Outbreak The Zombie Apocalypse

by Craig Jones

**Note that reviews prior to Oct 17, 2013 are for a different edition of Outbreak not published by Pants On Fire Press.**

***US Edition***

It begins with a flight into Heathrow Airport.

It ends up at Matt Hawkins’ front gate, in a crowd of savage, lumbering bodies.

An epidemic is sweeping Great Britain, transforming countless victims into mindless predators and forcing Matt and his little brother, Danny, out of the safety of their late parents’ privileged legacy and into a rapidly changing world.

Every day is vital. Every action counts. As the brothers make alliances and learn to defend themselves and their home against an unthinkable enemy, choices are made, some with devastating consequences. In the midst of this nightmarish fight to survive, Matt begins to learn what is truly important to him, and exactly what it means to be human.

Bursting with Craig Jones’ signature swift pacing and squirm inducing details, this is a story destined for your library.

Genres: Zombies, Horror, Post Apocalyptic

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 2, 2012

About the author

Originally from South Wales, I have held a wide range of jobs from tennis player to gym manager to health service worker. I turned 40 in October, am married to Claire and we have a cat called Wookie. I went to school with Catherine Zeta-Jones, have played tennis with Jamie Redknapp and coached Great Britain’s first ever World Number One tennis player.
I have always enjoyed horror books and movies, everything from Jason Voorhees and his slasher friends through to creepy characters like Hannibal Lector. When I write I am always trying to create realistic people and thrust them into terrifying situations.
Hope you enjoy!

Reviews

[Silver Thistle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic, and I loved it!!! Apart from the last 2 pages which I hated!

Firstly, it should be noted that I'm not usually a massive fan of first person narrative. Second point worthy of notice is that I was halfway through this book before I even realised that it's written in first person narrative.

It's just that good!

At first it's a traditional zombie story...Nobody suspects anything in the beginning - then weird stuff is reported on the News - people start sitting up and taking notice - the S.H.T.F and everyone tries to survive and avoid being chomped on. We zombie fan's know the drill. At this stage the zombies are also traditional. Slow, lumbering, not very bright, driven by instinct - that sort of thing. We've all seen it before countless times but there are enough little differences to keep it interesting up to this point.

Then the pace changes and I wasn't very sure where it was going. It slowed right down, and had a definite 'Shaun of the Dead' feel to it and although I liked that section quite a bit as it progressed I had doubts. I still had a good two thirds of the book to go and I was getting a bit worried that it would all just drag on and on and fizzle to a close.

Wrong!

Under different circumstances the twist that kicked off the third and final section could be viewed as a 'comedic episode', complete with Benny Hill chase music. The reality of it all was anything but funny though. Ramped-up crazies the likes of which would make the 28 Days Later zombies wet their pants. Made of awesome!

I loved it. Loved. It.

Apart from one little thing...The last two pages. They just slapped all the love out of me. Well, maybe two pages worth of love was slapped out of me, if I'm honest. But they did bug me.

The paperback I bought has quite a few typo's and error's that the proof reader(s) missed and that gets on my nerves but I can't fault the content. It's a winner!! :D

I'd definitely recommend this to any and all zombie fans! Go get it now, run like the wind. Read it!

[Martin Belcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god this book is AMAZING! It starts off as a pretty regular Zombie story and then halfway through just when you think it's all over, a sudden almost comic twist turns it into a frightful, horrific journey into Zombie hell of a totally different kind. You just have to read this book if you are into Zombie fiction, incredible!

Matt and his Brother, Danny live together in their late parents house just outside the town of Usk, Wales, UK. Life seems very boring until one day the slow shambling walking dead appear outside their front gates and they begin to realise that people are being infected by being bitten and turning into Zombies. Along with Nick and his family who they take in, they all take shelter in the house and try to prevent the Zombies getting in. It appears from TV news that Britain is the only country in the world affected by the Zombie virus. The British army start to take control and eradicate the zombies first from the major cities and then town by town and village by village until they are saved and try to return to their normal lives. BUT is it all over?? Without giving any spoilers, what happens next will have your jaw dropping open in sheer disbelief...... One of the best Zombie novels I have ever read. I even resorted to cheekily reading it on my kindle app on my HTC mobile phone whilst at work, when I should be working, as I could not wait until I got home to carry on reading!

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I started reading this book, I took an instant dislike to the MC's brother Danny. Frankly, I thought the guy was a brainless moron, whose reckless behaviour put everyone around him in danger. He seems to treat the whole zombie apocalypse like a big version of his computer games and has no concept of how dangerous zombies are. I wanted to strangle him at times. Often this can be the reason for me choosing not to continue with a book, but in this case there was enough of interest going on that I was able to just roll my eyes at him and get on with the story.

Firstly, I liked that we had a zombie book set in the UK. There are not enough decent zombie books set in my part of the world, so getting a good one was a bonus. Uk based books feature fighting for your lives against zombies with the contents of your garden shed as your only weapons, which leads to exciting combat with the zombies and a need for solid planning. I liked Matt, who to begin with seems rational and quite smart, trying to curb his brother's stupid streak. Despite being rich kids, safe behind a strong gate, they are happy to try and help anyone who reaches them ie Nick and his family, and the people in passing cars. Then, the boys discover that some people are trapped in a shop in town and are running out of food, and they start thinking about a possible rescue attempt. I found this quite interesting as they tried to communicate with the survivors and plan how to get over to them without being eaten by zombies.

The tension and excitement build as the plan starts to take shape and they get ready for the rescue itself. I really enjoyed this part of the book. I always love the parts of zombie books where the survivors have to leave safety for some reason and go out into zombie infested streets. I'm not going to put in any spoilers but the rescue part of this book was edge of the seat stuff and was well thought out.

Chapter 18. OMG Matt, what are you DOING! Are you INSANE! I suspected what he was going to do but what comes in the chapters after that I did not see coming. The book goes off in a new and very alarming direction and it was pretty great stuff! I really liked the different things that the author put into the book and the way the plot twisted and turned throughout. You really never knew what was coming next as Matt seems to lose the plot!

Overall I was really pleased with the book which had great ideas and some really good writing. I will probably read book two at some point in the future just to see what happens next.

[Kym · Rating 2 out of 5]

*sigh*
Don't bother. Unlikable characters, weird twists, stilted dialogue, confusing and just generally not great.

[Grace Harwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

[CAUTION - SPOILERS FOLLOW] There's a bit of everything in this zombie apocalypse book, drawn from a myriad of different sources but there's nothing really original, and, in my view, it has nothing whatsoever new to offer to the genre. What it does show is the author's obvious prolific reading/studying of the genre - he clearly knows his subject well. We start off with a tribute to the shambling slow-moving, never a real threat, Romero-inspired zombies. They amass outside the "hero's" (and I put hero in inverted commas because he does struggle to deserve the name throughout the book). We then have a small interlude which is a bit "Warm Bodies" where the hero tries to recreate a relationship with his now zombified brother. It's not as well done as Warm Bodies. It's not original and it doesn't really work that well. There's then a really, really confusing bit where my edition featured "THE END" on page 264. Thank God, I thought. But then it seems the author has thought better of ending it there and decided to press on a bit with some "28 Days Later" style zombies. A bit more modern perhaps. A bit more of a threat but still not very original.

In short, I thought this was crap. Not only was it unoriginal, but it was badly-written crap. There's far too much of the "hero" going on about "I did this, then I did this and then I did this..." Nothing is vividly rendered. Imagery is poor/non-existant. I struggled to follow it at times. It's also full of spelling errors ("couldn'tt tell" on page 244) for instance and there is something seriously wrong with an author who writes the wrong version of "stationery" I'll give you a clue, "stationery" with an "E" relates to pen; with an "A" it relates to "stand". A little mnemonic there to help out should you, God forbid, decide to write a sequel.

Sorry about the spoilers if you haven't read it - but if you haven't, seriously, I wouldn't bother.

I'm being harsh I know but I can't actually believe that some publishing house has actually published this. Dire. My recommendation: Avoid it like the zombie virus.

[Samantha Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I havent read a good zombie book in quiet awhile. But damn this git the spot takes a mix off all the zombie genres in movie first the slow type then you think its all over and everything os safe bit no 1 person makes a silly mistake by trying to keep someone they love whose been infected a year later hes became aware and can speak and asked to be killed but now everything goes wrong when the cat eats some off the remains and now becomes infected now the zombies are fast and smart and work as a team how can anyone survive. Ots a real page turner and has you hooked and gasping

[R.J. Spruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two young brothers, Danny and Matt orphans and left financially stable from the death of their parents. Both characters are very likeable and relatable.

I particularly enjoyed this story as I live in Swansea, so many of the areas are known to me.

A sad story that makes you question whether you would make the same choices as Matt. I would not have.

This story also offers food for thought in terms of how the infection can adapt, create different strains and very different zombies.

[Kathleen Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outbreak

This was a great zombie novel. I didn't sleep last night because I had to finish it but the hero is really a kind of character I've never come across. I don't know whether i liked him or hated him. I understand that some of his disastrous decisions were made when he was in a state of grief and shock but they were pretty unforgivable. Of course, this doesn't stop me from ordering volume two in the series. Can't wait!

[Jessie B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting page turner for sure that I enjoyed and went on to find the 2nd book in the series to continue reading the story. The only negative thing I can say for sure is that there are moments of unbelievability given the age of the main characters. While I noticed this, it did not take away from the story and experience of reading it.

[Momster face · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!!!!👍 👌 👍 👌

[Ape · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the cover that just screams B-horror movie, this is actually all right. I do like the cover though, it is highly entertaining.

This is the zombie apocalypse, the Welsh way. It starts off a bit ho-hum in the first bit, the second bit gets better, the third even better and then the book ends! Come on, Mr Jones, you'd found your feet and got going! Our narrator on this ride is Matt, rich kid who is kind of wasting his life doing nothing, living at home with his younger teenage brother. The family is very well off, parents died in a car crash, so they're basically just dossing about through life. Then there is a zombie infection that spreads through the population of the UK. These are old school zombies that hobble about and groan and are pretty dim. And the spread of infection feels realistic in that the population isn't destroyed - a large percentage survives, and the army get control of the situation and stamp out infection. From this first outbreak I never got a sense of desolation or end of the world. The country then rather foolishly goes back to normal living, not thinking that the disease might reappear.

The two brothers suffer from a silly kind of hero complex, as if they've played too many computer games. Having let a fleeing family into their house for shelter, they are then persuaded to go into the nearby village to rescue some people holed up upstairs above the hairdressers. People who were probably best off left where they were. Anyway, they go roaring off on their motorbikes, rescue some of them but it ends in tears as the younger brother gets bitten.

Part two is Matt, the elder, dealing with this. The emotional side of zombies, and when your nearest and dearest become one and you can't quite let go. Perhaps a reflection on the fact that perhaps euthanasia perhaps is the kindest thing in some situations. In order to keep his brother safe for the cure he tells himself is coming, he hacks off one of his brother's arms, and dislocates his jaw so he can't bite. So you may wonder, what is he being saved from? It is sad, and eventually Matt has to accept his brother is gone, and has the unpleasant task of finishing the corpse off. Sadly there are also repercussions from this, as the disease seems to have mutated, and a cat licking the corpse starts the spread.... or in any case so we are led to believe, but I'm not convinced that this one cat can get the whole of southern Wales infected in less than a day. So maybe there is something else going on that we don't know about in the book.

So this leads to the third bit, where the sense of desolation starts to come in. The new zombies appear, this time fast moving, thinking and positively evil. Matt flees the country village and goes to Cardiff (hmm... surely remote would have been a better idea, but the army tell him to go to a sports stadium), gets to safety, then worries about the father and children of that family they sheltered during the first outbreak. Kick in silly hero complex, he LEAVES the safety of the stadium, and drives back to the wee village to rescue them and attempt to return to Cardiff. Death and madness ensues....

I find these types of apocalypse interesting as well in that they're not set in major cities; they're not the world view, and they're not following highly important people (scientists, soldiers, world leaders or whatever) but just the ordinary day to day people like us. Which brings it into your own sphere of experience and makes it more realistic in some ways to you. Another one I've read on a similar theme is by Jannicke Howard.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outbreak: The Zombie Apocalypse
Author: Craig Jones
Publisher: Pants on Fire Press
Published In: Winter Garden, Florida
Date: 2014
Pgs: 372

REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
The zombies are coming. Can you find your humanity in the face of an lumbering horde that wants to eat you? Privilege can’t save you. The government can’t save you. Culture can’t save you. You save you. Or you don’t. Welcome to the future.

Genre:
Adventure
Apocalypse
End of the World
Fiction
Quirk
Science fiction
Zombies

Why this book:
It’s zombies...I’m a fan.

______________________________________________________________________________

Favorite Character:
I wanted to like Matt. I did. But he made some really bad choices. Understandable choices in the world that he was living in and what he was living through, but bad.

Least Favorite Character:
Danny. You could see what was going to happen to him coming a mile away.

Favorite Scene:
When the zombies dismembered Mrs Pound and one of them stands up from the pile holding her head and a section of her spinal cord still attached.

The picking up the hitchhiker while the zombies chased him down the road at Cardiff Castle was greatness.

Damn. The super store scene. Damn. Smart fast zombies. Damn.

Pacing:


Plot Holes/Out of Character:
Nick turning on him like he did and blaming him for everything after the way things went down doesn’t ring right with me.

Hmm Moments:
The maybe only 20% of them are zombies...the rest could be holed up somewhere in town, rainbows and skittles attitude. And the realist saying that they could just all be dead. Yeah...these worlds, they are usually all just dead, whether that means dead dead or walking.

These zombies turn fast.

Damn...did they do a Mist to him and his brother? That sucks. Awesome storytelling. But that sucks. And he’s going to do a Penny on his brother. That’s some twisted crap.

The whole run up to The End in the middle of the book is well done.

So, we’ve got both a fastlane to zombism and a long slow crawl as well. Damn. Poor bastard.

Wasn’t expecting the cats and dogs being cats and dogs.

Giving a reason for them evolving into fast zombies is cool. I just don’t like fast zombies...or superpowerful zombies. I like the idea of as they decompose they become less and less and less.

Why isn’t there a screenplay?
The Cardiff Castle scene would make a great movie scene.

Casting call:
Zac Efron as Danny.

Maybe Shia Labeouf as Matt. Would be playing against type, but could be cool. Mark Wahlberg would be great too.
______________________________________________________________________________

Last Page Sound:
Damn. Not a real ending. An ending sure. But this is a “read the next book in the series” ending. Sigh.

Author Assessment:
Through Act 1, the story is largely pedestrian. 2 and 3 make up for Act 1. Wow.

Editorial Assessment:
Editor should have pushed the author on Act 1.

Knee Jerk Reaction:
glad I read it

Disposition of Book:
e-Book

Would recommend to:
genre fans

[Kurt Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great Zombie Apocalypse book. I love that you can have all the fear and intense emotion in this thriller and not have to read through a ton of filthy language. Outbreak is an amazing addition to the Zombie Thriller genre. I like Matt the main character and his drive to take care of others around him even when it means putting himself in harms way. So many twist and turns in this story that it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. I really enjoyed this story and look forward to reading the sequel Breakout. I love how the zombie infection evolves and the idea that just maybe something remains of the memories and humanity in the infected. Character development is done really well in this fast paced read and you find yourself truely feeling for the characters and becoming emotionally invested in their well being. Great book Craig Jones! This new fan will be back for more!!!

[Amy Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was ok

This book wasn't really what I expected it to be. First of all the book's flow is off. Maybe the author intended it that way, but it just made keeping up with the story more difficult. For instance, halfway through the book it has a "the end" page that made me think the story was over, then it picks back up. The beginning of the book was a non thrilling read. The second half of the book the story starts to get interesting and more action and suspense takes place. The characters are kind of dull, so there was not a real connection with them. The ending left me with a lot of unanswered questions.

[Woff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awful beginning, but it does improve somewhere along the way. I couldn't stand MC to begin with - he's an unlikeable rich kid, annoyingly condescending to his clearly smarter younger brother, and an authoritarian dick to the family that seeks refuge in his house, yet you're clearly meant to view him as 'the nice guy' who 'does the right thing'. By the end he's more an every guy, which suits better, but I would have preferred a deliberately unlikeable character that redeems himself. Plot works in a similar way - pretty unappealing to begin with, but improves as it continues. Nice and gory throughout!

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't a bad book, the characters fell a little flat to me but I think that is something that can only be helped by more practice on the part of the writer and it's something that I think I myself am guilty of so it is what it is. That said, there were some interesting plot twists and things that I really liked but it felt like there was possibly a rushed ending too. I don't know, maybe there is a sequal planned and he's working on it right now. Personally, I felt like just when it was getting good is when it ended.

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning was great...but when I got to the end I honestly thought that there had to be more...why build up to that and just end it?

It makes me feel that the author couldn't come up with an ending so he just ended it. Why could Danny and Neil remember their emotional ties to Matt and prevent other zombies from attacking? Did they retain some of their personalities? Were they aware of what had happened to them? What about Neil's daughters?

What happened to the survivors in the staudium?

So many questions and no answers.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I saw this book and by the summary I was already hooked. But I wasn't expecting the twists and turns it took me through. I read this book in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down. I was anxious to follow Matt and Danny through the zombie town. It was a different type of zombie book that kept bringing me deep. The ending was a real surprise and I kinda knew that Matt's plan wasn't all that perfect. But now I just have to go ready book 2. Thank you!!

[Julian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first half, real "Shaun of the Dead" style. Easy reading, im not sure if this was intentional on the part of the author but it is as it is.
Its an interesting concept in the second half of the book, but a few holes in the plot left it feeling rushed to me. Thats why I like this book, but I think its lets itself down.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, couldn't put it down...especially liked the development after the first zombie outbreak was over...slightly disappointed by the ending though. But overall a very enjoyable read!!

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

***I received this book via a LibraryThing Giveaway***

Wow just Wow! This is how a zombie apocalypse book should be written. The gore, unpredictability, the edge of your seat thrill, all tied in to make this book simply put, spectacular.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually do not read this genre of books, but I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed this fiction novel. There were twists and turns to the plot that I never expected and I really got into the characters. I would definitely recommend this fiction to anyone.

[David Monk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was a fantastic read. You could really connect with the characters. A fantastically well written book that keeps you captivated from the first to the last page.

[Phil Ansell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Terrifying with a really good twist. I just wasn't too keen on the characters.

[Emma Horsfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!!! Just could not put this book down read it right through until 3am when I couldn't read no more because I had finished it. First book I haven't been able to put down in a very long time!

[Chris-lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant story!! The first I've read where a zombie pandemic happens twice!! Brilliant for such a low budget print! Would definitely recommend to those who are fans of zombie fiction!!!

[Julie Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is a crazy thrill ride that is difficult to put down and even harder to forget. It's a highly recommended read for anyone who likes thrillers, horror stories or just plain good books!

[Whitney Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scared me to death! The writing is excellent and the story will keep you turning the pages. I couldn't sleep after this read!

[Tsvetelin Donkovski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book ! ! ! Great Author ! ! !

[Stephen Lowry · Rating 3 out of 5]

lacked something, I have read better