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Slow Burn: A Zombie Novel Part One
Police work is never routine; domestics, gang violence... flesh craving zombies???
For decades, the Mexican drug cartels looked at the United States of America as a business partner. The cartels supplied the drugs, and the millions of American addicts supplied them with an endless amount of money. But when the War on Drugs heats up and the money alone is not enough, the cartels decided to up the ante. With the help of a ruthless Russian mercenary, they unleashed a lethal bio-weapon, initially conceived during the Cold War to quickly bring the West to her knees. Skillfully deployed, the virus initially worked as designed. What started as a slow burn soon spread at an exponential rate, decimating the host population. Finally powerful enough conquer a stricken nation, the cartel stood ready to move in and enslave the surviving population. But unknown to their leaders, the virus had a small side effect. The infected victims refused to stay dead, and had an agenda all of their own.
For two veteran police officers and their small group of friends, the first day of the outbreak starts out like any other. Random fights and car accidents keep them busy, that is until they are confronted with a new and unexpected enemy. Each one of them is forced to confront the unthinkable. Zombies were real, and craving the living with an insatiable appetite.
Against the full specter of a society crumbling around them, and the dead stalking the living in the streets, it will take all of their skill, knowledge and courage to survive. They see terrifying news broadcasts and learn of hastily constructed refugee camps and an overmatched military stretched to the limit. Yet, amongst all of this, they still face enemies among the living as well. Armed gangs free to roam the streets. Powerful men who want to play politics with peoples lives, and wolves in sheep's clothing. Together, the group faces an uncertain future as they struggle against relentless enemies, living ...
For decades, the Mexican drug cartels looked at the United States of America as a business partner. The cartels supplied the drugs, and the millions of American addicts supplied them with an endless amount of money. But when the War on Drugs heats up and the money alone is not enough, the cartels decided to up the ante. With the help of a ruthless Russian mercenary, they unleashed a lethal bio-weapon, initially conceived during the Cold War to quickly bring the West to her knees. Skillfully deployed, the virus initially worked as designed. What started as a slow burn soon spread at an exponential rate, decimating the host population. Finally powerful enough conquer a stricken nation, the cartel stood ready to move in and enslave the surviving population. But unknown to their leaders, the virus had a small side effect. The infected victims refused to stay dead, and had an agenda all of their own.
For two veteran police officers and their small group of friends, the first day of the outbreak starts out like any other. Random fights and car accidents keep them busy, that is until they are confronted with a new and unexpected enemy. Each one of them is forced to confront the unthinkable. Zombies were real, and craving the living with an insatiable appetite.
Against the full specter of a society crumbling around them, and the dead stalking the living in the streets, it will take all of their skill, knowledge and courage to survive. They see terrifying news broadcasts and learn of hastily constructed refugee camps and an overmatched military stretched to the limit. Yet, amongst all of this, they still face enemies among the living as well. Armed gangs free to roam the streets. Powerful men who want to play politics with peoples lives, and wolves in sheep's clothing. Together, the group faces an uncertain future as they struggle against relentless enemies, living ...
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First published July 4, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
June 16, 2014
I've been meaning to read Slow Burn for about two years, ever since it was released. Unfortunately, other books and hobbies got in the way and in the meantime it went from being a small press book to being picked up by the top dogs of zombie fiction – Permuted Press. While there are stylistic improvement that came along with the jump to a bigger publisher, the major stumbling blocks of this book sadly remained behind.
The premise of Slow Burn is promising. It chronicles the actions of five police officers as they experience an increasingly chaotic day on patrol, which soon degenerates into an all-out zombie apocalypse. While some authors are not good at writing action prose, this not the case with Slow Burn. The authors know how to write action well and they clearly convey what is going on to the reader in a lively manner. They also have a clear understanding and familiarity with police procedure and lingo that adds a certain undeniable level of authenticity to the main characters.
As order quickly breaks down, the officers find themselves trying to survive and scrounge up supplies while also facing a variety of human threats as well. Over time, the cause for the outbreak and the people become clearer and evolve along with the story. The idea is interesting, and though not totally novel, it is explained and followed through on more thoroughly than in most zombie stories. It was nice to know not only the cause of the zombie plague, but also to get any insight into why the plague occurred as it did – a rarity in the genre.
Unfortunately, I found a lot of problems with this book. The grammatical editing is decent (though some typos remain), but the authors used a lot of passive voice, which made sentences just read oddly to me in many cases. The character voice is odd too, and switches between first and third-person throughout the story. It was not a story killer, but I found it a bizarre choice - one that I can't recall seeing in another book.
At other times, the level of detail is overboard. This is a long book for a zombie tale, and a chunk of that length goes to explaining things that did not need to be explained. If you're someone who wants to know what the characters bug out bag consists of and the weapon they're using to a T at all times, you'll like this book. Many readers, however, will find the endless explanation of what the characters packed, where they packed it, and intricacies of weaponry tedious. Even as someone who knows their Aimpoint from their EOTech, it even rubbed thin with me by the end. As the novel goes on, the constant action, shooting, and raiding that the characters carry out without a real story arc until late in the book gets tiresome as well. Additionally, the fact that the characters are all preppers drowning in supplies means they are never really feel like they're in danger. Everything is their fingertips (or can be scavenged), and there's never a sense of deprivation that prevails in many of these novels.
The dialogue is OK. It's neither great nor awful, though it was a bit awkward throughout. Part of this was the passive voice, but the characters also tended to talk to themselves out loud instead of internally more than an average person would. It tends to stray into "Bro" territory often with phrases like "get some" and “this rocks,” which will be off-putting to some readers.
I think the thing that really let me down about the story were the characters though. While this is very much an action zombie book and I wasn't expecting great leaps in character development, I needed to like the characters at least. Unequivocably, I did not. They spend their time talking about how hot the women around them are and staring at various parts of their body, berating unprepared liberals for their lack of survival preparedness and anti-gun status, and making fun of people who are overweight (or just not muscle-bound) or drive hybrids. The libertarian, pro-gun, self-sufficiency tone is the authors' prerogative, even if it feels rather two-dimensional and silly, but the womanizing and other aspects did nothing to make me like the characters. One moment that really stuck out to me was when one of the characters' dog runs off, and he simply laughs and moves on; dead girlfriends rated slightly higher on the remorse scale. Not exactly the kind of person that I find myself rooting for.
What it comes down to is that one gets a feeling that the characters feel like they're above the law – they talk about protecting drug addicts from prosecution just because they are dating them, beating handcuffed assailants, and threatening to shoot people if they don't do something like open a gate. I know at least one person on Amazon who is/was a members of law enforcement was upset to be portrayed like this. On the other hand, the people standing against them are almost cartoonishly reprehensible with no redeeming qualities to add any sort of shades of gray to the story.
If you like non-stop action, authentic law enforcement speak and gear, and zombies, this might be the book for you. If you like that stuff and/or are looking for characters you can root for, and people finding themselves in desperate straights after the zombie apocalypse then I cannot recommend this book.
The premise of Slow Burn is promising. It chronicles the actions of five police officers as they experience an increasingly chaotic day on patrol, which soon degenerates into an all-out zombie apocalypse. While some authors are not good at writing action prose, this not the case with Slow Burn. The authors know how to write action well and they clearly convey what is going on to the reader in a lively manner. They also have a clear understanding and familiarity with police procedure and lingo that adds a certain undeniable level of authenticity to the main characters.
As order quickly breaks down, the officers find themselves trying to survive and scrounge up supplies while also facing a variety of human threats as well. Over time, the cause for the outbreak and the people become clearer and evolve along with the story. The idea is interesting, and though not totally novel, it is explained and followed through on more thoroughly than in most zombie stories. It was nice to know not only the cause of the zombie plague, but also to get any insight into why the plague occurred as it did – a rarity in the genre.
Unfortunately, I found a lot of problems with this book. The grammatical editing is decent (though some typos remain), but the authors used a lot of passive voice, which made sentences just read oddly to me in many cases. The character voice is odd too, and switches between first and third-person throughout the story. It was not a story killer, but I found it a bizarre choice - one that I can't recall seeing in another book.
At other times, the level of detail is overboard. This is a long book for a zombie tale, and a chunk of that length goes to explaining things that did not need to be explained. If you're someone who wants to know what the characters bug out bag consists of and the weapon they're using to a T at all times, you'll like this book. Many readers, however, will find the endless explanation of what the characters packed, where they packed it, and intricacies of weaponry tedious. Even as someone who knows their Aimpoint from their EOTech, it even rubbed thin with me by the end. As the novel goes on, the constant action, shooting, and raiding that the characters carry out without a real story arc until late in the book gets tiresome as well. Additionally, the fact that the characters are all preppers drowning in supplies means they are never really feel like they're in danger. Everything is their fingertips (or can be scavenged), and there's never a sense of deprivation that prevails in many of these novels.
The dialogue is OK. It's neither great nor awful, though it was a bit awkward throughout. Part of this was the passive voice, but the characters also tended to talk to themselves out loud instead of internally more than an average person would. It tends to stray into "Bro" territory often with phrases like "get some" and “this rocks,” which will be off-putting to some readers.
I think the thing that really let me down about the story were the characters though. While this is very much an action zombie book and I wasn't expecting great leaps in character development, I needed to like the characters at least. Unequivocably, I did not. They spend their time talking about how hot the women around them are and staring at various parts of their body, berating unprepared liberals for their lack of survival preparedness and anti-gun status, and making fun of people who are overweight (or just not muscle-bound) or drive hybrids. The libertarian, pro-gun, self-sufficiency tone is the authors' prerogative, even if it feels rather two-dimensional and silly, but the womanizing and other aspects did nothing to make me like the characters. One moment that really stuck out to me was when one of the characters' dog runs off, and he simply laughs and moves on; dead girlfriends rated slightly higher on the remorse scale. Not exactly the kind of person that I find myself rooting for.
What it comes down to is that one gets a feeling that the characters feel like they're above the law – they talk about protecting drug addicts from prosecution just because they are dating them, beating handcuffed assailants, and threatening to shoot people if they don't do something like open a gate. I know at least one person on Amazon who is/was a members of law enforcement was upset to be portrayed like this. On the other hand, the people standing against them are almost cartoonishly reprehensible with no redeeming qualities to add any sort of shades of gray to the story.
If you like non-stop action, authentic law enforcement speak and gear, and zombies, this might be the book for you. If you like that stuff and/or are looking for characters you can root for, and people finding themselves in desperate straights after the zombie apocalypse then I cannot recommend this book.
August 8, 2014
In all honesty, I am very divided with this book. It was very hard for me to get into at the beginning and didn't pick up for me until more than half way through the book. I like the main story line. What happens when five cops survive a zombie apocalypse? What would happen if a crazed end of days preacher shows up? How would a former soldier mercenary fit into the equation? The idea is wonderful but I was really put off with the immaturity of a few of the main characters. They seem more like sex crazed teenage boys then grown men. I like to connect with the main characters but I had a hard time liking any of them. If you like pure action and testosterone driven males then this book may be for you. I am hoping that the second one in the series will hopefully address a few of the issues in this book. In short, Slow Burn has potential but falls a little flat.
May 5, 2014
This was a great first novel from these guys. I could not stop until I finished the whole darn thing! It was nice to see for once a "right leaning" author, if you know what I mean. The characters were very likable, and the story line was easy to follow. I only wish that it had not ended as abruptly as it did, but I will be on the lookout for the next one!
May 6, 2014
This could actually be a good book if the authors would:
1. get a good editor
2. tone down the technical cop-speak a bit
3. pace the book a little, all action all the time becomes boring
4. have a little more distinction between characters
The book is riddled with typos, a good editor would easily catch these, then there is a lot of bad grammar (things like "didn't know how good we were doing" outside of dialogue is just plain wrong), again a good editor will catch these.
A good editor might also help tone down the technical cop-speak. There are too many instances of phrases like "the bolt slammed back on his AR-15 rifle" to signify that the gun was empty. The book seems to have first been uploaded as a post in ar15.com, a site for rifle and gun enthusiasts were it received overall positive feedback from other gun enthusiasts who no doubt appreciated all the technical terms. While this is fine if you're a gun enthusiast and I'm sure the authors are playing to their audience, I really think that toning all this down would go a long way to appeal to a broader audience. I'm not saying dumb it down, just don't use these references so much, the book reads like a cop's manual and often interferes with the flow of the story.
Speaking of flow, this book definitely needs better pacing. It's all out action and zombie shooting all the time, it reads like a Michael Bay script and while some might think that's a good thing, it's really not. If you crank the volume up to 11 and keep it there for too long we become inured to it and actually get bored with all the shooting and action (just like a Michael Bay film, by the middle of it you're yawning at yet another huge explosion). The trick is to pace out the action with periods of rest so we can be scared again, a constant stream of zombie shooting just ruins the whole experience.
Finally there are the characters. All the male characters read the same, there is no distinction between them whatsoever, with the exception of one guy who gets eaten pretty early on who is actually the antithesis of all the other characters (he's soft and wimpy and girly) the rest could all be the same testosterone-filled dude. It's ok to have one or two squared-jaw macho dudes in there, but if they're all the same, it also ruins the experience and makes it really hard to tell one character from the next, I never knew which character was which while reading.
Conclusion: I really believe this book could be good and hats off to the authors for putting a lot of effort and time into creating this when clearly neither is a professional writer.
1. get a good editor
2. tone down the technical cop-speak a bit
3. pace the book a little, all action all the time becomes boring
4. have a little more distinction between characters
The book is riddled with typos, a good editor would easily catch these, then there is a lot of bad grammar (things like "didn't know how good we were doing" outside of dialogue is just plain wrong), again a good editor will catch these.
A good editor might also help tone down the technical cop-speak. There are too many instances of phrases like "the bolt slammed back on his AR-15 rifle" to signify that the gun was empty. The book seems to have first been uploaded as a post in ar15.com, a site for rifle and gun enthusiasts were it received overall positive feedback from other gun enthusiasts who no doubt appreciated all the technical terms. While this is fine if you're a gun enthusiast and I'm sure the authors are playing to their audience, I really think that toning all this down would go a long way to appeal to a broader audience. I'm not saying dumb it down, just don't use these references so much, the book reads like a cop's manual and often interferes with the flow of the story.
Speaking of flow, this book definitely needs better pacing. It's all out action and zombie shooting all the time, it reads like a Michael Bay script and while some might think that's a good thing, it's really not. If you crank the volume up to 11 and keep it there for too long we become inured to it and actually get bored with all the shooting and action (just like a Michael Bay film, by the middle of it you're yawning at yet another huge explosion). The trick is to pace out the action with periods of rest so we can be scared again, a constant stream of zombie shooting just ruins the whole experience.
Finally there are the characters. All the male characters read the same, there is no distinction between them whatsoever, with the exception of one guy who gets eaten pretty early on who is actually the antithesis of all the other characters (he's soft and wimpy and girly) the rest could all be the same testosterone-filled dude. It's ok to have one or two squared-jaw macho dudes in there, but if they're all the same, it also ruins the experience and makes it really hard to tell one character from the next, I never knew which character was which while reading.
Conclusion: I really believe this book could be good and hats off to the authors for putting a lot of effort and time into creating this when clearly neither is a professional writer.
May 30, 2024
"Slow Burn" by Mike Fosen is a gripping post-apocalyptic novel that immerses readers in a world where survival is paramount. The story follows a protagonist navigating a devastated landscape, with Fosen's vivid descriptions bringing the harsh environment to life. The character development is a standout, with multi-dimensional characters whose struggles and growth are deeply engaging. Fosen balances action with introspective moments, creating a well-paced and emotionally resonant narrative. The plot is full of unexpected twists, keeping readers on edge. Beyond its thrilling storyline, "Slow Burn" explores themes of resilience and the human spirit's capacity to endure. Fosen's writing is evocative and thought-provoking, making this book a must-read for survival fiction fans.
May 14, 2014
Slow is a good description for this one. I had to force myself through it. I like a zombie book to be an edge of my seat page turner or to have compelling characters. Slow burn dosen't have either. I'll probably read the next one just to see if it gets any better. (i don't like to leave things unfinished, even when I don't like it). Also to see if the main characters stop being gross and grow up. Seeing as how they are mostly described as being in there 40's that probably won't happen.
August 13, 2014
I enjoyed this book because it had a good change in your average storyline involving zombie stories. I liked this fact (sorry, partial spoiler), that some people were immune in an odd way. I am looking forward to the next and just hope I have tine to post my appreciation for these books both here and on Amazon.
June 30, 2014
I really enjoyed Slow Burn.. It was a good read that I couldn't seen to put down. To me it was one of those novals where you dreaded it to end!!!!! I will be reading the second part to this noval!!!! I loved the survivalist stuff and in depth account of what was going on with all the characters...
July 30, 2014
I was unable to finish this book so perhaps past the mid point it gets much better; alas, I will never know.
I was surprised and dismayed to find that this book was completely disparaging to women and couldn't finish it.
I was surprised and dismayed to find that this book was completely disparaging to women and couldn't finish it.
April 27, 2015
Damn good zombie novel
Well written novel about a virus released purposely in the U.S., I was surprised how good this novel is. Strong characters, great plot and of course believable zombies, I can't wait to read the next installment
Well written novel about a virus released purposely in the U.S., I was surprised how good this novel is. Strong characters, great plot and of course believable zombies, I can't wait to read the next installment
June 1, 2016
A Slow Read But Caught My Interest by the End
It kept my interest but I was disappointed with the lack of character development. I found I had little interest in them individually. I will read the next book to see if there is any improvement.
It kept my interest but I was disappointed with the lack of character development. I found I had little interest in them individually. I will read the next book to see if there is any improvement.
May 9, 2014
Good book. Liked the characters and the story but the constant references to Mattie's butt got to be a bit much. Looking forward to part two.
May 4, 2014
Not bad
This wasn't a bad one, my kind of genre, I read a lot of these and some are good and some are horrid, but this one was okay.
This wasn't a bad one, my kind of genre, I read a lot of these and some are good and some are horrid, but this one was okay.
March 24, 2017
This book ok. The narrator talked too slow for me, so I had to speed the book up. There were a lot of characters in this book and it was hard at times to keep up with who was who.
May 10, 2014
Good read kills time
Good read kills time
was a good read. kills time. I have read better zombie book a and worse ones. can't complain about it when it was free.
Good read kills time
was a good read. kills time. I have read better zombie book a and worse ones. can't complain about it when it was free.
May 10, 2014
It is easy to tell a "guy" wrote this one. Did love how long it was. Most Zombie books are 200 pages or less.
May 17, 2014
Zombie news
it was good, I think it could have more characters with strong personalities,but I couldn't put it down
on our cold rainy spring days
it was good, I think it could have more characters with strong personalities,but I couldn't put it down
on our cold rainy spring days
May 22, 2014
Pretty good book
Its a good zombie book. Good characters, ask is missing is a little romance between Mattie and Mike. And where's part 2!? It just stops when it gets good...
Its a good zombie book. Good characters, ask is missing is a little romance between Mattie and Mike. And where's part 2!? It just stops when it gets good...
May 26, 2014
Except for the over the top macho posturing, the cheesy sexist behavior and the non-conclusive ending this was an easy fun gory zombie killing fest.
June 2, 2014
After over 400 pages, I still have to wait for conclusion of slow burn. Damn! Long ass books like these should not part two.
July 13, 2014
Awesome!!!
I loved this book. Action packed and exciting. Couldn't put the book down. I highly recommended for an exciting time.
I loved this book. Action packed and exciting. Couldn't put the book down. I highly recommended for an exciting time.
January 2, 2015
Just okay
had good parts and some slow parts. didn't like the ending as it seems to be book one of two.
had good parts and some slow parts. didn't like the ending as it seems to be book one of two.
July 18, 2016
Needs some editing. Too wordy when it come to all of the technical weapon descriptions.
May 15, 2014
YAYYYYYYYYYYYY! Another editing project is now a published book!
July 30, 2014
Way too predicable.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews