Dead Islands

Necrose #1

by Tim Moon

BEN CHASE and his friend TY are fresh from teaching English in South Korea, and they’re on their way to experience the Big Island of Hawaii – but their vacation turns into a nightmare when two passengers unexpectedly die during their flight.

Desperate to recover their sense of excitement, they meet up with Ty’s friend Anuhea and her friend Charlotte, who Ben finds himself instantly attracted to. But their plans quickly unravel as a rampant infection hits the islands and they find themselves surrounded by flesh-eating monsters.

Law and order degenerates into a daring fight for survival, and Ben is faced with a critical decision that places the fate of his friends in his hands. And what he must do to save them is unthinkable…

Dead Islands will leave your skin crawling as you follow Ben and his friends’ terrifying encounter with the deadly Necrose-7A virus, and their desperate attempts to survive the doomed island paradise.

Genres: Zombies, Horror, Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Amazon, Thriller, Post Apocalyptic

218 pages, Paperback

First published August 14, 2014

About the author

TIM MOON is a writer and avid hiker from Washington State, where he also attended Washington State University. Tim is a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy and primarily writes in those genres. He loves to travel, go backpacking, play with his dog, and watch movies. Tim moved to South Korea to teach English and wrote Dead Islands (re-titled Dead Apocalypse), book one of the Necrose Series. Tim currently lives in China with his beautiful wife.

Reviews

[Heather Langston · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a typical zombie book. Two guys go on vacation, meet up with 2 girls, zombie virus spreads...and, well, the usual. This was a short read, finished in about 2 hours. I would have liked more..."meat" or depth to the story (and no, not meaning more zombies). Towards the end, it did seem like I would get something other than zombies running around or the foursome hanging out (a little back story, what caused the zombies...something) but then it ended. I read zombie/apocalyptic books not really for the zombies but for the surviving characters, what they go through, how they survive, that sort of thing (and unique twists are a plus). This one was possibly heading in the direction, and perhaps will in book 2, but it didn't really give me enough to want to continue the series. This was definitely a book 1 that is a setting up for the series. If you don't mind that, then you might like this one. For me, it was just okay.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Nancy Silk · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Stay In, Lock The Doors, And Read This Great Zombie Story"

In Shanghai, China, Darius Johnson always walks down an alley, a shortcut to the factory where he works. There has always been litter and trash, but this is the first time he's come across a dead man ... one who had horror on his face and his stomach eviscerated. With trepidation he decides to keep walking, fearing if he called the Chinese police, he'd be the one to wind up in prison. There are screams and as he comes to the main street, he sees more bodies, also an apparent drunken man dripping with blood, and another man pinned between two cars. What is happening? Suddenly, walking out of the alley is the dead man, holding his arms out to Darius...Ghouls? Zombies? While Darius falls victim to the monster, Ben Chase and Ty Smith are on a flight leaving Korea where Ben completed a year as an English teacher. He's now on his way to Hawaii and looking forward to hiking trails with his buddy, Ty. While on the flight, a man sitting in front of Ty gets horribly sick, vomiting heavily. Hopefully he doesn't have a contagious disease. After a couple of hours the man is dead. Also, another victim on the plane, a women had been coughing extremely hard and dies. Is this the start of an apocalyptic disease? How will it effect the Hawaiian Islands? Will Ben and Ty fall victims? This is a wonderfully crafted story, the first I believe, written by Tim Moon. It's easy to read, an ideal thriller suitable for young adult (YA) readers, as well as those who love Zombie stories. I'm not really a fan of Zombie stories, but I am a long-time fan of Tim Moon. I'm so happy he's had time to come out with this gripping and captivating thriller. I'm looking forward to the next sequel.

[Theresa Filibeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great start

This is going to be a blockbuster series, it's smart and has a great storyline, the character line is one that you'll find you like and want them to survive, they're likable and the main character is a affable heroic young guy who has a zest for life he hasn't known he has until life is threatened. All in all a very enjoyable read.

[Dominee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well done.

Looking forward to reading more! Great start to the series. It's so hard to balance romance + apocalypse without it being obnoxious, which is usually my number one complaint. You navigated beautifully!

[Unapologetic_Bookaholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soft review**

I read this book in a couple hours. I hadn't read a zombie horror book in quite a while. I was thirsty *haha*. This was quite honestly a good read. I gave it 5 stars because the story was well paced. It had some predictability as does all zombie horror. It spreads the hero fights a horde then wants to get home to his family. Overall I rated it highly because i plan on reading the next book in the series Dead Horde

[Sally Balboa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for zombie stories of any kind. I Have been ever since birth, so it's no surprised that I really enjoyed reading this. Had the perfect amount of gore and personal tragedy poured in, for my taste anyway.

Dead Islands is set in Hawaii, two back packers have come her to vacation for adventure and perhaps a good looking girl or two. From the time Be and Ty get to Hawaii they encounter zombie attacks every turn and like most people they put it off as a weird disease, until they get to the big race with some pretty girls and see pandemonium first hand. They continually almost get their faces chewed off, but manage to try and save some people along the way.

I love gore, obviously not the stuff that is real and in my face but through a movie screen or in this case through book pages. From the beginning of the novel up until the end their is enough carnage to keep you satisfied for a while. I cant say if any of it was realistically graphic because I've never witnessed a human being devour another human, but it was certainly entertaining.

Sometimes the dialog was a little bit too convenient. I understand that sometimes the characters need to explain things to each other, but at times you could tell the explanations were solely for the readers benefit. It would have been better to just let us figure out things for ourselves one of my biggest pet peeves in reading is when the author hands things to you instead of you figuring it out, it makes me feel like the author doesn't trust me enough to figure things out for myself, malign the reading come down as a whole.

The novel is set in Hawaii but there were only a couple of times that the setting was described as such. Such as on the beach with the volcanic rock, some hawaiian names for the locals, street names,and the mountain they climbing the beginning. I've never been to Hawaii but I'm fairly certain some of the customs would be different, the shops, atmosphere, just everything would be different then what were use too. I think it could of used more description in the area, to get a better idea of where we are.

The interlace of relationships in the novel was cute. Ben and Charlotte especially, they were adorable as their started to feel a round for each other in a romantic way of speaking, especially considering his romantic past. Well they did before the zombie rampage showed its ugly head. Ty and his girl were adorable though, since Ty finally wanted a real relationship. Just so you know it didn't' keep the romantic vibe as the story went on, survival took precedence as it should.

[allie burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was super stoked to get my hands on this book after following Tim Moon's many adventures and finding similar tastes in literature via his reviews on Geeks Unleashed and Quest for Books. I have a paperback of this novel due to my Kickstarter Backery, and I just have to say in person the cover is awesome; it reminds me of a comic book.

And the book is awesome too: it is a very solid zombie novel. Dead Islands is written in such a way that the reader is fluidly pulled along the storyline itself without drawn-out development or side-happenings ever getting in the way. The romance lent a sweet element to the story, but didn't take it over - which I am sure would irk a lot of hardcore zombie readers if it had - but always stepped down to let survival take the trophy for the reader's attention.

It wasn't my favorite, but not because it was badly written or annoyed me but more because not every book can be not every reader's favorite - diversity, people - because 1. I'm a character-driven reader and 2. I don't do cliffhangers. In my opinion there is not a detailed account of Ben or Ty's backstory, and I like wrap-ups, even in series.

That being said, I thought Moon took some characters that don't exactly fit the mold of Every Zombie Novel Ever, who are living different (and exciting, even without the zombies) lives than everyone else, and developed a story that had a classic zombie feel; yet, felt modern and relatable due to the very recent real-world events that it incorporated.

Aside from a few personal reading quirks, I really dug Dead Islands and would definitely read the next book; I'd highly recommend it to you lovers of classic zombie fiction looking for something a bit more modern but holding onto all the elements y'all love.

Reviewed for Geeks Unleashed

***Editor's Note:
Though the author of Dead Islands is a contributor to Geeks Unleashed, the above review – written by Allie Burke – is unbiased. Geeks Unleashed received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book via Story Cartel to give an honest review.
You know it is really hard to write a good zombie book. You have to make sure you have a lot of key points within the story being told. You have to have an awesome plot, the characters have to be written in a way of how they would be able to adapt to something so terrifying, you have to make it real feeling.
With Dead Islands I enjoyed the bit of mystery surrounding how zombies are happening. You have people having a cough and then it goes from there.
Ben and Ty are on an adventure to Hawaii but their trip is not all fun. It seems as though whatever has affected the people on the plane has now affected those on the island of Hawaii. But no one seems to understand or know how severe it all is.
I really enjoyed the build up of it all coming together but I never got the answer to what caused this to happen. The little information we did get makes me wonder if it was put out there by the government.
The way Ty seemed to act with everything going on just didn't click for me as how I would imagine. He wasn't freaking out but more along the lines of acting like maybe he was sick? You just have to read the book to find out. There is a lot of action within the book some of it a bit gory but nothing to severe.
Also the chapters of the book. The time really kept confusing me as it wasn't like 10:00 a.m. it was more of 1800, now I do know that others may have understood it but I didn't.
With the way the ending happened it wasn't much of a cliff hanger but it was enough to make you wonder exactly what else can go on. Where is this virus all happening at? The ending has new characters come into play just a F.Y.I.. And it seems there will be a second book. Which I would love to read to see if questions will be answered. I do hope there is more of a plot building and that the characters act real into the situation.

[Perry Lake · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't say “Dead Islands” doesn't have action. From the opening scene in the streets of Shanghai, to a zombie attack in an airplane over the Pacific, to utter chaos in the Hawaiian Islands, “Dead Islands” keeps moving throughout.

Curiously, no one in the early part of the novel seems to be aware of the spate of zombie movies flooding the theaters these days. Everyone's like, “I never heard of such a thing.” That doesn't make the book bad, it just seems odd to me.

On the other hand, once the heroes land in Honolulu and get through the authorities, they kinda brush off the whole thing. They act like tangling with zombies is just an interruption of their mountain-climbing.

One of the toughest things to write believably is how normal people will react to abnormal, bizarre, or horrifying situations. Do they freak out? Do they shrug it off? The characters here seem to take it mostly in stride, considering how bizarre the situation is.

On thing that's nice, “Dead Islands” is set slightly into the future and makes reference to very recent events like the Russian involvement in the Crimea and Wikileaks. That gives it an up-to-the-minute feel, connecting real-world events to the horror of flesh-eating zombies.

However, I do not like the ending. Actually, it ends fine... except there's an extra chapter, set in Washington DC, tacked on after it! Though this chapter relates to the zombie apocalypse, it shows us new, unrelated characters. Even this might be OK if it had been labeled as a teaser or an epilog, but not another chapter. Still, it's not enough to ruin the good experience of reading “Dead Islands”.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off I wish to say this is the first book in a series. So there is a cliffhanger. So there is no resolution. Now that is done, LOVED LOVED this book. A different take on apocalyptic fiction. I won't say zombies as I am not sure this is what it is. It could be, could be man made problems. No way yet of knowing. It begins on an airplane full of people leaving China and we wind up in Hawaii. The parts on the plane are ones that make you wish to cover your eyes yet you need to know what is going on so you LOOK! Shudder..sorry had to do it. Tim Moon's writing make you feel as if you are on the plane, hotel room and eatery in Hawaii. I so want to go the the restaurant described in the book. Sounds like my kind of place. I was sad when the book ended but there is light at the end of the tunnel as this will continue. Buy this, savor it and hold on for the next one.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

This apocalyptic tale begins differently than most zombie filled novels. And that is good. I like a good zombie story but I love to find a really good one with lots of twists, turns and surprises. This is a really good one. I consumed it in less than 3 hours and I plan to get the next in series so I can read it tomorrow. Of course there is a cliffhanger that I feel compelled to get answers about. That is the way books should work, one leading to the next for my long-term reading addiction.

So, why are you still reading this? Go get your copy. By-the-way, I got a copy of this book from my favorite dealer, Kindle Unlimited. If you have not met him yet you can get a free trial. I think it is a 30 day deal. It's almost like having your very own bookstore or library in your reading device(s).

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and be sent a copy of this eBook by the author in return for an honest review; this did not determine the outcome of my review.

A pretty good opener to a series with enough action to “whet your appetite” so to speak and spark enough interest to read the next one to see how it all pans out and the story develops.

I thought the characters were interesting although seemed a bit “dim” and naive as to understanding and reacting to what was going on - particularly at the beginning - it was as if they had never seen or heard anything about zombies before … very strange!

Full review at http://haziegaze.blogspot.co.uk/

[Andy-t · Rating 3 out of 5]

This i enjoyed! The action starts in the first chapter and the pace does not drop for one second. From fighting the zombies in Shanghai streets, on a plane flying over the ocean to the climax on the Hawaiian islands Dead Islands is a book that does not disappoint. As other reviews state the fact that this apocalypse happens in the modern day makes for a very interesting read. A promising start to what i am sure will be a great series.

Best Points - Modern day setting, descriptive gory fight scenes, fast pace.
Hopes for book two - More character development with increased back story.

[Ankit Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good book. story has many action .the first attack in shanghai was superb. plane scene was also good. but while doing health check uo at airport it can be seen that humans don't take things seriously on the early stages otherwise it could have been stopped from spreading into the Iceland . but nonetheless it got spread out at several different place. also survival of ben and group was good part. now I am waiting for second part . Awsome book.

[PJ Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Likeable characters.

A pretty good apocalyptic story in a new setting, with nice visual descriptions. Quite a lot of action, though it is slow going in places. The characters are OK, likeable enough but without the strength that you would normally expect. It did seem odd how oblivious they seemed a lot of the time, though it is possible that it is exactly how run of the mill people would react if this happened.

[Jamie Eastman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good start

So, it seems to be starting a little slow, but it's seeming to do this intentionally for character development, which is a good thing, I like character development, I mean I am all for blood and gore but honestly without getting to know people I'm spending time with it gets old. I'm looking forward to the next.

[Mao · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quite enjoyable and funny. There seems to be so many zombie books recently and I didn't think this book would be anything special. However I couldn't seem to put it down. Even though the storyline is typical, I think the authors way of writing helped to make this book a good read.

[nadina j whitsitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead Apocalypse

I loved this book and gave it five stars. But if I had known it was a cliffhanger I probably wouldn't have started reading it. It's a great read but I usually wait until all the cliffhangers are put together than I buy the whole bunch at once.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this so much and I was really getting into it when it ended. Loved the characters especially Ben. Would have loved for more of it. Where is the next one?

[hIpnoticraQs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but sweet, fast paced, descriptive zombie fun. Characters were easy to like and relate to. Eagerly awaiting book 2 !! :)

[Fran Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm.

Not too sure about this book. Interesting premise presented in the prologue but after that it seemed to become just a gratuitous blood and Gore zombie novel.

[Michael Broussard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the reading.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zombies in paradise....

[Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!

I cannot wait for the next book to be released! Great storyline, interesting characters, development of the plot kept me completely engrossed to the end.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

These two guys are on an airplane when two people are sick but they have a virus called zombies. So they get to Hawaii and all hell breaks out in every countries and states.

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would like to read the next book in the series so I can find out what happened to Ben and his friends.

[Suki Rickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 1

Book 1 has errors throughout, but was an okay read. The plot and characters are predictable, but are okay overall. The plot is interesting and starts on an airplane. This is a bit different as they never get infected, even with the chaos happening to them and around. The characters are interesting, if not a little bland at times, but the overall short story is okay. I look forward to the next book.

[NightReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ty and his buddy are coming back to the US and stop in Hawaii just in time for the zombie apocalypse to start. They pick up a couple of girls and a bouncer, who conveniently has a brother who is in the Coast Guard and fight zombies and assorted human filth in paradise.

Not bad, just not very memorable.

[Vickie Garner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put it down!

There is shock, eeew, and awe in this story. It was extremely well written with great established characters. The detail in the storyline was mesmerizing . Ended suddenly which I really liked for a setup for a book 2.

[David Congdon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a good book. I am looking forward to see how things turn out

The one part I was a little confused about was the chapter about his girlfriend. The location in the book didn't fit