Z 2134: Episode 1

by Sean Platt, David W. Wright

z 2134 is a thrilling new zombie serial in the spirit of 1984, The Walking Dead, and The Hunger Games, from the writers of the post-apocalyptic smash hit serial, Yesterday’s Gone.

It is the year 2134 in a dystopian America, following a series of zombie plagues which infected and decimated much of the world’s population starting 100 years ago.

Those left, formed six walled Cities throughout the continent, all under the rule of a totalitarian government which enforces strict control over its populace.

You must obey your government.
You must be a good citizen.
You must be a productive citizen.
You must not break the law.

Or The City Watch will find you and arrest you.

Jonah Lovecraft, a former Watcher, was arrested for the murder of his wife. And like most criminals, he has one chance at freedom — to participate in The Darwin Games, a televised survival show which pits two players from each city against one another in The Barrens, the uninhabited areas outside the City Walls.

He’ll also have to face another enemy — the zombies which still roam The Barrens.

As he fights for his freedom against impossible odds, his daughter, Anastasia, stumbles into people who have information about her father — information which will change her life forever.

But it will also put her in the crosshairs of her father’s enemies.

Genres: Zombies, Horror, Post Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction

Kindle Edition

Published September 9, 2012

About the author

Sean loves writing books, even more than reading them. He is co-founder of Collective Inkwell and Realm & Sands imprints, writes for children under the name Guy Incognito, and has more than his share of nose.

Together with co-authors David Wright and Johnny B. Truant, Sean has written the series Yesterdays Gone, WhiteSpace, ForNevermore, Available Darkness, Dark Crossings, Unicorn Western, The Beam, Namaste, Robot Proletariat, Cursed, Greens, Space Shuttle, and Everyone Gets Divorced. He also co-wrote the how-to indie book, Write. Publish. Repeat.

With Collective Inkwell
Yesterday's Gone: Post Apocalyptic - LOST by way of The Stand
WhiteSpace: Paranoid thriller on fictitious Hamilton Island
ForNevermore: YA horror that reads nothing like YA Horror
Available Darkness: A new breed of vampire thriller
Dark Crossings: Short stories, killer endings

With 47North
Z 2134: The Walking Dead meets The Hunger Games
Monstrous: Beauty and the Beast meets The Punisher

With Realm & Sands
Unicorn Western: The best story to ever come from a stupid idea
The Beam: Smart sci-fi to make you wonder exactly who we are
Namaste: A revenge thriller like nothing you've ever read
Robot Proletariat: The revolution starts here
Cursed: The old werewolf legend turned upside down
Greens: Retail noir comedy
Space Shuttle: Over the top comedy with all your favorite sci-fi characters
Everyone Gets Divorced: Like "Always Sunny" and "How I Met Your Mother" had a baby on your Kindle

Sean lives in Austin, TX with his wife, daughter, and son.
Follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/seanplatt
 (say hi so he can follow you back!)

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written, poor plot, weak characters. Most of the ideas and plots were a poor rip off from the hunger games. Whilst I appreciate that there are few original ideas in writing these days, if you're going to use someone else's idea for the premise of your own writing, at least put thought into other areas such as character development etc. Certain parts of the story didn't make sense and required too much stretch of imagination to make it work.
Overall I feel that no real thought has been given. Was further disappointed to find that, having struggled through to the end (and struggle it was, as I hate to leave a book unfinished), the story is in no way neatly ended and there is to be a part 2. Even if they give it away, I wont be wasting any further time on this. Not even if they paid me.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite the ode to the Hunger Games, although it's a more adult version. The characters are interesting and the world is well developed. Since it ended on a cliffhanger, I hope it's going to be continued fairly soon.

I thought a bit more time (or a few more pages) could be spent fleshing out some of the events, but it's very fast-paced, so I wouldn't want to compromise the flow, either.

Recommended. Especially once the next story comes out.

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was so hard to read this book and not compare it to "The Hunger Games". I wasn't even a huge fan of the "Hunger Games" and it's been a while since I read the books, but the similarities were so obvious that it was hard not to do a mental checklist as each one appeared. There were differences, of course, and the plot was non-stop action, so it was still easy to read the book.

[Ed Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first "season" of this Kindle Serial (released as four episodes) was decent enough for the price. A self-described cross of Hunger Games, Walking Dead, The Running Man, and 1984. I'm mildly interested to see where the story goes from here in Season Two.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good serial with plenty of cliffhangers. It does leave a lot of questions by the end, leaving us waiting on Season 2.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing. The perfect combination of The Walking Dead and The Hunger Games - zombies and people fighting for their lives for the public's "amusement". I highly recommend it.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. I want to know what happens next. However there are many parts that remind me of the hunger games and others along those lines.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really my thing, Zombie stories aren't the draw to me they seem to be to most of America, and the whole hunger games thread didn't help this book make itself all that exciting for me. It was ok, and if I happen across sequels, I won't object to reading them, but this book just didn't grab me and make me want more like so many fine books seem to do. I'm also wondering who proofreads books these days. I'm finding so many typos lately it's making me wonder if I'm back in highschool or something grading written reports, and I was always one that hated english class.
PEOPLE, just for reference, the word through has an "R" in it.
I'd recommend this one for folks who enjoy their zombies and their hunger games type storylines, pitting people against people for the hell of it, and for no other reason. Otherwise, you might be better served giving this one a pass, as it was an ok story, but nothing to write home about.

[Chris Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

A zombie story where the Zombies are not key. So yes lots of reused themes and it is not a classic but it is eminently readable.

[Doris Raines · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

[David Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read! Went & boutgh book 2 & 3. It's been described as Hunger Games & Walking Dead. Probably a good description. Fast paced, story pulls you in. Interesting characters. You want & need to see how they get on. Give it a chance, this book will disappoint.

[Amethyst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my I have recently read all 3 seasons of Yesterdays Gone and am sitting on tenderhooks for series 4 in next few months. Its another book serial from the pens of Sean Platt and David Wright, the authors of the brilliant yesterdays Gone book serial!

What do I read now Im lost...but wait a zombie series like my all time favourite TV show EVER Walking Dead and like the Hunger Games my alltime fave book EVER!!! Is this too good to be true.

I had to buy this book; but a part of me was already convinced it wouldn't matchup to these award winning books. WOW I was so wrong, I have just this minute finished reading series 1 of Z 2134 its fanbloodytastic!

Great fast paced plot believable characters and not too many characters to have to keep up with like Yesterdays gone. (As much as I love and adore the incredible series of YG I struggled to keepup with so many people and where their doubles were.)

Z2134 is an easy addictive electronic page turner that I couldn't put down till the last...er...electronic page.

The year of 2134 is strict and cruel and god forbid you cross the government. Three main stories around one family and each quite different from the other and all just as good. Even the supporting characters are interesting and add to each story well.

I can relate to all the characters and I love the similarity of the Hunger games, its no cheap knockoff. The boys have created another masterpiece of serials. They've taken the best parts of Hunger Games which we all loved with cruel twists and run with it adding The Walking Dead's world of zombies and added even more sadistic ideas of making the unlucky contestants kill their team mates.

Those bored with zombies give it a go as its not shoved in your face on every page and their creative style of writing makes this zombie book better than any others you may have read! You will hear the gnashing of jaws in your sleep its so well written. Well done guys you've nailed another great storyline!
Their imagination takes you into mind controlling government's, underground groups and deceit, not knowing who to trust? The boys have added their special imaginative twists that they are well known for which makes this book exciting and soooo addictive.
If you loved Hunger Games and love Walking Dead Im sure you'll love this more. Make sure you spare the time to read as you wont want to put this down!

Its Available darkness for me next off to click Buy now, I cant believe Im actually paying real money and buying another lol!

I need more zombie mayhem....hurry!!!!

