Zombie Patrol

Walking Plague Trilogy #1

by J.R. Rain, Elizabeth Basque

Los Angeles County park ranger, Jack Carter, is about to discover that not all is as it seems in his tranquil life. Once responsible for patrolling the many public parks, in particular the popular Griffith Park with its famous observatory and zoo, Jack is about to discover that a whole new kind of animal roams his woods.

The undead kind.

It begins when his brother, on leave from the military, arrives sick. Deathly sick. Jack's concern turns to alarm when his own flesh and blood turns on him, forcing the park ranger to take drastic measures.

Now searching for answers and help for his brother, Jack finds himself on the run from a lethal group of government agents — and from something monstrous that stalks his woods. Something not of this world... and hungry for flesh.

Genres: Zombies, Horror, Fiction, Paranormal, Post Apocalyptic, Audiobook, Science Fiction

154 pages, Paperback

First published January 29, 2013

About the author

J.R. Rain is the author of 110 novels and counting. He lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest, where he's hard at work on his next novel... and fighting off sparkly vampires.

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started off really slow for me. It did pick up towards the end. Overall, it is an ok start to the series. I may or may not continue it.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining horror listening 🎶🔰

Another will written zombies world 🌎 haunting horror adventure thriller short story by J.R. Rain ☔ and Elizabeth Basque (The Walking Plague Trilogy book 1) . Something has come to earth 🌎 infecting people. Jack's brother is infected and comes too Jack's house. The horror continues but the brother and his friend are cured. I would recommend this novella and series, J. R. Rain ☔ is one of my favourite authors. Enjoy the adventure of reading or listening to Alexa read books 📚. 2022 😮😈😡

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

So a while ago I found out that you can get boxed sets of ebooks. I may have gone a bit crazy with the amount of sets I bought. I got zombie burnout. Then I was reading a sci-fi story & as one book follows another, I had started reading this zombie book & got sucked into it again. My zombie burnout has been cured. This is a different type of zombie story. I am not going to give it away, you can check it out for yourself. Good characters, good story, good ideas. 2 more books follow this one & I have already put the next one on my "to read" list.

[Crystal Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars

I couldn’t even finish reading it. I gave it two stars because the story could have been a good one but It didn’t have any detail. At all. It was very simplistic. Like something a High School student would write just to have something to turn in.

[Nanksy · Rating 3 out of 5]

J. R. Rain writes well and creates a set of interesting characters. Other than that this is a formulaic Zombie novel, no better, no worse than a dozen others. If you have nothing better to do, read it ...and prepare to get to the end only to find that you have to buy another book to find out what happens to the characters.

[Alysha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book free through Weber books Kindle Buffet. Decided to give it a try because I like the Samantha Moon series by one of the authors and I’ve never passed up a Zombie book. Was not disappointed!!!! Love the writing style, characters and that it is just a bit of a twist than your normal Zombie tale. It’s like best parts of a B movie in one series .

[Kitten Kisser · Rating 1 out of 5]

Silly me. I thought I was reading a complete book. Had I known it'd end without an actual end, I would have never bothered with it. The writing is okay. The story was interesting enough. Not writing a complete novel though. Total dick move.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 2 out of 5]

The actual idea of this story was interesting and the fact that these were a different kind of zombie was interesting. What ruined it were the stupid and unrealistic decisions taken by the characters, none of whom I greatly liked or cared about. There were too many things that didn't make sense and that left me disengaged from the book.

Two high ranking officers on a military base see a meteor landing nearby and go to look at it. Instead of doing what they are trained to do and stay away from it and raise the alarm, they both decide to handle the thing. As you do. So they alert the authorities and now appears the Agent in Black who is the steriotype of weird and obnoxious special agents but without the brains. Lets review his stupidity-you have a space meteor on the base and the two men who find it have suddenly become sick. You follow protocol and lock down the base to ensure any contagion can't get out and isolate the men, right? Um no. Agent guy instead lets the two guys go and decides to follow them. WHY? What are they going to lead you to, pirate gold? Then the Agent interviews another sick guy on base who was infected and he manages to get close enough to be bitten. Oh come on!!!

Then we have Anna, the sulky fourteen year old who drives me crazy. We keep getting told how smart and brilliant she is but she seems incapable of following simple instructions. Your uncle is very sick so don't go near him because I chained him up in the cellar when he tried to bite me-so Anna keeps trying to visit him and thinks daddy is mean to do this to his brother. What age are you, three??? She cries every time she doesn't get her own way. I outgrew that when I was seven. She agrees not to tell anyone their secret then blabs it to the guy she has a crush on. Mind you, her dad decides to tell the secret to the cop he fancies so we can see how good they are about keeping it quiet.

When you see the title of the book you might expect the usual zombie plot but you don't get that in this book. The men are not true zombies but the virus does make them bite people to pass the infection, though at times their own personality keeps showing through. It is slow to get into the men going zombie, following the two men as they get sick and try to find Joe's brother. We have a lot of the deteriorating mind of the men and the different changes they go through. It was interesting enough in its own way and I'm not going to be critical about an author doing something a bit different. I just wish the silly things had been removed and that characters like Anna were not so annoying.

I think there was some potential in the story but having the men just walking off base when sick after touching space debris is silly and would not happen. Perhaps civilians finding it in a field would have been a better place to start. A lead agent would never be as stupid as this one. My other issue was the revelation at the end considering a possible cure-that just did not compute for me when dealing with people similar to zombies.

No there was too much in this book that annoyed or frustrated me.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I loved every second of this book and cannot wait for more! I pre-ordered Zombie Patrol a day or two ago and couldn't stop reading it today. J.R. Rain is one of my favorite authors and I quickly snatch up anything he puts out. I know that when I'm getting one of his books that it's going to be a fun and exciting story. With that being said I've never read on of his collaborations until now. I've read most of his books: the Vamire for Hire series (my personal favorite - now along with Zombie Patrol), his Jim Knighthorse and Spinoza series, Elvis has not left the building and The Body Departed (great ghost story - brought a tear to my eyes) along with most of his short story collections. So I wasn't sure if I'd like this one as much but it was everything and more than what I've come to expect from Mr. Rain. I haven't ready anything from Elizabeth Basque yet but after this book I definitely intend to check her works out.

In Zombie Patrol Jack Carter is a Forest Ranger who deals with wild animals, drug runners and the occassional criminal. He's also a single father who's going through all the things a normal father do rasing a teenage daughter on his own. He has to deal with Anna's grwoing up, starting to like boys and becoming more independent and if that wasn't enough now he has to also deal with a Zombie Invasion. One day Jack's brother Joey (A Navy Officer) and a friend show up on his doorstep sick with what seems like at the time your average flu bug but it's not the flu and Jack's about to learn that being a father and brother are about to get alot tougher in this new zombie ridden world.

I'd like to let everyone know that this story is a bit darker than Rain's usual stories. His characters are every bit as real. They're heroic yet flawed, caring yet make mistakes. The plot flows almost effortlessly and it's easy to get caught up in Jake's life while he tries to figure out how to help his family and keep his daughter safe. I really cared about the characters and found myself at the edge of my seat with worry in more than one spot in the story. I can honestly say I haven't been this excited about a new series in a long time. I truly cannot wait for the next one. I need to know what's going to happen next!!!

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zombie Patrol begins when his brother, on leave from the military, arrives sick. Deathly sick. Jack's concern turns to alarm when his own flesh and blood turns on him, forcing the park ranger to take drastic measures.

"Now searching for answers and help for his brother, Jack finds himself on the run from a lethal group of government agents — and from something monstrous that stalks his woods. Something not of this world... and hungry for flesh." .... or so the blurb says. I didn't see any of the highlighted bit happen though, not in the way the blurb makes you expect to see happen at any rate.

This is a book about zombies, no wait aliens, no zombie aliens! Yes, that makes more sense. Zombies creep me out, they're all rotty and smelly and bitey and saliva-ey, so gross, i hate germs. Zombie germs are the worst! But zombies truly make me feel ick and im not a huge fan of zombie books as such, unless they are superbly written. This book not so much.

Zombie Patrol has an interesting premise, wherein anyone who touches magic alien rock gets infected. Does this make sense to me? No it does not because i have nothing on which to base it on. Some might see the missing explanation aspect as a plus. I personally prefer a semi logically reasoning behind the end of the world because the devil is in the details.

I found the shifting perspectives annoying. In my experience when a book shifts between first and third perspectives the way this one does, there is more of an emphasis on first person, because if your using a first person perspective the person narrating it is the star of the book and should have something to say other than what you glean from the third person perspective. This was not the case here, and Jack doesn't read like a main character to me.

Character decisions don't make sense either. Joe Carter love his brother and his niece, but goes to them when he knows he's unwell and takes along his unwell friend. Furthermore when they are at the downward end of their sanest, he trusts Mike to leave his brother and family alone and goes on his merry way. You sir are in the military and not the least bit suspicious? Would anyone take that risk?

Still this wasn't a bad book, it just had potential to be so much better.

[Laura Crosse · Rating 3 out of 5]

You're going to have to be a fan of the zombie genre to like this. I'm not saying it's bad, on the contrary it's one of the better zombie novels I've read, but it ain't something that will cross boundaries and encourage new readers over to this genre. Try Mira Grant for that, trust me.

I enjoyed it though. It was exactly what I was looking for. I needed a quick, not-overly-intelligent, nicely gory, zombie novel to cheer me up after some tough reads and this was exactly that. It even had a better storyline than I anticipated to be honest which was refreshing.

So the book centres around Jack. Jack is a park ranger in a zoo and also lives on the zoos grounds with his teenage daughter who he home schools. Jacks brother arrives to his door after going awol from the military and seems to be suffering from a mysterious illness after touching some meteor-like item that fell from the sky. He's brought a friend just to make things more interesting. Mike is also pretty ill.

Joe and Mike end up handcuffed to pillars in Jacks basement after apparently losing touch with reality and attacking Jack.

Up to this point I thought the book was a fairly standard zombie yarn but the author did put a good spin on it by having this interlude in the illness. Joe and Mike apparently get better all of a sudden. Other than their red eyes you wouldn't even know they had been sick. Of course it's never going to wrap up nice and easy like that is it? Nope they're better alright but they're also very hungry. And not for a couple of weetabix.

I liked this book it had a good twist in the stereotypical zombie genre and I liked that the author is trying to give a genuine reason for the disease and its origins. Better than I expected but not going to win any awards.

[Michael Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've noticed J.R. rain writes books so short that his trilogies (a serial which he uses a lot) are combined the length of a "real" book by a more traditional author. He does it so much that this looks suspiciously like a money grab,mp articulately at $3.99 per installment for 180 pages. He uses a lot of white space making each installment all the shorter.

Beyond that, I found his writing stilted, shallow and choppy. I speed read through thundering half of this book just to be done with it.

J. R. If you are reading this, I'm a voracious reader and I would have considered continuing to read this saga if I didn't go onto Amazon and discover the high prices for short books. The least you could do is bundle your trilogies in a reasonably priced set, if you won't stop splitting your books into tiny pieces.

[Sheridan Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bringing fresh ideas to the genre.
Zombie Patrol - Following the Carter family and their circle. The authors certainly take a popular topic and make it their own with some seriously unique twists. They also seem to bring a religious undertone to the story. I'll let you figure it out.
Introductions are made and you find yourself fully invested in these characters. Their response to the insane situation they're presented with makes sense. They're trying to figure things out. The premise seems fairly logical. Initially, seems to be an attack from outer space. We'll see. The stories pacing is great, and they leave you wanting more. It's a great length for those who like to finish a book in one sitting.

[Wulfwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on the zombie apocalypse. This is the first book in a trilogy. The authors take their time setting everything up. We get to know the characters, which is good. The story has some aspects that may make a ZBook lover cringe. I won't go into detail though. I do not want to give the plot away. I have read the second book. Those unbelievable moments do tie into the story, so I would definitely give the trilogy a chance. Book 1 sets up the story but manages to get in plenty of horror. Upon finishing it, I immediately purchased Book 2 and read it. I tried for Book 3 but sadly have to wait.

[Shellie Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book is dealing with the infection and you really are not getting into the zombie part of the infection it touches it lightly but I am not sure but i think the next book will be about the zombies. This book gets you into loving the characters who are infected and that sucks because they are really likable characters but at the end of the book you still do not know what is going to happen with them. If you like zombie books I do believe you will enjoy this one and it ends where you have to pick the second one up so see what is going to happen.

[April Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love J.R. Rain, his books are always catchy... this one, while being no different, did take longer for me to get into it. Once I got the halfway point, I couldn't put it down.
Joey is a Navy Seal, and he ran into bad news. After handling an item that fell from the sky, he began feeling sick. He was interrogated by superiors and released... he ran. Upon arriving at his brothers, things got a little more out of hand. He's locked in a basement, has an insatiable appetite for meat, and he's very angry...

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out promising, strange object from space, mysterious government agents, mysterious illness, and then it doesn't go anywhere. The characters were boring, one dimensional people, the rest of the plot seemed to follow your low budget zombie flick, so way too predictable and boring. I do realize there is only so much you can do with a genre that has been done to death, but this story didn't even try.

[Sheree Bonita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Potential to be good. The narration changed from first person to third person throughout the novel. It's really annoying. A lot of the dialogue seems not that believable in places. There are also details that just don't make much sense, e.g: Joe could hear a hummingbird two houses away, but couldn't make out what the kids were talking about in the room upstairs.

[RJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad story, short, but interesting. A nice twist to the zombie tale where the infected would recover to a seemingly cured state, yet something in the eyes gave them away. There is a reasoning to their recovery and they gravitate together for some still unknown purpose. To be continued in the next book of the trilogy. I look forward to it.

[Sara Gilliland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this story as the plague came from an outside source and has not yet destroyed civilization, the people in it are interesting and unique, this story is different from others I have read and keeps you entertained from page 1 all the way to the end, a definite must read for Zombie genre readers!

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ridiculous jumping back and forth between points of view. Seriously, switching between omniscient third person and bizarrely-executed robotic first person? It made no sense.

On a technical side it featured horrendously sloppy editing.

Plot and characters? Boring.

Redeeming qualities? It was short.

[Jai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book when I stumbled across it in audio form. At first I thought this is going to be another one of those zombie books blah blah but the story reeled me in. I actually like all the characters and i want to follow the series to really know what's going on with everyone.

[B.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good zombie apocalypse story. Not quite up to Mira Grant standards, but she set a pretty high bar. Still, the premise seems sound and the characters are solid. I'll be looking for the next in this series.

[Banobo · Rating 3 out of 5]

never read a zombie book before. of course I never read a vampire book before I read Moonshadow just keeping with the same author. I will continue to read the series as I like to complete what I have begun.

[Donny Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different type of infection

This was a different zombie story. Not so much zombies as infected. There are some twists and turns that I did not see coming, and I am intrigued by the storyline.

[Glenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of J.R. Rain books. This was good but the story was stopped right in the middle. Coming soon is "Zombie Rage"

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

good but too short

[Shelley Deuso · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the story....now I have to wait for the next. I wish it was already published and hope it is longer than the first.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice start of a new zombie series. The characters are interesting and the plot is promising. Maybe a lot of stereotypes, but also an interesting cause for the infection. Recommendable.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want 3.5 stars for this. Good enough that I'll probably get the next one but not so good that it would get to stay on my bookshelf if it were the dead tree version.