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Surviving the Dead #3.5
The Passenger
While this was released after The Warrior Within (Book 3 of Surviving the Dead), it is not Book 4 in the series. It is related and some of the characters were in the first book in the series, No Easy Hope. It is more of a supplemental reading to the series.
During the Outbreak, like billions of others, a man finds himself infected with the Phage. Desperate to spare his family from watching him become a walking nightmare, he flees. Soon after, he is dead.
Two years later, he wakes up.
Not in the afterlife, but in his own body. Trapped, unable to control the monster that carries him, and forced to witness the horror of its existence.
A hundred miles away, Sergeant Ethan Thompson thinks he has seen the worst the apocalypse has to offer.
He is wrong.
Following the trail of a dying madman, he will embark on a journey of vengeance that will test the limits of his sanity. Along the way, he will learn that there is no justice at the end of the world. There is only the living and the dead, and in between, there is The Passenger.
During the Outbreak, like billions of others, a man finds himself infected with the Phage. Desperate to spare his family from watching him become a walking nightmare, he flees. Soon after, he is dead.
Two years later, he wakes up.
Not in the afterlife, but in his own body. Trapped, unable to control the monster that carries him, and forced to witness the horror of its existence.
A hundred miles away, Sergeant Ethan Thompson thinks he has seen the worst the apocalypse has to offer.
He is wrong.
Following the trail of a dying madman, he will embark on a journey of vengeance that will test the limits of his sanity. Along the way, he will learn that there is no justice at the end of the world. There is only the living and the dead, and in between, there is The Passenger.
203 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 5, 2013
161 people are currently reading
657 people want to read
About the author
James N. Cook
17 books255 followersJames N. Cook is a martial arts enthusiast, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, a former cubicle dweller, and the author of the Surviving the Dead series. He hikes, he goes camping, he travels a lot, and he has trouble staying in one spot for very long. He lives in North Carolina.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JNCookauthor
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JNCookauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamesNCook
Blog: https://survivingthedeadsite.wordpres...
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmLlKf
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
May 19, 2014
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I've been a fan of James Cook for a while, but I hesitated reading this one. I'm not even sure why... I think maybe because I didn't think I'd be into the first-person perspective of a zombie. No offense to zombies, but I thought it would be all about ripping people apart and the eating of flesh. There was some of that, but not nearly as much as I thought there would be. I never knew a zombie could become a likable character in any book, but I found myself cheering this one on. The book isn't solely written from the perspective of one of the undead, however. There is also the third-person account of a character Cook introduced in one of his earlier books. I've never read any books by Joshua Guess, but I will definitely start reading his in the near future.
September 10, 2014
a very fast paced zombie read. a different take on what it must feel like to have been turned into a zombie and have your mind still work somewhat but not be able to control your body .
the passenger against odds finds a way to use rage to control his body's movement to do the one thing humane left in a world overcome with zombies. a man sick and succumbed himself to meth decides if he is dying then everyone in the world should die along with him and finds a way to use a horde of zombies to do just that. he searches for survivors and lures the horde to kill and make more and yet stays remarkedly safe enough away as to not become a victim himself... until he gets to one last survivor camp where he is outsmarted . and the passenger uses his rage to make his body move like a human just long enough to take out this murderer who doesn't understand the meaning of life and what it stands for... after wards the passenger remembers or understands the true meaning and finally gets what he has been waiting for the entire time after he was bitten and turned into this murderous monster... the passenger is finally able to leave his ride and become free...
I enjoyed the nonstop action the thought process of a zombie where you would hope part of you still remained. I hope to read more horror novels from this author.
the passenger against odds finds a way to use rage to control his body's movement to do the one thing humane left in a world overcome with zombies. a man sick and succumbed himself to meth decides if he is dying then everyone in the world should die along with him and finds a way to use a horde of zombies to do just that. he searches for survivors and lures the horde to kill and make more and yet stays remarkedly safe enough away as to not become a victim himself... until he gets to one last survivor camp where he is outsmarted . and the passenger uses his rage to make his body move like a human just long enough to take out this murderer who doesn't understand the meaning of life and what it stands for... after wards the passenger remembers or understands the true meaning and finally gets what he has been waiting for the entire time after he was bitten and turned into this murderous monster... the passenger is finally able to leave his ride and become free...
I enjoyed the nonstop action the thought process of a zombie where you would hope part of you still remained. I hope to read more horror novels from this author.
November 2, 2017
Interesting change of pace from the previous novels in the series. The scope expanded from survivors vs infected to survivors, meth-crazed outlaw, and the titles namesake "the passenger". The passenger turns out to be the vocalized thoughts of one of the infected who regains some of his intellect and abilities. This is pretty obvious from the beginning so I'm not giving up too much information. Quite an interesting twist and quite a detour from the previous plot line. It works though and I got used to the new direction once it became clear where we were going. I liked it.
First read 11/29/2013; re-read before proceeding with "Fire in Winter: Surviving the Dead".
First read 11/29/2013; re-read before proceeding with "Fire in Winter: Surviving the Dead".
July 23, 2014
I really enjoyed the passenger. It is a zombie story from three characters. An army group, a big jerk (Gideon) and a zombie itself. The chapters flip from one to the other...not bad at all. This book was written by (what i understand) two authors. They work seamlessly! The story has great flow (not boring), great characters and a great ending. I will most definitely be searching out more James Cook books, seeing as i am already a fan of Mr.Guess's work!!!
July 10, 2014
Nice twist on the Zombie story; a lot of the book is told from the point of view of the poor schmuck who's dead and now trapped, helpless, inside his animated corpse. Combine that with a psycho bad guy who uses zombies as a weapon and some bad-ass soldiers who are out to stop him and you've got a fun, fast-paced yarn.
November 12, 2017
Great beginning......
...... of a new series, Surviving the Dead. This is NOT book four, and should be read before starting book one, Victim Zero (according to the authors, and I concur). Seriously unlike any zombie book I've read !!!! It's one story being told from two directions, one of which is from the zombie himself!!!! Loads of ACTION as well as lots of emotion to be felt by the reader, at least in my case anyway. I thoroughly enjoyed this book !!!!! Mike Hansen, Nuneaton, England
...... of a new series, Surviving the Dead. This is NOT book four, and should be read before starting book one, Victim Zero (according to the authors, and I concur). Seriously unlike any zombie book I've read !!!! It's one story being told from two directions, one of which is from the zombie himself!!!! Loads of ACTION as well as lots of emotion to be felt by the reader, at least in my case anyway. I thoroughly enjoyed this book !!!!! Mike Hansen, Nuneaton, England
September 16, 2018
A double whammy.
First, the interesting apocalyptic tale, another which shows that humans tend to be the worst monsters. Second, the fascinating insight into the zombies themselves. This was particularly interesting for me personally as I'm a voice artist and the first audiobook I voiced was Cattle by Joseph Duncan, one in a loosely connected zombie series and at the point where some of the zombies had regained their intellect.
The two authors here work well together and I shall be reading more from each.
Recommended.
First, the interesting apocalyptic tale, another which shows that humans tend to be the worst monsters. Second, the fascinating insight into the zombies themselves. This was particularly interesting for me personally as I'm a voice artist and the first audiobook I voiced was Cattle by Joseph Duncan, one in a loosely connected zombie series and at the point where some of the zombies had regained their intellect.
The two authors here work well together and I shall be reading more from each.
Recommended.
November 29, 2017
Good stuff. Character crossovers from earlier novels!
Solid read. Brings in enough information to make it relevant to the main series. The crossover characters from the series provide a richer picture of the people they were and what made them whom they are. The passenger angle was very intriguing. I first thought it would end up as explaining "the grey's," but I figure that's a greater storyline yet to come, I hope.
Solid read. Brings in enough information to make it relevant to the main series. The crossover characters from the series provide a richer picture of the people they were and what made them whom they are. The passenger angle was very intriguing. I first thought it would end up as explaining "the grey's," but I figure that's a greater storyline yet to come, I hope.
September 20, 2017
Excellent, a must read
Excellent side story to take place in between surviving the dead, good to see what ethan was getting up to in the army and the unique perspective of one of the self aware zombies without it seeming ridiculous
Excellent side story to take place in between surviving the dead, good to see what ethan was getting up to in the army and the unique perspective of one of the self aware zombies without it seeming ridiculous
November 23, 2018
Thriller
Knowing this is a stand alone book aside, this was a good read. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives of this story. These writers skills worked well together. Would recommend to a friend.
Knowing this is a stand alone book aside, this was a good read. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives of this story. These writers skills worked well together. Would recommend to a friend.
October 7, 2021
Zombie Horde Daily Life from the Viewpoint of a Zombie
Somewhat hard to get into at first but worth the effort. Partially told from the thoughts of one of the horde as he struggles to find any tiny bit of human behavior left within him.
Somewhat hard to get into at first but worth the effort. Partially told from the thoughts of one of the horde as he struggles to find any tiny bit of human behavior left within him.
February 28, 2025
Gotta read this book y'all. Holy smokes.
Wow! Just wow. Anything I'd say couldn't do this book justice. But the writer did. Thank you for a new spin on an ages old genre. You rrrrrocked it.
Wow! Just wow. Anything I'd say couldn't do this book justice. But the writer did. Thank you for a new spin on an ages old genre. You rrrrrocked it.
June 23, 2019
This was an okay zombie book. I normally don't read much for zombie books.
February 23, 2020
A nice change of pace detour, set in the same world as Surviving the Dead. Brings a fresh set of eyes to the zombie apocalypse, so to speak.
July 25, 2021
Great series
Great series looking forward to book 10. Well written with great character development. That’s all I have to say but the stupid review box needs 20 words.
Great series looking forward to book 10. Well written with great character development. That’s all I have to say but the stupid review box needs 20 words.
May 27, 2022
interesting take
I’ve never before read a story that included the perspective of someone trapped inside the body of a zombie. Excellent read!
I’ve never before read a story that included the perspective of someone trapped inside the body of a zombie. Excellent read!
June 16, 2014
Thoroughly enjoyed "The Passenger" by James Cook! There are actually two stories in one within this book; one follows Ethan and his squad of soldiers from Ft. Bragg as they patrol the wasteland - seeking out and eliminating zombies, the other is told through the eyes of a male zombie, dead and roaming for two years, after his brain suddenly regains consciousness within a deteriorating walking corpse.
Survivors of the Apocalypse have established forts across the frontier, growing their own food and taking advantage of the sun for power. Zombies are few and far in between and seldom pose a threat throughout the area. Each camp had established a leadership, developed and trained a militia and built defensive perimeters to protect the inhabitants from attacks by the undead. They are trying to make a life for themselves, trade routes were opened between the camps and designated, well-stocked rest areas established to accommodate those who are taking the risk to travel between these locations. A sheriff and deputies also travel on horseback through this wasteland to ensure the safety of these camps and their inhabitants.
It isn't long before the patrol of soldiers is ambushed by armed marauders on horseback. The soldiers have known about these groups, who were attacking these small settlements, killing or enslaving the inhabitants and then taking all the supplies for themselves. Eventually, the sheriff and deputies are captured after one of these firefights by the military soldiers who suspect them to be marauders - they're soon cleared when Ft. Bragg vouches for them. There is a major concern when a string of three settlements along the group of outposts goes "dark" and can't be reached. The two groups join forces and head out to investigate.
Meanwhile, a horde of zombies, comprised of thousands of decomposing bodies - one of which has a brain that came back to life, roam through the wasteland seeking food. Mr. live brain learns that he is unable to control or impact any of the "auto-pilot" signals directing his body; he's a prisoner or "passenger" along for the ride. The horde has travelled long distances and growing in size - becoming an unstoppable force. They are moving with a purpose and periodically get rewarded with fresh bodies to feast upon. Are they organized with a leader at the helm? What's driving them across the frontier? Eventually, Mr. live brain and the infantry sergeant meet and experience a rare moment of communication!
This is a difficult book to put down and will keep readers on the edge. Highly recommended! I've also read Mr. Cooks "Surviving the Dead" series and enjoyed them immensely! Great work all the way around!
John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel
Survivors of the Apocalypse have established forts across the frontier, growing their own food and taking advantage of the sun for power. Zombies are few and far in between and seldom pose a threat throughout the area. Each camp had established a leadership, developed and trained a militia and built defensive perimeters to protect the inhabitants from attacks by the undead. They are trying to make a life for themselves, trade routes were opened between the camps and designated, well-stocked rest areas established to accommodate those who are taking the risk to travel between these locations. A sheriff and deputies also travel on horseback through this wasteland to ensure the safety of these camps and their inhabitants.
It isn't long before the patrol of soldiers is ambushed by armed marauders on horseback. The soldiers have known about these groups, who were attacking these small settlements, killing or enslaving the inhabitants and then taking all the supplies for themselves. Eventually, the sheriff and deputies are captured after one of these firefights by the military soldiers who suspect them to be marauders - they're soon cleared when Ft. Bragg vouches for them. There is a major concern when a string of three settlements along the group of outposts goes "dark" and can't be reached. The two groups join forces and head out to investigate.
Meanwhile, a horde of zombies, comprised of thousands of decomposing bodies - one of which has a brain that came back to life, roam through the wasteland seeking food. Mr. live brain learns that he is unable to control or impact any of the "auto-pilot" signals directing his body; he's a prisoner or "passenger" along for the ride. The horde has travelled long distances and growing in size - becoming an unstoppable force. They are moving with a purpose and periodically get rewarded with fresh bodies to feast upon. Are they organized with a leader at the helm? What's driving them across the frontier? Eventually, Mr. live brain and the infantry sergeant meet and experience a rare moment of communication!
This is a difficult book to put down and will keep readers on the edge. Highly recommended! I've also read Mr. Cooks "Surviving the Dead" series and enjoyed them immensely! Great work all the way around!
John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel
December 23, 2014
The Passenger:
A Surviving the Dead Novel
Author: James N. Cook and Joshua Guess
Publisher: Amazon.com
Date: 2013
Pgs: 205
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
One bite and the infection spreads. A man gets bitten...to spare his family from having to watch him be consumed by the disease and rise again, he runs away. Soon after, he is dead. Only, he wakes up inside the zombie that his body has become. Not as a controlling force, but as a passenger. A passenger carried along as the monster he has become eats the unwary and destroys civilization, one victim at a time. In this world, there is the living...the dead...and between them, is the Passenger.
Genre:
Apocalypse
End of the World
Fiction
Horror
Zombies
Why this book:
The concept of a poor bastard trapped inside his zombified body, aware of all that it does, while being swept along. Woof!
______________________________________________________________________________
Favorite Character:
The Passenger is a good concept and an alright character. His efforts to take back some control of his environment are a good meaty bit of the story.
Staff Sergeant Ethan Thompson is a good character, if a bit cardboard.
Least Favorite Character:
Gideon is a great villain.
The Feel:
There is a lot of horror in the idea behind the Passenger. The zombies being mindless eating machines is one thing. The idea that the people they once were are inside those monsters being able to see and feel what is happening and not being able to do anything about it.
Favorite Scene:
The massacre of Broken Bridge and the aftermath that the Sheriff and Sgt Thompson discover when they arrive..
Pacing:
The flow is good on this story.
Hmm Moments:
May have lost me with the “now it’s personal” moment that the Passenger has. Up until that moment, the concept was neat to me. The story recovered well from what I was afraid was a “c’mon man” moment.
Why isn’t there a screenplay?
I’m not sure that you could communicate the concept of the Passenger well...just look at the movie Warm Bodies which I didn’t enjoy.
______________________________________________________________________________
Last Page Sound:
Well...alright.
Author Assessment:
Would read the blurb and decide.
Editorial Assessment:
Someone should have asked about the “now it’s personal” moment, but other than that this was a well written book.
Knee Jerk Reaction:
glad I read it
Disposition of Book:
e-Book
Would recommend to:
genre fans
A Surviving the Dead Novel
Author: James N. Cook and Joshua Guess
Publisher: Amazon.com
Date: 2013
Pgs: 205
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
One bite and the infection spreads. A man gets bitten...to spare his family from having to watch him be consumed by the disease and rise again, he runs away. Soon after, he is dead. Only, he wakes up inside the zombie that his body has become. Not as a controlling force, but as a passenger. A passenger carried along as the monster he has become eats the unwary and destroys civilization, one victim at a time. In this world, there is the living...the dead...and between them, is the Passenger.
Genre:
Apocalypse
End of the World
Fiction
Horror
Zombies
Why this book:
The concept of a poor bastard trapped inside his zombified body, aware of all that it does, while being swept along. Woof!
______________________________________________________________________________
Favorite Character:
The Passenger is a good concept and an alright character. His efforts to take back some control of his environment are a good meaty bit of the story.
Staff Sergeant Ethan Thompson is a good character, if a bit cardboard.
Least Favorite Character:
Gideon is a great villain.
The Feel:
There is a lot of horror in the idea behind the Passenger. The zombies being mindless eating machines is one thing. The idea that the people they once were are inside those monsters being able to see and feel what is happening and not being able to do anything about it.
Favorite Scene:
The massacre of Broken Bridge and the aftermath that the Sheriff and Sgt Thompson discover when they arrive..
Pacing:
The flow is good on this story.
Hmm Moments:
May have lost me with the “now it’s personal” moment that the Passenger has. Up until that moment, the concept was neat to me. The story recovered well from what I was afraid was a “c’mon man” moment.
Why isn’t there a screenplay?
I’m not sure that you could communicate the concept of the Passenger well...just look at the movie Warm Bodies which I didn’t enjoy.
______________________________________________________________________________
Last Page Sound:
Well...alright.
Author Assessment:
Would read the blurb and decide.
Editorial Assessment:
Someone should have asked about the “now it’s personal” moment, but other than that this was a well written book.
Knee Jerk Reaction:
glad I read it
Disposition of Book:
e-Book
Would recommend to:
genre fans
April 2, 2015
To be fair, this book is number 3.5 in a series of 5 novels and it's the first one I've read. The concept is now, pretty standard, i.e. a bunch of former people are now zombies, fewer current people are still non-zombies and trying to survive zombie hoards, etc.
****WARNING POTENTIAL SPOILERS****
Some interesting choices:
- the zombie' perspective
- a creepy bad guy/ghoul
- military presence
Recommendation - Yay, Nah, or Maybe:
Maybe:
I like the shift in perspectives. The book does an interesting job providing a glimpse into different characters minds.
There were moments when my mind wandered. This could be because I didn't have have the background knowledge that would have come from reading the preceeding books.
I enjoyed the ending. It made me vaguely curious about the subsequent books and decide to bump my rating up to three stars.
****WARNING POTENTIAL SPOILERS****
Some interesting choices:
- the zombie' perspective
- a creepy bad guy/ghoul
- military presence
Recommendation - Yay, Nah, or Maybe:
Maybe:
I like the shift in perspectives. The book does an interesting job providing a glimpse into different characters minds.
There were moments when my mind wandered. This could be because I didn't have have the background knowledge that would have come from reading the preceeding books.
I enjoyed the ending. It made me vaguely curious about the subsequent books and decide to bump my rating up to three stars.
February 6, 2017
Surviving the Dead - Spot on
James Cook's series Surviving the Dead has been very interesting and professionally written. His characters are well developed and i find myself very much involved with the story line and where the books take you. always ready for the next book.
James Cook's series Surviving the Dead has been very interesting and professionally written. His characters are well developed and i find myself very much involved with the story line and where the books take you. always ready for the next book.
May 27, 2015
I have to admit to being extremely sceptical about the direction of this book. Authors have tried and failed in the past to keep me captivated with a storyline relating to a zombies point of view. I had the audiobook and nearly reached for the stop button when i realised this is exactly what the authors were attempting. Im so glad i resisted that urge as i think the authors absolutely nailed it. Quite brilliantly if im being honest. The zombie part runs parallel to another really well thought out and executed side storyline. It was a very entertaining and essential addition to this brilliant series.
