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Sometimes We Ran #1
Sometimes We Ran
Our hero had it A great job, a beautiful wife, and even a nice car. As he approached middle age, all the comforts of a fantastic life were within reach. Then the zombies came, destroyed the world, and it all disappeared in a flash. Now he walks in a shattered, post-apocalyptic world filled with hungry undead, dead towns, and desperate survivors. He is low on supplies, running out of time, and with slim hope of long-term survival. His long walk to escape the dead is slowly becoming a death march. Then one day, he meets another survivor. A young, starving former college co-ed walking the other way. This is their story. Book 1 of the Sometimes We Ran zombie apocalypse series.
- GenresZombies
203 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 23, 2013
5 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Drivick
6 books10 followersI was always an avid reader. A couple of years ago, I started fooling around with tablets and smartphones and my consumption of books started to skyrocket!
For some reason, I gravitated to dystopian and post-apocalyptic writing. Strangely, I found reading about the end of the world interesting. I guess it all started with "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy-easily the toughest novel I had read up to that time. Somewhere between reading it and other books about the apocalypse, "Sometimes We Ran" was born.
I currently reside in Woodstock in the great state of Georgia. I have been working for the last fifteen years as a CAD operator drawing permits and mapping utilities. When I'm not working, (or trying to write coherent sentences) you can find me taking care of my two aging Pontiac Firebirds.
For some reason, I gravitated to dystopian and post-apocalyptic writing. Strangely, I found reading about the end of the world interesting. I guess it all started with "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy-easily the toughest novel I had read up to that time. Somewhere between reading it and other books about the apocalypse, "Sometimes We Ran" was born.
I currently reside in Woodstock in the great state of Georgia. I have been working for the last fifteen years as a CAD operator drawing permits and mapping utilities. When I'm not working, (or trying to write coherent sentences) you can find me taking care of my two aging Pontiac Firebirds.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 3, 2023
A delightful zombie novel full of action + good characters to root for.
It is still hard for me to read zombie books. It was OK before Covid, but after the big pandemic of Covid (which is still going on in most of the world) I just had a hard time reading books like this. Books were the world gets sick and zombies appear. But at times I do try to get back into the zombies and so I had to give this one a try.
In this one we follow a man named John, he is in his forties and trying to survive. It is been 8 months of zombies and the world is still a very dangerous place. We see him wonder about his wife, he hasn’t seen her since the world ended and he is worried about her, but also kind of resigned that he may never see her. I loved how he kept his wits and how he got rid of most of the zombies he encountered. Trying to clean up the world. He was a really good character and I was rooting for him. I liked that, through him, we saw some more on what happened in the world when poop hit the fan. How things went from one poop event to the next. I kind of would like some more about the world before and how things went south.
Along the way he meets Claire and so their journey together begins. I really liked Claire. She was a fun character and I loved how strong and kick-ass she was. I am glad that John was able to help her out and get her back up to strength.
There are tons of scary situations, full of action, zombies, and I was at times on the edge of my seat. Would both my characters survive?
I loved reading about all the zombies. That there are yellow-eyed ones that are a bit calmer and more easy to avoid. And the red-eyed ones that you want to avoid like the plague. I really loved that detail. And I also loved reading about the fact that it seems the zombies, well the red-eyed ones, are getting smarter. It was also fun to read that during rain or a storm you could more easily hide or just walk around as rain messes up zombies and their smell. Oh, and dogs. NOPE. NOPE.
Next to zombies we also have survivors. We read about the ones that John and Claire encounter, but also read about John’s earlier encounters. People really go craycray in a zombie apocalypse.
While it was a bit dark, I did like the mention about the prisoners. In many other zombie books we have prisoners (and thus murderers/rapist/psychos) wandering around the world along with survivors and zombies and things just get very scary. However in this book, in this world… they apparently took care of that.
However there were a few things I wasn’t a fan of. Like how our MC is in his forties and is constantly mentioning HOW OLD he is. Or how much difference there is between him and Claire. Or constantly naming the age difference. Boo, you are in your 40s, you are not dead. I get that in the zombie apocalypse you may not have long to live, but no one has that time, not even kids. Thank you. And Claire is 22-23 years old and an adult, stop saying kiddo, kid, that she acts like a kid, that for a small/tiny person she hits quite well, that she is tiny, small, young, youthful. It was really weird and off-putting how he went from checking her out and receiving a kiss from her (just a one time thing) and then constantly treating her like a kid.
The ending, well, a bit typical, but I still enjoyed it and wonder what it will mean for the next books!
I really enjoyed this one, it was exciting, full of zombies, action, and more. I will continue reading it. Though, haha, given that this review won’t be up until the end of February and I am writing it early January, I will have read more books (maybe even all)~ I would recommend this one~
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
It is still hard for me to read zombie books. It was OK before Covid, but after the big pandemic of Covid (which is still going on in most of the world) I just had a hard time reading books like this. Books were the world gets sick and zombies appear. But at times I do try to get back into the zombies and so I had to give this one a try.
In this one we follow a man named John, he is in his forties and trying to survive. It is been 8 months of zombies and the world is still a very dangerous place. We see him wonder about his wife, he hasn’t seen her since the world ended and he is worried about her, but also kind of resigned that he may never see her. I loved how he kept his wits and how he got rid of most of the zombies he encountered. Trying to clean up the world. He was a really good character and I was rooting for him. I liked that, through him, we saw some more on what happened in the world when poop hit the fan. How things went from one poop event to the next. I kind of would like some more about the world before and how things went south.
Along the way he meets Claire and so their journey together begins. I really liked Claire. She was a fun character and I loved how strong and kick-ass she was. I am glad that John was able to help her out and get her back up to strength.
There are tons of scary situations, full of action, zombies, and I was at times on the edge of my seat. Would both my characters survive?
I loved reading about all the zombies. That there are yellow-eyed ones that are a bit calmer and more easy to avoid. And the red-eyed ones that you want to avoid like the plague. I really loved that detail. And I also loved reading about the fact that it seems the zombies, well the red-eyed ones, are getting smarter. It was also fun to read that during rain or a storm you could more easily hide or just walk around as rain messes up zombies and their smell. Oh, and dogs. NOPE. NOPE.
Next to zombies we also have survivors. We read about the ones that John and Claire encounter, but also read about John’s earlier encounters. People really go craycray in a zombie apocalypse.
While it was a bit dark, I did like the mention about the prisoners. In many other zombie books we have prisoners (and thus murderers/rapist/psychos) wandering around the world along with survivors and zombies and things just get very scary. However in this book, in this world… they apparently took care of that.
However there were a few things I wasn’t a fan of. Like how our MC is in his forties and is constantly mentioning HOW OLD he is. Or how much difference there is between him and Claire. Or constantly naming the age difference. Boo, you are in your 40s, you are not dead. I get that in the zombie apocalypse you may not have long to live, but no one has that time, not even kids. Thank you. And Claire is 22-23 years old and an adult, stop saying kiddo, kid, that she acts like a kid, that for a small/tiny person she hits quite well, that she is tiny, small, young, youthful. It was really weird and off-putting how he went from checking her out and receiving a kiss from her (just a one time thing) and then constantly treating her like a kid.
The ending, well, a bit typical, but I still enjoyed it and wonder what it will mean for the next books!
I really enjoyed this one, it was exciting, full of zombies, action, and more. I will continue reading it. Though, haha, given that this review won’t be up until the end of February and I am writing it early January, I will have read more books (maybe even all)~ I would recommend this one~
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
January 31, 2019
4.5 stars
A new author to me, I will be checking out his other books and the rest of this series.
I was hooked from the start if you enjoy Zombies stories then this is the book for you. The story follows John & Claire as they try to survive in a world where the dead come back to life. The story is good and written well. Can't wait to start the next one.
A new author to me, I will be checking out his other books and the rest of this series.
I was hooked from the start if you enjoy Zombies stories then this is the book for you. The story follows John & Claire as they try to survive in a world where the dead come back to life. The story is good and written well. Can't wait to start the next one.
November 6, 2018
Red Eyes
Enjoyed this book. If you like zombies or post apocalyptic reads then you're in luck. Minimal characters, John & Claire. Nicely written. Of course a few bad guys who don't last long. 😊
Enjoyed this book. If you like zombies or post apocalyptic reads then you're in luck. Minimal characters, John & Claire. Nicely written. Of course a few bad guys who don't last long. 😊
January 26, 2020
Really good read, likable characters.
February 15, 2014
I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The storyline itself offered nothing particularly fresh to genre, but it was not predictable or stale. Nothing earth-shattering, but nothing too formulated, either. It didn't try too hard to be gorier and scarier than the rest of the zombie books out there, yet it still hit the mark for a decent zombie read with all the gore and frights a reader might expect. The writing style was easy and flowed well, and the author's sense of humor shone through in little quips here and there. One of my faves was, "Even after the end of the world, women still can't seem to leave on time." I adore a little snark and humor thrown into the mix. John, the main character, tended to nickname the individual zombies he ran across, and that gave me a few chuckles.
The author did a great job of exploring the human side of the zombie apocalypse, as in how it could change the fundamental core of a person. More so than most books in the genre I've read, this story touched upon the struggle between doing what needed to be done in the new world to survive and not losing one's self to the primal darkness completely. Sometimes other survivors were exactly what they seemed, and sometimes they weren't. John's struggles to make the right choices when dealing with other survivors added a lot of humanity to the story. His emotional reactions to both child zombies, and first responders who had been turned, were very believable and heart-felt. The author excelled at giving the reader a look into the psychological horror of seeing the young and the 'saviors' of society alike turned into horrible, flesh-eating monsters. John's inner struggles to cope with these issues added a layer of horror to the story that so many others lack.
There weren't a lot of weapons details in this book, which worked for me. Knowlegeable gun-lovers may detest the lack of specific information about various models or calibers of the guns involved, but as a casual reader, I appreciated that the author didn't overload me with too much information about them. I hate it when an otherwise good tale turns into a weapons lesson by taking the details too far. I didn't find that here.
The evolution of John and Claire's relationship was confusing at points. As they worked to discover their roles in their relationship as a team, there seemed to be a lot of flip-flopping and mixed signals. They figured it out eventually, but for a few chapters, I found it all highly annoying. Claire developed a nickname for John that was overused, ad naseum. As the book continued on, he began treating her more and more like a child, mostly in some of the things he said to her, and the paternal bit didn't work for me, given where their relationship ended up. I liked both characters well enough, but sometimes their evolving partnership didn't feel 'true' to me.
There were some great twists, but I found them to be grossly underdeveloped. Some of the zombies began to evolve, but there were only hints of how and what it might mean for the future of the survivors. There was great opportunity to take that idea and run with it, to really fold it into the story, but instead, it was kind of...dropped. Forgotten, dismissed. It was highly disappointing to see some great ideas hinted at but never really followed through. This could have been a better read if those ideas had been explored further. The last run-in with that type of zombie felt rushed and half-done, as the reader's expected to swallow behavior on the zombies' part that really didn't make sense, based on their previous behavior.
While the editing was by no means terrible, quite a few minor errors were overlooked. There were numerous missing periods and incorrect words (off/of, you're/your, that type of thing). It was frequent enough to be mildly distracting. The bigger problem was the 'tense flipping' throughout the book. While it was generally presented in the past tense, all too often it flipped into the present tense for just a sentence of two before reverting back to the past tense again. It wasn't as terrible as it might have been. Never did I question if I wanted to read on or not because of it, but it interrupted the flow at many points as my brain shifted gears to assimilate to the sudden change. For example: "I had on tan cargo pants, a black long-sleeved shirt, and my black boots. The pants are tucked into the boots." It didn't ruin the read for me, but it surely detracted from it. It was not a nightmare to read due to the editing errors, but it would have been far better without them.
In general, I enjoyed this one. There's nothing that made it stand out from the hordes of similar zombie books, but it was a decent read that's worth a look if you've no 'pririoty' reads you're dying to get to.
To see more of my zombie book reviews, please check out my profile.
The storyline itself offered nothing particularly fresh to genre, but it was not predictable or stale. Nothing earth-shattering, but nothing too formulated, either. It didn't try too hard to be gorier and scarier than the rest of the zombie books out there, yet it still hit the mark for a decent zombie read with all the gore and frights a reader might expect. The writing style was easy and flowed well, and the author's sense of humor shone through in little quips here and there. One of my faves was, "Even after the end of the world, women still can't seem to leave on time." I adore a little snark and humor thrown into the mix. John, the main character, tended to nickname the individual zombies he ran across, and that gave me a few chuckles.
The author did a great job of exploring the human side of the zombie apocalypse, as in how it could change the fundamental core of a person. More so than most books in the genre I've read, this story touched upon the struggle between doing what needed to be done in the new world to survive and not losing one's self to the primal darkness completely. Sometimes other survivors were exactly what they seemed, and sometimes they weren't. John's struggles to make the right choices when dealing with other survivors added a lot of humanity to the story. His emotional reactions to both child zombies, and first responders who had been turned, were very believable and heart-felt. The author excelled at giving the reader a look into the psychological horror of seeing the young and the 'saviors' of society alike turned into horrible, flesh-eating monsters. John's inner struggles to cope with these issues added a layer of horror to the story that so many others lack.
There weren't a lot of weapons details in this book, which worked for me. Knowlegeable gun-lovers may detest the lack of specific information about various models or calibers of the guns involved, but as a casual reader, I appreciated that the author didn't overload me with too much information about them. I hate it when an otherwise good tale turns into a weapons lesson by taking the details too far. I didn't find that here.
The evolution of John and Claire's relationship was confusing at points. As they worked to discover their roles in their relationship as a team, there seemed to be a lot of flip-flopping and mixed signals. They figured it out eventually, but for a few chapters, I found it all highly annoying. Claire developed a nickname for John that was overused, ad naseum. As the book continued on, he began treating her more and more like a child, mostly in some of the things he said to her, and the paternal bit didn't work for me, given where their relationship ended up. I liked both characters well enough, but sometimes their evolving partnership didn't feel 'true' to me.
There were some great twists, but I found them to be grossly underdeveloped. Some of the zombies began to evolve, but there were only hints of how and what it might mean for the future of the survivors. There was great opportunity to take that idea and run with it, to really fold it into the story, but instead, it was kind of...dropped. Forgotten, dismissed. It was highly disappointing to see some great ideas hinted at but never really followed through. This could have been a better read if those ideas had been explored further. The last run-in with that type of zombie felt rushed and half-done, as the reader's expected to swallow behavior on the zombies' part that really didn't make sense, based on their previous behavior.
While the editing was by no means terrible, quite a few minor errors were overlooked. There were numerous missing periods and incorrect words (off/of, you're/your, that type of thing). It was frequent enough to be mildly distracting. The bigger problem was the 'tense flipping' throughout the book. While it was generally presented in the past tense, all too often it flipped into the present tense for just a sentence of two before reverting back to the past tense again. It wasn't as terrible as it might have been. Never did I question if I wanted to read on or not because of it, but it interrupted the flow at many points as my brain shifted gears to assimilate to the sudden change. For example: "I had on tan cargo pants, a black long-sleeved shirt, and my black boots. The pants are tucked into the boots." It didn't ruin the read for me, but it surely detracted from it. It was not a nightmare to read due to the editing errors, but it would have been far better without them.
In general, I enjoyed this one. There's nothing that made it stand out from the hordes of similar zombie books, but it was a decent read that's worth a look if you've no 'pririoty' reads you're dying to get to.
To see more of my zombie book reviews, please check out my profile.
January 19, 2015
I enjoyed it. The author brought me into the world and hooked me. I am really appreciative of the way that even in the slow times, the book still moved forward and kept me interested.
I am really wondering about why what the bite was supposed to do it didn't do. That alone will propel me to read the next in the series. I also am interested in the color of the eyes and the mentality of the Zombies. Will they be able to hold on?
In short, I would suggest reading it. Although there is not really a cliff hanger, there is a pretty hard push into the next story...
I am really wondering about why what the bite was supposed to do it didn't do. That alone will propel me to read the next in the series. I also am interested in the color of the eyes and the mentality of the Zombies. Will they be able to hold on?
In short, I would suggest reading it. Although there is not really a cliff hanger, there is a pretty hard push into the next story...
September 23, 2013
Very well done.
This is by far one of the best zombie stories I've ever read and I've read a few of them. It has an excellent plausible opening and it grabbed me. Then the way the story built kept me reading. I had to see what happened next.
John and Claire made a really good team. All of the unexpected twists and turns were great. It was a blast to read. I really do hope there’s a next story, I want it.
Encore, encore.
This is by far one of the best zombie stories I've ever read and I've read a few of them. It has an excellent plausible opening and it grabbed me. Then the way the story built kept me reading. I had to see what happened next.
John and Claire made a really good team. All of the unexpected twists and turns were great. It was a blast to read. I really do hope there’s a next story, I want it.
Encore, encore.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews