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The Tide #1
Die Flut
Ein ausgegrabenes wissenschaftliches Geheimnis wird die Menschheit in die Knie zwingen.
An Bord eines geheimen Schiffes mit beispielloser Technologie befehligt Captain Dominic Holland eine Crew aus erfahrenen verdeckten Agenten und talentierten wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeitern, die sich der Bekämpfung biologischer und chemischer Kriegsführung verschrieben haben. Ihre Missionen haben sie rund um den Globus geführt, um finstere Machenschaften und gefährliche Gegner zu bekämpfen. Doch ein neuer Auftrag führt sie zu einem Gentechniklabor auf einer verlassenen Ölplattform, wo sie die beunruhigendste Bedrohung für die Menschheit entdecken, die sie je gesehen haben.
Zurück in den Vereinigten Staaten deckt CIA-Analystin Meredith Webb eine erschreckende Verbindung zwischen der Behörde, der sie ihr Leben gewidmet hat, und der verlassenen Ölplattform auf. Ihre Ermittlungen sind nur von kurzer Dauer, als sich der Terror im ganzen Land ausbreitet. Etwas verwandelt Menschen in albtraumhafte Kreaturen, die auf Zerstörung aus sind. Dominic und Meredith stehen vor scheinbar unmöglichen Herausforderungen in einem gefährlichen Kampf gegen die drohende Apokalypse. Aber werden ihre Bemühungen ausreichen, um das Blatt zu wenden – oder ist das Schicksal der Menschheit bereits besiegelt?
"Ein spannender, nervenaufreibender Beitrag zum Genre mit überzeugender Wissenschaft und einer erschreckenden Wendung." -- Nicholas Sansbury Smith, USA Today Bestsellerautor der Extinction Cycle-Serie und Hell Divers.
An Bord eines geheimen Schiffes mit beispielloser Technologie befehligt Captain Dominic Holland eine Crew aus erfahrenen verdeckten Agenten und talentierten wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeitern, die sich der Bekämpfung biologischer und chemischer Kriegsführung verschrieben haben. Ihre Missionen haben sie rund um den Globus geführt, um finstere Machenschaften und gefährliche Gegner zu bekämpfen. Doch ein neuer Auftrag führt sie zu einem Gentechniklabor auf einer verlassenen Ölplattform, wo sie die beunruhigendste Bedrohung für die Menschheit entdecken, die sie je gesehen haben.
Zurück in den Vereinigten Staaten deckt CIA-Analystin Meredith Webb eine erschreckende Verbindung zwischen der Behörde, der sie ihr Leben gewidmet hat, und der verlassenen Ölplattform auf. Ihre Ermittlungen sind nur von kurzer Dauer, als sich der Terror im ganzen Land ausbreitet. Etwas verwandelt Menschen in albtraumhafte Kreaturen, die auf Zerstörung aus sind. Dominic und Meredith stehen vor scheinbar unmöglichen Herausforderungen in einem gefährlichen Kampf gegen die drohende Apokalypse. Aber werden ihre Bemühungen ausreichen, um das Blatt zu wenden – oder ist das Schicksal der Menschheit bereits besiegelt?
"Ein spannender, nervenaufreibender Beitrag zum Genre mit überzeugender Wissenschaft und einer erschreckenden Wendung." -- Nicholas Sansbury Smith, USA Today Bestsellerautor der Extinction Cycle-Serie und Hell Divers.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 2, 2015
1615 people are currently reading
2283 people want to read
About the author
Anthony J. Melchiorri
107 books361 followersAnthony J Melchiorri is a scientist with a PhD in bioengineering. Originally from the Midwest, he now lives in Texas. By day, he develops cellular therapies and 3D-printable artificial organs. By night, he writes apocalyptic, medical, and science-fiction thrillers that blend real-world research with other-worldly possibility. When he isn't in the lab or at the keyboard, he spends his time running, reading, hiking, and traveling in search of new story ideas.
Read more at http://anthonyjmelchiorri.com and sign up for his mailing list at http://bit.ly/ajmlist to hear about his latest releases and news.
Read more at http://anthonyjmelchiorri.com and sign up for his mailing list at http://bit.ly/ajmlist to hear about his latest releases and news.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 256 reviews
June 21, 2024
Feel My Heart. It’s Beating Fast 🫀
On board his technical ship, The Huntress, Captain Dominic Holland and his team of covert operatives are sent on a secret mission: Investigate the abandoned oil rig, located in the middle of the sea.
The oil rig contains a genetic lab. Now, the “human” inhabitants have become genetically modified by their malfeasance.
The “people” are now monstrosities, capable of attacking and killing anyone and anything.
Ripping people to shreds and eating them, becomes a better way than the other deal—turning into a monster!
Captain Holland and some of his team (only some of them) barely get away alive.
What is happening to these people? Who is behind this evilness? Can anyone be saved?
This is the first book in the series and I can’t wait to read the next one.
Five stars. 💫💫💫💫💫
On board his technical ship, The Huntress, Captain Dominic Holland and his team of covert operatives are sent on a secret mission: Investigate the abandoned oil rig, located in the middle of the sea.
The oil rig contains a genetic lab. Now, the “human” inhabitants have become genetically modified by their malfeasance.