[Ali · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got it for 99p and only made it to the end as it is a quick read. A poorly written, predictable, and clichéd text, combined with empty characters and world make for a lacklustre book.

Amazon's author info states "Sean Platt and David Wright are Kings of the Serial, with their ambitious schedule of releasing a book per week in 2012" and it really shows, but not in a good way. This book is in severe need of an edit to clear up the text and fix the many glaring grammatical and consistency errors, in addition to clearing out chunks of text that add nothing but meander on anyway. The simplistic and brief writing style makes it feel like a childrens/young adult book, but as it goes on it tosses out increasing number of swear words and sex references.

The book claims to be 'in the spirit of The Hunger Games', what it means is it is that it changed the word 'hunger' to 'darwin' and replaced Susanne Collins' engineered mutants with zombies. Everything else about the games is almost literally identical with the odd exception of some fairly standard dystopian secret police vs underground rebellion type elements. That said The Hunger Games gives the protagonists and districts some depth and character, something that is rather lacking in z2134.

The Amazon product details actually explains more about the world than the book ever does. The immersion and depth would have been dramatically improved with even a brief few hints at what happened, and how the current situation came to be. While each district in the hunger games is unique and has some character, in z2134 City 6 is a faceless dystopian city, no idea of size, how it supports itself, or even a basic description of the oft mentioned walls around it.

The characters too lack any depth, or even a basic description. Pretty much zero physical description is given any character, even when it is they mess it up - the daughter somehow goes from 98lb to 114lb in the space of a few days of hardship (about that need for a good edit....).

You get the feeling they bashed the whole thing out as they went along without checking back or bothering to reread the entire book before publishing, which for a 296 page book which is currently listed as £9 for a paperback is pretty disgraceful.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Walled Cities + Zombies + Death Games + Corrupt Totalitarian Regime

Seemingly lacking any original ideas of its own.

In the authors note there is a lovely quote "we never chase trends" I spent the whole book thinking this feels like hunger games with zombies and along side the "we never chase trends" pearl of wisdom it turns out "hunger games" + "zombies" is exactly what they were aiming for.I'm not sure how their trend chasing policy is working out, maybe it should have read "we don't chase trends, we combine them"

I may be a little jaded having recently read another "walled city" story in the form of Gemma Malley's Killables but this must be one of the most mediocre books I've ever read.

There is nothing particularly dislikable about the book itself but it lacks its own original concepts to define it as anything other than a amalgamation of stolen ideas and lacks enough flair in doing so, to be seen as a worthy successor any of the books it borrows from.

The sad fact is the book would have been infinitely better book if they had removed the "darwin games" as the distraction it was and not tried to cash in on the hunger games bandwagon. Ignoring the "Darwin games" it fails as a zombie novel, they don't really add much to the story and are recycled and used as the blandest of bland plot devices and could easily have replaced by almost anything else.

The characters are pretty well developed for such a short book and the plot is good enough to keep you interested but sadly feels incredibly rushed in places. Being moved forward at one point by a character basically saying "because I say so".

There is enough here to prevent it being a truly terrible book and the annoying thing is it ends with enough unanswered questions that I will probably continue with the series a little longer.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy, when they said "in the spirit of 1984, The Walking Dead, and The Hunger Games" they really weren't kidding. I read the version that had the first 4 episodes - Season 1. I haven't found out exactly how the zombies came to be, but since regular people died and came back in a couple of minutes zombified, I assume this is The Walking Dead strain of zombies. Before I go on, I will say this book is easy to read and has a good story (at least so far).

My book report:
The story is told (to this point anyhow) from a couple of different viewpoints: via Lucas (dad), Ana (Lucas' daughter), and Adam (Lucas' son). As with almost any dystopian book, and most of the real world, you CANNOT trust the government. They end up forcing Lucas and then Ana into their Darwin Games - just like the Hunger Games but with Zombies. The prize is getting to go to City 7, which is supposedly wonderful. Did I mention the Government is trying to play some Jedi mind tricks on the population using chips planted in everyone to be able to change their thoughts and memories (these are not the droids your looking for - What? Wrong story? I digress). Lucas ends up finding out this other wonderful city is all a farce (surprise) but then learns that Ana has been forced into the games as well, so he is trying to get to her to save her. Meanwhile, back at the farm...or in this case, the orphanage...Adam has been taken under the wing of the man (Big Brother) who sent both Lucas and Ana to the Games.

That's it - that's all I got for you. The story continues with Episode 5 and as of the time of this review, I have no idea when that will come out. I'm hoping sooner rather than later.

[Vickie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hunger Games and zombies? Don't waste your time.

I bought this book based on other reviews comparing it to the Hunger Games / Running Man combined with zombie fiction. What those readers failed to mention was that this story so closely resembles the Hunger Games that I felt like I was reading a poor version of a really fantastic trilogy.
The book follows Jonas Lovecraft (a competitor on the Darwin Games) and his daughter Anastasia "Ana" but parallels with the more successful Hunger Games trilogy cannot be overlooked. I didn't find anything original in the storyline and after finishing 21 % of the book on my Kindle I decided to admit defeat and move onto something different. I think congratulations are in order to have finished as much as I have.
The writing is atrocious and the dialogue between the characters are stilted. The characters are one dimensional and during fighting scenes with the zombies (yes, there are zombies chasing the Darwin Games competitors) I found my mind wandering to household chores and the state of my laundry basket.
Having perused the author details on Amazon, I was not at all surprised that Platt and Wright intended to release a book per week during 2012. With drivel such as Z 2134 I am sure they can easily meet that target.
But then again, this book might appeal to some readers, particularly if they had not read the Hunger Games. I think this is what made it so terrible for me as I really loved the Hunger Games and The Running Man and this book just seems to be a really poor facsimile of such great fiction.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent story about a future society in a post-apocalyptic world where zombies exist outside of the enclosed environment of city/states over-ruled by law. The MAN is in control here, and there is an Underground network of people trying to survive. All this covered in the backdrop of a TV show like Hunger Games, but darker, if you can imagine, as Zombies are the environment that surrounds the players...This is Z2134. My first exposure to a Kindle Serial was ok. I read the first two episodes and was surprised that it was not over...re-checked my Kindle and the next two episodes showed up. Yes. Time to finish this. Well, apparently not. This "Season" is over, and now I have to wait for the next Season to possible finish the story...or not. Like a soap opera, this is a neat concept in principle, but in practice, I like my stories to have an end when I reach them...this one has not. Will I remember to come back to it to see what happens to our intrepid characters, the Lovecraft family? Not sure. While a fairly quick read, the cross between Hunger Games, Running Man, and Zombie Thriller was obvious from the beginning, only to have it confirmed by the authors in the afterword. Is that a bad thing? Who knows...that, dear reader, is up to you to decide. If the next installment is not pricey, I may be back to see what happens...but again...so much to read, and so little time.
Over and Out!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a serialised story much like the Hunger Games and the first season, episodes 1-4, are included in one e-book. In a dystopian future the government sends its prisoners to fight to the death in the Darwin Games. Oh and there's a load of zombies in the games too.

The story focuses on the Lovecraft family. Jonah, the father, framed for the murder of his wife and forced to fight in the Darwin Games. Ana, his daughter who believes she saw the murder and soon follows her father into the next round of the Darwin Games. And Adam, the son and brother, trying to survive in an orphanage without any family to protect him.

The dystopian elements of this story are really good and a bit worrying, which is exactly what you want from a dystopian story. Any part which is set outside the games is brilliant. Sadly though that's a small proportion of the story. The rest is just a rewritten version of the Hunger Games. Sure it is well written but you can't help feel that is not an original idea and was probably done better the first time around. I suppose the draw is zombies, but to be honest they are just there and don't really add a lot to the story. In fact this might be better without the zombies in many places.

This is an OK idea but it needed to differ more from the Hunger Games. Still, it is an enjoyable read and I will probably read "season two" and hope the premise begins to be more original.

[Kate Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of people have given this book a bad review because “it was just a rip-off of The Hunger Games.” Now, come on! The authors both flat-out said that they got the idea from The Hunger Games. It was basically like, “Hey, what if The Hunger Games had zombies in it?” So, you can’t get mad at a book for being exactly what it was advertised as. That’s just petty.

Honestly, I didn’t have a problem with the fact that it was a “rip-off” of The Hunger Games. What I had an issue with was the fact that it was a very bad rip-off of a book that I really enjoyed. The idea had a lot of potential, but it only took about once chapter to realize that it wasn’t going to live up to my expectations. The world building was, to put it bluntly, not good. There were a lot of questions and holes left unfilled, and even when information was put out there it seemed very thrown together. The plot was weak even though as a whole I think it had a lot of promise, but I think the fact that it was written as a weekly serialization to start with left it feeling disconnected at times. Overall, I started out interested even if the story wasn’t stellar, but by the second half I couldn’t wait to be done. I skimmed the last two chapters, and even though it ended with a bang, it didn’t affect me at all. I was just too happy to be done.

You can read my full review on my website, and check out my zombie book: http://katelmary.com/2014/09/28/book-...

[Kendra Le · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I was interested in it because of the zombie connection, and the promise of a well-designed/depicted dystopia--neither of which aspect satisfied at all.

The amazon.com pitch for this book says it's like a hyped-up mix of "The Hunger Games," "The Walking Dead," and "1984." Um....No. It's -nothing- like 1984, and only resembles the other two texts in how utterly derivative "Z 2134" is of these works.

A spin on an avox? Check.

Cities that are named by numbers instead of names? Check.

A fight-to-the-death competition televised and watched by the masses? Check. (This part is vaguely interesting, and called "The Darwin Games," where criminals are forced outside of the city walls and made to fight zombies, and other competitors, for their survival, until there's only one left).

While I could accept all of this, the lack of compelling characters that I cared about really was a deal-breaker, although it was a vaguely-entertaining read. Also, I feel that since I've already invested this much, I will probably read any future "seasons" just so I see this out to its completion.

[David Yuan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was fun, but not great. I would not consider this horror, but more action. The zombies are almost incidental. I found it annoying that the zombies in this book feel pain, can heal, and only seem to be a problem outside the wall. People who die inside the wall do not turn into zombies. Why not? I don't know... it was never explained. The characters often refer to "killing zombies." I want to explain to the authors that zombies are DEAD already. They shouldn't feel pain, they shouldn't be able to heal, and you can't kill something that is already dead. The proper word is "destroy" a zombie, not "kill" a zombie. Other than these annoyances, the story itself was entertaining and there were good cliffhangers. This story was described as being inspired by The Walking Dead and The Hunger Games. It was not anywhere near as good as either of these, but it was not bad. I do plan on reading the sequels just because I feel I need to know the complete story.

[Philip McClimon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An autocratic state, lies, intrigue, cruelty, an organized resistance, and flawed heroes are the ingredients for this series. Oh, and Zombies, lets not forget that last ingredient which is the icing on the cake. The zombies are basically your traditional undead, but there are some twists like a allusion to an ability to rejuvenate. When one had their head cut off, blood spurted implying a heart beat. So there are some deviations from "undead " traditions. There is no real mention of how they became zombies so perhaps we will get more "history " in future episodes. In any event, the world of the story is fully developed, as are the characters. The plot is very exciting and kept me "swiping " the screen. I have read YESTERDAY'S GONE which I like very much, but this series may be my new favorite.

[Blaine Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Released as a serial from Amazon, it took a while to get through the full story. With 2 weeks between each episode (and longer for the last one as I finished another book) I had to review a bit what had happened at the end. I think that the walking dead meets hunger games meets 1984 is pretty accurate, although the walking dead is probably a pretty weak reference. Yes, there are zombies, but they could just as easily be wolves or crazy people or just about anything else as they don't play a large role other than as an obstacle. The story itself is more about Big Brother with a Battle Royal/Running Man/Hunger Games type of "entertainment" as the main source of conflict. Enjoyable read, I like the cliff hangers and look forward to the second season.

[Alvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first introduction to Amazon's Kindle Serials. I love the format and how episodes would come out every so often. It feels weird to write a review, now, when the story is not yet over. So this review is based on SEASON 1 only.

Yes, it feels like a ripoff of the Hunger Games. But get over it, it's a good story. The authors tout it as a combination of Walking Dead, Hunger Games and 1984. It's 98% Hunger Games, 1.5% Walking Dead, and 0.5% 1984.

The zombies scenes are excellent, I just wish that there were more of them. The writing is tight and I enjoyed Season 1. I can't say that I'm excited about Season 2, but I will definitely read it. The writing is enjoyable enough, that I'm going to check out their other books.

[Wade Finnegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'm adding my Amazon reviews to Goodreads.

Sean Platt and David Wright deliver killer content in Z2134. I particularly enjoyed the character development of Anastasia and Jonah and the circumstances they are dealing with. The plot moves quickly and you know a new twist is just waiting around the corner. There has been some criticism regarding the similarity to the Hunger Games. While I admit it is the same premise, the authors add their own elements (zombies) and take the story in a totally different direction. This scenario isn't new and Platt and Wright build a world that is unique. The serial format leaves you wanting more and I'm quite sure they will deliver. I recommend Z2134 for those looking for action with zombies waiting in the shadows.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Z 2134 is one of Sean Platt's many serials. Platt and co-author David Wright arrange the content into episodes which are released by itself. I read the first four episodes which compose season one and ended up a little disappointed. The description clearly states it's a combination of the Hunger Games, Walking Dead and 1984, and I wish they didn't stick so true to that statement. On the upside, Z 2134 is well written and the plot is engaging. I finished episode 4 wanting more and for many questions to be answered so I think despite it all, I'm hooked. I'm looking forward to trying out more serials from Platt and Wright.

[Kim Kuhne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine "The Hunger Games" set post Zombie Apocalypse where the "games" are new every couple weeks using prison inmates and political prisoners from each city competing to be the one survivor that gets to go on to a resort-style city for the rest of their lives.

Now imagine what happens when some of the those political prisoners get to the "resort" and find it is just another lie by the government. Volume 1 of this series is setting the scene, so a lot of slow build (and intense zombie battles).

It's good, but I've read better in both the "Hunger Games" and other zombie books. It is an interesting combination and I am interested in seeing how it unfolds.

[Christopher Worthington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you like Zombies?
Do you like the Running Man or Gamer?

This is essentially a dystopian society in which rightly / wrongly accused lesser citizens are shoved outside the wall, along with the Zombies to fight for their lives on TV.

It was well written although I couldn't decide whether or not to like the protaganist.

Worth a read but I am keen to see how their other series 'Yesterday's Gone' stands up in comparison.

This book was recomended to me by a friend, he is a keen Gamer and Zombie fan. I can see why this book adequatly feeds his imagination......

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free to read for Amazon Prime uses on kindle... so I decided to give it a try. It is very much a Hunger Games/Running Man rip-off with zombies--at first. But, it does start to take on its own identity. The characters begin to grow into their own as the story develops and it does end with an exciting twist that sorta makes me want to read more... The zombie aspect is not overwhelming and in my opinion was just added as a gimmick to get people interest in the zombie trend to read it. Not super original, but would make a decent summer read.

[Vera Poshivay · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the worst book I've read in a long time. It looks like a sketchy description of an amateur zombie TV series that gets boring right in the beginning of pilot episode. The characters lack personality, the plot is messy and has no main idea, only threads of pointless acts.
I was expecting an action-packed story with simple but solid characters, gore details, plot twists and a cliffhanger at the end. What I got was a text written by Walking Dead/Hunger Games - inspired teenager who is cool enough to occasionally use the F-word.