In Harm's Way

Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse #3

by Shawn Chesser

In Harm’s Way, Book 3 in the Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse series, picks up on Day 8 where “Soldier Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse” left off.Outbreak – Day 8After running and gunning across much of the western U.S., Cade Grayson, former Delta Force operator, is finally reunited with his wife Brook and daughter Raven. Hours after arriving at the relative safety of Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, the new Capital of the United States, Cade is approached by the new President, Valerie Clay. Her request is she appeals to the patriot in him to rejoin the Unit that he left for civilian life fifteen months prior and once more go into harm’s way, taking the fight to the enemy.Meanwhile, Duncan Winters, Vietnam-era aviator, finds himself stranded in Springs along with BLM firefighter Daymon Bush. Both men arrived with Cade and were promised transport back to Eden, Utah. Duncan longs to be reunited in Eden with his brother Logan, a survivalist/ Doomsday prepper. Daymon, with no surviving family, knows only one thing for he doesn’t want to remain trapped behind the wire inside of a huge government-run military base.Mere days after Washington D.C. is overrun and the sitting President goes missing, Robert Christian, billionaire kingmaker who has been waiting in the wings for a world-changing event such as this, marshals his group of mercenaries led by former Navy SEAL Ian Bishop. Their to control what remains of the United States by any means necessary and ultimately reshape the country to fit their warped vision for a new world order.Will Cade accept President Clay’s overture and embark on a new high priority mission alongside his friend and mentor, Delta Commander General Mike Desantos?Will Brook Grayson continue to hone her newly found survival skills and successfully train her eleven-year-old daughter Raven to defend herself against the undead threat?Will Captain Ronnie Gaines and his SF soldiers from Fort Kit Carson succeed in clearing downtown Springs of the zombie menace?Will Duncan and Daymon survive their flight from Schriever Air Force Base and find the survivalist group in Eden? Can the human race survive what appears to be its final extinction level event?

Genres: Zombies, Horror, Apocalyptic, Post Apocalyptic, Thriller, Military Fiction, Survival

278 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2012

Reviews

[Tracy P.]

Shawn Chesser delivered yet another exceptional episode in book #3. Lots of gruesome zombie scenes, some surprising losses and a very satisfying plot with characters that never cease to keep me on edge.

[Sarah]

I had some trouble getting into book 2, but book 3 had me hooked from the beginning. The story still jumped around a bit more than I'd prefer but this time I knew most of the characters already so it was a lot easier to follow along.

I'm already diving into book 4, so hopefully the story continues to deliver!

PS (very minor spoiler): I will warn you that Shawn Chesser does not shy away from killing off popular characters. Just a heads up.

[Michael Clifton]

A Real Pageturner!

Great zombie apocalypse series! Easy read with the usual zombie recipe. The dead come to life, turned into flesh eating machines by a vicious Chinese engineered virus.

[Candace Chapman]

This zombie series is definitely one to read. The characters are so well done, they will become your friends as you walk this mile with them. I am unable to put these down when a new one is released. Absolutely thrilling read.

[Diane Gordon]

Book 3

Still exciting. Some of the characters emotional responses were inappropriate & the military jargon is over the top unless you ARE military. Gun details extremely excessive. Otherwise it's good stuff. Story line is good & keeps you reading.

[Inger]

Another good one

This third book in the series is riveting. Great characters and a great plot slight mention of sexual content but no actual sex. Great for all zombie loving of all ages.

[Charla]

SOB

So that was the phrase that I blurted upon reading the last sentence of the book!!! Totally need to get to the next book! And you need to get the first three and catch up!!

[Kevin]

Good series

I enjoy the series so far. Short of the zombies, the scenarios could play out as described. Action packed storyline.

[Aubrey James Jr]

Action

Great read, fast moving, great plot, and good characters. Can't stop reading. Down hill roller coaster ride.
Keep them coming.

[Cat]

Pretty Damn Good 👍

I do wish Chesser hadn't had to fall back on the howling mad man gambit though, to get to the required cliff hanger.

[c]

I don’t think I’m going to be finishing this series. Stilted dialogue etc. etc.

[V. Tarango Jr.]

This is great cinematic reading. Straightforward action and plot. I enjoy Chesser's work overall.

[Brian's Book Blog]

An offspeed pitch, but still great.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Starting 8 days after the original outbreak happened, In Harm’s Way finds Cade Grayson safe with his family — for the time being. He’s elected to “re-up” to help his brothers-in-arms to defeat the enemies of the state… both zombies and others.

The narration for this and both other books was done by Chris Patton. Like the other 2, the narration in this was perfect. He is the perfect voice for Cade and the other characters that are involved in all the books. Patton does a superb job keeping up with the pacing of the book, speeding up when he needs to and taking it a little slower when it’s called for.

The first two books in the Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse series: Trudge and Soldier On were both action throughout — Trudge needed some set up in the beginning but then quickly sped up. Soldier On was beginning to end action with a lot happening to move the story forward. With In Harm’s Way, I could tell that Chesser was looking for a way to explain what was going to happen in the next books and with the series. Technically it could have ended in book 2 with a relatively happy ending, but to continue he needed to turn the story a bit. I think that’s what is happening with book 3.

Don’t get me wrong, In Harm’s way is still a great post-apocalyptic/zombie novel, it was just a total off-speed pitch in comparison to the other two. I 100% understand why Chesser did what he did and I don’t fault him for it at all. Unfortunately, I can’t really talk about the choices that he made to continue the story because it will involve major spoilers. Let’s just say I can’t wait to see what happens in book 4.

Some of the technology that is included really peaked my interest. I’m sure that there either is something like what he described today, and if it’s not I’m betting it’s in the pipeline for the near future.

The characters are incredibly well described, and some of the new ones gave me chills when certain things happened. (It’s really hard not to give away too much). I am eagerly awaiting for Chesser and Patton to team up for the rest of the series because I need to figure out what happens to Cade, his family, and the others.

Like this review? See more like it at Brian's Book Blog

[AudioBookReviewer]

My original In Harm’s Way audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Day 8 of the zombie apocalypse. There is no cure. There is little to no chance that anyone who has made it just over a week will continue to live for much longer. Cade Grayson has been reunited with his wife and daughter just in time for the new President to ask Cade to re-up to help fight against the new enemies of the state – the zombies and others.

Narration for In Harm’s Way was done by Chris Patton. If you are familiar with the series, you know that Patton has narrated the other two books in this series too. He is the perfect voice for Cade and the other characters. A little raspy and manly, the voice fits Cade’s character perfectly. The production quality was perfect; I didn’t notice any issues or problems with speed or anything else.

Trudge and Soldier on were fast-paced books. Especially Soldier On. I remember reading that and barely taking a chance to eat or sleep. In Harm’s Way was a little bit of a changeup compared to those two books because Chesser decided to take his time and provide an incredibly details explanation of what was going on in the world outside of Cade and the other soldiers little “bubble.”

While this change in speed wasn’t expected by me, I still really enjoyed the story the Chesser wrote. The direction he is taking this series makes me happy and I think that book 4 will be right back at the bang-bang-bang speed that I was used to.

Overall, this was still a great zombie book – just be prepared for a slight slowdown. Chesser finds a way with every book to leave me begging for more, and he’s done it again.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

[Stephanie Lunsford]

this Series is a must read! I love that Shawn has a main character Cade but the book also follows other characters in important missions or meetings. I couldn't put it down! I had to know what would happen next in this book... Shawn is great a putting in those cliffhangers in there to keep you on the edge of your seat as you read through the books. if you love Action, Blood, gore, Zombies, & military maneuvers then this is the book for you! the way he describes how the Cade has the Zombie in his sniper scope from 300 yards & how he aims right between the left eye & left ear & he squeezes the trigger.....

[Jessica Kong]

In Harm's Way, Book 3 in Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse, is definitely an attention grabber. Once you start reading, you can't stop, for several reasons. The characters are so real, you wish you can reach for their necks . There were some instances where if some commonsense was used events could have been avoided. I'm not crazy about how some individuals were brilliant and capable in one scene then they were downright stupid and 'doe in the headlights' in another. Really? Does that really happen? The lack of consistency in character traits need some help. I liked the storyline, but some events should never have happened if the characters had remained true to themselves.

[RJ]

Much the same as other series in this genre. We have at least three sets of survivors to follow around as they make their way to safety, other family members, or the military fighting the undead due to the Omega virus. As was the previous volumes this book is a little long-of-tooth in the story telling department. Although the last few chapters did improve and show promise. As I said of book two the story is not terrible, it's just a bit tedious at times and perhaps could be reduced in volume somewhat. Again three.point.five for the effort.

[Mysti]

Another great read in the series!! The books keep getting better and this is a page turner for sure!! The author has a few groups of the opportunistic survivors being much more of a threat than the zombies! Imagine that! What an imagination he has & the fact that I can see all of the things happening as far as the survivors if the country or world should ever have a catastrophe .....I'll be having nightmares for weeks!!

[Sara]

I think is the best in the series, so far. It seems Chesser spent more time with character development with this book. In the previous books in this series, most of the character got killed before the reader got to know them. Now that there is some longevity to many of the characters' lives, we get to know them more. I am looking forward to reading the next in this series!

[MaryJo]

Book 3 was so exciting and learning more about each character makes you feel like you know them much better. I had such a hard time putting this down, and by the time I wa at the end, it was like wait.... I want to know what happens..... so I am anxious to read the next book. Great zombie read!!

[Kim Moffeit grant]

I love all three of the series and am eagerly awaiting the fourth!! I will admit at the end, without spoiling it for anyone, I thought noooo but it just made me more eager to read the fourth installment!!

[Kay]

Formatting issue

Couldn't read this book as the font size was huge, couldn't make it any smaller either, seems hardcoded to this book. Never mind!

Sorry I just find it real irritating when authors/publishers set the font/size of the book and do not allow for it to be changed.

[Vicki]

I am so loving this Zombie series, every books so far as been so good. Going to start the next one, A Pound of Flesh (Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse, #4).... If you love a good Zombie book, these are for you !!!

[Daniel A. Daniel]

The plot thickens!

This third chapter in the adventures of the remaining bits of humanity is full of ups and downs, one minute their hopes seem to come about and the next they are violently taken away with a high cost in our likeable characters! On to the fifth chapter!!

[Wilson E. Stevens Sr.]

Good book, enjoyed it a lot. Story still moving along. Added some new characters in order to kill them off in a sensible way while keeping most of his main characters alive and doing well. This is becoming a very good series of books on the Zombie Apocalypse and dealing with it.

[Annie]

I'm not sure how i feel about this one...there are so many different characters in these books that sometimes, i have no idea what the hell is going on....I am going to take a little break from this series and let it simmer...but I will be back! :)

[Kathy]

I thought this was a great addition to the series. I'm finding I'm very concerned about the welfare of the main characters and their families and hope that things end well for them all.

[Kerry]

The author definitely hit his stride in this one. Better editing and character development. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.

[Mary]

All I can say is no one is safe!

[Andrea]

The writing is getting better and better. It's still sort of a guilty pleasure kind of series, but hey. Zombies. Amirite?