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All That I See
The zombie apocalypse rages on. In the small town of Clayfield, Kentucky, survivors attempt to carve out new lives for themselves. There is hope that eventually Clayfield can be secured, but first the undead must be eliminated and law and order must be restored. Unfortunately, the survivors might not ever get to implement their plan. Gangs of looters continue to strike the town and news filters in that something worse could be coming.
275 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 20, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 5, 2014
Wow, seriously, if you like survival horror, pick up this series now. As genre books go (P.A. Zombie), this is one of the strongest entries I've read. Gregory is a fantastic storyteller. The book is gripping, scary, and occasionally depressing.
That's not to say it's flawless. It very much suffers from a plot driven by stupidity, but that's effectively a fault forced by the story. The best survival plan would be to avoid everyone, but then nothing would ever happen. Also there's some built in explanation for that as Sara is pushing to clean up Clayfield, and therefore they need to be in town and engage with other people. That said, there was one incident that just drove me crazy, specifically, Additionally, while I like the idea of alcohol as medicine, there has to be a limit to how much infection it can fight. While I think that Gregory has somewhat played with that line--if there's bone you're probably a goner, the way it's used is sometimes both arbitrary and convenient. Oh, and the characters in this one! Good grief for the world if we're down to the Corndogs and Bernices.
That's not to say it's flawless. It very much suffers from a plot driven by stupidity, but that's effectively a fault forced by the story. The best survival plan would be to avoid everyone, but then nothing would ever happen. Also there's some built in explanation for that as Sara is pushing to clean up Clayfield, and therefore they need to be in town and engage with other people. That said, there was one incident that just drove me crazy, specifically, Additionally, while I like the idea of alcohol as medicine, there has to be a limit to how much infection it can fight. While I think that Gregory has somewhat played with that line--if there's bone you're probably a goner, the way it's used is sometimes both arbitrary and convenient. Oh, and the characters in this one! Good grief for the world if we're down to the Corndogs and Bernices.
October 21, 2013
All That I See continues the saga of 'he who shall not be named' and friends. Instead of running for the hills to find safety and infection free zones, survivors decide to make a stand in Clayfield, Kentucky. Having the foresight that most would not, they try to become sustainable on their own as opposed to looting the local Wal-Mart. This saga really portrays the old adage of 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime'.
The devil is in the details; and there is no shortage of exquisite description in this series. I love when I can get lost in a book, close my eyes and see a scene play out like a movie. To me, that is the sign of a talented writer. Gregory's writing is so fantastically detailed that I can nearly feel the loss of characters, the pain of a bite, the sting of deception, and the disgust of the horrible acts man has the capacity to carry out.
Click here to read my entire review.
The devil is in the details; and there is no shortage of exquisite description in this series. I love when I can get lost in a book, close my eyes and see a scene play out like a movie. To me, that is the sign of a talented writer. Gregory's writing is so fantastically detailed that I can nearly feel the loss of characters, the pain of a bite, the sting of deception, and the disgust of the horrible acts man has the capacity to carry out.
Click here to read my entire review.
March 31, 2023
Good Entertaining Book
June 17, 2014
“It’s getting to be that we’re losing all the good folks. Before long all that’ll be left is the riffraff and monsters.”
With All That I See, author Shane Gregory delivers a rock solid sequel to his previous book, The King of Clayfield, and continues a post-apocalyptic zombie survival series that remains at the top of the genre. Very much a continuation of the previous volume, Gregory offers resolutions to many of the questions left unanswered from the previous book, while at the same time, artfully growing the world he has infected with the Canton B virus beyond the boundaries of the titular town of Clayfield.
Gregory’s use of first person narration is masterful, not just for the voice it gives the main character, but also in its use of limited omniscience. The narrator (and by extension the reader) can see only so far, and it’s what lurks just beyond our field of view that generates much of the tension in the novel. There is a sense that things are moving just out of sight – like rats in the dark – and creeping up on the protagonists. There are also times when events are hauntingly unclear, when we catch only a few grisly frames of a longer movie, and must (like the narrator) piece together the in between, leaving us to imagine not just the story written on the page, but also the grotesqueries that happen just off-camera.
