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The End
A zombie horror told from the zombie’s perspective, THE END is one woman’s account of the end of her life, her family and everything.
Like many single parents in their thirties Zoe is overworked, overburdened and low on company, and when the zombie apocalypse begins she is forced to face the monster that has taken her over, the horrors he shows her, and her own murky past.
Like many single parents in their thirties Zoe is overworked, overburdened and low on company, and when the zombie apocalypse begins she is forced to face the monster that has taken her over, the horrors he shows her, and her own murky past.
161 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 30, 2014
57 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 10, 2015
Finally- an intelligent AND eloquent zombie story!
Lets get this out of the way first: I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com. Now that that has been said, on to my review!
I was very (very) pleasantly surprised by this book. When I first read the description, my reaction was 'Okay. Yet ANOTHER zombie story.' and prepared myself for a decent but not incredible listen. The depth of character from both before our protagonist transitions into a zombie is absolutely amazing. (At that point having changed in to a being with two consciousnesses simultaneously existing as both the woman she was and the monster she has become.) The book is written so beautifully as to be almost poetic and the narration is so emotional that I don't think I could give the narrator justice in mere words.
I will be looking forward to any future works by this author as well as the narrator. This book has all the makings of a classic. Think along the lines of Thomas Hardy, Mary Shelley and Emily Bronte.
Lets get this out of the way first: I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com. Now that that has been said, on to my review!
I was very (very) pleasantly surprised by this book. When I first read the description, my reaction was 'Okay. Yet ANOTHER zombie story.' and prepared myself for a decent but not incredible listen. The depth of character from both before our protagonist transitions into a zombie is absolutely amazing. (At that point having changed in to a being with two consciousnesses simultaneously existing as both the woman she was and the monster she has become.) The book is written so beautifully as to be almost poetic and the narration is so emotional that I don't think I could give the narrator justice in mere words.
I will be looking forward to any future works by this author as well as the narrator. This book has all the makings of a classic. Think along the lines of Thomas Hardy, Mary Shelley and Emily Bronte.
June 22, 2015
The End by Adam M. Booth. Performed/narrated by Shiromi Areserio. 1 hour and 51 minutes long, Contemporary, Sci-fi, fantasy. Unabridged Audio. 18+ years. Some scenes are graphic in the description of the zombies eating humans. So if this is not your type of book then I would not recommend it to the faint of heart.
This book is an account of one woman’s memory of being part of a zombie apocalypse from the zombie’s perspective. I thought this was quite a unique twist on a zombie’s thoughts especially when I thought zombies were just mindless, hunger driven for the brains and flesh of their victims. But, on contra my listeners. Zoe is a single mom looking to see that her daughter is at good school. Overworked, underpaid as a single parent Zoe is heading to the train station to meet up with one of the many guys she is dating. A weekend to unwind the grind. Well, Zoe found herself right into the start of the Zombie Apocalypse at the train station. Seeing someone coming at her and not knowing at the time until he comes face to face with her. She realizes that this is not human anymore with the deep sunken eyes and flesh hanging off his face. As he grabs her and starts to gnaw on her. Screaming as he clings to her and feeling herself floating in and out of conscientious. Then, waking up wondering what had just happened in a slumped pile and then the desirable thirst for human flesh and brains comes to her.
Next Zoe could only think of one thing and that was getting to her daughter. As she goes through the countryside getting to her Zoe tells her side of her experience of attacking those to so she could survive. When she actually shows that she has feelings of quilt yet no regrets to what she has to do to survive.
Will Zoe make it in time to see her daughter? What challenges does she come across getting there? Will her daughter know that this is her mother? All great questions that Zoe will recall throughout this short novella. How she will be recalling this tale some century later. Adam M. Booth really put a lot of thought into condensing this story in such a way that it is a stand-alone book.
Shiromi Areserio is a fantastic narrator/performer. I have listen to other books that she has performed with her beautiful British/Australian accent. She speaks in such a way that you can feel that this is a thought being spoken by Zoe and when people are actually speaking – okay screaming outloud. Great job.
All thoughts are solely mine and no way influenced by others. Please like and leave comments below good or bad love to hear them.
This book is an account of one woman’s memory of being part of a zombie apocalypse from the zombie’s perspective. I thought this was quite a unique twist on a zombie’s thoughts especially when I thought zombies were just mindless, hunger driven for the brains and flesh of their victims. But, on contra my listeners. Zoe is a single mom looking to see that her daughter is at good school. Overworked, underpaid as a single parent Zoe is heading to the train station to meet up with one of the many guys she is dating. A weekend to unwind the grind. Well, Zoe found herself right into the start of the Zombie Apocalypse at the train station. Seeing someone coming at her and not knowing at the time until he comes face to face with her. She realizes that this is not human anymore with the deep sunken eyes and flesh hanging off his face. As he grabs her and starts to gnaw on her. Screaming as he clings to her and feeling herself floating in and out of conscientious. Then, waking up wondering what had just happened in a slumped pile and then the desirable thirst for human flesh and brains comes to her.
Next Zoe could only think of one thing and that was getting to her daughter. As she goes through the countryside getting to her Zoe tells her side of her experience of attacking those to so she could survive. When she actually shows that she has feelings of quilt yet no regrets to what she has to do to survive.
Will Zoe make it in time to see her daughter? What challenges does she come across getting there? Will her daughter know that this is her mother? All great questions that Zoe will recall throughout this short novella. How she will be recalling this tale some century later. Adam M. Booth really put a lot of thought into condensing this story in such a way that it is a stand-alone book.
Shiromi Areserio is a fantastic narrator/performer. I have listen to other books that she has performed with her beautiful British/Australian accent. She speaks in such a way that you can feel that this is a thought being spoken by Zoe and when people are actually speaking – okay screaming outloud. Great job.
All thoughts are solely mine and no way influenced by others. Please like and leave comments below good or bad love to hear them.
June 20, 2014
I once read a post-apocalyptic story which included the pov on the infected and I absolutely loved it. In that story it was a man who was infected. This story from the woman's POV is every bit as frightening. To be aware of the horrific things going on around you. Try as you might, you are unable to stop yourself from participating and satisfying these uncontrollable urges which have invaded your body. Is it really you? Are you sharing your body with an entity? Can is be stopped? Do you have the willpower to stop it? Has this monster lived inside of you all along. Has it been waiting for the end of the world, so that it may awaken to fulfill a curse? Will I ever be myself again? Is this the new me? If I do changed back into myself, how will I live with myself knowing the thins I have done?
It raises many unspoken questions as it does spoken.This is the substance of great writing.
For me,I think the ending needed a little more emotion. It seemed to wind down too soon and too fast. Other than that, it is a great buy for those who enjoy this genre as I do.
It raises many unspoken questions as it does spoken.This is the substance of great writing.
For me,I think the ending needed a little more emotion. It seemed to wind down too soon and too fast. Other than that, it is a great buy for those who enjoy this genre as I do.
June 26, 2014
Read, re-read, & read it a 3rd time. Adam applies his introspective mind utilizing the most graceful prose, in this instance using the zombie genre as a vehicle to showcase a unique & original voice. The End is more of a character study and the evolution of emotional pain rather than the usual (predictable) & tiresome post-apocalyptic dime-a-dozen story that hits the e-book market seemingly everyday.
There are more levels & depths to this novella that evoke both emotion & imagination across the spectrum than can be summarized adequately (& justly) here. It is dark, unflinching, and yet beautiful all at once. I highly recommend The End for the literary value alone. Adam M. Booth is going to be a gamechanger.
There are more levels & depths to this novella that evoke both emotion & imagination across the spectrum than can be summarized adequately (& justly) here. It is dark, unflinching, and yet beautiful all at once. I highly recommend The End for the literary value alone. Adam M. Booth is going to be a gamechanger.
March 24, 2019
I enjoyed this short story. Reading the thoughts of a zombie as it staggers around through time was a unique reading experience for me. Some parts I found humorous. Others were sad and horrific. Definitely recommend you give it a try.
August 2, 2015
Beauty in Extreme Darkness
I like dark stories, but this one takes dark to a whole new level. (In fact, I would caution folks that struggle with depression to maybe skip this book if they aren't doing well.) With that being said I also see the beauty in the raw pain that Zoe feels, both as a human and as a zombie.
The introspection Zoe goes through while on her quest to get to Lucy is profound. She comes to the conclusion that even though she has just recently become a hideous, brain eating monster, that maybe her outsides just match her insides now and that she has been a monster deep down all along.
While on her trek she witnesses a family dumping a live human off at a rest stop. But all she is able to think and feel is her insatiable hunger for brains and flesh. The guy, who happens to be in an electric wheelchair, sees her and flees down the road away from the rest stop. Zoe goes after him even though she can't see him because he gets so far down the road. She just walks and walks (shuffles is probably a more accurate word) until she sees him again but this time he's just sitting in the middle of the road where his chair has died. He sees her coming and resigns himself to his fate - that she is going to kill and eat him. While he sits and waits for her, he talks to her and bares his soul to her as if she were (still?) alive or maybe he does it because she's a zombie and unable to process his confessions. He tells her how he became paralyzed and needing the chair at the age of 10 (he was hit by a car). He told her why his parents had kicked him out of the family vehicle and just left him there, helpless and stranded (they didn't like him enough to be responsible for him during the end of the world), and he tells her that he that he should have looked up more and enjoyed the beauty while he had the chance. All the while he's telling her these intimate things she just keeps coming after him, relentlessly, uncontrollably, and driven by a need that is so primal you almost feel sorry for the zombie formerly known as Zoe.
At first I was somewhat disappointed that the storyline was so dark and depressing, but after a short time I started really get into Zoe's narrative and her memories of Lucy, life before Lucy's illness and Zoe's ill-fated attempt to relieve her daughter’s pain. I didn't have an extreme reaction to any one thing I had an extreme reaction to the story as a whole.
It's easy to feel sorry for the people who are killed by the zombies, but to feel sorry for mindless zombie killing machines, well that's a whole different matter. But somehow Booth is able to, humanize Zoe enough for us readers to pity her for being stuck in a never ending loop of all her mistakes as well as all the things she'll never get to do.
The narration by Shiromi Arserio and her British accent was, at least at first, somewhat annoying. Her voice is kind of pitchy and dry, but once you get into the story her voice matches Zoe's outlook and resignation about her life.
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audio book Blast dot com
I like dark stories, but this one takes dark to a whole new level. (In fact, I would caution folks that struggle with depression to maybe skip this book if they aren't doing well.) With that being said I also see the beauty in the raw pain that Zoe feels, both as a human and as a zombie.
The introspection Zoe goes through while on her quest to get to Lucy is profound. She comes to the conclusion that even though she has just recently become a hideous, brain eating monster, that maybe her outsides just match her insides now and that she has been a monster deep down all along.
While on her trek she witnesses a family dumping a live human off at a rest stop. But all she is able to think and feel is her insatiable hunger for brains and flesh. The guy, who happens to be in an electric wheelchair, sees her and flees down the road away from the rest stop. Zoe goes after him even though she can't see him because he gets so far down the road. She just walks and walks (shuffles is probably a more accurate word) until she sees him again but this time he's just sitting in the middle of the road where his chair has died. He sees her coming and resigns himself to his fate - that she is going to kill and eat him. While he sits and waits for her, he talks to her and bares his soul to her as if she were (still?) alive or maybe he does it because she's a zombie and unable to process his confessions. He tells her how he became paralyzed and needing the chair at the age of 10 (he was hit by a car). He told her why his parents had kicked him out of the family vehicle and just left him there, helpless and stranded (they didn't like him enough to be responsible for him during the end of the world), and he tells her that he that he should have looked up more and enjoyed the beauty while he had the chance. All the while he's telling her these intimate things she just keeps coming after him, relentlessly, uncontrollably, and driven by a need that is so primal you almost feel sorry for the zombie formerly known as Zoe.
At first I was somewhat disappointed that the storyline was so dark and depressing, but after a short time I started really get into Zoe's narrative and her memories of Lucy, life before Lucy's illness and Zoe's ill-fated attempt to relieve her daughter’s pain. I didn't have an extreme reaction to any one thing I had an extreme reaction to the story as a whole.
It's easy to feel sorry for the people who are killed by the zombies, but to feel sorry for mindless zombie killing machines, well that's a whole different matter. But somehow Booth is able to, humanize Zoe enough for us readers to pity her for being stuck in a never ending loop of all her mistakes as well as all the things she'll never get to do.
The narration by Shiromi Arserio and her British accent was, at least at first, somewhat annoying. Her voice is kind of pitchy and dry, but once you get into the story her voice matches Zoe's outlook and resignation about her life.
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audio book Blast dot com
November 8, 2016
2 out of 5
**
This book was super short. I mean, like audiobook was only 1.54 hours long I think, and something like 74 pages. So this review should be short.
Follow Zoe as she makes her way to the train station to where to pick up her daughter who is attending a private boarding school. Zoe is then confronted by a man who she assumes was smiling and trying to give her a hug, but actually bites her. You continue to follow her for the next several hours and days as she transforms into a zombie herself and scours the area for her now new favorite.
Zoe's brain is still pretty functioning. She understands what she is doing is wrong, and all she wants to do is help those people she ends up eating. But yet, her stomach and instincts keep her lurching forward. She actually talks about herself as two separate people. Her brain self and her animalistic/bodily self. So far, it sounds pretty cool, right? Yea, here's where its odd.
This was written very poetically. The sentences and descriptions were like super fluffed with unnecessary adjectives. Like I get it, Booth wanted this beautiful, gruesome, human mixed with just rawness for the reader to enjoy...but sometimes it was like "for real right now?". I do not get grossed out or weak stomached easily at all. I'm the tooth puller, vomit cleaner, diaper changer in the house. There were a few spots in this book that I was drinking my breakfast smoothie and had to put it down for a second till the description of how the body looked and smell and how she would crunch through a scalp and how bits of hair would be stuck in her teeth. I liked that it was grotesque sometimes, it adds to the gore. I just could of done without the whole trying to make it all into some sort of Shakespearen story.
Another thing I didn't care for wash how sometimes it would randomly pop up some internal dialoged she would be thinking. She would have flash backs to the day her and her husband were together and how it broke her daughter down when they divorced. Like we get it, you made some bad choices and you felt like a failure because your kiddo didn't handle it well. That's fine. BUT it would randomly flash back to when she was 14 and skinny dipping in a pond and these strange guys watched (??). Like she was a depressed, anxiety ridden person before the bite. She just was a broken person who needed a good drink and some antidepressents. I like the idea of the zombie perspective in the whole thing... but good Lord, could we get a little bit better lead role? Not someone who self harmed and just wanted to snuggle the world because she felt the need to cradle it because her marriage feel apart. It was just odd.
D,Deckard
**
This book was super short. I mean, like audiobook was only 1.54 hours long I think, and something like 74 pages. So this review should be short.
Follow Zoe as she makes her way to the train station to where to pick up her daughter who is attending a private boarding school. Zoe is then confronted by a man who she assumes was smiling and trying to give her a hug, but actually bites her. You continue to follow her for the next several hours and days as she transforms into a zombie herself and scours the area for her now new favorite.
Zoe's brain is still pretty functioning. She understands what she is doing is wrong, and all she wants to do is help those people she ends up eating. But yet, her stomach and instincts keep her lurching forward. She actually talks about herself as two separate people. Her brain self and her animalistic/bodily self. So far, it sounds pretty cool, right? Yea, here's where its odd.
This was written very poetically. The sentences and descriptions were like super fluffed with unnecessary adjectives. Like I get it, Booth wanted this beautiful, gruesome, human mixed with just rawness for the reader to enjoy...but sometimes it was like "for real right now?". I do not get grossed out or weak stomached easily at all. I'm the tooth puller, vomit cleaner, diaper changer in the house. There were a few spots in this book that I was drinking my breakfast smoothie and had to put it down for a second till the description of how the body looked and smell and how she would crunch through a scalp and how bits of hair would be stuck in her teeth. I liked that it was grotesque sometimes, it adds to the gore. I just could of done without the whole trying to make it all into some sort of Shakespearen story.
Another thing I didn't care for wash how sometimes it would randomly pop up some internal dialoged she would be thinking. She would have flash backs to the day her and her husband were together and how it broke her daughter down when they divorced. Like we get it, you made some bad choices and you felt like a failure because your kiddo didn't handle it well. That's fine. BUT it would randomly flash back to when she was 14 and skinny dipping in a pond and these strange guys watched (??). Like she was a depressed, anxiety ridden person before the bite. She just was a broken person who needed a good drink and some antidepressents. I like the idea of the zombie perspective in the whole thing... but good Lord, could we get a little bit better lead role? Not someone who self harmed and just wanted to snuggle the world because she felt the need to cradle it because her marriage feel apart. It was just odd.
D,Deckard
April 18, 2014
Originally published on my blog The Horror Bookshelf
The End is the debut short story from author Adam M. Booth and is the first person account of Zoe, a thirty-something single mother who unwittingly becomes caught in the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse when she goes to pick up her daughter at the train station. As she is driving toward the bus station, she sees a man sprawled out in the street, dragging himself across the pavement and covered in blood. When Zoe calls for an ambulance and is only greeted by a gurgling sound, that one line of dialogue serves as a bone chilling indication of the events to come.
The End features plenty of traditional zombie thrills, complete with shambling hordes that are hellbent on nothing more than feasting on humans, but the real highlight of the story is in the author’s choice of point of view. Focusing on Zoe, who eventually becomes one of the living dead herself, allows Booth an opportunity to examine zombie mythology in a fresh way. Often times when I am reading a zombie novel, I find myself asking the same questions every single time. Are these things still considered human? Are they aware of what they are or are they just mindless killing machines that are only driven by the biological impulse to feed? Booth answers these questions in The End and rather than ruining the story by giving too much away, it makes the story even better by raising a host of other questions.
I don’t want to spoil the story by posting too many details here as The End is a brisk read at 78 pages, but Booth does an excellent job weaving in bits and pieces of Zoe’s human life with her journey as a zombie to show she was capable of just as much evil before her transformation. The ending gives a pretty unique explanation for the cause of the outbreak along with Zoe’s fate and made me wish that The End was a full-length novel so that Booth would have been able to flesh out these sections a little bit more.
Booth’s writing style is very poetic and makes for some particularly gripping scenes when he describes Zoe’s transformation and her bodies slow degradation throughout the course of the novel. However, his occasional use of quick sentences and poetry inspired structure may not be for everyone. There are also a few minor errors in The End, but none that significantly impacted my enjoyment of the story.
Booth is currently working on Alison, a gothic horror story about an isolated woman and her descent into madness. After reading and enjoying The End, I can’t wait to see what other novels Booth has in store!
The End is the debut short story from author Adam M. Booth and is the first person account of Zoe, a thirty-something single mother who unwittingly becomes caught in the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse when she goes to pick up her daughter at the train station. As she is driving toward the bus station, she sees a man sprawled out in the street, dragging himself across the pavement and covered in blood. When Zoe calls for an ambulance and is only greeted by a gurgling sound, that one line of dialogue serves as a bone chilling indication of the events to come.
The End features plenty of traditional zombie thrills, complete with shambling hordes that are hellbent on nothing more than feasting on humans, but the real highlight of the story is in the author’s choice of point of view. Focusing on Zoe, who eventually becomes one of the living dead herself, allows Booth an opportunity to examine zombie mythology in a fresh way. Often times when I am reading a zombie novel, I find myself asking the same questions every single time. Are these things still considered human? Are they aware of what they are or are they just mindless killing machines that are only driven by the biological impulse to feed? Booth answers these questions in The End and rather than ruining the story by giving too much away, it makes the story even better by raising a host of other questions.
I don’t want to spoil the story by posting too many details here as The End is a brisk read at 78 pages, but Booth does an excellent job weaving in bits and pieces of Zoe’s human life with her journey as a zombie to show she was capable of just as much evil before her transformation. The ending gives a pretty unique explanation for the cause of the outbreak along with Zoe’s fate and made me wish that The End was a full-length novel so that Booth would have been able to flesh out these sections a little bit more.
Booth’s writing style is very poetic and makes for some particularly gripping scenes when he describes Zoe’s transformation and her bodies slow degradation throughout the course of the novel. However, his occasional use of quick sentences and poetry inspired structure may not be for everyone. There are also a few minor errors in The End, but none that significantly impacted my enjoyment of the story.
Booth is currently working on Alison, a gothic horror story about an isolated woman and her descent into madness. After reading and enjoying The End, I can’t wait to see what other novels Booth has in store!
April 23, 2018
This book was very different from most zombie novels. I don't even think it really is a zombie novel, the zombie Apocalypse is just a way for the author to write what was important in the story. I was so depressed and sad after listening to it. The narrator was amazing and really added to the story. I felt like I was hearing Zoe. I passed on this novella so many times because the description did not do it justice. It was a very difficult story to hear though. I don't think I'll listen to it or read it again but I was happy to have given it a chance. I would not recommend this to anyone who is not in a good place in life though. It is very depressing.
March 27, 2015
This is one of the worst books I have ever read. I just finished this book and I have no idea what I read. I get the author was trying to tell the story from the zombies point of view but this was an epic fail.
August 14, 2014
Zombie short story..did not care for it
March 27, 2015
Wow
It was hard to get into this. I could see the possibility of a good story, but in my opinion it was poorly written.
It was hard to get into this. I could see the possibility of a good story, but in my opinion it was poorly written.
February 3, 2019
I first want to say I heard the book long before I read it. Checked and I owned it.
I absolutely love this story. How refreshing to read a zombie story told from the zombies perspective. And it was like reading a lovely, lyrical story. ( the story is read aloud on you tube. Author knows as he comments on it. Love the narrator. )
I highly suggest you grab this book. It will stay with you. I’d like to give one small spoiler, the main character is a female. And a Mom. That’s all I’m giving you.
I have more of the authors books. Can’t wait to read them.
I absolutely love this story. How refreshing to read a zombie story told from the zombies perspective. And it was like reading a lovely, lyrical story. ( the story is read aloud on you tube. Author knows as he comments on it. Love the narrator. )
I highly suggest you grab this book. It will stay with you. I’d like to give one small spoiler, the main character is a female. And a Mom. That’s all I’m giving you.
I have more of the authors books. Can’t wait to read them.
July 8, 2017
I will start with the bad first. I thought the way she became a zombie was stupid. But I really love this story. It is actually scary and capable of provoking a sense of despair. Two things that so many books in the zombie genre lack. Most focus on the survival aspect of it or human drama in stressful times. This book is so unique. The ending is also beautiful. Could not have asked for a better one.
March 8, 2019
I did not finish this book. Because of my work schedule, most of my "reading" is done via Audible. The narrator of this story was too boring to listen to. Her voice was very monotone, which made it that much harder to get through. Sadly, I cut it off shortly after starting (about 25 mins in) It just didn't hold my interest. The lead just seemed very, VERY boring.
October 14, 2018
You can really feel zoe’s pain this book will give you nightmares I really felt for her this is truly sad and heartbreaking
July 31, 2015
* I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author, narrator or publisher through AudiobookBlast dot com in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.
This audiobook joins the many other books in the zombie fiction genre. So, why should you choose this audiobook over others in the same genre? That's simple! Because it is different.
This audiobook is zombie fiction told from the perspective of the zombie rather than from people who are trying to evade the zombies.
THE END is the story of single mother, Zoe. She is overworked, over stressed and overwrought. This is the story of the end of her life as a human and of her life as a zombie.
I did enjoy this audiobook. The narrator, Shiromi Arserio, is a female. She narrates with an English accent. She emotes very well.
The only drawback (in my opinion) was that there was a bit too much introspection for my taste. I would have preferred to learn more about how it felt to be a zombie.
I rate this audiobook as 4 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
FAVORITE QUOTES:
"I was spoiled meat, roadkill, dog food."
"When time stands still you only have the images in your mind's eye."
"Love will tear us apart they say, but so will tooth and nail..."
"The scream arrives from around the corner, followed by the familiar sound of wet meat hitting the floor; the sound of progress being made."
To read more reviews visit my blog at http://amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com
February 21, 2014
Wow.
I am very, very pleasantly amazed with this work. Adam Booth can write. That's saying a lot these days, in the glutted market of self-published zombie stories, this one stands out. There are a few editorial issues ("its" vs. "it's" most notably), but not anything that takes the reader away from the storyline. The writing itself is both beautiful and disgusting at the same time, and it's this dichotomy that is really striking to me, as it is done is a way that is touching but not pretentious.
This short story is told from the first person perspective of Zoe (in Greek, her name ironically means "life"), as she is first attacked by a zombie, and then transforms and lives as one of the undead. As she decays and shambles after the living, her consciousness struggles with sanity (recalling entire episodes of "Friends", reliving horrible episodes of her life). The best and worst scene, for me, was the youth in the blue wheelchair. His death at Zoe's hands, nowhere near as horrible as his life had been.
I would recommend this to any fan of horror stories. Very well done.
I am very, very pleasantly amazed with this work. Adam Booth can write. That's saying a lot these days, in the glutted market of self-published zombie stories, this one stands out. There are a few editorial issues ("its" vs. "it's" most notably), but not anything that takes the reader away from the storyline. The writing itself is both beautiful and disgusting at the same time, and it's this dichotomy that is really striking to me, as it is done is a way that is touching but not pretentious.
This short story is told from the first person perspective of Zoe (in Greek, her name ironically means "life"), as she is first attacked by a zombie, and then transforms and lives as one of the undead. As she decays and shambles after the living, her consciousness struggles with sanity (recalling entire episodes of "Friends", reliving horrible episodes of her life). The best and worst scene, for me, was the youth in the blue wheelchair. His death at Zoe's hands, nowhere near as horrible as his life had been.
I would recommend this to any fan of horror stories. Very well done.
March 8, 2014
I love zombies! Vampires too...but I digress...
As one reader mentioned there are a few grammar/spelling issues, but it definitely doesn't take away from the story. It was raw, as I imagine a zombie's existence would be. I was surprised by a few things...I won't give those away...but they made the story and showed what the writer was trying to get across, I believe, the darkest parts of humanity.
One of my favorite scenes was when the main character, in zombie form, was frozen to the ground in a field. The description of her pain was so graphic and realistic, I could almost feel it myself. The progression of the rot in her body was also written in a very realistic way.
I liked the writing style too. It was very poetic, very thought-provoking. This is a book that makes you think about humanity, what we're capable of, how we can be monsters without ever being turned into a flesh-eating zombie. This was a very enjoyable read for me! And I definitely recommend it to others.
As one reader mentioned there are a few grammar/spelling issues, but it definitely doesn't take away from the story. It was raw, as I imagine a zombie's existence would be. I was surprised by a few things...I won't give those away...but they made the story and showed what the writer was trying to get across, I believe, the darkest parts of humanity.
One of my favorite scenes was when the main character, in zombie form, was frozen to the ground in a field. The description of her pain was so graphic and realistic, I could almost feel it myself. The progression of the rot in her body was also written in a very realistic way.
I liked the writing style too. It was very poetic, very thought-provoking. This is a book that makes you think about humanity, what we're capable of, how we can be monsters without ever being turned into a flesh-eating zombie. This was a very enjoyable read for me! And I definitely recommend it to others.
June 13, 2016
...I smell his breath. It is gastric plastic.
THE END is a short horror tale about a single mother who, while waiting for her daughter at a train station, gets bitten by a zombie. Her sense of self is still aware but she has no control, a silent, passive prisoner in her own shambling, rotting body.
I wanted to like the story, some turns of phrase are really nice, like the one I quoted above. Also there is one scene with an escalator that was fun and gross. Unfortunately the bulk of the story felt really overwritten, vague, and abstract. It's trying for poetic but it just comes off as pretentious.
Worst of all? It just doesn't end. It keeps going and going to absurd levels until by the end I was rolling my eyes.
Apparently I'm super picky about my zombie stories.
THE END is a short horror tale about a single mother who, while waiting for her daughter at a train station, gets bitten by a zombie. Her sense of self is still aware but she has no control, a silent, passive prisoner in her own shambling, rotting body.
I wanted to like the story, some turns of phrase are really nice, like the one I quoted above. Also there is one scene with an escalator that was fun and gross. Unfortunately the bulk of the story felt really overwritten, vague, and abstract. It's trying for poetic but it just comes off as pretentious.
Worst of all? It just doesn't end. It keeps going and going to absurd levels until by the end I was rolling my eyes.
Apparently I'm super picky about my zombie stories.
September 16, 2015
Adam Booth's "The End" is pure poetry of the most gruesome, human, intensely biological variety. For so quick a read, the sensation of finishing this story is one of aftermath, of coping with what one has just experienced, trying to contextualize the sensation of yawning horror and unyielding grief. Booth succeeds in inflicting true pathos upon true revulsion, a combination of interlocking emotions which I find especially rare in horror subgenres, and which in this work is nothing short of remarkable.
August 21, 2015
** I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **
Short story about Zoe, she is going to pick up her daughter a the train station when Zombie apocalypse breaks out, and she get attacked....she then goes on her zombie journey in search of her daughter and ends up eating her! great short story!!
Thanks Audiobookblast(dot)com
Short story about Zoe, she is going to pick up her daughter a the train station when Zombie apocalypse breaks out, and she get attacked....she then goes on her zombie journey in search of her daughter and ends up eating her! great short story!!
Thanks Audiobookblast(dot)com
December 31, 2016
This short book about a zombie was really good. Thorough out the reading I felt like I was her. The zombie. They way the author described the feeding. The way they froze when it snowed. I was along beside her though the whole book. Thanks for that. Would recommend to zombie book lovers I'm one of them and I loved it.
February 25, 2014
l like zombie movies but have never read a zombie book so don't really have much to compare to. This is different telling the story from the zombie side though.
Think anyone that likes a book that's a bit left of centre with a dark side should give it a go.
Think anyone that likes a book that's a bit left of centre with a dark side should give it a go.
February 19, 2014
This is beautifully written and both brutally gruesome at the same time. It was absolutely gripping. I loved reading form the zombie's point of view. It was wonderfully poignant. Highly recommend.
November 24, 2014
Interesting short story from the zombies perspective.
August 10, 2015
Review posted by Audible
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