The “people” are now monstrosities, capable of attacking and killing anyone and anything.
Ripping people to shreds and eating them, becomes a better way than the other deal—turning into a monster!
Captain Holland and some of his team (only some of them) barely get away alive.
What is happening to these people? Who is behind this evilness? Can anyone be saved?
This is the first book in the series and I can’t wait to read the next one.
Five stars. 💫💫💫💫💫
August 8, 2018
Guys... this is how an apocalyptic horror story is done.
What’s it about?
In WW2 a bio weapon was created, that bio weapon turns people into bloodthirsty monsters (not zombies) that mutate into inhuman creatures (this makes more sense in the book). Now, in modern day that weapon is unleashed and a potentially apocalyptic outbreak starts.
Pros:
The story is interesting and very well written. I would say that out of the apocalyptic horror stuff I’ve read this is probably one of the most well written ones out there.
This book has a lot of action throughout and it is freaking awesome! This author knows how to write amazing action in prose!
The suspense in this book! I’m a huge horror fan but despite it being one of my favorite genres I often find many of the stories within it to be too predictable, this book is an exception.
The quality of the horror stuff is there. It is the sort of intense and insane horror thing that readers of this kind of book will be looking for.
Anyone who is particularly familiar with my reviews knows that I absolutely love dogs! There is a dog in this book, she gets a fair amount of time in this book and doesn’t die so... yay dog!
One thing I was happy to see is that the characters don’t constantly do dumb shit. One thing that often even puts me off these kinds of books is that the characters are often as smart as a bag of hammers but not in this book.
Cons:
Despite not being idiots the characters are not very interesting. They aren’t bad and I could perhaps see them becoming more interesting in later books in the series but in this book I felt kinda meh towards them.
There are some slower parts of this book and while most of this book is interesting there were a few bits that part of my brain was thinking “great, can we go back to killing monsters soon?”.
Overall:
This is a really good book, I will be reading book 2 and I would definitely recommend this. If you’re a fan of exciting horror stories full of action scenes and don’t want the same ol’ zombie thing than this is right up your alley!
4/5
What’s it about?
In WW2 a bio weapon was created, that bio weapon turns people into bloodthirsty monsters (not zombies) that mutate into inhuman creatures (this makes more sense in the book). Now, in modern day that weapon is unleashed and a potentially apocalyptic outbreak starts.
Pros:
The story is interesting and very well written. I would say that out of the apocalyptic horror stuff I’ve read this is probably one of the most well written ones out there.
This book has a lot of action throughout and it is freaking awesome! This author knows how to write amazing action in prose!
The suspense in this book! I’m a huge horror fan but despite it being one of my favorite genres I often find many of the stories within it to be too predictable, this book is an exception.
The quality of the horror stuff is there. It is the sort of intense and insane horror thing that readers of this kind of book will be looking for.
Anyone who is particularly familiar with my reviews knows that I absolutely love dogs! There is a dog in this book, she gets a fair amount of time in this book and doesn’t die so... yay dog!
One thing I was happy to see is that the characters don’t constantly do dumb shit. One thing that often even puts me off these kinds of books is that the characters are often as smart as a bag of hammers but not in this book.
Cons:
Despite not being idiots the characters are not very interesting. They aren’t bad and I could perhaps see them becoming more interesting in later books in the series but in this book I felt kinda meh towards them.
There are some slower parts of this book and while most of this book is interesting there were a few bits that part of my brain was thinking “great, can we go back to killing monsters soon?”.
Overall:
This is a really good book, I will be reading book 2 and I would definitely recommend this. If you’re a fan of exciting horror stories full of action scenes and don’t want the same ol’ zombie thing than this is right up your alley!
4/5
September 9, 2019
4 stars audio
3.5 confusing start because of too many characters stars story.
3.5 confusing start because of too many characters stars story.
February 10, 2017
This is probably the creepiest Anthony Melchiorri book I've read yet - and I've read all of them except two. It's pretty much a biomedical twist on a zombie / pre-dystopian theme. I have to say I really enjoyed it; it was well-written and almost scarily believable. It looks like it's the first in a series, based on the ending, so I'll be gleefully looking forward to the next installment to find out what happens next.
A free advance copy was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
A free advance copy was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
May 2, 2022
This is very good book. Quite addictive at that, and now I'm going to read all 8 books for sure. It's very action oriented, it's like action movie in your head, which isn't 100% to my taste. However, contrary to what usually happens in those situations (me getting lost, now knowing who does something to whom), this book delivers action in manner that makes it very easy to visualize because the scenes seem to have natural, logical flow. This genre can't work without characters that are easy to like and root for, and this book is choke full of them. In short, I have great expectations from this series.
EDIT: So this is update after reading the whole series. And must say, the more time I spent with this crew, the more I liked every single one of them and the deeper I got pulled into the whole apocalyptic world they inhabit. It's hard to say goodbye, honestly. There was a lifetime (or several) of hope, desperation, exhilaration, and love. Both between friends and partners, unlikely as such arrangements are (or are they?) when all you do day in day out is trying to stay alive.
I very much loved the humor and attention to the details (like Watchmen figurines that remained a bitter-sweet memento of lost crewman to the very end). I also appreciate amount of research that went into technical and scientific aspects of the story. And I definitely COULD use more books on these guys, and I'm hoping to see the sequel in near future.
I really hope this is not good bye, but "see you soon", Hunters!
EDIT: So this is update after reading the whole series. And must say, the more time I spent with this crew, the more I liked every single one of them and the deeper I got pulled into the whole apocalyptic world they inhabit. It's hard to say goodbye, honestly. There was a lifetime (or several) of hope, desperation, exhilaration, and love. Both between friends and partners, unlikely as such arrangements are (or are they?) when all you do day in day out is trying to stay alive.
I very much loved the humor and attention to the details (like Watchmen figurines that remained a bitter-sweet memento of lost crewman to the very end). I also appreciate amount of research that went into technical and scientific aspects of the story. And I definitely COULD use more books on these guys, and I'm hoping to see the sequel in near future.
I really hope this is not good bye, but "see you soon", Hunters!
May 20, 2017
I have read The Extinction Cycle-books by Nicholas Sansbury Smith, and that somewhat ruined the reading experience for me. The Tide is really well written, and if I had read Melchiorri before Sansbury Smith, it would easily have gotten four stars from me. They are so similar! Zombie-like apocalypse and the heroes are soldiers.
The zombies, Skulls, as they call them, are hyper active, does not give up, runs like hell to get hold of its prey and kill it. It looks as if there is no hope at all for humankind, so I will read on, and find out what happens. And hopefully I will forget about the similarity, and just enjoy. Entertaining story!
The zombies, Skulls, as they call them, are hyper active, does not give up, runs like hell to get hold of its prey and kill it. It looks as if there is no hope at all for humankind, so I will read on, and find out what happens. And hopefully I will forget about the similarity, and just enjoy. Entertaining story!
October 2, 2018
Great Zombie read.
It's got covert Ops. Former CIA agents, specializing in disease control. Biological weapons. Daughters who can defend themselves against zombies. And a dog who wrestles with deathprobably the most.
It was fantastic.
I'd continue the series, as it ends on a cliffhanger with some unresolved story line. Definitely want to continue finding out more about the cause and cure for this epidemic.
It's got covert Ops. Former CIA agents, specializing in disease control. Biological weapons. Daughters who can defend themselves against zombies. And a dog who wrestles with death
It was fantastic.
I'd continue the series, as it ends on a cliffhanger with some unresolved story line. Definitely want to continue finding out more about the cause and cure for this epidemic.
November 29, 2023
This is a new author to me and this book is wow just wow
July 14, 2025
Pēdējā laikā ļoti daudz zombijgrāmatu, bet šīt izcēlās ar savu kvalitāti - gan tēlos, gan arī sižetiskajā līnijā.
Doms (Dominiks) ir privātas militāras organizācijas vadītājs, kas valdības uzdevumā apkaro/neitralizē dažādus ar bioloģiskajiem uzbrukumiem saistītus draudus. Tad nu viņš ar komandu tiek nosūtīts uz kādu naftas iegūšanas platformu, kura ir ierīkota kā biolaborotorija. Kaut kas ir aizgājis greizi un tur mītošie cilvēki pārvērtušies ar asinis kārojošiem briesmoņiem.
Sērijā tikai pirmā grāmata... Iespējams, pienāks diena, kad izlasīšu arī pārējās. Bet patika, ka nav standarta zombijapokalipse - ir kaut kas nedaudz vairāk...
Doms (Dominiks) ir privātas militāras organizācijas vadītājs, kas valdības uzdevumā apkaro/neitralizē dažādus ar bioloģiskajiem uzbrukumiem saistītus draudus. Tad nu viņš ar komandu tiek nosūtīts uz kādu naftas iegūšanas platformu, kura ir ierīkota kā biolaborotorija. Kaut kas ir aizgājis greizi un tur mītošie cilvēki pārvērtušies ar asinis kārojošiem briesmoņiem.
Sērijā tikai pirmā grāmata... Iespējams, pienāks diena, kad izlasīšu arī pārējās. Bet patika, ka nav standarta zombijapokalipse - ir kaut kas nedaudz vairāk...
December 3, 2015
My original The Tide audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
It started in 1944 with Japanese Unit 731 and came to life in the present. (If you don’t know what Unit 731 is look it up. It was a real unit in the Japanese military.)
Dom Holland and his Hunters were a private dark ops. unit. They were hired by Meridith Webb to discover if there was a bio threat on an oil platform in the North Atlantic. Meridith worked at the CIA. It was her duty to investigate bio-tech threats. There was no information about this lab anywhere in the CIA data base, or so she was told by her boss.
I like a story that has some real facts or history woven in. It gives the tale more credibility. We all know that the CIA has lots of “Black” places around the world. Those abandoned oil rigs are perfect for such IBSL”research” labs.
What is really great is the “new zombie style”. An fantastic idea to make the fingernails the harbinger of non-death. The other body changes were novel, very inventive. Made them extremely hard to kill.
The narrative goes back and forth from Dom and his team’s action to Meridith’s trying to get to the house. Meridith is on the run from the CIA. They don’t want her to find out what they have done. She needs to get to Fort Detrick but Dom asked her to stop at the home of his ex-wife and 2 daughters. He will meet her there.
This is a non-stop action packed adventure. Once you start to listen, you won’t want to stop.
Ryan does a fantastic job of making this story come to life. He really gets into it as he tells about the “skulls” they found on the oil rig. To the medical bay on Dom’s ship where a doctor is working to find out what the virus is and maybe a cure.
All this and more. It’s one heck of a ride.
Audiobook purchased for review by ABR.
It started in 1944 with Japanese Unit 731 and came to life in the present. (If you don’t know what Unit 731 is look it up. It was a real unit in the Japanese military.)
Dom Holland and his Hunters were a private dark ops. unit. They were hired by Meridith Webb to discover if there was a bio threat on an oil platform in the North Atlantic. Meridith worked at the CIA. It was her duty to investigate bio-tech threats. There was no information about this lab anywhere in the CIA data base, or so she was told by her boss.
I like a story that has some real facts or history woven in. It gives the tale more credibility. We all know that the CIA has lots of “Black” places around the world. Those abandoned oil rigs are perfect for such IBSL”research” labs.
What is really great is the “new zombie style”. An fantastic idea to make the fingernails the harbinger of non-death. The other body changes were novel, very inventive. Made them extremely hard to kill.
The narrative goes back and forth from Dom and his team’s action to Meridith’s trying to get to the house. Meridith is on the run from the CIA. They don’t want her to find out what they have done. She needs to get to Fort Detrick but Dom asked her to stop at the home of his ex-wife and 2 daughters. He will meet her there.
This is a non-stop action packed adventure. Once you start to listen, you won’t want to stop.
Ryan does a fantastic job of making this story come to life. He really gets into it as he tells about the “skulls” they found on the oil rig. To the medical bay on Dom’s ship where a doctor is working to find out what the virus is and maybe a cure.
All this and more. It’s one heck of a ride.
Audiobook purchased for review by ABR.
March 31, 2018
The Tide is a story of courage, strength and determination against an unbelievable odds. The Tide explores the trials of Captain Dominic Holland and his team, Ex CIA Meredith Webb and others as they face the most horrifying biological agent known to man.
I really enjoyed this story as the storyline was fast paced, the chacters were well written and the monsters were scary. Just the way I like my zombie type books. The writing was gripping and had me devouring the book post haste. Overall I am giving this book a 4.5 out of 5 as I had a great time reading however I felt that the monsters, although terrifying, sounded a bit familiar. I am look forward to continuing the story.
I really enjoyed this story as the storyline was fast paced, the chacters were well written and the monsters were scary. Just the way I like my zombie type books. The writing was gripping and had me devouring the book post haste. Overall I am giving this book a 4.5 out of 5 as I had a great time reading however I felt that the monsters, although terrifying, sounded a bit familiar. I am look forward to continuing the story.
October 22, 2015
Darn! Another pretty good zombie type series to get caught up in. A different approach to the zombie/end of the world. I was slowing down on zombie books (other than the Arisen series) but the cover and book description caught my eye and I was hooked. Nice and creep and deadly. I am looking forward to the 2nd book in this series.
October 18, 2018
now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
January 9, 2016
I can't even articulate how caught up I got in this book! It's like there is no breathing room for these characters! It's Go Go Go! I'm thankful to know book #2 is being prepared for release.
Thanks Nicholas Sansbury Smith for the heads up on this!
Thanks Nicholas Sansbury Smith for the heads up on this!
October 28, 2020
10/23/2020: Re-read
Very exciting book 1.
I've been desperate for another sci-fi, military, zombie, end of the world series since finishing the Joe Ledger books and I'm so happy to have found this author. Doubly happy that it was great and that women play as big a part kicking ass as the men.
Very exciting book 1.
I've been desperate for another sci-fi, military, zombie, end of the world series since finishing the Joe Ledger books and I'm so happy to have found this author. Doubly happy that it was great and that women play as big a part kicking ass as the men.
November 16, 2018
There wasn't a single second where I felt bored during this book!!! Loved it!
October 3, 2023
Creepy, dark , scary , and bloody , perfect reading for Oct as well as a good start to a new series
September 30, 2017
A fun read, one that was more intelligent than your average zombie genre book. I appreciated the fleshed our side characters and the pacing.
June 1, 2021
Good
First book from this author I’ve read and so far this series is good, I’ll continue on to book two.
First book from this author I’ve read and so far this series is good, I’ll continue on to book two.
February 3, 2024
Thank you to the author for providing a review copy of the audio book.
Although I'm nominally an academic reader, I read a LOT of genre fiction. Zombie apocalypse stories are among my favorite, so I tend to have very *realistic* expectations of such books, including fair to poor writing, stale plotting, minimal character development, gun fetishism, racism, misogyny masquerading as chivalry, and a bunch of rah-rah patriotism.
Can I just tell y'all what a refreshing change of pace this book is? Zero misogyny, racism or gun fetishism. None! To be fair, there's not much discussion of race. We know a few of the characters have red hair, and one is from Latvia, so those folks are, presumably, whitish, but race is never a topic. Given that they are facing an existential threat to the species, being human is pretty much the only thing that matters. (And yet in so many books in this genre, it's not only presented as pertinent, it's handled terribly and with little to no respect, especially towards POC.)
Among the MCs are a group of paramilitary covert operators, so there's a reasonable amount of pride in serving their country - which is as it should be - but no weird jingoism or Xian nationalism. There's a decently written plot that manages to cover the usual ground without resorting to cliches or trying too hard to be "different." And good writing! Not just good grammar and not misusing words, but actual skilled writing appropriate to the genre. Even the speculative science has been researched well enough that it doesn't strain the limits of the reader's ability to suspend disbelief to the point of breaking.
The only quibble I have is that the characters aren't as developed as they could be. They don't need much, of course, and they get the job done just fine as they are. I do miss the distinct and memorable characters you find in something like the Joe Ledger novels, though. I haven't listened to the rest of the series yet, so perhaps I've not given it enough time.
Overall, this is a well-above-average entry in the apocalyptic genre that is fun to read, fast-paced, and skillfully executed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go start the second novel.
Although I'm nominally an academic reader, I read a LOT of genre fiction. Zombie apocalypse stories are among my favorite, so I tend to have very *realistic* expectations of such books, including fair to poor writing, stale plotting, minimal character development, gun fetishism, racism, misogyny masquerading as chivalry, and a bunch of rah-rah patriotism.
Can I just tell y'all what a refreshing change of pace this book is? Zero misogyny, racism or gun fetishism. None! To be fair, there's not much discussion of race. We know a few of the characters have red hair, and one is from Latvia, so those folks are, presumably, whitish, but race is never a topic. Given that they are facing an existential threat to the species, being human is pretty much the only thing that matters. (And yet in so many books in this genre, it's not only presented as pertinent, it's handled terribly and with little to no respect, especially towards POC.)
Among the MCs are a group of paramilitary covert operators, so there's a reasonable amount of pride in serving their country - which is as it should be - but no weird jingoism or Xian nationalism. There's a decently written plot that manages to cover the usual ground without resorting to cliches or trying too hard to be "different." And good writing! Not just good grammar and not misusing words, but actual skilled writing appropriate to the genre. Even the speculative science has been researched well enough that it doesn't strain the limits of the reader's ability to suspend disbelief to the point of breaking.
The only quibble I have is that the characters aren't as developed as they could be. They don't need much, of course, and they get the job done just fine as they are. I do miss the distinct and memorable characters you find in something like the Joe Ledger novels, though. I haven't listened to the rest of the series yet, so perhaps I've not given it enough time.
Overall, this is a well-above-average entry in the apocalyptic genre that is fun to read, fast-paced, and skillfully executed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go start the second novel.
May 23, 2018
Entertaining Action-Thriller with some Problematic Aspects
tl;dr: Entertaining if you don't think too hard about it.
The Good: This story is right in my wheelhouse, it seems. Sci-fi/horror overlap, right?
It is fun. It reads like the plot of a video game. The main bads are zombies of the fast, mean, and hard to kill variety. The protags are all stone cold badasses, even the teenage girls, which lends it that video game feel. It's the sort of world where a shotgun and a stiff upper lip is enough to see you through the end of times.
If you like some thoughtless entertainment, this is it.
The Bad: Well, as I said, it's a bit absurd on its face. At one point, a couple hippie backpackers are holding off a wave of zombies that a group of trained special forces merc types are having a hard time moving through with large caliber firearms. The author is a PhD in something bioengineering-y, and it shows. That *can* be cool as it lends the crisis the legitimacy of science, but as a PhD in another field, I still couldn't follow what he was talking about at times. There may as well have been a patina of science on it-- entire sections labeled [science happening].
The climactic scene felt very rushed. I was sure for most of it that the primary protag was going to die, setting up one of the other protags to take over in the sequels. But he doesn't, miraculously. Strangely, though, I read and re-read this section and there is no explanation of what happens to the aforementioned backpackers. One minute, they're desperately defending themselves despite injuries, then Dom (the primary protag) leaves and nothing is said about them whatsoever. I guess they died. Sucks for them.
The Ugly: This book has some seriously cringe-inducing NatSec worship in it. A private, CIA-contracted merc outfit that has a corvette, helicopter, and private science lab is staffed entirely by selfless souls who wish to silently defend the good people of the USA and the world. I find this rather naive.
I suppose the author (or avid fans) may object that the premise that the US was involved in the highly illegal bioweapons development that the story is predicated on stands as a foil to this infantile belief in the goodness of the intelligence services. While that's true, it's really only a shiny distraction from the fact that this outfit operates without oversight but with pure valor in their hearts. The purity of character is so extreme that at some points it interrupts the action of the story. At one point, Dom is fending off zombies jumping into a moving bus. As he stabs one in the face and kicks it out of the bus doors, the narrator remarks that he won't let these Skulls near his Hunters. Talk about daddy issues.
The most uncomfortable part, though, was that the author flirts with the fundamental problem of zombie stories. They're always deeply reactionary premises. The unwashed masses coming for your means of production-- your brains. They're thoughtless drones hellbent on consuming the rich, the bourgeois. They're the barbarians at the gate clamoring for your noble Roman blood. The author addresses this by pointing out that, if there is a cure for this sickness, it might mean that all the zombies getting wasted left and right are just sick people.
Let's take that to its parallel in reality: terrorists. If we're valiantly defending the good people of the USA and the world by drone striking entire villages to take out possible threats, or to contain threats, or whatever hyped up MilSpec language you want to use, *and* we acknowledge that they're just people suffering from imperialism, systematic exclusion, decades of domestic upheaval, and so on, then that kind of makes us evil. But this is brushed aside in the book as the threat mounts from the zombies. In other words, humanitarian considerations about the true valor of killing people are really only relevant when they're a distal concern. If you're in danger, kill 'em all.
That being said, this is clearly not designed to be read for depth of commentary. Few zombie stories are, unless you're a bloodthirsty reactionary who relishes the idea of blowing heads off with impunity.
Conclusion: I'll probably read more, but I hope some of the cheesy selflessness gets played down as the author finds his groove and that the very science things happening takes on a bit less central of a role.
tl;dr: Entertaining if you don't think too hard about it.
The Good: This story is right in my wheelhouse, it seems. Sci-fi/horror overlap, right?
It is fun. It reads like the plot of a video game. The main bads are zombies of the fast, mean, and hard to kill variety. The protags are all stone cold badasses, even the teenage girls, which lends it that video game feel. It's the sort of world where a shotgun and a stiff upper lip is enough to see you through the end of times.
If you like some thoughtless entertainment, this is it.
The Bad: Well, as I said, it's a bit absurd on its face. At one point, a couple hippie backpackers are holding off a wave of zombies that a group of trained special forces merc types are having a hard time moving through with large caliber firearms. The author is a PhD in something bioengineering-y, and it shows. That *can* be cool as it lends the crisis the legitimacy of science, but as a PhD in another field, I still couldn't follow what he was talking about at times. There may as well have been a patina of science on it-- entire sections labeled [science happening].
The climactic scene felt very rushed. I was sure for most of it that the primary protag was going to die, setting up one of the other protags to take over in the sequels. But he doesn't, miraculously. Strangely, though, I read and re-read this section and there is no explanation of what happens to the aforementioned backpackers. One minute, they're desperately defending themselves despite injuries, then Dom (the primary protag) leaves and nothing is said about them whatsoever. I guess they died. Sucks for them.
The Ugly: This book has some seriously cringe-inducing NatSec worship in it. A private, CIA-contracted merc outfit that has a corvette, helicopter, and private science lab is staffed entirely by selfless souls who wish to silently defend the good people of the USA and the world. I find this rather naive.
I suppose the author (or avid fans) may object that the premise that the US was involved in the highly illegal bioweapons development that the story is predicated on stands as a foil to this infantile belief in the goodness of the intelligence services. While that's true, it's really only a shiny distraction from the fact that this outfit operates without oversight but with pure valor in their hearts. The purity of character is so extreme that at some points it interrupts the action of the story. At one point, Dom is fending off zombies jumping into a moving bus. As he stabs one in the face and kicks it out of the bus doors, the narrator remarks that he won't let these Skulls near his Hunters. Talk about daddy issues.
The most uncomfortable part, though, was that the author flirts with the fundamental problem of zombie stories. They're always deeply reactionary premises. The unwashed masses coming for your means of production-- your brains. They're thoughtless drones hellbent on consuming the rich, the bourgeois. They're the barbarians at the gate clamoring for your noble Roman blood. The author addresses this by pointing out that, if there is a cure for this sickness, it might mean that all the zombies getting wasted left and right are just sick people.
Let's take that to its parallel in reality: terrorists. If we're valiantly defending the good people of the USA and the world by drone striking entire villages to take out possible threats, or to contain threats, or whatever hyped up MilSpec language you want to use, *and* we acknowledge that they're just people suffering from imperialism, systematic exclusion, decades of domestic upheaval, and so on, then that kind of makes us evil. But this is brushed aside in the book as the threat mounts from the zombies. In other words, humanitarian considerations about the true valor of killing people are really only relevant when they're a distal concern. If you're in danger, kill 'em all.
That being said, this is clearly not designed to be read for depth of commentary. Few zombie stories are, unless you're a bloodthirsty reactionary who relishes the idea of blowing heads off with impunity.
Conclusion: I'll probably read more, but I hope some of the cheesy selflessness gets played down as the author finds his groove and that the very science things happening takes on a bit less central of a role.
July 26, 2018
Despite some negligence on the part of fleshing out people, both individual personalities beyond names as well as nationalities, it redeemed itself and regained my interest trough its scientific focus - which probably is helped by the author having a PhD in bioengineering.
I don't know if I can say it's unique in its angle on a zombie like infection spreading nor in its origin story of it. But it gives much more attention to the infection itself than most of the genre I've encountered, which is a huge plus to me. And taking such a scientific angle to it pleases my inner amateur scientist.
However, everything is predictable plotwise. I read it to uncover the mysteries of the infection as I realised the focus was on that. Also, it involves military or ex-military personel, which I'm rather bored of to be honest, since they often follow the same patterns and personalities. There are hints of that, but not as obnoxious as other books. It utilises it better than others, where a lone figure goes Rambo due to his background. This at least has coordinated specialists working together, which I'd almost also say is more realistic to survive.
Not a must-read but I was happy to read it, although the characters left no impressions.
I don't know if I can say it's unique in its angle on a zombie like infection spreading nor in its origin story of it. But it gives much more attention to the infection itself than most of the genre I've encountered, which is a huge plus to me. And taking such a scientific angle to it pleases my inner amateur scientist.
However, everything is predictable plotwise. I read it to uncover the mysteries of the infection as I realised the focus was on that. Also, it involves military or ex-military personel, which I'm rather bored of to be honest, since they often follow the same patterns and personalities. There are hints of that, but not as obnoxious as other books. It utilises it better than others, where a lone figure goes Rambo due to his background. This at least has coordinated specialists working together, which I'd almost also say is more realistic to survive.
Not a must-read but I was happy to read it, although the characters left no impressions.
January 7, 2017
I got this through the Kindle lending library and bought the audio book to listen on my Echo, so I chip away at it a bit at a time, while cooking or whatever. I remember very little about this book, couldn't even name a character. The plot a little I suppose. It starts of on an interesting note, scientists in Imperial Japan develop a superbug at the end of WWII to anticipate the invasion of their island. They don't have a big part but man, are they bitter. So bitter. Clang to present day, because somehow it takes 70 years for this to work, and of course create.....wait for it....ZOMBIES!!!
I have no problem with that, zombie apocalypse books are my summer reads, nice non taxing tomes about subjects that don't cause too many synapses to fire. Perhaps I've read too many. Or too many good ones. I didn't care about the characters and the plot wasn't terribly original, I mean they call the zombies "Skulls". Skulls. That's it, the best you can do? Most reviews are good for the book, but I just didn't see it. So this is Vol. 1, and there will be no vol. 2. Judge for yourself.
I have no problem with that, zombie apocalypse books are my summer reads, nice non taxing tomes about subjects that don't cause too many synapses to fire. Perhaps I've read too many. Or too many good ones. I didn't care about the characters and the plot wasn't terribly original, I mean they call the zombies "Skulls". Skulls. That's it, the best you can do? Most reviews are good for the book, but I just didn't see it. So this is Vol. 1, and there will be no vol. 2. Judge for yourself.
September 14, 2015
I liked that we were given the origins for the virus and the very creepy reasons for it being developed. It led really well into the main body of the story.
A twisted take on the usual zombies with the bony plating, making them a formidable enemy. Pretty much non-stop action along with medical situations as they try to find a solution. The characters are all well thought out and believable, with the children giving the story a little extra reality.
Great read and more than worth the price.
Disclaimer: This was an ARC, my opinions are my own.
A twisted take on the usual zombies with the bony plating, making them a formidable enemy. Pretty much non-stop action along with medical situations as they try to find a solution. The characters are all well thought out and believable, with the children giving the story a little extra reality.
Great read and more than worth the price.
Disclaimer: This was an ARC, my opinions are my own.
November 10, 2017
3.5 out of 4.
I'll certainly read the sequel.
So many military horror things are obviously written by people with little to no idea of military procedure.
This is not one of them.
Either loads of research or some experience is obvious.
I'll certainly read the sequel.
So many military horror things are obviously written by people with little to no idea of military procedure.
This is not one of them.
Either loads of research or some experience is obvious.
August 21, 2016
Hmmmm
January 10, 2017
I listen to fiction at the gym as i cant take notes. Zombies?!? Not sure what i was thinking. Muzak is more interesting.
August 20, 2021
Review to come.
April 28, 2018
This book starts in WWII, with a scene from Island 731 (or Unit 731). This is an actual place where the Japanese experimented on people and worked on developing chemical and biological weapons. There are non-fiction books about Island 731 that discuss what happened there, and I recommend reading one, but prepare to be horrified.
Then we fast forward to the present. A CIA (Marilyn) operative sent a team of mercenaries to find out what happened on an oil drilling platform in the Atlantic ocean that was being used for covert weapons of mass destruction research. All contact with the people there was lost. Soon, contact with the mercenaries is also lost.
She also contacts Dom and his group of hunters about the Huntress. Dom and his group investigate possible biological and chemical weapons attacks. They have a full medical lab in the ship where they are able to isolate people and work on vaccines and medications to combat the weapons.
As you can probably guess by now, some type of agent was released (they don't know if it was accidental or on purpose), and when Dom's group gets there they are attacked by the walking dead. They are barely able to get off the platform and some of his people are exposed and put into quarantine on the ship. The ship's medical crew gets to work on identifying the agent and finding a treatment.
Meanwhile, the CIA agent is on the run because her employers do not want any connection with this situation. Unfortunately, the disease has arrived in the US and is spreading quickly. The story then focuses on Dom's family and how they struggle to survive with their neighbors. Both Marilyn and Dom are on their way to rendezvous at his house, but getting there is not as easy as it would seem, even for people with the most advanced weapons in the world.
The action is fast and furious and non-stop. It is very intense, and I almost felt exhausted reading about their fight to get home. The main reason I liked the book was because it focused on the medical end of the disease. Most books about pandemics have people saying, "Aren't the scientists and doctors working on a cure?" In this book, we get to watch them experiment with different treatments and it is refreshing to have intelligent, dedicated people working ferociously to save their crewmates and maybe the world.
I definitely recommend this book. It's not your run-of-the-mill zombie book. The disease is horrifying, the bureacracy of the CIA is infuriating, and the fight to contain and control the disease is heroic. Dom and his hunters on the Huntress are warriors and his family isn't half-bad either.
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, through Reading Deals, and I gave an honest review.
Then we fast forward to the present. A CIA (Marilyn) operative sent a team of mercenaries to find out what happened on an oil drilling platform in the Atlantic ocean that was being used for covert weapons of mass destruction research. All contact with the people there was lost. Soon, contact with the mercenaries is also lost.
She also contacts Dom and his group of hunters about the Huntress. Dom and his group investigate possible biological and chemical weapons attacks. They have a full medical lab in the ship where they are able to isolate people and work on vaccines and medications to combat the weapons.
As you can probably guess by now, some type of agent was released (they don't know if it was accidental or on purpose), and when Dom's group gets there they are attacked by the walking dead. They are barely able to get off the platform and some of his people are exposed and put into quarantine on the ship. The ship's medical crew gets to work on identifying the agent and finding a treatment.
Meanwhile, the CIA agent is on the run because her employers do not want any connection with this situation. Unfortunately, the disease has arrived in the US and is spreading quickly. The story then focuses on Dom's family and how they struggle to survive with their neighbors. Both Marilyn and Dom are on their way to rendezvous at his house, but getting there is not as easy as it would seem, even for people with the most advanced weapons in the world.
The action is fast and furious and non-stop. It is very intense, and I almost felt exhausted reading about their fight to get home. The main reason I liked the book was because it focused on the medical end of the disease. Most books about pandemics have people saying, "Aren't the scientists and doctors working on a cure?" In this book, we get to watch them experiment with different treatments and it is refreshing to have intelligent, dedicated people working ferociously to save their crewmates and maybe the world.
I definitely recommend this book. It's not your run-of-the-mill zombie book. The disease is horrifying, the bureacracy of the CIA is infuriating, and the fight to contain and control the disease is heroic. Dom and his hunters on the Huntress are warriors and his family isn't half-bad either.
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, through Reading Deals, and I gave an honest review.
September 4, 2024
The book is decent and entertaining, giving us a somewhat different take on a zombie apocalypse from its inception. However, its qualities are drawn down by superficial characters and questionable writing techniques.
For example. the prose is a bit weird when it comes to its POV. When we’re in the POV of a daughter, she regards her parents by their names instead of their parental titles. When you read it for the first time, it almost reads as if she doesn’t regard her mom as her actual parent. Bethany is regarded as Bethany, and Dom is regarded as Dom. This is in limited third person view, so it is in her point of view as we don’t know the thoughts of the mom and dad, but are instead in the mind of the daughter, so I do feel like this was a misstep by the author to write it in this manner. Whenever we're in Dom's POV, he regards his daughter as his daughter and his wife as his wife, so this hiccup is only limited to the daughter's POV.
Another thing is that there seem to be inconsistencies with descriptions of what's going on. I swear that Meredith’s pistol was silenced unless she somehow lost it. Also some descriptions don’t make sense and because of this it can feel disorienting. They did a U-turn to leave the highway and went onto the grassy space between the highway and the forest, and yet, the traffic was to their left? For a moment I thought the author was British or in a Commonwealth country where they drive on the left, but no, he's in the U.S.
Lastly, the book seems to, at times, focus on “snapshots” of actions that bring a lot of focus into what’s going on in a given moment between two characters. Almost like freezing the world around an action scene. It breaks the timeflow of what’s going on, in which the characters are running away from infected, and then suddenly they have time for a one to one fight scene with a zombie.
Another point, of course, are the superficial characters. There's not much depth here at all. The only time that I found it, in which I really liked, was when Dom had selfish thoughts about the infected being unrecoverable so as to cope with the idea that he might have been killing people that could have been saved. However, this was a fleeting passage in the book. Overall though, it's a decent book with action, plus biological technobabble.
For example. the prose is a bit weird when it comes to its POV. When we’re in the POV of a daughter, she regards her parents by their names instead of their parental titles. When you read it for the first time, it almost reads as if she doesn’t regard her mom as her actual parent. Bethany is regarded as Bethany, and Dom is regarded as Dom. This is in limited third person view, so it is in her point of view as we don’t know the thoughts of the mom and dad, but are instead in the mind of the daughter, so I do feel like this was a misstep by the author to write it in this manner. Whenever we're in Dom's POV, he regards his daughter as his daughter and his wife as his wife, so this hiccup is only limited to the daughter's POV.
Another thing is that there seem to be inconsistencies with descriptions of what's going on. I swear that Meredith’s pistol was silenced unless she somehow lost it. Also some descriptions don’t make sense and because of this it can feel disorienting. They did a U-turn to leave the highway and went onto the grassy space between the highway and the forest, and yet, the traffic was to their left? For a moment I thought the author was British or in a Commonwealth country where they drive on the left, but no, he's in the U.S.
Lastly, the book seems to, at times, focus on “snapshots” of actions that bring a lot of focus into what’s going on in a given moment between two characters. Almost like freezing the world around an action scene. It breaks the timeflow of what’s going on, in which the characters are running away from infected, and then suddenly they have time for a one to one fight scene with a zombie.
Another point, of course, are the superficial characters. There's not much depth here at all. The only time that I found it, in which I really liked, was when Dom had selfish thoughts about the infected being unrecoverable so as to cope with the idea that he might have been killing people that could have been saved. However, this was a fleeting passage in the book. Overall though, it's a decent book with action, plus biological technobabble.
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