Just as importantly, I continue to appreciate Gregory’s ability to play with morality … and moral ambiguity. One of the great things about the first King of Clayfield novel was that, despite the apocalyptic nature of event, there were a number of people who remained … well … pretty good people. Disasters seldom flip a switch in the human head and turn average folk from law-abiding shopkeepers to ruffians – in fact, disasters tend to pull people together, and it was good to see those elements in the first book.
But by now, the horrors unleashed by the Canton B outbreak have eaten-up (literally) a good deal of the upstanding citizenry allowing human predators more prominent space up near the top of the food chain. Suddenly, the scruples of the narrator – both about sex and killing – seem rather Pollyanna and naïve. But Gregory is rather cleverly luring us down a dark moral alley where even (justifiably) dispatching a few would-be rapists poses serious consequences for the characters. Who is perceived as villain and who as hero is flipped topsy-turvy by the middle of the book, and the main character is left having a very hard time keeping his head above a deep pit of dangerous moral quicksand. With plenty of damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you don’t-choices … that smack of the very hard choices any leader – any king – must make for his (or her) realm to survive, there’s a fearful tempering of the characters as the book progresses. While the first book in this series might have been all about showing us that there was only one man with the heart to be The King of Clayfield, this book is all about the next step. Becoming king unfortunately requires the ability to make bitterly difficult decisions, the fortitude to execute those decision, and the ability to live with heart wrenching sacrifices.
Of course, all of this is just icing on the cake of what is at its heart a damn fine zombie survival story, full of twists , turns, and macabre encounters (Gregory’s dogs will make you shiver!) that kept me turning page after page deep into the night. Perhaps the only reservation I can give is that if you haven’t read the first book in the series, pick up that one first (and why wouldn’t you ‘cause it’s just as awesome?); All That I See is a lot more rewarding if you know the characters and events from the preceding novel.
Can’t wait to crack the cover of Book Three: Fire Birds!
September 25, 2013
Everything I said about this book's predecessor, The King of Clayfield? Go there and read my review. Ditto.
This is a continuation of the predicament in which the small Kentucky town of Clayfield finds itself following an outbreak of a virus that turns the residents into - you guessed it - zombies. I was itching to read this book, the second in the series, because I wanted to know what happened to everyone from the first book. I wasn't disappointed, except that it ended. Book 3 is bound to be out soon.
As for the book itself, it was exactly like the first - a well-written, well-structured, easy read, sound in its mechanics. I get very tired of trying to read books that have so many errors and structural problems that it's almost impossible to get through them. The books in this series are not like that in any way. They're also very creative. The narrator, who is the male protagonist, comes up with ideas for survival that most people would never think of, so it's obvious this author did his homework. I have a huge appreciation for that.
And by the way, the poster on the wall of the club? Didn't see that coming.
Overall, another out-of-the-ballpark entry into this series. Can't wait to pick up the next one.
- Deanndra Hall,
Author of the Love Under Construction series and
The Neighbors of Harper's Cove series
This is a continuation of the predicament in which the small Kentucky town of Clayfield finds itself following an outbreak of a virus that turns the residents into - you guessed it - zombies. I was itching to read this book, the second in the series, because I wanted to know what happened to everyone from the first book. I wasn't disappointed, except that it ended. Book 3 is bound to be out soon.
As for the book itself, it was exactly like the first - a well-written, well-structured, easy read, sound in its mechanics. I get very tired of trying to read books that have so many errors and structural problems that it's almost impossible to get through them. The books in this series are not like that in any way. They're also very creative. The narrator, who is the male protagonist, comes up with ideas for survival that most people would never think of, so it's obvious this author did his homework. I have a huge appreciation for that.
And by the way, the poster on the wall of the club? Didn't see that coming.
Overall, another out-of-the-ballpark entry into this series. Can't wait to pick up the next one.
- Deanndra Hall,
Author of the Love Under Construction series and
The Neighbors of Harper's Cove series
March 10, 2014
Loved it! Gregory's vision of the zombie apocalypse, as told from the view of a small town museum curator, is not to be missed. ALL THAT I SEE was a page turner, just as the first novel in the series was. Our unnamed protagonist, (believe me, I looked and looked and Gregory does not name him)continues to battle the dead and the living as well, in and around his hometown of Clayfield, Kentucky. When confronted with the question of why he doesn't leave. His response rings true when he says that one place is as good as another, besides, home is home.
