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Survive the infection! Survive the Infected!

Following his none-too-soon reunion with his friends at the safe house, Zed is hoping things can finally fall into a stable routine, but in post-virus Austin, things are far from stable. On a mission to raid the ammunition bunkers at Camp Mabry, Zed and Murphy spot a group of the newer, naked infected, who are exhibiting some sophisticated and disturbing new behaviors, such as scouting and hunting – for them.

After a narrow escape, the two pass the home of Mr. Mays on the return trip, stirring Zed’s predictable rescuer impulse. Finding Mr. Mays dead, Zed brings fellow chain gang escapee Nico along to join the group, whose numbers have grown again, thanks to their merger with the girls on the riverboat, where the group has moved, as seems to be the safest hiding place… Or is it?

329 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 13, 2014

332 people are currently reading
377 people want to read

About the author

Bobby Adair

71 books696 followers
A bio is a weird thing to write.

Just trying to imagine presenting the highlights of ME sets off alarm bells in my head. Why would anybody want to know anything about me? What about me is remarkable enough to tell?

When I think about these questions, I recall lying on my bed back in high school, headphones muffed over my ears, heavy metal blasting through my head. As with most teens, music’s power seduced me, and as I listened, I found myself admiring the albums' cover art (yeah, I’m old enough that I used to by LP’s) and I found myself reading about the singers and guitar players and drummers in the liner notes. Why? Because those musicians had created something that was deeply personal, passionate, and wonderfully emotional, and they’d shared it with the world. They’d shared it with me.

It made me want to know them through more than just their music. So, I read.

Through the years, I found myself reading about writers I’d enjoyed, historical figures I’d admired, politicians who weren’t dipshits, and business leaders who’d built great companies. Again, why? Who the hell knows? We’re all just people. I think we find each other interesting. We like to feel connected.

And that was my answer, at least as to the WHY.

On the WHAT I can say about me, for those who feel moved by my work: I’ll give it a quick go.

I was born an Air Force brat and lived in a dozen states before I graduated high school. I’ve worked my way through a wide variety of jobs, left most on a whim, owned businesses, lived through times when I had more money than I knew what to do with, and worried my way through times when I wondered how I’d pay the rent.

Life has been boring at times, and it’s been plenty exciting, too. So far.

I’ve traveled to India, stood atop the tallest mountains around, swam with sharks, smarted-off to cops, and been arrested. I’ve tried beer and weed, but never made a thing of either one. I’ve been brushed too close by death a few times. Thankfully, doctors, EMT’s, and nurses were kind enough to put all the pieces together again. I've ridden my bike so deep into the mountains it felt like I was alone on the edge of heaven, and I've watched the red sun sinking on an evening so clear it looked like it was falling off the edge of the world.

I’ve always had a hard time being where I am, wherever that is. My daydreams forever call from just over the horizon.

I’ve been asked by a dozen bosses where I see myself in five years, and I've lied every time, always telling them what they wanted to hear. Because the only thing I knew for sure, was that I wanted to be anywhere but there.

Find out more:
http://www.bobbyadair.com/
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5 stars
1,510 (48%)
4 stars
1,144 (36%)
3 stars
398 (12%)
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10 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
Profile Image for Claude's Bookzone.
1,551 reviews270 followers
November 14, 2022
Book 8 of my Zombie-a-thon 2022!

3.5 Stars

Whenever I read these post apocalyptic books I get concerned about some writers' bleak outlooks of how certain people in our society may respond when others around them are vulnerable and weak. There is a perfect quote from this very book to summarise some writers' concerns or possibly expectations for humanity:

"The rain started pouring again, pounding the pavement in a comforting rumble, draining off the roofs and running deep between the curbs. I hoped it would wash away the city's stink. All the evidence of evil littering the streets. And I wondered if the evil resided within each of us. Were the facades we constructed to mask our wicked brutality so fragile that they could be crumbled by a tiny virus and a high fever? Were the Whites not monsters but simply our true selves with the unwanted fetters of morality erased?"

Bleak right! Anyhoo, our band of survivors are starting to work out how they are going to deal with the intelligent whites (zombies) who incidentally have decided to free themselves from the constraints of clothing and are now running around naked 🤷‍♂️
Profile Image for Veronica.
89 reviews14 followers
August 1, 2014
Another great book by Booby Adair. We are once again thrown into the midst of the Whites who seem hell bent on fooling all of Zeds best laid plans and while he does finally catch up to his friends, his good luck is bound to run out. I think my favorite part of this book was the constant bantering between Zed and Murphy. The author has really created a dynamic relationship with these two characters and I am always finding myself laughing at something they say. This book is not all smiles & look-aid unfortunately and some of my favorite characters are no longer with us. Zed does finally lose his cool under the constant mounting pressure and extracts a just, yet final justice after a well meaning gesture of goodwill is tossed aside. He has a plan .. Doesn't he always! And his plan is to systemically remove the Smart Ones from the equation. Once they are gone, all of the other Whites will starve to death or move onto grassier pastures. We did not meet any new faces this time around which was kinda nice. I enjoy our bad ass crew of zombie killers but we do get to learn quite a lot about Murphy in this book. The story line itself, while rather weak, was believable and have zed plenty of opportunity to mess things up . The book as a quick and way read. I read it in just over a day it of course, there is bother cliffhanger waiting for you. Looking forward to book 6!
Profile Image for Sheila.
103 reviews2 followers
August 5, 2014
Hooked

I'm hooked on these books. I enjoy the characters, Murphy and Zed are so funny even when faced with tough situations, they still manage to make me laugh. I love the writing and can't stand when people pick on little facts about the writing, just read the book and enjoy the story! "empty clips...oops, did I say clips? Old habit." Love your sense of humor Mr. Adair!!!
Profile Image for Tess (Mondi).
217 reviews1 follower
March 6, 2024
This book thrived on the bonds we made with the characters in the previous books.
There wasn’t as much action, compared to the tension packed story of the previous book, but the incredible amount of drama definitely made up for it. And with it we got a wholenew depth to each character.
And I have to say, I worried a lot about the characters and rightfully so, as it appeared.
Unfortunately the book managed to ruin one of my favorite characters from the previous book for me and I am very upset, that a few more of my favorite wound up dead. It was heart breaking, but not necessary bad, though I will miss them.
I did however feel, that the death scenes were a bit anti climatic and that was quite misfortune, because I would have bawled my eyes out, if the author would have written it more emotional.
Still we gain more depth to the Slow Burns and Whites and what I enjoyed most about the book was Murphy and Zed getting out there scavenging again. It felt like book one again, but so much more. You can clearly see how their scavenging evolved since the first book and the dynamic between the two just keeps getting better.
And damn did the author know how to make something as simple as a natural disaster become more than interesting to read about in this zombie filled world.
Was a brilliant read, as I’ve come to expect from Mr. Adair by now.
Profile Image for Carolyn F..
3,491 reviews51 followers
October 1, 2020
I am reading this in the Slow Burn Box Set: The Complete Post Apocalyptic Series boxed set

Something I don't understand, why would Murphy let a Why wouldn't he mention what he thought had occurred before and not after ? Doesn't make sense.

The ending was sad. They're just too different. I think Murphy's idea for himself in the beginning of the series is a good one. I hope the series ends like that. 4 stars.
23 reviews
October 26, 2024
awesome

countless number of times i have read this series, still fantastic, zed n murph, what can i say, this should be a movie/ mini series
Profile Image for Drew Martin.
3 reviews
September 29, 2014
As with the rest of this series, the story is interesting and the characters are well written, but it reads like an ongoing perhaps permanent story much like a zombie serial. No ending, no single antagonist and no climax. Bobby Adair is a great author, I am not sure I want to keep reading a series with no ending.
Profile Image for Christy Adams.
5 reviews
August 8, 2014
Awesome

Awesome

I love the slow burn series, can't wait for the next one!!!!!!! great action, drama, and love, a great combination of everything that makes a book worth reading.
Profile Image for Sasha.
167 reviews5 followers
September 16, 2014
by far the best zombie series I have read. bobby Adair has done it again. I hate those bald whites as much as zed does. I love zed and Murphy friend. they have each other back. will be waiting on book 6. read it people you won't regret it!
Profile Image for Blaine Moore.
Author 9 books3 followers
July 31, 2014
The series continues to improve with each book. More survivers are found, more lose that label, and a flood of near biblical proportions keeps the action moving along with this book.
Profile Image for Cathy Harris.
88 reviews1 follower
August 6, 2014
Great

This series is well worth reading. This book is just as good as the last. It is a new take on the virus that changed the world. Give it a try..
Profile Image for John Merryman.
27 reviews1 follower
August 8, 2014
Zed is the Indiana Jones of the post infection world. Having a trusty side kick like Murphy along for the ride helps. Bobby, hurry up and finish book 6.
Profile Image for ❤ArtfullySinful❤ .
736 reviews49 followers
April 16, 2020
You’re my lucky charm, not your own.

Loyalties will forever be pulled as taunt as their strings can hold, and shredded at the core day in and day out with the pressing number of the infected gradually climbing. Zed Zane and his friends seemingly found a way to escape the manic clutches of the infected, a ship docked in the middle of the Colorado River in Texas, safe from the Whites who held a paralyzing fear of the waters rushing past. Seemingly unaware of the disasters resting just off the shore, the promise of rain in both a welcomed relief and a terrifying nightmare. As both him and Murphy set off on their own to secure supplies as Scavengers for the group, they begin to understand the playing fields are anything but even.

How many dead can a person see before the pieces of his soul turn to ash and float off into the wind?

While the levels of the fever varied person to person, the intelligence it left behind in those Whites and Slow Burns did as well. Some could communicate in whispered shortened sentences, while others more than eagerly would comply. As both Zed and Murphy witnessed the Smart Ones leading hunting parties, searching and scavenging for survivors at Camp Mabry, the two were paralyzed with fear over the world’s new orders. Running in a desperate attempt to get back to those they loved, hope would find itself buried beneath the weight of thousands of outstretched hands. Standing beside one another they were powerless to stop the line from snapping, from easing the boat away from the shore as Mandi, Russel and Brittney took a last stand on the rooftop of the boat as infected greedily hopped aboard. As Dalhover, Steph, Megan, and Amy managed to escape on a Malibu Ski Boat, Murphy watched on as the woman he came to love amongst the infection, Mandi was massacred before his eyes. Russel in an aid to save Britney, stood in front before the infected could grab onto them both and take them down a path of consumption. Torn on a life even worth continuing, Murphy tries to fight the feelings of despair seeing the last shining thing in his bleak world fall to shambles at the White’s feet.

The shop was a monument to uninhibited human depravity, the kind that scars soul with permanent shadows. I had enough shadows on my soul. All I needed were callouses.

As they traced they footsteps back to the river’s edge, they struggled to catch sight on the boat that whisked several to safety as Hope seemingly was running dry. On a luck too blessed to ignore they stumbled upon the Ski Boat along with The note that could reunite everyone anew. The words we are going to Monk’s Island. Murphy and Zed take the terrain by storm tracing footsteps left behind to find them again while battling the silence of losses gathered at their feet. With every footstep they took, a million White’s were eager to fill in the gaps.

To choose to live, to make that choice to fight for life every day, had to be a choice to accept all the sorrows of all my tomorrows. But if that choice to live was to be bearable at all, I needed to let lose my embrace of the pain, both yesterday and tomorrow.

It took a second for recognition to kick in, but as I looked at him over my shoulder, I was sure it was Mark. Fucking Mark.

Murphy let me know how crappy it was. “Because I’m not retarded. I saw your dumb green lump ass crawling along the whole way.

“It’s like you want me to punch you in the face.” All this talk about punching me in the face was getting worrisome. “Keep an eye out, okay? Give me a few minutes.”

Was it so easy to lose the shackles the past burdened you with? Was it so hard to cry through the grief and then smile to face a new day? Was it so necessary to hold all the pain so close to my heart I could feel it over and over and over?
Profile Image for Michael.
216 reviews
September 9, 2018
I'm a shameless fan of the "zombie apocalypse" genre. It really has nothing to do with horror, but I enjoy reading stories about people overcoming adversity and surviving in a world that has been radically affected by a massive catastrophe.

I've read a LOT of books in the genre, and I consider myself a bit of an aficionado. Therefore, when I say that this is one of the best series I've read in the genre, I'm not kidding.

This book is one of a series of books, and I'm leaving the same review for ALL of the books, because I read them all in a back-to-back binge on my Kindle. In my mind, it's all one lengthy well-told story, and I don't see any point in trying to isolate each book for a review. The series is awesome. By them all, read them in order, and you will enjoy them!

So WHY is this series so good? Well, for one thing, Bobby Adair is a very good writer, and the books are well-written with interesting characters and lots of action.

In this series, the "zombies" are people infected with a virus that essentially fries their brain with fever, leaving them more or less mindless and violent. The interesting twist is that not all "zombies" are equally infected. Some zombies retain some of their intellect, and some remain essentially ALL of their intellect, although they cosmetically appear just as infected as the others. I'd never read a zombie story told from the perspective of someone infected, yet not fully mindless, and what it's like to experience persecution from all sides. The other zombies want to eat you, and the "normal" immune survivors don't trust you since you have the pale skin of the infected.

I also REALLY like the fact that the story is set in Austin, Texas. I'm a native Texan myself, and for a while I in Austin, so it was very interesting to me to read a story that's set in a familiar setting. Bobby Adair knows what he's talking about when he writes about what it would be like to experience the collapse of civilization in central Texas in the blazing summer heat of August.

I also really like the fact that the main characters are interesting. For instance, the character "Zed" isn't a bad ass who was a Green Beret, and he wasn't a prepper before the apocalypse. He's a bit of a loser, who graduated from UT with a philosophy degree yet works at Starbucks, and probably drinks too much and smokes too much weed, and is drifting through life thanks to a lack of motivation from his shitty childhood. He's not an angel, and he makes mistakes, and that makes him very easy to relate to.

I might also add that the book is laugh-out-loud funny in many places. The banter back and forth between Zed and Murphy is hilarious and very believable, and really made the characters come alive in my mind.

Read these books! You will thank me!
Profile Image for Cherry Mischievous.
597 reviews290 followers
April 16, 2023

virus


My Thoughts:
This is my least liked book in the series. A lot of bad things happened to our team of beloved protagonists. Broke my heart!

Another chapter of a bigger book. No beginning. No ending. Slim plot. However, the story telling quality and the story arc of the series are good enough to keep me buying this series.

This might just be a chapter, but the bigger book is interesting enough for me to keep reading.

Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 3
Ending = 2
World building = 5
Cover art = 2
Pace = 3.5
Plot = 1.5

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5
1,420 reviews1 follower
December 23, 2017
Awesome

Still nice writing and some very wild action. Characters die in this as in every of the previous volumes. It's a brutal world and mistakes are costly.

Zed is one very screwed up person, who while loyal has the arrogance of a fifteen year old but refuses to admit it. This is despite having it pointed out several times. He drags Murphy by his friendship into ventures that are barely thought out and justified with lies. Yet he's still surprised that his actions might contribute to others dying.

You have to wonder if he is insane from the fever or if the fever just released his inner insanity. Few of the characters are internalizing the absolute bleakness and starkness of their situation. But they haven't had a lot of time to adjust. Realistic as all get out but scary as hell.

Book five will not disappoint you.
Profile Image for Carol.
232 reviews1 follower
August 7, 2019
I sure hope they make it.

Murphy and Zed have seen and killed more of the "whites". They head out looking for supplies; then a terrible storm moves in with blackened skies and torrents of rain. Rivers rise and banks are swollen and the rivers are running wild. One place, Zed was able to score some pants and boots that fit. They both have lost so much weight. They are able to get back towards the houseboat to find it being swarmed by whites. Some were able to get off and headed down river on a skier boat. They are looking for them. It's night and time to sleep, both wondering what tomorrow will bring.
Profile Image for Michael  Keller.
937 reviews10 followers
September 17, 2021
Zed and Murphy on the road again

Zed Zane and road partner Murphy along with the Riverboat crew make the best of the the new situation - the virus that turned people white, burned their brains to sludge and gave them an irresistible urge to eat flesh, but only gave Zed and Murphy a real light complexion and kept themselves unappealing to the Whites. Smart Whites weren't fooled though. And love is in the air!

The saga of the Slow Burns continues to make for great reading! The characters are entertaining and the storyline twists and winds its way through the infected landscape.
Profile Image for Mkittysamom.
1,467 reviews53 followers
January 1, 2019
Oh Dang Another Cliffhanger

Murphy and Zed go on an adventure for some “rare” supplies and it finally rains in the desert. Except it’s not just a little rain..it’s a flood! Loved this one.. Murphy and Zed are a great team, I love their banter! Murphy is the “smiling” guy and Zed is more pessimistic but he also has a philosophy degree.. when they switch outlooks on life.. and take them for a test drive, I think both of them are surprised in the end! There was also a good deed and it helped to wash away some of the pain. Another great read in the Slowburn series!
Profile Image for Sarah Rutherford.
16 reviews1 follower
April 18, 2019
I'm simply captivated by this series--and was so engrossed that I couldn't put it down in order to "render unto Caesar",otherwise known as filing my taxes. I've found the characters Zed and Murphy to be an ideal pairing from the very first episode and am so disappointed that both our heroic figures have lost their lady loves to the Whites in such an appalling fashion. To watch helplessly as they meet their demise has to inform their actions throughout the remainder of the series.
Kudos to Bobby Adair for the non-stop action throughout this series. You've done it again, Bobby!
Profile Image for Billy Bell.
473 reviews2 followers
May 26, 2023
Still good stuff. Not a whole lot "new" happens in this one, but if you liked the previous 4 books, you'll still like this one. A lot of "bro time" between Zed and Murphy, which is good, as they're easily the 2 main and most likeable characters. The premise of this one was a bit weird though. Seemed like kind of a tough and risk-filled missions for what the payoff actually was. In the end, still the same good stuff and, after 5 books, I'm still keen to read more. I think that says something right there!
Profile Image for Christine Bishop.
524 reviews
June 19, 2019
A great addition to the story!

Slow Burn 5 is another great book in this series! Zed and Murphy are holed up on the river boat with the other survivors and just when you think they have a safe place the bottom falls out and their pushed back into the world with nowhere to go. This book had so very tough pages to read through, but Zed and Murphy weather the storm and keep on moving forward. I’m excited to see what’s in store for them in book 6!
Profile Image for Call me Jeeves.
466 reviews2 followers
May 15, 2024
The stories seem to be blending with each other. You know win some lose some. People come people go . I don’t know but I think I am kind of disappointed with this book five.
I have already made way into book six , and it seems a bit better. But like I said new people in old people out. The treacherous bitch keeps making her way back into the story. It’s like there is some tension building towards something. Maybe something explosive!
Profile Image for Tjalli Óðins.
48 reviews13 followers
December 13, 2025
When to trust someone and when not to trust, this question plagues Zed. Will there be a time when he and Murphy deside that they cannot trust any one anymore?

When the number of whites seem to be endless and with a rise in the Smart ones, hope is fleeting. Even with a full stock of weapons, ammunition and newly acquired gear to help them in the fight.
A torrent of rain on a biblical scale starts. Is the rain a blessing or a curse?

Bleakness is King so attachment can mean death.
Profile Image for Nicole Kelley.
21 reviews2 followers
October 31, 2017
Okay

Uh, I'm disappointed in this book. A lot of fun nothing happened.

The Hilton for pain that I am, I'm gonna push through to the next one.

I must admit the humor was good, but a disaster every time Murphy and Zed leaves is redundant. I know the next book is already written so wish me luck.

Otherwise, I really like ever other book in this series.
Profile Image for Tiffany Tinkham.
368 reviews2 followers
November 8, 2017
Another Great Continuing Story

Book 5 of 9 of the slow burn series continues the story of Zeb and his newly found friends and their battle of survival. After a virus hits and turns everyone into zombies Zeb and his friends have to try to survive them and natural disasters as well.
Profile Image for Julie Powell.
Author 72 books324 followers
September 2, 2019
I have the omnibus edition of this series so just wanted to say that this installment is fantastic in detail, atmosphere and learning experience.

Zed and Murphy are superb characters, a perfect foil for each other. There is an abundance of loss and horror and yet the coping mechanisms have more than an element of wisdom.

Extremely well done.

Highly recommended.
715 reviews2 followers
June 8, 2022
I don't know how this writer does it, every time I think the story's going to get stale or boring he ramps the tension up another level and throws in surprises and shocks from every angle. Please someone in Hollywood or Netflix, give this guy a series as he's better than 99% of the writers out there!
Profile Image for Lauren.
843 reviews6 followers
December 8, 2022
I thought this one was quite flat and I really don’t like Murphy and his banter. Also, Zed’s so called heroism is getting quite boring - just the same thing of running into dangerous situations because he has no patience or forethought. I did like that we learn more about the virus and how it effects people though.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews

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