation and where it may be headed, we are left with characters about whom we simply do not dare.
Dan O'Brien is plowing the turf of fantasy and science fiction at present and he is so committed to his craft that likely he will eventually land with his feet on the ground with a novel of significance. This one doesn't seem to be it.
Grady Harp
October 2, 2012
Dan O'Brien, of Chico, California, is a FB author-buddy of mine. When is newest book 'The End of the World Playlist' came up on Amazon Select - I grabbed a copy! Here is my review:
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
"The End of the World Playlist" is a whiplash look at Zombie land at an Apocalyptic moment...and MUCH MORE!
Finessed by O'Brien's stylized, clean, well-edited writing `The End' becomes a dystopian Tarrantino automatic rifle shoot 'em up! And I mean that as a compliment! You'll cringe, You'll squeal like a little girl, You'll laugh. Good Characters will die...and that's just the Beginning ... of `The End'.
Speaking of the beginning of `The End of the World Playlist' I was hooked on page two by O'Brien's eloquent prose, "The streets were empty, but a dull rumbling in the distance electrified the air. Tall, ugly buildings - built [years ago] and never repaired - waited patiently as the sun passed overhead, straining through cloud cover..." Paired with the flawless editing of Jesse O'Brien and I realized that I was in for a Box Office thrill ride.
The Zombies are crashing the gates of small town River's Bend and the most well-defined characters of losers (or ARE they?) are trying to save themselves. Through car chases in Ford Broncos and Econoline vans, and as bullets fly, you get an inside look at the Gen X cast of superb survivors played by Wills, Allen, Jesse, Kenny, Dan, Crazy Mike, and Brandon. Think that's too huge a cast to keep track of? With the author's deft pen each character comes into sharp definition - even the female character(s) Dee and Dumb. And that's only the humans!
On the Zombie side of the ledger we have, The Liquor Store Zombie, the Gun Store Zombie, the action-packed plot plays out in front of The Sports Authority and every other USA outlet imaginable bringing this little tale of horror HOME...Right where it belongs! Small Town USA! A must read for Zombie Action enthusiasts...Gosh! I might even be hooked by Dan O'Brien and his superb editor, Jesse O'Brien.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Spoiler? The ending is sad...I pulled out my lace hanky and wiped away tears.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
"The End of the World Playlist" is a whiplash look at Zombie land at an Apocalyptic moment...and MUCH MORE!
Finessed by O'Brien's stylized, clean, well-edited writing `The End' becomes a dystopian Tarrantino automatic rifle shoot 'em up! And I mean that as a compliment! You'll cringe, You'll squeal like a little girl, You'll laugh. Good Characters will die...and that's just the Beginning ... of `The End'.
Speaking of the beginning of `The End of the World Playlist' I was hooked on page two by O'Brien's eloquent prose, "The streets were empty, but a dull rumbling in the distance electrified the air. Tall, ugly buildings - built [years ago] and never repaired - waited patiently as the sun passed overhead, straining through cloud cover..." Paired with the flawless editing of Jesse O'Brien and I realized that I was in for a Box Office thrill ride.
The Zombies are crashing the gates of small town River's Bend and the most well-defined characters of losers (or ARE they?) are trying to save themselves. Through car chases in Ford Broncos and Econoline vans, and as bullets fly, you get an inside look at the Gen X cast of superb survivors played by Wills, Allen, Jesse, Kenny, Dan, Crazy Mike, and Brandon. Think that's too huge a cast to keep track of? With the author's deft pen each character comes into sharp definition - even the female character(s) Dee and Dumb. And that's only the humans!
On the Zombie side of the ledger we have, The Liquor Store Zombie, the Gun Store Zombie, the action-packed plot plays out in front of The Sports Authority and every other USA outlet imaginable bringing this little tale of horror HOME...Right where it belongs! Small Town USA! A must read for Zombie Action enthusiasts...Gosh! I might even be hooked by Dan O'Brien and his superb editor, Jesse O'Brien.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Spoiler? The ending is sad...I pulled out my lace hanky and wiped away tears.
October 12, 2013
It kills me to have to do it but.....
...unfortunately I have to give this - what could have been a great novella - only three stars. And before everyone grabs their pitchforks and demand I be strung up let me explain why. This is my second Dan O'Brien work, the first being, The Ocean and the Hourglass, and like the review I did on that book, I give praise to the authors ability and imagination. His writing draws the reader into the book with such an ease it is with little effort that the reader can become quite comfortable in the tale. O'Brien paints beautifully sculpted scenes and bold characters. And even though this book is a novella he finds a way to convey massive amounts of detail into the characters and story without it becoming a full fledged novel.
But for every great thing about the author's ability there is disappointing editing and format errors that ruin what could have been a great product. Aside from the fact that the book is not printed in justified format, the lack of proper editing is what kept throwing me out of the tale. I'm not big on adding actual content to my reviews but I want to be fair in my criticism of the book and give examples.
First page of chapter 2: "Run you f---ing deadheads. Z-Day, baby," spoke a man who looked as though he were an unkempt replica of a giant.
A good and descriptive sentence, right? Sure, but is a man going to speak such a sentence? No, he's going to yell it or scream, exclaim, bellow, demand, order, bark, shout it. Anything other than speak (which is a calm way of communicating something) is going to burst forth from a man excited or scared by of zombies.
Next sentence: "Just drive the f---ing car," spoke the smaller man. Again, a perfect spot to end a sentence with a dramatic anchor.
Now, I'm no master of spelling or writing myself, I've probably made several errors in this review, but I'm not a writer, I'm a reader and when I read such obvious errors that continue throughout a book I cannot help but to become harsh of the overall product. I also don't pretend to know Mr. O'Brien or who he chooses to edit/print his works, but if I were him I would be looking for a better editor. Just my opinion.
...unfortunately I have to give this - what could have been a great novella - only three stars. And before everyone grabs their pitchforks and demand I be strung up let me explain why. This is my second Dan O'Brien work, the first being, The Ocean and the Hourglass, and like the review I did on that book, I give praise to the authors ability and imagination. His writing draws the reader into the book with such an ease it is with little effort that the reader can become quite comfortable in the tale. O'Brien paints beautifully sculpted scenes and bold characters. And even though this book is a novella he finds a way to convey massive amounts of detail into the characters and story without it becoming a full fledged novel.
But for every great thing about the author's ability there is disappointing editing and format errors that ruin what could have been a great product. Aside from the fact that the book is not printed in justified format, the lack of proper editing is what kept throwing me out of the tale. I'm not big on adding actual content to my reviews but I want to be fair in my criticism of the book and give examples.
First page of chapter 2: "Run you f---ing deadheads. Z-Day, baby," spoke a man who looked as though he were an unkempt replica of a giant.
A good and descriptive sentence, right? Sure, but is a man going to speak such a sentence? No, he's going to yell it or scream, exclaim, bellow, demand, order, bark, shout it. Anything other than speak (which is a calm way of communicating something) is going to burst forth from a man excited or scared by of zombies.
Next sentence: "Just drive the f---ing car," spoke the smaller man. Again, a perfect spot to end a sentence with a dramatic anchor.
Now, I'm no master of spelling or writing myself, I've probably made several errors in this review, but I'm not a writer, I'm a reader and when I read such obvious errors that continue throughout a book I cannot help but to become harsh of the overall product. I also don't pretend to know Mr. O'Brien or who he chooses to edit/print his works, but if I were him I would be looking for a better editor. Just my opinion.
July 26, 2016
[Full disclosure: I received a free book copy from Dan O'Brien in exchange for an honest review as part of his blog tour.]
I’ll just say right off the bat that there is a lot of cursing in this short story. This is seriously recommended for mature audiences only. Let’s just say there are a lot of cluster f-bombs and generally mature content leave it at that, shall we?
Well, I don’t really know what to say besides that there is some really interesting and scarily believable psychological themes at play here. From the fact that the survivors have chained zombies into their stores and call them all variations of Bob (Bob the Blind Zombie, Bob the Sports Authority Zombie, Bob the Gun Store Zombie, etc.) to their general disregard for social taboos it’s clear that five years after the apocalypse the survivors aren’t doing so well. There was an especially disturbing scene involving a Ms. Pacman arcade game, but I’m not going to go into anymore detail in regards to that incident.
Dan O’Brien certainly intended for this to be disturbing and believe me it was. It really makes you wonder about those people that wish for a zombie apocalypse when the reality would actually suck. So thank goodness this is just a novella because it’s incredibly depressing and sadly realistic. I’m not going to say much more on that topic because then I’d be getting into spoiler territory. Sometimes it goes a little overboard with the whole Crapsack World trope, but that could be just a matter of personal taste.
I can’t use the world ‘enjoyable’ to describe such a depressing novella, but it was well-written and interesting. It’s not science fiction because Dan O’Brien never cares to go into detail about the apocalypse, but that’s not the point. The point is that zombies are essentially ruling the world while the last semi-insane vestiges of humanity survive. If you’re interested in psychology you’ll like The End of the World Playlist, but other than that it’s definitely a specialized sort of novella.
I give this novella 4/5 stars.
I’ll just say right off the bat that there is a lot of cursing in this short story. This is seriously recommended for mature audiences only. Let’s just say there are a lot of cluster f-bombs and generally mature content leave it at that, shall we?
Well, I don’t really know what to say besides that there is some really interesting and scarily believable psychological themes at play here. From the fact that the survivors have chained zombies into their stores and call them all variations of Bob (Bob the Blind Zombie, Bob the Sports Authority Zombie, Bob the Gun Store Zombie, etc.) to their general disregard for social taboos it’s clear that five years after the apocalypse the survivors aren’t doing so well. There was an especially disturbing scene involving a Ms. Pacman arcade game, but I’m not going to go into anymore detail in regards to that incident.
Dan O’Brien certainly intended for this to be disturbing and believe me it was. It really makes you wonder about those people that wish for a zombie apocalypse when the reality would actually suck. So thank goodness this is just a novella because it’s incredibly depressing and sadly realistic. I’m not going to say much more on that topic because then I’d be getting into spoiler territory. Sometimes it goes a little overboard with the whole Crapsack World trope, but that could be just a matter of personal taste.
I can’t use the world ‘enjoyable’ to describe such a depressing novella, but it was well-written and interesting. It’s not science fiction because Dan O’Brien never cares to go into detail about the apocalypse, but that’s not the point. The point is that zombies are essentially ruling the world while the last semi-insane vestiges of humanity survive. If you’re interested in psychology you’ll like The End of the World Playlist, but other than that it’s definitely a specialized sort of novella.
I give this novella 4/5 stars.
September 23, 2014
If you think you might like to take a break from the real world and enjoy some quick zombie/end-of-the-world fun, you would be wise to check out this little novella from Dan O'Brien. This is my first read by this author but I'll definitely be looking for more.
Six friends have survived the end-of-the-world as we know it and have carved out lives, such as they are, in a zombie world. There is no explanation of how this came to be and the story was a little thin on how the zombies of this world worked (i.e. are they slow-moving creatures like in "Zombieland" or can they dart with speed bursts like on "The Walking Dead"? The pacing of the novella is spot on though as the friends begin with a sort of peaceful co-existence with the zombies. We get to learn about the characters and their situation through some humorously gruesome scenes here but that all changes about half way through and the horror builds rapidly. No spoilers from me but you will want to buckle your seatbelts for the ride.
I read this in one sitting, a little over an hour, but had it been longer I would have happily stayed with it. I think that's why I can't go the whole nine yards and award 5 stars to this book. A little bit more background on how these characters got to be here would make it that much more amazing. I found Mr O'Brien's writing to be refreshingly crisp and his phrasing particularly poignant. I swear there were times when he was channeling Stephen King, one of the few to master the novella form. The very title reminded me of King's work and the dialog within seemed straight from King's own mind. This story is not for the squeamish and there are plenty of "F"-bombs but it was all very appropriate for the characters and the setting they found themselves in.
I'll definitely be looking for other Dan O'Brien titles now.
Six friends have survived the end-of-the-world as we know it and have carved out lives, such as they are, in a zombie world. There is no explanation of how this came to be and the story was a little thin on how the zombies of this world worked (i.e. are they slow-moving creatures like in "Zombieland" or can they dart with speed bursts like on "The Walking Dead"? The pacing of the novella is spot on though as the friends begin with a sort of peaceful co-existence with the zombies. We get to learn about the characters and their situation through some humorously gruesome scenes here but that all changes about half way through and the horror builds rapidly. No spoilers from me but you will want to buckle your seatbelts for the ride.
I read this in one sitting, a little over an hour, but had it been longer I would have happily stayed with it. I think that's why I can't go the whole nine yards and award 5 stars to this book. A little bit more background on how these characters got to be here would make it that much more amazing. I found Mr O'Brien's writing to be refreshingly crisp and his phrasing particularly poignant. I swear there were times when he was channeling Stephen King, one of the few to master the novella form. The very title reminded me of King's work and the dialog within seemed straight from King's own mind. This story is not for the squeamish and there are plenty of "F"-bombs but it was all very appropriate for the characters and the setting they found themselves in.
I'll definitely be looking for other Dan O'Brien titles now.
March 30, 2012
I love zombie movies, I love zombie books, I love everything zombie... I did not love or even like this book. I am usually more forgiving about a book’s faults or shortcomings if it deals with zombies (yep, I am biased). But, I just can’t with this one.
The book, written by Dan O’Brien had an interesting premise. Five guys surviving in a zombie infested world. I liked some things about the book (all the Bob zombies) and some of the back story (what there was of it).
But, there were several things that just failed in this book. First, it was hard to get into the book (even though it is very short). Half through the book I realized that I did not care about any of the characters. When they were introduced again, I had already forgotten all about them. There was nothing appealing or engaging about any of the characters.
Second, the action scenes were hard to follow. The writing was choppy and all over the place. More often than not, I ended up glossing over those sections. Third, considering the title of the book, I thought there would be a lot more music references or discussions. There are about 1.5 music conversation in this entire book.
Overall, this book could use some improvement in action descriptions, character development and some back story.
* I received this book for free from the author for the purpose of this review.
The book, written by Dan O’Brien had an interesting premise. Five guys surviving in a zombie infested world. I liked some things about the book (all the Bob zombies) and some of the back story (what there was of it).
But, there were several things that just failed in this book. First, it was hard to get into the book (even though it is very short). Half through the book I realized that I did not care about any of the characters. When they were introduced again, I had already forgotten all about them. There was nothing appealing or engaging about any of the characters.
Second, the action scenes were hard to follow. The writing was choppy and all over the place. More often than not, I ended up glossing over those sections. Third, considering the title of the book, I thought there would be a lot more music references or discussions. There are about 1.5 music conversation in this entire book.
Overall, this book could use some improvement in action descriptions, character development and some back story.
* I received this book for free from the author for the purpose of this review.
August 18, 2014
Bah! Goodreads app quits unexpectedly and takes my half written review with it.
I started reading this book because lunch times are not for reading spiritual books, they are for doing something enjoyable like reading books about zombie teeth ripping into protesting human flesh whilst my own teeth rip into innocent cheese sandwiches; eek! So with that in mind, I forsook the book I was reading and started another.
This lovely little tale of zombie fueled havoc is for those who like a good old fashioned blood and gore type story with great characters that you, by turns, love or hate to see ripped apart. There's not much time to talk about backplot or whys and wherefores in this novella, but what character development there is, is good and solid, which makes for a fast and enjoyable read.
Not sure I quite liked the ending, which could have done with a little more inventiveness or hope or a little bit of a twist, but all in all, it all pretty much does what it says on the tin.
I loved the idea of a song title at the start of each chapter. I think I might stick them all together and listen to them in order. Alternatively, I might just make up my own playlist... hmm, something to ponder on.
I started reading this book because lunch times are not for reading spiritual books, they are for doing something enjoyable like reading books about zombie teeth ripping into protesting human flesh whilst my own teeth rip into innocent cheese sandwiches; eek! So with that in mind, I forsook the book I was reading and started another.
This lovely little tale of zombie fueled havoc is for those who like a good old fashioned blood and gore type story with great characters that you, by turns, love or hate to see ripped apart. There's not much time to talk about backplot or whys and wherefores in this novella, but what character development there is, is good and solid, which makes for a fast and enjoyable read.
Not sure I quite liked the ending, which could have done with a little more inventiveness or hope or a little bit of a twist, but all in all, it all pretty much does what it says on the tin.
I loved the idea of a song title at the start of each chapter. I think I might stick them all together and listen to them in order. Alternatively, I might just make up my own playlist... hmm, something to ponder on.
December 1, 2013
First paragraph: There was a cabin deep in the woods. Inside that cabin sat a young man at a table. He was the very description of an average man: brown hair, brown eyes. He smoked a cigarette like it was the greatest thing ever, as if he were enjoying a fine wine or admiring a fine painting.
He is William, or Wills; perhaps even Captain as he had people call him on occasion. Will coughed hard, the sputtering, wet variety that usually signals a not-so-good-for-the-well-being chain of events recently transpired.
3 1/2 stars rounded up, of course. Because the playlist for the end of the world worked. Really well.
Five years after the end of the world, a group of guys co-exist as best they can, foraging into town for supplies and existing as best they can. At first boredom seems to be the biggest threat, and they cope through a variety of means, some through the local library and others by bolting the latest zombie to store counter and naming him "Bob." There must have been at least a half dozen Bobs or more.
"Playlist" is brutal, graphic, and filled with profanity. It's also contemplative and sad. There's no happy, pie-in-the-sky ending, despite the last song on the playlist. It is, after all, the zombie apocalypse.
He is William, or Wills; perhaps even Captain as he had people call him on occasion. Will coughed hard, the sputtering, wet variety that usually signals a not-so-good-for-the-well-being chain of events recently transpired.
3 1/2 stars rounded up, of course. Because the playlist for the end of the world worked. Really well.
Five years after the end of the world, a group of guys co-exist as best they can, foraging into town for supplies and existing as best they can. At first boredom seems to be the biggest threat, and they cope through a variety of means, some through the local library and others by bolting the latest zombie to store counter and naming him "Bob." There must have been at least a half dozen Bobs or more.
"Playlist" is brutal, graphic, and filled with profanity. It's also contemplative and sad. There's no happy, pie-in-the-sky ending, despite the last song on the playlist. It is, after all, the zombie apocalypse.
December 26, 2012
Reading this book, The End of the World Playlist, by Dan O'Brien, I was impressed with his style. His words flow in a literary manner that almost seems too highbrow for the genre.
The story stars in the middle...or the end. The reader feels like he or she is dropped into a scene of something much larger. While the characters are distinct in their nature, there does seem to be too much back story hinted at throughout. This is the only real problem that I had as I read.
O'Brien writes well, and a short story is a nice chance to get away for a few minutes while on the stair stepper or treadmill, but this story has depth that begs to be investigated. I did have one problem with a scene where one of the guys had been bitten. In previous similar instances, the infection was described as being visible, yet this one individual "didn't know what had happened in all the confusion" and then bites one of the others. A small gripe, but one I feel was worth noting.
The read is clean and well edited. I will read more of O'Brien's titles.
The story stars in the middle...or the end. The reader feels like he or she is dropped into a scene of something much larger. While the characters are distinct in their nature, there does seem to be too much back story hinted at throughout. This is the only real problem that I had as I read.
O'Brien writes well, and a short story is a nice chance to get away for a few minutes while on the stair stepper or treadmill, but this story has depth that begs to be investigated. I did have one problem with a scene where one of the guys had been bitten. In previous similar instances, the infection was described as being visible, yet this one individual "didn't know what had happened in all the confusion" and then bites one of the others. A small gripe, but one I feel was worth noting.
The read is clean and well edited. I will read more of O'Brien's titles.
May 30, 2012
It's not often you get to read a book that's A.) Moving B.) Hilarious C.) Ridden with the word "Fuck" all under 100 pages, but hell, The End of the World Playlist exceeded all my expectations about what a chapbook sized book could do with as big an issue as the zombie apocalypse. Not only is it hilariously accurate about how you would figure six guys at various stages of their lives would co-cope and survive, it's also heart-wrenchingly endearing. While it doesn't reinvent the genre, rather stays true to the zombie canon overall, EotWP offers a fun, fresh, profanity-filled perspective on Z-Day. And the music ain't bad, either.
December 2, 2012
Maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind, but for about 1/3 of the book I skimmed thru thinking "I don't care". It never did come out & say what exactly happened. Most of the time it felt like "Lord of the Flies" and you really only get some back story on Dan. I would have liked to see more on all the characters. Mostly why do they do WHAT they do? At the end of the story I'm glad Dan got his(because what a moron; its a freakin' ring!!!) And I was sad as others got theirs... but I can see where that would have to happen. All in all, I'd probably recommend as it was well written (even though long), but not my cup of tea.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2015
Quick, light read. More interesting than the story itself were the song titles chosen as each chapter's heading. "Knocking on heavens door" Comfortably Numb" Don't StopBelieving" " Somewhere Over the Rainbow". " Have you Ever Seen The Rain" " Riders On The Storm" " I Am The Walrus" " Hotel California" " Stairway to Heaven "
December 1, 2012
Decent little novella. I thought the story was good, but the dialogue was somewhat wooden. Aside from that, it was a quick read about a small band of zombie apocalypse survivors whose leader's choices were clouded by his grief. Not all that bad, but nothing awe-inspiring either.
February 21, 2013
I won this through Goodreads Firstreads.
I did enjoy this book and found it to be a quick read. It's a great size for when you need something to read but you don't want it to drag out for days.
I did enjoy this book and found it to be a quick read. It's a great size for when you need something to read but you don't want it to drag out for days.
March 3, 2012
This was a fast short read. I enjoyed the book. If you like zombies this is a great read. The title nor the cover do not really help make the decision on whats inside.
March 5, 2012
Truly enjoyed it and would love for there to be more! Found moments that were hilarious, sad, and some quite nightmarish. Good stuff. Thankful I received this one in a Good Reads giveaway.
August 10, 2012
A lot more graphic then your normal zombie books...I did read the entire book so it must not have been that bad..Average books to me get three stars "if" I can finish them
December 31, 2016
Not bad but a bit too much work on the readers side for my personal liking. Still, a new twist or rather a unique twist in this genre.
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