Our hero, who sees himself as a reasonably good guy trying to survive, is quickly becoming a survivor. You see him evolve as the story unfolds. He does what he must to stay alive but never seems to become amoral, as do many of the other survivors he encounters. He's no super soldier, no survivalist, merely an ordinary guy confronting and coping with an extraordinary time. His haunted memories for a dead love and his indecisive response to the affections of a beautiful young survivor merely add to the humanness of our narrator.
ALL THAT I SEE, as well as the first novel, compel the reader to ask: What would I do in such a situation? That's the sort of question that makes for, in my opinion, a fine character study and a good read.
Our hero, who sees himself as a reasonably good guy trying to survive, is quickly becoming a survivor. You see him evolve as the story unfolds. He does what he must to stay alive but never seems to become amoral, as do many of the other survivors he encounters. He's no super soldier, no survivalist, merely an ordinary guy confronting and coping with an extraordinary time. His haunted memories for a dead love and his indecisive response to the affections of a beautiful young survivor merely add to the humanness of our narrator.
ALL THAT I SEE, as well as the first novel, compel the reader to ask: What would I do in such a situation? That's the sort of question that makes for, in my opinion, a fine character study and a good read.
October 5, 2015
***THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***
This book starts about a month after the first book ended. It started off decently enough, catching the reader up with the activities of the main character. However, once a new character was introduced it went off the rails quickly! Yet again the only people they seem to meet up with are scumbags. There are no decent people left in the world, save for the main character and the few in his group. The one group that is very briefly introduced that didn't seem to be scumbags were idiots that ran off without helping anyone - including their own friend - as soon as they were rescued. The formula of every event in the book seems to be the same: new people introduced/run in with known group, bad stuff happens because they are bad people, main character does something stupid and gets separated from friends, main character battles living/living dead, main character searches for group. Sometimes he finds them, sometimes not.
This book was even more disappointing than the last. It seems to me that a lot of mundane and useless events were added to the book just to stretch it so the series could become a trilogy. The ending of this book came very abruptly without anything really being solved or a goal being met.
This book starts about a month after the first book ended. It started off decently enough, catching the reader up with the activities of the main character. However, once a new character was introduced it went off the rails quickly! Yet again the only people they seem to meet up with are scumbags. There are no decent people left in the world, save for the main character and the few in his group. The one group that is very briefly introduced that didn't seem to be scumbags were idiots that ran off without helping anyone - including their own friend - as soon as they were rescued. The formula of every event in the book seems to be the same: new people introduced/run in with known group, bad stuff happens because they are bad people, main character does something stupid and gets separated from friends, main character battles living/living dead, main character searches for group. Sometimes he finds them, sometimes not.
This book was even more disappointing than the last. It seems to me that a lot of mundane and useless events were added to the book just to stretch it so the series could become a trilogy. The ending of this book came very abruptly without anything really being solved or a goal being met.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2016
5 Stars! Even though I'm a bit skeptical about the transfer of the virus angle as it goes against everything I've ever read or watched - I love this series! Fantastic narration and a wonderfully human and extremely likeable lead character who gets smarter and tougher every book!! Forget Fear the Walking Dead (1st season was lousy!) THIS should be the next zombie/post apocalyptic book made into a series! I'm going to try to restrain myself from delving into book 3 since it appears that its the last in the series. Shane Gregory better get writing, I want more!
December 22, 2020
I liked this one even better than the first - which you must read first. If you have ever wondered what would happen in a small rural southern town to a regular Joe when the zombie apocalypse comes - this book is a darn good start. Not an action barn burner but a decent amount of suspense and a lot of "realism" in the writer's approach. Worth my time for sure.
February 7, 2014
It was a good story, I liked it. Nothing fantastic or genre changing, but a good story with decent, memorable characters. The book ends with some open issues so I'm sure there will be a follow-up. All the more amazing in my opinion by such a young (in quantity published) writer. Well done I say.
November 18, 2014
Second book in the series, but it definitely is one of the best zombie books I've ever read! I was hoping for a longer series, but it's still worth reading again and again.
January 3, 2023
book two of king of clay field
Just as satisfying as the first book good to know the ongoing situation in clay field got worse but he now knows how to survive .
Just as satisfying as the first book good to know the ongoing situation in clay field got worse but he now knows how to survive .
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews