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The Fall #1
Victim Zero
Kell McDonald isn't your average guy. He's a brilliant biologist and geneticist, a leading researcher in the constant fight against disease and death. He works in secret on a miraculous organism with the potential to change the world.
But he isn't the only one.
Victim Zero is a story about life and loss, self-awareness and the hard choices between what is right and what is necessary. As the world spirals down and the dead begin to rise, Kell must learn the difference between surviving and living.
Set in the world of Living With the Dead, Victim Zero tells the story of how The Fall began. From before the outbreak itself, during the crisis and beyond, this novel chronicles the journey of a man who holds the weight of the entire human race on his shoulders.
But he isn't the only one.
Victim Zero is a story about life and loss, self-awareness and the hard choices between what is right and what is necessary. As the world spirals down and the dead begin to rise, Kell must learn the difference between surviving and living.
Set in the world of Living With the Dead, Victim Zero tells the story of how The Fall began. From before the outbreak itself, during the crisis and beyond, this novel chronicles the journey of a man who holds the weight of the entire human race on his shoulders.
214 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 5, 2013
618 people are currently reading
1558 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Guess
50 books364 followersJoshua Guess (who goes by Josh most of the time, but Joshua professionally because his mom insists) is originally from southern Illinois, but moved to central Kentucky at an early age.
Always a storyteller, his interest in creating began with art. He loved to draw and come up with stories about his pictures.
Then he discovered comic books and novels, and things...took a turn.
Devouring everything from superboy to Stephen King, Josh started to gain a greater interest in writing, making it a hobby during high school and achieving distinguished marks in his portfolio.
Then, life got in the way. College and the struggle to start a life of his own away from home took up most of his time. His love of telling stories took a back seat to the needs of daily life for many years, with the occasional foray into working on one project or another.
In late 2009, Josh buckled down and started work on an idea for a fantasy novel that had been stuck in his head since those halcyon days back in high school. Struggling to find a voice, Josh realized months later after many false starts that he needed to stretch his brain a little, strengthen his writing muscles. So he began another project that had been simmering in the back of his mind, a continuing serialized zombie story, told in the form of a daily blog.
Living With the Dead has given him a measure of success, but more important has imparted new skills at wordsmithing and the drive to complete. 'Bound to Silence', his debut novel, has been released and is available now, as are many collections and versions of Living With the Dead.
Once that tipping point was reached, there was no choice for him but to keep on writing. Much more of Josh's work will be released in the coming months.
I hate writing in the third person about myself. I live an average life and work a full time job. I have three cats, two dogs, two ferrets, and a wife that I'm so in love with it hurts. My goal is to some day have enough success to write full time, and to manage a level of long term financial security that I don't have to worry about money. It's my dream to make a good living doing what I love--telling stories. I hope you enjoy my work. That's why I do it.
Always a storyteller, his interest in creating began with art. He loved to draw and come up with stories about his pictures.
Then he discovered comic books and novels, and things...took a turn.
Devouring everything from superboy to Stephen King, Josh started to gain a greater interest in writing, making it a hobby during high school and achieving distinguished marks in his portfolio.
Then, life got in the way. College and the struggle to start a life of his own away from home took up most of his time. His love of telling stories took a back seat to the needs of daily life for many years, with the occasional foray into working on one project or another.
In late 2009, Josh buckled down and started work on an idea for a fantasy novel that had been stuck in his head since those halcyon days back in high school. Struggling to find a voice, Josh realized months later after many false starts that he needed to stretch his brain a little, strengthen his writing muscles. So he began another project that had been simmering in the back of his mind, a continuing serialized zombie story, told in the form of a daily blog.
Living With the Dead has given him a measure of success, but more important has imparted new skills at wordsmithing and the drive to complete. 'Bound to Silence', his debut novel, has been released and is available now, as are many collections and versions of Living With the Dead.
Once that tipping point was reached, there was no choice for him but to keep on writing. Much more of Josh's work will be released in the coming months.
I hate writing in the third person about myself. I live an average life and work a full time job. I have three cats, two dogs, two ferrets, and a wife that I'm so in love with it hurts. My goal is to some day have enough success to write full time, and to manage a level of long term financial security that I don't have to worry about money. It's my dream to make a good living doing what I love--telling stories. I hope you enjoy my work. That's why I do it.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
March 4, 2018
This was EPIC ...... but ultimately draining. 😨 The best zombie/living dead book that I have read to date, it is a "world building" series - and it's been so looong since I've read one of those that I'd forgotten just how much information and how many characters are packed into making one. I'll try to keep this review short because there are so many others already.
I loved how The Fall was started by a misused virus and the whole Biologist/Researcher premise that started with Kell. There was a great juxtaposition between his nerdiness and his overall physique - a 300 lb, tall, huge African American that you don't wanna mess with! It was interesting to see the living dead were brought about by the virus becoming airborne and everyone becoming infected but only turning when a person died and then reanimated.
I think my only problem with the book was personal - the zombie fighting and rebuilding of some sort of society - COOL! ...... Man's inhumanity to man, not so much. I struggled with that, especially the rape sequences and abuse suffered by women captured by the Marauders. Oh ...... and the baby being chowed down on by zombies while strapped in a car seat in the back of a car. I had to take a few Mummy moments for that one and put the book down.
I'm dying to find out what happens to Kell and his quest to find a cure for the virus and also what happens with the virus mutating continually with both the humans and the zombies. If you like zombie apocalypse novels with huge depth and scale then I couldn't recommend this highly enough.
I loved how The Fall was started by a misused virus and the whole Biologist/Researcher premise that started with Kell. There was a great juxtaposition between his nerdiness and his overall physique - a 300 lb, tall, huge African American that you don't wanna mess with! It was interesting to see the living dead were brought about by the virus becoming airborne and everyone becoming infected but only turning when a person died and then reanimated.
I think my only problem with the book was personal - the zombie fighting and rebuilding of some sort of society - COOL! ...... Man's inhumanity to man, not so much. I struggled with that, especially the rape sequences and abuse suffered by women captured by the Marauders. Oh ...... and the baby being chowed down on by zombies while strapped in a car seat in the back of a car. I had to take a few Mummy moments for that one and put the book down.
I'm dying to find out what happens to Kell and his quest to find a cure for the virus and also what happens with the virus mutating continually with both the humans and the zombies. If you like zombie apocalypse novels with huge depth and scale then I couldn't recommend this highly enough.
February 6, 2025
My rating 4.7
The book "Victim Zero (The Fall # 1)" by Joshua Guess is quite a solid zombie apocalypse novel. The lovers of the genre are easily involved in the world described in the book. The cruelty of the world in which every wrong step can lead to death is a very good writer, and the main character, Kell McDonald, through the book, experiences a kind of catharsis of his existence. Kell is a brilliant biologist and geneticist and has found an organization with which he could change the world. Unfortunately, his innovation is taken over by another corporation in which the government is involved. They put him in front of a done act a human experiment. His attempts to fix a thing, though he does not know, become in vain because they have opened Pandora’s box with that experiment. Kell's life and everyone on the planet becomes a nightmare in which life is worth less than dust beads. The writer easily puts us in the story so it was a pleasure to read the book. I would recommend the book to all zombie lovers.
The book "Victim Zero (The Fall # 1)" by Joshua Guess is quite a solid zombie apocalypse novel. The lovers of the genre are easily involved in the world described in the book. The cruelty of the world in which every wrong step can lead to death is a very good writer, and the main character, Kell McDonald, through the book, experiences a kind of catharsis of his existence. Kell is a brilliant biologist and geneticist and has found an organization with which he could change the world. Unfortunately, his innovation is taken over by another corporation in which the government is involved. They put him in front of a done act a human experiment. His attempts to fix a thing, though he does not know, become in vain because they have opened Pandora’s box with that experiment. Kell's life and everyone on the planet becomes a nightmare in which life is worth less than dust beads. The writer easily puts us in the story so it was a pleasure to read the book. I would recommend the book to all zombie lovers.
August 13, 2016
-Lo importante es cómo se acaba, no cómo se empieza.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. Kelvin McDonald, Kell para los más allegados, es un investigador casado y con una hija recién nacida que trabaja con un extraño organismo al que han denominado Quimera, de un enorme potencial en la regeneración de tejidos humanos dañados pero la investigación todavía necesita mucho tiempo antes de llegar a las pruebas con sujetos humanos. A pesar de eso, la presión por parte de la industria al frente de los ensayos, de los legisladores y de los financiadores, enlazados con el ejército, hacen que se pruebe con un soldado herido por un artefacto explosivo improvisado cuyo padre es un senador de los Estados Unidos de América. En menos de un mes, varias situaciones imprevistas marcan un futuro sombrío, que cada vez se hace más oscuro. Primer libro de la serie The Fall, ambientado en el mismo universo dramático que Living With the Dead del propio autor, pero que puede leerse de forma absolutamente independiente.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. Kelvin McDonald, Kell para los más allegados, es un investigador casado y con una hija recién nacida que trabaja con un extraño organismo al que han denominado Quimera, de un enorme potencial en la regeneración de tejidos humanos dañados pero la investigación todavía necesita mucho tiempo antes de llegar a las pruebas con sujetos humanos. A pesar de eso, la presión por parte de la industria al frente de los ensayos, de los legisladores y de los financiadores, enlazados con el ejército, hacen que se pruebe con un soldado herido por un artefacto explosivo improvisado cuyo padre es un senador de los Estados Unidos de América. En menos de un mes, varias situaciones imprevistas marcan un futuro sombrío, que cada vez se hace más oscuro. Primer libro de la serie The Fall, ambientado en el mismo universo dramático que Living With the Dead del propio autor, pero que puede leerse de forma absolutamente independiente.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
September 22, 2017
Well I'm pumped. Looks like there's like 5-6 more books to this series so I'll have to get on that. Looks like these books sprung from a blog and my copy has a very self published feel (super fucked up typesetting throughout kind of gives that away), but it's better written than like 90% of the zombie books out there. And I didn't notice a single grammatical or spelling mistake--so special shame to some of the more "professional" books out there that are riddled with errors.
Even though he wrote the later series first, I decided to begin with this "prequel" because that's the benefit of catching onto something waaay after the fact. Kelvin, our hero, once a child prodigy with multiple doctorates in his early twenties, a 300 pound "giant" black man, with a newborn and doting wife, discovers a parasitic lifeform that has the potential to cure all ailments. Only flaw is when introduced into mice and monkeys, makes them go insane and murder all the other animals in the cage. But evil pharmaceutical company starts human testing without his knowledge, and well... cue zombie apocalypse when it goes airborne (zombie bites don't transform you, but if you die, you come back and the zombies begin to evolve as the mutation hops).
I can see what other reviews complained about. He is a bit too perfect, with like no discernible flaws other than a tendency to moralize at terrible times--but I can overlook that. Once again, a giant chunk of the book is about rape when he rescues two women from a pack of rapey mauraders and this is of course something that's revisited multiple times when the two women take him to their safe haven (seemed pretty shitty to me, I don't know why they wanted to go back so bad) and the big finale is them fighting more rapists.
As for my zombie trope list, it doesn't have evil clergy or saddled with plucky child like most, but since the rapists consist of cops & soldiers & assorted deplorables and the government response is super dumb/might as well spray infectious spores from plane, it still hits. The constant rape stuff in zombie novels gets a bit old--I roll my eyes when I realize well, here's the main plot point, since it's an easy way to make the hero a "good guy" and still sex it up, introduce a women (in this case 2), and have obvious villains--so it feels cheap & hackneyed and it did here as well to a degree. But I read last week that survey where 1 out of 3 men said they would rape a woman if there was no chance of being found out ("Almost a third of the men (31.7 percent) said that in a consequence-free situation, they’d force a woman to have sexual intercourse")--and the theme of this book is that in a zombie apocalypse who you really are gets revealed. Though there is something I think to be said that it's predominantly male authors that use this plot theme over & over again (not that I've read many female authors in this genre--maybe half a dozen--but oddly looking at women penned zombie books, not a single one deals with rape). Although to be fair, this book is NOT the worst offender and takes a much more humanistic stance than most (to a somewhat absurd degree). I'm just complaining in general.
The end didn't make sense to me.
But the author has a great way with dialogue and action and I wolfed this book down. Will have to get all the rest!
Even though he wrote the later series first, I decided to begin with this "prequel" because that's the benefit of catching onto something waaay after the fact. Kelvin, our hero, once a child prodigy with multiple doctorates in his early twenties, a 300 pound "giant" black man, with a newborn and doting wife, discovers a parasitic lifeform that has the potential to cure all ailments. Only flaw is when introduced into mice and monkeys, makes them go insane and murder all the other animals in the cage. But evil pharmaceutical company starts human testing without his knowledge, and well... cue zombie apocalypse when it goes airborne (zombie bites don't transform you, but if you die, you come back and the zombies begin to evolve as the mutation hops).
I can see what other reviews complained about. He is a bit too perfect, with like no discernible flaws other than a tendency to moralize at terrible times--but I can overlook that. Once again, a giant chunk of the book is about rape when he rescues two women from a pack of rapey mauraders and this is of course something that's revisited multiple times when the two women take him to their safe haven (seemed pretty shitty to me, I don't know why they wanted to go back so bad) and the big finale is them fighting more rapists.
As for my zombie trope list, it doesn't have evil clergy or saddled with plucky child like most, but since the rapists consist of cops & soldiers & assorted deplorables and the government response is super dumb/might as well spray infectious spores from plane, it still hits. The constant rape stuff in zombie novels gets a bit old--I roll my eyes when I realize well, here's the main plot point, since it's an easy way to make the hero a "good guy" and still sex it up, introduce a women (in this case 2), and have obvious villains--so it feels cheap & hackneyed and it did here as well to a degree. But I read last week that survey where 1 out of 3 men said they would rape a woman if there was no chance of being found out ("Almost a third of the men (31.7 percent) said that in a consequence-free situation, they’d force a woman to have sexual intercourse")--and the theme of this book is that in a zombie apocalypse who you really are gets revealed. Though there is something I think to be said that it's predominantly male authors that use this plot theme over & over again (not that I've read many female authors in this genre--maybe half a dozen--but oddly looking at women penned zombie books, not a single one deals with rape). Although to be fair, this book is NOT the worst offender and takes a much more humanistic stance than most (to a somewhat absurd degree). I'm just complaining in general.
The end didn't make sense to me.
But the author has a great way with dialogue and action and I wolfed this book down. Will have to get all the rest!
January 9, 2020
Would recommend
Kelvin MacDonald, a research scientist has been working on a project called Chimera for seven years. The project is being funded by Sinclair Global, a biotech company, and Kelvin heads the Cincinnati division.
The Chimera organism is supposed to repair nerve damage and for some months, Kelvin and his team have been able to run trial experiments on primates but with little success: the Chimera evolves within its host and mutates creating unexpected results. As a consequence, he’s been holding off on carrying out the study on humans. He’s worried Chimera may be difficult to contain once introduced into a human.
But his higher-ups are getting impatient. They need immediate results and start pressuring him into escalating the research.
Unbeknownst to Kelvin, a research team in their Boston division of the Chimera project had proceeded to treat a David Markwell whose left arm was paralyzed from nerve damage. His father, a senator, lobbied to get David into the early trials of Chimera fully cognizant of the fact that the project was still in its trial phase.
When David starts exhibiting symptoms that suggest that the treatment didn’t work, he’s then transferred to Cincinnati to be kept under Kelvin’s close observation.
Kelvin’s been monitoring his study for six weeks when he notices that the Chimera has mutated in inordinate proportions and is now airborne.
Frantic, he has to warn the authorities and even the president of the imminent danger they all are in.
Enjoyed this book. Would recommend
Kelvin MacDonald, a research scientist has been working on a project called Chimera for seven years. The project is being funded by Sinclair Global, a biotech company, and Kelvin heads the Cincinnati division.
The Chimera organism is supposed to repair nerve damage and for some months, Kelvin and his team have been able to run trial experiments on primates but with little success: the Chimera evolves within its host and mutates creating unexpected results. As a consequence, he’s been holding off on carrying out the study on humans. He’s worried Chimera may be difficult to contain once introduced into a human.
But his higher-ups are getting impatient. They need immediate results and start pressuring him into escalating the research.
Unbeknownst to Kelvin, a research team in their Boston division of the Chimera project had proceeded to treat a David Markwell whose left arm was paralyzed from nerve damage. His father, a senator, lobbied to get David into the early trials of Chimera fully cognizant of the fact that the project was still in its trial phase.
When David starts exhibiting symptoms that suggest that the treatment didn’t work, he’s then transferred to Cincinnati to be kept under Kelvin’s close observation.
Kelvin’s been monitoring his study for six weeks when he notices that the Chimera has mutated in inordinate proportions and is now airborne.
Frantic, he has to warn the authorities and even the president of the imminent danger they all are in.
Enjoyed this book. Would recommend
October 10, 2014
Not just another zombie ride. Guess brings his usual style of making me, the reader question my excitement when our Hero's overcome the trials of a free for all society.
Is there really justification for killing in defense of self and others?
This was a great prelude to LWTD series, even though it left me wanting more.. A guilt ridden scientist semi responsible for the zvoe outbreak learns to survive his guilt and the zombies. Along the way he makes a few good friends, meets some people from the first series, and struggles to keep his humanity.
While attempting to make a life in the new world he gets involved with rescuing people from bandits, bringing far too much attention to himself.
Realizing that if anyone recognizes him his life may be forfeit, he agrees to leave his home and secret lab where he has been attempting to find a cure for the plague.
If you haven't read Guess before your really missing an amazing look into the human condition, set in a zombie apocalypse!
Is there really justification for killing in defense of self and others?
This was a great prelude to LWTD series, even though it left me wanting more.. A guilt ridden scientist semi responsible for the zvoe outbreak learns to survive his guilt and the zombies. Along the way he makes a few good friends, meets some people from the first series, and struggles to keep his humanity.
While attempting to make a life in the new world he gets involved with rescuing people from bandits, bringing far too much attention to himself.
Realizing that if anyone recognizes him his life may be forfeit, he agrees to leave his home and secret lab where he has been attempting to find a cure for the plague.
If you haven't read Guess before your really missing an amazing look into the human condition, set in a zombie apocalypse!
August 23, 2018
Victim Zero is a deep plunge off the zombie diving board into the darkest end of the pool. This series opener provides a detailed and unique explanation for the rise of the zombies, and the central protagonist, Kell, is the scientist indirectly responsible for releasing the... spoiler... into the world. Like everyone who writes zombie dystopia, this author's take is varied just enough to keep you interested in the new universe he's building. The first part of the story was the most fascinating; Kell watching Cincinnati (and the rest of the world) society unraveling into abject chaos. As Kell is forced to adapt and survive, we get deep into zombie action/survival mode. It's a good thing. The violence and anatomical detail with which it is described... well, these are the undead. The writing is well crafted and the pages keep you turning - a fun romp through a unique version of Zombie, USA.
July 6, 2014
I had no idea that this Joshua Guess' Victim Zero was a spin off of a blog. How awesome is it, that in modernity, we can freely share our stories with the world? I wish I had known this preface before reading, as I would have interpreted it in a different light.
Guess knows that the most important thing about the zombie genre, is the emphasis on people and humanity, not the undead. Guess introduces us to a strong, interesting, and "real" hero. Kell is a large African-American scientist with an affinity for rescuing those used for human trafficking. (I will mention here that there were some instances that race was unnecessarily brought into it-why you gotta bring race into it Guess?!)
Victim Zero is an engaging read, but it is not without problems. My main issue with Victim Zero is it's lack of focus. It certainly reads like a blog or a podcast, with no linear or main conflict. It appears to be put together not unlike a traveling story (which is fine), but I am missing the main point. There are so many ideas that the author explored: surviving alone, morality in the end times, community conflict, etc. What I would have liked to see is a focus on ONE of these genre staples, and not a brief flyby of them all.
Joshua Guess is otherwise a solid writer. He "gets" the genre, and is certainly capable of telling an engaging story. There is one passage near the end that captures the brutality of the end times mindset. He compares the dangerously immoral groups of people to a cancer, and the need to eradicate the cancer. In the old world, this would be seen as an immoral thing to do, but in the post apocalyptic world, it is a necessity, otherwise the immoral cancer will spread into the rest of society.
Victim Zero is a decent read, I just wish it was more focused in its ideas. Guess has a lot to offer with his ideas, let's just get them sharpened.
Guess knows that the most important thing about the zombie genre, is the emphasis on people and humanity, not the undead. Guess introduces us to a strong, interesting, and "real" hero. Kell is a large African-American scientist with an affinity for rescuing those used for human trafficking. (I will mention here that there were some instances that race was unnecessarily brought into it-why you gotta bring race into it Guess?!)
Victim Zero is an engaging read, but it is not without problems. My main issue with Victim Zero is it's lack of focus. It certainly reads like a blog or a podcast, with no linear or main conflict. It appears to be put together not unlike a traveling story (which is fine), but I am missing the main point. There are so many ideas that the author explored: surviving alone, morality in the end times, community conflict, etc. What I would have liked to see is a focus on ONE of these genre staples, and not a brief flyby of them all.
Joshua Guess is otherwise a solid writer. He "gets" the genre, and is certainly capable of telling an engaging story. There is one passage near the end that captures the brutality of the end times mindset. He compares the dangerously immoral groups of people to a cancer, and the need to eradicate the cancer. In the old world, this would be seen as an immoral thing to do, but in the post apocalyptic world, it is a necessity, otherwise the immoral cancer will spread into the rest of society.
Victim Zero is a decent read, I just wish it was more focused in its ideas. Guess has a lot to offer with his ideas, let's just get them sharpened.
June 7, 2013
Victim Zero is the story of how it began. The end of the world starts with curiosity and greed--the scientist looking at a new life form, testing, trying to see what it can do and the people in charge, deciding to make money off of the new organism. Bad idea. Very bad idea. It spreads quickly, leading to the death of millions. Follow the scientist, Kevin McDonald, through his attempt to survive and to cure the monster that he inadvertently unleashed...
I have been following Joshua Guess' Living With the Dead for several years now (I actually read his blog daily) so I was expecting to enjoy Victim Zero but was not expecting to be this impressed. My only problem with Victim Zero was that it was way too short... don't get me wrong, this isn't a novella or anything (I would guess it would be about 200 to 250 pages and covers a lot) but when reading, the end came way too quickly. I literally did not put Victim Zero down until I had finished reading it. More, give me more!!!!
Victim Zero can be read as a stand alone novel. As a matter of fact, if you are not familiar with Living with the Dead, get this book first. It definitely ties in with the blog and its resulting collection of books, but you do not need to read the blog to understand the book. I think that they compliment each other, but reading and enjoying the book is not dependent on following the blog.
If you enjoy zombies, human nature, action... get this book. Guess has become a master, a must read author whose insight into humanity--the good and the bad--is undeniable. He makes you think and question, "what if this happened?" It is so plausible, that I can't help but think that this is the way that the world will end, a combination of curiosity and greed. Way to go, Joshua Guess!
I have been following Joshua Guess' Living With the Dead for several years now (I actually read his blog daily) so I was expecting to enjoy Victim Zero but was not expecting to be this impressed. My only problem with Victim Zero was that it was way too short... don't get me wrong, this isn't a novella or anything (I would guess it would be about 200 to 250 pages and covers a lot) but when reading, the end came way too quickly. I literally did not put Victim Zero down until I had finished reading it. More, give me more!!!!
Victim Zero can be read as a stand alone novel. As a matter of fact, if you are not familiar with Living with the Dead, get this book first. It definitely ties in with the blog and its resulting collection of books, but you do not need to read the blog to understand the book. I think that they compliment each other, but reading and enjoying the book is not dependent on following the blog.
If you enjoy zombies, human nature, action... get this book. Guess has become a master, a must read author whose insight into humanity--the good and the bad--is undeniable. He makes you think and question, "what if this happened?" It is so plausible, that I can't help but think that this is the way that the world will end, a combination of curiosity and greed. Way to go, Joshua Guess!
July 14, 2014
Wow, a collaboration between Joshua Guest and James Cook? Who would not want to read that?
This tells the story of the scientist who made the virus and knows everything about it. He does escape the lab knowing that the only way to kill the zombies is damage to the head. And he soon learns a lot more about how to defend himself. He is a huge man, very tall and big. He saves some women from marauders and they become his best friends. They know a safe place and they go there. I won't tell you details because I don't want to ruin it for you. This book grabs you and doesn't let go. I read it in a day and a half and it only took that long because I had other things to do also.
Since this man, Kell, is the man who created the virus, he wants to find a place to create a lab to find the cure for it. So lets hope this happens.
I am no on the second in the series. Here I go again, getting into a series that is not complete yet. I am hoping these authors are hot on the third one so I won't have to wait long, read other books, forget what happened in the first ones and have to read them all again. But I could not resist reading a zombie book by Joshua Guest and James Cook, both remarkable writers in their own right.
This is one women should like too. I like books that mostly men like and also those that women mostly like, except for strictly romances. So if you like excitement and characters that you can really care about, this is the book for you.
Oh, I wanted to tell you that if you have Amazon Prime you can borrow this book, so I did. Yay!
This tells the story of the scientist who made the virus and knows everything about it. He does escape the lab knowing that the only way to kill the zombies is damage to the head. And he soon learns a lot more about how to defend himself. He is a huge man, very tall and big. He saves some women from marauders and they become his best friends. They know a safe place and they go there. I won't tell you details because I don't want to ruin it for you. This book grabs you and doesn't let go. I read it in a day and a half and it only took that long because I had other things to do also.
Since this man, Kell, is the man who created the virus, he wants to find a place to create a lab to find the cure for it. So lets hope this happens.
I am no on the second in the series. Here I go again, getting into a series that is not complete yet. I am hoping these authors are hot on the third one so I won't have to wait long, read other books, forget what happened in the first ones and have to read them all again. But I could not resist reading a zombie book by Joshua Guest and James Cook, both remarkable writers in their own right.
This is one women should like too. I like books that mostly men like and also those that women mostly like, except for strictly romances. So if you like excitement and characters that you can really care about, this is the book for you.
Oh, I wanted to tell you that if you have Amazon Prime you can borrow this book, so I did. Yay!
April 23, 2018
The prose itself isn't awful, and the plot is standard zombie post-apocalyptic fare. The reason this gets 2 stars instead of 3 are as follows:
Kell is a Marty Stu. His name is Kelvin (get it, because he's a scientist??) and he's massive, in-shape, and a genius. He also happened to be working on the zombifying organism before the outbreak. He thinks he can create a cure, so the main driving force behind the plot (apart from some minor detours) is Kell trying to get back to his lab so he can work on a cure. He feels responsible for the outbreak although it is obvious it isn't his fault. He's large enough that he can destroy zombies with ease, and smart enough that he designs nearly foolproof zombie armor. He is always making morally sound decisions, except in a few contrived instances so we can have a tortured main character. Everyone is constantly in awe of both his intellect and physical prowess. A few of those characteristics are fine, but it's too much to give all of them to one character.
Several of the other characters are contrived BA's (a 120 lb woman is not going to thrash a man almost 3x her size, sorry), but Kell is the main offender.
Guess wasn't afraid to As I said, the plot and world were serviceable. But there are better zombie apocalypse books out there.
Kell is a Marty Stu. His name is Kelvin (get it, because he's a scientist??) and he's massive, in-shape, and a genius. He also happened to be working on the zombifying organism before the outbreak. He thinks he can create a cure, so the main driving force behind the plot (apart from some minor detours) is Kell trying to get back to his lab so he can work on a cure. He feels responsible for the outbreak although it is obvious it isn't his fault. He's large enough that he can destroy zombies with ease, and smart enough that he designs nearly foolproof zombie armor. He is always making morally sound decisions, except in a few contrived instances so we can have a tortured main character. Everyone is constantly in awe of both his intellect and physical prowess. A few of those characteristics are fine, but it's too much to give all of them to one character.
Several of the other characters are contrived BA's (a 120 lb woman is not going to thrash a man almost 3x her size, sorry), but Kell is the main offender.
Guess wasn't afraid to As I said, the plot and world were serviceable. But there are better zombie apocalypse books out there.
October 11, 2015
An interesting take on the end of the world and zombie apoc. In Guess' book we actually get to follow the man who found the nascent organism that would eventually be altered to become the Zombie maker.
Now about the rating. Don't get me wrong, many people will find this book entertaining, but I can't give it more than 3 stars.
The wordsmithing is good. Otherwise I wouldn't have finished it as I have a low tolerance for authors who can't string sentences together into nice paragraphs. What I found lacking is a personal thing. To me VICTIM ZERO is guy fiction. By which I mean there are some good details about the science and about weapons and action sequences; but not much depth to the characters. Kell has regrets and guilt, but there's no social drama. I would have loved this book when I was younger, I've just gotten more girlie in my old age and I need some dwama.
(Note to review readers: I can't stand the Da Vinci Code. I tried three times to read that book and couldn't get past page 2; the writing seems that bad to me. Joshua Guess' wordsmithing is better imo.]
Now about the rating. Don't get me wrong, many people will find this book entertaining, but I can't give it more than 3 stars.
The wordsmithing is good. Otherwise I wouldn't have finished it as I have a low tolerance for authors who can't string sentences together into nice paragraphs. What I found lacking is a personal thing. To me VICTIM ZERO is guy fiction. By which I mean there are some good details about the science and about weapons and action sequences; but not much depth to the characters. Kell has regrets and guilt, but there's no social drama. I would have loved this book when I was younger, I've just gotten more girlie in my old age and I need some dwama.
(Note to review readers: I can't stand the Da Vinci Code. I tried three times to read that book and couldn't get past page 2; the writing seems that bad to me. Joshua Guess' wordsmithing is better imo.]
October 19, 2013
This was a very good novel. Shows what could happen when mucking about with organisms and someone decides it is safe to use on humans. Also shows how a scientist can go from the lab and the loss of his family to someone who can survive and care about others again. Great characters and plot. Goes on my list of read again books. :D
August 4, 2016
4.5 Stars
Really exciting and well written zombie apocalypse book, but damn it was DEPRESSING.
I guess I need a little HEA with my zombies. Still amazing, but really won't read #2.
Recommend for hard core zombie post-apocalyptic terror lovers.
Really exciting and well written zombie apocalypse book, but damn it was DEPRESSING.
I guess I need a little HEA with my zombies. Still amazing, but really won't read #2.
Recommend for hard core zombie post-apocalyptic terror lovers.
June 16, 2013
Not bad.
April 21, 2018
My knife is not a weapon. It is a tool.
It is a Zombie Apocalypse novel. There are a lot of those available to readers. This is a very, very good one.
I loved the pacing of the story and the action contained. No superhero stuff; all physical actions are realistic.
The main character, Kelvin McDonald, who is meticulously brought to life in the early stages of the story, evolves into a completely different person, and the reader has the privilege of watching it happen. Other characters are revealed as they evolve, chapter-by-chapter, and strengthen the foundation of this story.
It isn’t about survival. It is about maintaining humanity is a world where too many “problems” are solved by killing.
This is the first in a series. I look forward to all of the ones that follow.
Jonathan Maberry has a series that starts with Rot and Ruin, which has a zombie theme, but also the same quality of main characters that will draw you in, in the early stages of the stories, and hold you focus. John L. Campbell is another top-notch author whose Zombie Apocalypse series (Omega Days) are all nail biting and character driven.
It is a Zombie Apocalypse novel. There are a lot of those available to readers. This is a very, very good one.
I loved the pacing of the story and the action contained. No superhero stuff; all physical actions are realistic.
The main character, Kelvin McDonald, who is meticulously brought to life in the early stages of the story, evolves into a completely different person, and the reader has the privilege of watching it happen. Other characters are revealed as they evolve, chapter-by-chapter, and strengthen the foundation of this story.
It isn’t about survival. It is about maintaining humanity is a world where too many “problems” are solved by killing.
This is the first in a series. I look forward to all of the ones that follow.
Jonathan Maberry has a series that starts with Rot and Ruin, which has a zombie theme, but also the same quality of main characters that will draw you in, in the early stages of the stories, and hold you focus. John L. Campbell is another top-notch author whose Zombie Apocalypse series (Omega Days) are all nail biting and character driven.
June 21, 2019
It starts with some wealthy moron using his money and power to allow his son to be injected with a virus to help fix a problem (I think with his arm, but I'm not sure). The virus starts to mutate, and the young man who has been infected is sent to Cincinnati to be studied by an expert researcher, Kell who has worked with the virus (but never approved for it to be used on humans). Of course it all goes wrong and the zombie apocalypse is upon us.
The book follows Kell through the very early days to a few years after everything changes, while he wanders, lives alone, and then with others. Some people are wonderful in this new world and many are horrible, in different ways.
The book isn't a stand alone, there is a lot more ground to cover to see if Kell can find a cure, but there wasn't a cliff hanger at the end either.
I'm not typically a fan of zombie books, but this one was a pretty decent read.
The book follows Kell through the very early days to a few years after everything changes, while he wanders, lives alone, and then with others. Some people are wonderful in this new world and many are horrible, in different ways.
The book isn't a stand alone, there is a lot more ground to cover to see if Kell can find a cure, but there wasn't a cliff hanger at the end either.
I'm not typically a fan of zombie books, but this one was a pretty decent read.
August 17, 2017
Loved It
This was an outstanding novel. No typos. He brought the characters and this world to full color life. The main characters shoulders a lot of responsibility and thinks a lot about his moral or immoral choices. He has heart and soul despite his terrible losses. I think he wears the guilt of starting the apocalypse too heavy. In fact, he has no responsibility for what happened. He told his bosses not to do what they chose to do. All he did was try to fix their mistake, so in my book, he is clean in that mess. It's too bad he can't accept that. No one who had the facts could blame him. It's that evil pharmaceutical company that should be carrying that blame. Outside of this though, it's a great story and I look forward to much more of it.
This was an outstanding novel. No typos. He brought the characters and this world to full color life. The main characters shoulders a lot of responsibility and thinks a lot about his moral or immoral choices. He has heart and soul despite his terrible losses. I think he wears the guilt of starting the apocalypse too heavy. In fact, he has no responsibility for what happened. He told his bosses not to do what they chose to do. All he did was try to fix their mistake, so in my book, he is clean in that mess. It's too bad he can't accept that. No one who had the facts could blame him. It's that evil pharmaceutical company that should be carrying that blame. Outside of this though, it's a great story and I look forward to much more of it.
October 12, 2017
This book is pretty good with interesting scenes and good descriptions of most things. The one thing it really missed was the part that made it hard to put down and not pick right back up.
The biggest issue I had was our main character's incredible luck which never seemed to end. Granted he had a few hardships but how he handled the death of his family seemed unrealistic along with all his luck otherwise in what otherwise was a fairly realistic book. I mean let's face it Kelvin/Kell/K is a big black guy who is a lab nerd, and amazingly quick to adapt to fighting Zombies.
This book is part of a series, but this book can be read standalone without issues.
The biggest issue I had was our main character's incredible luck which never seemed to end. Granted he had a few hardships but how he handled the death of his family seemed unrealistic along with all his luck otherwise in what otherwise was a fairly realistic book. I mean let's face it Kelvin/Kell/K is a big black guy who is a lab nerd, and amazingly quick to adapt to fighting Zombies.
This book is part of a series, but this book can be read standalone without issues.
May 26, 2018
This is not your average zombie thriller, and Kell is not your average zombie thriller protagonist. An extremely original origin story for an extraordinary zombie survival setting, with snappy dialogue and genuinely cool characters. This is a very refreshing addition to the genre. Science, empathy, and logical problem solving reign over testosterone-filled violence. Occaisonally, solutions will be so delightfully, ingeniously unorthodox that the reader will think of a time they have been playing Dungeons and Dragons and declared a plan so wild that their dungeon master had to go have a calming cigarette. This book is not to be missed by any zombie lover.
November 30, 2018
Guess work aside. This is quality writing.
Joshua Guess gets you at the first sentence and doesn't let go to the last page.
K is a character who is conflicted and methodical. His path from scientist to hardened warrior takes you for a trip. The world as you know is stripped from society to depravity in a matter or months. As k continues to survive despite the hardships of the brave New world, he finds that he must change with it. Victim zero is a must read if you are a fan of zombies.
J.l Perrigo. Author of Elysian Fields.
Joshua Guess gets you at the first sentence and doesn't let go to the last page.
K is a character who is conflicted and methodical. His path from scientist to hardened warrior takes you for a trip. The world as you know is stripped from society to depravity in a matter or months. As k continues to survive despite the hardships of the brave New world, he finds that he must change with it. Victim zero is a must read if you are a fan of zombies.
J.l Perrigo. Author of Elysian Fields.
December 4, 2021
As gruesome as you can expect from a good zombie book. The three main characters were very entertaining. Their back stories give space for the development of the story and as expected a good transformation of the character and their roles in the zombie world. The only thing I did not like is the lack of continue story. Start really good, then goes to a few chapters of nothing really happening until all three main characters meet, find their way and then nothing until the end. It should have dad for action inbetween.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2025
I think I'm tired of zombie books, or maybe this one was just that boring. It started out good and had me instantly Hooked! But then it just fizzled out. I kept finding myself rewinding because I had zoned out in the middle of the chapter. I ended up not finishing it. Again, not sure if it was the book or me.
The story was decent. It's an interesting premise and the characters were just "ok". They could use more development, and backstory IMO. They lacked depth.
Plus the narrator was pretty flat.
The story was decent. It's an interesting premise and the characters were just "ok". They could use more development, and backstory IMO. They lacked depth.
Plus the narrator was pretty flat.
October 3, 2017
I continue to be impressed with this author. His writing style has pulled me into a genre that I don't normally read, and I'm enjoying the diversity very much.
His characters are well-developed and likable, his detailed descriptions of less-than-pleasant scenarios paint a beautiful picture of the grotesque at times. The violence is a little much in some cases, but I can't help but respect the author for his writing even then.
His characters are well-developed and likable, his detailed descriptions of less-than-pleasant scenarios paint a beautiful picture of the grotesque at times. The violence is a little much in some cases, but I can't help but respect the author for his writing even then.
November 9, 2017
A Must read, if you're a fan of this genre!
This was my second time reading this book. It only gets better!
Don't want to spoil this for anyone. But, you get so enraptured with the storyline. It grabs you almost immediately and doesn't let go.
You can tell that time, research and attention to detail went into this book. I'd have to say that this is my goto author, for this genre.
Well done Sir, well done!!!
This was my second time reading this book. It only gets better!
Don't want to spoil this for anyone. But, you get so enraptured with the storyline. It grabs you almost immediately and doesn't let go.
You can tell that time, research and attention to detail went into this book. I'd have to say that this is my goto author, for this genre.
Well done Sir, well done!!!
June 9, 2020
This was an enjoyable enough story to keep my interest, somewhat different from other zombie stories because of the foundation of why it began and hints of something intriguing to come.
Reasonably fleshed-out characters, if not completely believable. The moments of justice were well done, and, I think, the majority of us would have reacted that way (or perhaps I believe in justice rather than mercy).
Overall, a worthy read.
Reasonably fleshed-out characters, if not completely believable. The moments of justice were well done, and, I think, the majority of us would have reacted that way (or perhaps I believe in justice rather than mercy).
Overall, a worthy read.
October 2, 2020
Book 76/100: Victim Zero by Joshua Guess. Easy to read, and can't go wrong with a post-apocalyptic zombie book. I really enjoyed the scientists perspective on this one and the main protagonist was a great character to follow along. The preface written by a different person really hyped up the book before I even got to page one and not gonna lie, it really put expectations real high from the get go and expectations were met.
May 21, 2017
Excellent characters, intriguing storyline, solid pacing.
I'll admit it - I'm decidedly not a fan of zombie stories. But this is so much more than a post-apocalyptic, zombie yarn! This is a story of survival & redemption, of self-examination, grief & the shared horror of humanness in a world where the rules have reverted to barbarity. Well worth the read.
I'll admit it - I'm decidedly not a fan of zombie stories. But this is so much more than a post-apocalyptic, zombie yarn! This is a story of survival & redemption, of self-examination, grief & the shared horror of humanness in a world where the rules have reverted to barbarity. Well worth the read.
April 17, 2018
I felt one word the entire time I was reading this book and that's conflicted. My feelings of like and dislike equaled very confused feelings about this story.
I almost put the book (or kindle) down numerous times, but thank goodness I was always drawn back in, since the story consistently became more appealing as I read on.
I believe I will read the second book in the series soon.
I almost put the book (or kindle) down numerous times, but thank goodness I was always drawn back in, since the story consistently became more appealing as I read on.
I believe I will read the second book in the series soon.
July 16, 2018
Holy Zombies Batman
I'm gone, lost in another novel, a series. Great story line. I am eager to read more. Though a word of caution, my heart's been ripped from me multiple times through this book. I always knew certain ages wouldn't survive an initial zombie attack, but reading a description of the events tore at me deeply.
I'm gone, lost in another novel, a series. Great story line. I am eager to read more. Though a word of caution, my heart's been ripped from me multiple times through this book. I always knew certain ages wouldn't survive an initial zombie attack, but reading a description of the events tore at me deeply.
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