July 27, 2015
Great read, quick and exciting
Loved this stand-alone novel. It had the excitement of the series and a few of the guys we had already met.
A nice new twist, one I had been waiting for, through the eyes of an undead. It certainly brought up questions as I read but I won't voice them, just to say, "why doesn't the military do that as a way to rid areas of them?"
I recommend it, there were a few things that bothered me but certainly didn't keep me from enjoying it. The best part of the co-authors? I have another whole series of books to read! I am a 61 yr old woman who loves the apocalypse!
Loved this stand-alone novel. It had the excitement of the series and a few of the guys we had already met.
A nice new twist, one I had been waiting for, through the eyes of an undead. It certainly brought up questions as I read but I won't voice them, just to say, "why doesn't the military do that as a way to rid areas of them?"
I recommend it, there were a few things that bothered me but certainly didn't keep me from enjoying it. The best part of the co-authors? I have another whole series of books to read! I am a 61 yr old woman who loves the apocalypse!
November 26, 2013
While I did enjoy this book and it's unique perspective, the book had several inconsistencies and plot point errors. The most annoying was, without introducing spoilers, when the characters took the figurative long way round to solving an issue when an obvious quicker, simpler solution existed.
Jim Cook is one of my favorite authors and the introduction to Josh Guess has added another author to my short list of favored apocalypticists (zombie/apocalypse authors).
Jim Cook is one of my favorite authors and the introduction to Josh Guess has added another author to my short list of favored apocalypticists (zombie/apocalypse authors).
February 1, 2014
I got this as some kind of super Kindle deal and I was a little bit skeptical that it would be good when I saw it was written by two authors. However, I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the story. The first part is a little slow and there are some random facts dangling out there that never turn out to matter, but otherwise the story was interesting and it was a well thought out zombie apocalypse story.
November 3, 2014
“The Passenger” is a great bridge story as part of the “Surviving the Dead” series. It doesn’t move the plot along, but it allows the reader to see some extra world in which this series takes place (and a few of the people who live in it). It’s told form a variety of viewpoints one of which is (implied by the title) a zombie. If you’re looking for a short-ish zombie novel this fun stand alone or with the series!
August 16, 2014
This one is good. I've read the rest of this series by Cook and almost skipped this one because I really usually hate thinking talking etc zombies. I like my zombies shambling, brainless, and hungry. However, this one can be read as a stand alone - you need not have read the rest of the series to enjoy this one - or it can be skipped and you will not miss anything you need for the rest of the series. I would not skip it though. I thought it was great!
August 20, 2013
This is a very good book by two authors who enjoy the story and the zombie worlds they created. The story is a very good collaboration. The story was fun to to read and the plot was well designed. This is a stand alone novel so I did not miss very much by having only read Jim's first book prior to this one.
November 5, 2013
I enjoyed this, I have read all of the other Surviving the Dead novels and his was a change of style.
The storyline was a chilling perspective on the evil that men do, the standard fare of zombie lit is dodging the walkers and dodging raiders;
The storyline was a chilling perspective on the evil that men do, the standard fare of zombie lit is dodging the walkers and dodging raiders;
May 16, 2014
Audible "hidden gems sale" made me think this was worth buying; glad they have the return function these days. What snoring-boring garbage. Ceasing to listen to something only after three hours does not happen often, considering that my literature diet consists of Steven Erikson's tombstones and so forth, but this...? Following the journey of a slug across the road strikes me as less benumbing.
August 13, 2016
Fast Paced Adventure
I enjoyed this apocalyptic zombie tale told in large from the other side. It is fast pace and I have to say they sadly change voice a bit towards the end which may have to do more with series development than anything and for that part I dropped one star. I found the book to be refreshing and an adventure.
I enjoyed this apocalyptic zombie tale told in large from the other side. It is fast pace and I have to say they sadly change voice a bit towards the end which may have to do more with series development than anything and for that part I dropped one star. I found the book to be refreshing and an adventure.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews