American Badass

American Badass #1

by Jeff Chacon

Ron Watson wakes up one day to find himself dead. Yes, after an unplanned and unfortunate meeting on a Colorado highway with a semi-trailer truck carrying disposable diapers for orphaned babies, Ron Watson is now an everyday, run-of-the-mill divorced American zombie, with exactly two thoughts in his head: “Brains!” and “Vegas!”
Sin City, land of dreamers, where Ron Watson goes to dream of being human again and to fit in amongst the drunken tourists, down-on-their-luck beggars and lights so bright that nobody will notice a zombie shuffling around.
But Las Vegas has other plans for Ron, as it often does for its visitors, and once there he discovers that he may not be the Last Zombie Standing, becomes an Internet meme for no reason at all, and gets drunk, laid, and fed...all while struggling with age old questions: Can a zombie date a human without wanting to turn the human into a meal? Can a zombie be an adequate parent? Do zombie joke punchlines translate in a human world? Is modern celebrity status as vacuous, hollow, and fleeting as it appears?
And most importantly, is it better to be human or zombie? The answer may surprise you.

Genres: Fantasy

250 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2014

Reviews

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

“Ron wasn’t stupid. He was just dead. There was a difference.”

Have you met Ron Zombie yet????



No, RON - not Rob. Ron was your average Joe . . . until an 18-wheeler seriously f*&^ed up his day and ended his life. Lucky (????) for Ron, the Zombie Apocalypse had already started, so rather than simply becoming roadkill he became undead roadkill. How exactly did zombies come to be???? Well . . .

“The mutant virus got out, people ate people, there were zombies everywhere, blahblahblah . . . you know the story.”

Unfortunately, it didn’t take ‘Murica long to figure out having a large population of people who want to nom on the rest of the population of people probably isn’t a great idea so zombies were taken out en masse. Now Ron’s only hope of surviving is if he can make it to a magical utopia where anything goes. A place we know as . . .



While there, Ron will attempt to get reacquainted with some people from his former life . . .



as well as take some time to enjoy the fine dining experiences the Vegas Strip has to offer . . .



and maybe even find himself becoming an internet sensation . . .



If you’re looking for a lighter side of zombie life that features one horny dead guy, American Badass might be a winner for you. My only serious complaint? The open-ending sort of demands book #2. And really, who knows what all could happen in a sequel? Maybe an appearance by a very special guest?????



While I wait I’ll just continue saying my prayers . . .



ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

[Yodamom · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.4
I laughed, cringed, snorted and wanted to grab a sanitizing cloth. This is so off the charts from what you expect in a zombie read. It’s funny, with all kinds of politically incorrect moments, idiotic people, ridiculous situations, bloody bone dipping and of course brains. It was just what I wanted, dark humor.
Ron, the zombie used to be a zombie killer till he was hit by a truck and changed into a slow walking, brain eating flesh addict. The world hasn’t seen a zombie in months and it seems they have become extinct. So what is an ex-zombie killer, who isn’t supposed to exist to do when he just might be the last zombie standing ? Well he heads to Vegas where he can blend in with the other off beat types and find his daughter who lives there. He was married to a blonde it didn’t work out so he only does brunettes now, well he tried. Yeas, he’s a horny one, his lower body brain seems to have a better blood flow, but don’t hold it against him. On the plan a pair of breast attached to a blond woman begin a raunchy adventure through Vegas bars, bathrooms, shag carpet, sex and eyeballs. Why is it that eyeballs taste so good going down ? LOL
Raunchy fun with a dead guy in Vegas. Hangover (the movie) gone dark and twisted but with even more laughs. If this is made into a movie I’m there with my jar of eyeballs, ah I mean olives to much on. Open ended, for American Badass 2 ?

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from the giveaway. I did think that this was a pretty cool twist in the zombie story. There was a lot of humor in trying to understand a zombies thought process and such. If you like a good story...and BRAINS...you need to read this!

[Mark Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

REVIEW FOR NETGALLEY

ZomCom or Zombie Comedy is a genre of film that looked like it was going to explode after Zombieland happened and that would have been great for me because I am not a fan of zombies in general. They bore me and most stories are carbon copies of other carbon copies of Romero classics. Don’t get me wrong I am open to having my mind changed. Enter American Badass a new book from Jeff Chacon with a b-movie type front cover and a fun sounding plot and boy this did not disappoint.

We follow Ron Watson, a surviving, in hiding zombie who is trying his hardest to get to Vegas where he is sure people wont notice his ‘affliction’. The story takes place after zombies have happened and been dealt with, in america at least, and the majority of the american people believe them to be eradicated. Ron is more than a zombie though, at least he thinks so.

On his migration to his old stomping grounds we meet a cliché hooker on her first attempt to find business, an old friend who becomes closer than he could ever imagine and an estranged daughter who is way cooler than he ever was.

I could write more about the plot but that would ruin the pure adulterated fun of discovering this yourself. The humour is brilliant the story made me smile and it was strangely feel-good. Maybe i’m just weird. I could have easily given this 5 out of 5 but i wanted more, so much more!

4 out of 5 BBRRRRRRRAAAAAAIIIINNNNSSSS

[Georgianna Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Badass is a crazy, hilarious, well written zombie comedy. It's also unlike any zombie novel I've ever read, and I've read a lot of them.

This isn't your typical survival, blood and gore, kill all the zombies so we can have our planet back kind of book. It's more of an obsessing over eating eyeballs, zombies with hot blonde human girlfriends, what in the heck did I just read kind of book.

If you're looking for one of those survival books with a Rambo lead character, this is not it. But what you will get is an exceptionally written tale from a zombie's POV. I'd recommend American Badass to anyone who likes zombie fiction and anyone who just wants to read a great, funny book.

See my full review at Zombie Book Blog.

[Delia Remington · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rip roaring horror comedy that'll leave you hungry for more. Fans of Zombieland and Sean of the Dead will feel like they've found a kindred spirit with Jeff Chacon's story world.

[John Collings · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really know what to say about this book except for the fact that I laughed. I laughed a lot. Of course being a child from the 80s and 90s, how could I not laugh? There were so many allusions from pop culture from this era that I felt right at home with this book. Of course it was a little dirty as well which made the overall enjoyment of this book even more fun. I might be a little prejudice because the book started in Colorado and the author definitely got that landscape right. I felt right at home with DIA with having worked there. He was obviously a Coloradoan like me. When he took his protagonist, a zombie, to Las Vegas then the fun really began. I can think of only one other episode of a mythological beast being placed in this city of sin that hit home as well as this story and that was Chrisopher Moore's Coyote Blue. It was a party with zombie who had morals. It gave wonderful insight into the absurdity of pop culture, our over-obsession with violence, and most importantly, what it means to be human. And through all of this it made me laugh. Did I mention that it made me laugh? Because it was a funny book. Don't give this book to your little kids though because it is not for them. If I did have one complaint with the story, it would have to be Jeff Chacon's take on zombie mythology. It doesn't quite fit into the pretext of what we as a society view as zombie mythology today, but I guess that is part of the point he is trying to make with his story. All in all, it is a fun read, and it has a moral behind it, so please check it out.

[P Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's rare to read horror comedy done well. American Badass is one of those books. We sympathize with Ron and his hunger, his need to say, "Brains" more than any other word and his desire to fit in despite his smell. We laugh too because this book is hilarious to the point of being painful.

I loved the author's comic timing and the writing as a whole, is just superb. Ron's internal Zombie dialogue is sarcastic, witty and funny and the Zombie dialogue that spews from his mouth is priceless. I need this book to be a movie.

American Badass is quite an adventure as Ron goes from frightened and unsure to proud to be who he is. As a reader, I realized that Ron is a character that I wouldn't mind spending time with in a bar. He's got stories, good stories and he's as close to a lovable Zombie as you can get.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of humor and horror. The author takes a lot of the Zombie mythology and flips it on its ear but keeps the best parts for genre lovers to enjoy. This was a great read.

[Ashley Roby · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out so slow for me. It wasn’t entertaining and was super redundant. It was just all about guys with guns and titties. The dialogue in this book was the worst, but I guess the protagonist was a zombie, so that’s to be expected. The last few chapters were actually very endearing and more exciting than the rest of the book.

I know this book was meant to be the aftermath of turning into a zombie and surviving The Great Zombie Penetration, The Great Zombie Skirmish, and The Great Zombie Extermination. I know it’s about Ron finding himself and living life as a zombie, but I would have much rather read more about his death and directly after. I would have really, really enjoyed hearing more about the Ring Of Foreclosure and the revolving zombies, especially why and how Ron (and obviously, Jim) were revolving quicker than any of the others. That was very interesting to me and it was barely mentioned.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brains brains brains brains brains. Brains brains, brains, brains brains. Brains brains brains, brains brains, brains brains brains brains - brains brains brains brains brains brains brains. Brains brains brains brains brains brains, brains brains brains brains brains. Brains brains brains brains brains brains brains, brains brain's brains brains brains. Brains brains brains brains brains brains brains brains brains brains brain's brains brains brains. Brains brains brains.

[Yatish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, just wow this is one of the freshest takes in the zombie genre. I'm still laughing as I write this review.
This is one of the craziest re imagination of what a zombie is from the thought process, the humor, the Vegas setting, I could just go on and on but the best thing would be to grab your popcorn and join Ron the zombie for a roller coaster ride of fun and laughter.
I'd like to thank NetGalley for providing me with a free review copy!

[Floyd Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any writer who can take a traditional bad guy (zombie, in this case) and turn him into the good guy gets major props in my book. Like John Gardner's "Grendel." This bawdy-but-redeeming novel is such a fun read. Both funny and poignant. Knowing that zombies can actually be, well, KIND of good, is going to make the Zombie Apocalypse that much more difficult to navigate.

If you like Christopher Moore, this is in your wheelhouse.

[Debra Jeakins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ron is dead but it hasnt stopped him from taking a trip to LasVegas. A very unique zombie book. Dont expect the typical stereotyped zombie. Ron has places to go, things to do and humans he wants to eat! A different read but very enjoyable. If you want to laugh while reading a zombie book American Badass is the book for you.

[El Neo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really fun! The perfect story for the Halloween season! I received it in the mail last week so, I feel as if The Great Pumpkin might have left it! It's a Zombie story of a different type. The story moves along fast and never gets boring. Bravo to Jeff Chacon! (I think I owe him a thank you note) ;.;

[Marie-Laure · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never read anything like it. What if you could be inside the mind of a zombie? Feel its needs and root for its every success with the girl of its dreams. A comedy like no other, where even the most disgusting pieces of it seem normal, and are funny.

I heard there is a number 2 coming. ME WANT!
Brains!!!

[Katie Hartkopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most relatable zombie ever.

[Jonna Gjevre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute delight.

[Carly Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book... one of the best zombie books I've ever read..The characters were not your typical zombies. They were zombies you could feel empathy for and cheer them on..

[Ziggy Nixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mutant virus got out, people ate people, there were zombies everywhere, blahblahblah...you know the story. It's as rote to American culture as “Mary Had A Little Lamb.”

"American Badass" by Jeff Chacon is a study in contrasts. It's a book you read in one day while asking yourself why the hell did you read it at all. It's a book that makes A Statement (all caps) on the decay of American culture and decency and yada yada yada oh gods after a while that kind of thinking makes you just want to puke. It's a zombie book for chrissakes, you know? A zombie book about zombies being zombies in a world where zombies aren't supposed to be here anymore. But damn, now they're revolving, which is like totally 'roided out evolution or something. You'll get it if you read it.

Since the Great Zombie Penetration, the Great Zombie Skirmish, and the Great Zombie Extermination, nobody had seen a zombie…

I think Chacon has put together a pretty good introduction book though I'm not sure what it's leading us towards. I do know I want to check out the follow-up just to see how effective that was. Or has been. Or is. Work with me here because even the main characters aren't exactly living present tense-wise if you catch my drift. But to my review: the biggest struggle at least for me in this initial offer was that when the humor registered, it hit the freakin' bullseye. But when it missed, man, the crickets were just too damn loud to concentrate. Kind of like watching Dave Chappelle. Personally, I just don't get it but I try to smile and giggle along so no one will beat the crap out of me along the way because to a lot of people he's apparently some kind of god… or a secret Kardassian, I dunno…

The line between fucking asshole and comedic cut-up is very thin.

Still, it obviously took some real 'nards to write a book about a sentient zombie without getting into the sort of silliness that some offers have made and even managed to get on the small screen. It has some vague resemblance to Diana Rowland's "White Trash Zombie" books but I'd underline vague a few times to make that connection. There certainly isn't the same kind of 'how do I get out of the obvious need to consume peoples' brains' conundrum in the aforementioned books because of the whole mortuary and mafia connections (and no, I won't bring up "iZombie" comparisons because good lords that has already caused enough on-line fights). But there is a bit of the same humanity we're dealing with here to wade through including love, loss, and some other stuff that may or may not start with the letter L.

He knew that most of these people were probably good people and didn't deserve to be delicious.

The best part of "AB" for me was that there's a LOT of great quotable bits. Maybe not really funny ha-ha stuff but to each their own. The worst bits are then that comedic writing in an incredibly fickle bitch and when it doesn't work, it crashes and burns and gets up later wanting to eat anyone and anything. Also, I just honestly can't relate to Vegas even if I did go to college for 8 years and a lot of my experiences - those that I can remember mind you - seem familiar in nature, but you know, without the gambling. That place (Vegas, not where I studied) just sounds too weird to be true even if I do have several friends that live there for totally un-Vegas-like reasons!

“I love Vegas. Where are you staying?”
“Brains.”
“Where?”
“Pa...ris.”

So anyway, here I am trying to explain away my feelings of some of the book deserved 5 stars and some of it deserved barely 2. I'll be damned if I can make sense out of all of it, let alone try to wade through my own feelings right now. And just ignore the fact that TSA is apparently so bad at their job they couldn't even spot a zombie boarding a freakin' plane! But hey, you do you, check it out and come back and explain all the other bits I missed or perhaps better said, should have ignored. Deal? I mean, don't make me eat you Brah! I'll be busy checking out Book 2 while you're cleaning up the room…

He realized he was home. Las Vegas was a good place for a zombie.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

TL:DR Christopher Moore and Tom Robbins are both men who, in some ways, never finished puberty and are stuck as sophomore boys struggling with the fact that they have penises. They also have a skill of language that can make the endless dick jokes interesting, if tedious. Jeff Chacon doesn't have that skill.

Slightly longer: actually, it may not be. It was a fine romp, but ... the female characters were straight out of anime and most of the descriptions come straight from Heavy Metal. I did laugh, so that's why it got 3 stars.

[Carmina Morrison]

This book was terrible. SO SO DUMB. And although there is an editor listed, there were tons of errors - and not just missing words or commas, but at one point, the characters' names were reversed so that the sentence didn't make sense. Reading on Kindle, I had been submitting corrections along the way, but somewhere around the quarter-way point, I didn't think it was worth the time anymore. The only thing I liked about it was the cover.

[Viking Jam · Rating 1 out of 5]

https://koeur.wordpress.com/2015/05/2...

Publisher: Wooden Stake

Publishing Date: September 2014

ISBN: 9781940936048

Genre: SciFi

Rating: 1.2/5



Publisher Description: Ron Watson wakes up one day to find himself dead. Yes, after an unplanned and unfortunate meeting on a Colorado highway with a semi-trailer truck carrying disposable diapers for orphaned babies, Ron Watson is now an everyday, run-of-the-mill divorced American zombie, with exactly two thoughts in his head: “Brains!” and “Vegas!”

Review: I almost gave this a DNF due to Ron explaining everything he is going to do and why he is going to do it and then questioning his own motives. He’s a zombie for fugs sake. Why all the inner ruminations? There was also this smug undertone, almost like the author is in love with his own humor and thinks everyone else should be too. Although some instances were witty, the novel tries to be funny all the time. You may find yourself flipping pages as Ron has lengthy internal dialogues.

I liked some of the characters, just not the main ones. Ron’s love interest is a great character as is Ron’s friend whom provides a good amount of comedic relief. Ron’s daughter is a clichéd tough smoking teen rocker that can handle guns, men and zombies and has a hidden heart of gold. Fug. The author also finds the time, in a few instances, to ridicule conservatives. What this has to do with anything “zombie” is puzzling but could be a reflection of the authors internal myopia.

I think this fails the zombie genre test but a good read if you like standing in line at the DMV and screaming babies.

[Arra]

For the past two months, I was in a reading drought. I couldn't find the rhythm of finishing a book in a week or hell, in a month. Before this, I was actually reading "A Tale of Two Besties" by Sophia Rossi but I wasn't able to finish it on time. Yep, it was accessible for only a limited time so I had to pick another book on top of my reading list which was this book, "American Badass". Now I am asking myself, what am I thinking. I shouldn't have requested it and read it. It took the life out of me. It was a dementor sucking every bookworm happiness I've got. I don't know what clouded my judgment or I might have accidentally pressed the request button but clearly I was deceived by the title.

I was expecting it to be action-packed. But I didn't get any. It was all about cursing, being a stupid, worthless zombie, and booze. It was poorly written and it was SO boring that I found myself falling asleep several times--the reason why it took me more than a month to finish it. I have read a lot of reviews about it, and most of them found it hilarious. But I think otherwise. I didn't notice any wit or humor for me to have a good time reading this. I finished it just to be fair to the book and to still give it a chance--to find some element that could help it deserve at least a star from me. Unfortunately, it was consistent up to the very end.

I will not prolong this review. Overall, it was a terrible story for me. I do not recommend it to anyone but if you're still curious, then read at your own risk. Don't say I didn't warn you.