What happens when the zombie apocalypse turns out to be a zombie aberration?Three years have passed since the rising of the undead, and life has more or less returned to normal.Zombie encounters are now few and far between. The undead are more of a nuisance than a menace; they are less likely to sink their teeth into unsuspecting civilians than they are to be attacked by vigilantes and rabid lynch mobs.Laws have been passed for the zombies' own protection, and they are safely and humanely quarantined from society.Dead Rite, an undead management and control firm, suddenly finds itself on the brink of bankruptcy. The zombie population is dwindling and the bills are piling up.So when a lucrative opportunity unexpectedly presents itself, it seems almost too good to be true.A tale of misfits, weirdos, outcasts, alcoholics, trust fund activists, dead-head hippies, sleazy politicians and psychotic hillbillies; all foot soldiers fighting in the war on horror.
This nuanced view of the zombie apocalypse is very well-done IMHO. In the world of a post-zombie society, the zombie apocalypse happened, but instead of getting out-of-control, the powers that be found a way to manage the outbreaks in such a way as to maintain a fully functioning world order. The people who actually maintain this order, are considered more sanitation workers than anything else.
Miles is a twentysomething with the responsibility of taking care of his teen sister. As a result of the death of his parents during the initial hours of the apocalypse, Miles quit school to take up the mantle of caregiver and breadwinner. He works for Dead Rite as a dead management worker. The problem lies in the fact that with fewer zombies, Miles' job is becoming obsolete.
Only when Miles gets an opportunity to find a quiet neighborhood with a huge problem does he realize that the apocalypse is still around and the "War on Horror" has never reached a conclusion. I have read several Nathan Allen books (all horror, all free) this year and I have found the works with unique perspective, interesting characters, and a voice that I consider resonant. Not a perfect story, but clearly horrific, and a stimulating interplay between the lead characters.
Kudos to the author for a unique perspective on the public's reaction to general zombie presence. At first I felt that this kind of reaction was implausible, but then I stop and look around at our society and see soooo many empty headed people and reactions and think, " Okay, it's plausible." It became a little bit suspenseful near the end as things got out of control, but this was due to the widespread ineptitude of the DeadRite team. And that is what made me shake my head in frustration. The whole set of motley characters are always drunk or stoned. Is the author aiming at such a target audience? Does he imagine that such an audience will be able to finish this book? Is this the only way that such a story could happen? Through gross negligence? I realize that there is an entire genre of film devoted to such buffoonery, but I tend to avoid such material. This book could have been so much better if the main set of characters weren't so flawed. It is possible for a scenario to go completely to hell, without the actors being so stupid. That being said, I really like how society, through the book, gave zombies citizenship status and rights. Although insane and moronic, that is completely believable.
My initial thought was "Another Zombie Post Apocalyptic" book - am I really ready for it? There were a n u Amber of good reviews so I decided to give it a try.
I was seriously impressed by how the author wrote a tongue in cheek zombie book when keeping it light, fun, mildly gory, etc. A great romp which caused me to download his two other books. I don't think the author is writing for the money as all three of his books are free. I will immediately start on another and be back with a review.
I very much enjoyed this book and the writing style. I believe the author to be very talented and hope he continues to write and hopes those reading this mini review take a chance on this author.
Miles is a young person who has fallen on hard times as a direct result of the zombie infection. Except, it's offensive to use the word zombie nowadays - we refer to them as undead beings.
The zombie apocalypse never took off and now they wander around like the large predators people call pest control on.
The premise is actually quite refreshing, but the heavy-handed social and political commentary the book is built on is not. The plot only starts to move on in the latter half and even then it's filled with snarky, bitter descriptions which are not even Miles' thoughts most of the time.
The zombie apocalypse turns out to be more of a zombie annoyance. The military steps in, everything gets sorted, and zombies are rounded up and herded into barracks where they’re fed blood and kept ‘unalive’ until a cure can maybe be found. Zombie catcher companies get hired to round up any fresh zombies.
Miles works for Dead Rite, one of those companies. He’s got an inconsiderate roommate who lets her pseudo-rebel friends crash at his house, eat his food, plot against the government, make what Miles thinks may be chemical weapons in his kitchen, and feed his 15-year-old sister drugs. I mostly spent this book hating Miles’ weasley ass for not stepping up and kicking these losers out of his house.
There’s a lot of heavy-handed political commentary about the narcissist running for office who has the gall to think that maybe people should be allowed to kill the zombies they find wandering about, and a lot of blather about the people who torture zombies for shit and giggles, as though these are the only two options. Me, I think maybe we ought to remember that these are decaying corpses who want to bite you and err on the side of caution, mm?
Not much happens and the ending is clearly set up for a sequel. Yawn.
The zombie apocalypse wasn't quite so apocalyptic. Though no cure or preventative measure has been found to stop people from turning, the zombies are being managed. Companies have cropped up that capture the zombies - the former humans- & deliver them to government processing centers. There the undead are kept & their appetites are curbed with artificial blood. The amount of attacks on humans has dropped drastically but some people are upset that resources are being wasted on the undead. How on earth a book that combines zombies & politics works this well is beyond me. The writing is sharp. The characters feel real. The dialogue is at turns poignant, witty, sarcastic, clever. Great little summer read!
This book started off really really REALLY slow and boring. Only half way through did it start to be entertaining and interesting.
This book had so much potential, but lacked in many ways.
Firstly, a lot of time went into information about the politicians, the rebel groups and even the music. And I do mean, A LOT OF TIME AND PAGES!
There were three minor action scenes in the he first half of the book and then one major one at the end. It would have made a big difference if the author added more action scenes throughout the book instead of explaining simple things and waisting chapters upon chapters on politicians and music discriptions.
Let me start up by saying that I feel like I've actually read this one before which is very possible. What if the zombie apocalypse turned out to not be as devastating as would be expected. This was an interesting take on the zombie apocalypse idea that doesn't follow the normal trend. The author has taken the time to tell the story of the zombie apocalypse with a whole new twist. With some good underlying story lines we get a tale with an unusual ending. Lots of zombies with an interesting musical effect to them. A story that holds your interest throughout.
3 star for the story, 1 bonus star for keeping zombie story fresh. I really like this. Post-zombie apocalypse story written in a way that's quite amusing. The main protagonist is just a regular dudeーI don't think he has a particular point that makes him interesting, but I enjoy the narrative of his behaviors and thoughts. Last few chapters are wrapped up in a hurry, though; as if Allen was afraid he'd be out of blank pages. And it'd be much better if two key "enemies" in the climax chapters are introduced sooner for some exposition.
Hilarious! The zombies are the real problem of society
What a great book! The zombies rose around the globe for about three weeks, then everything returned back to normal. But the politicians just couldn’t let it go- lost your job blame it on the zombies, got rotten kids blame it in the zombies, hate your job and became an alcoholic blame it on the zombies! So now we must protect the afflicted it’s not their fault they came down with this terrible illness. The political hijinks is like watch live CNN footage daily
I tried. God did I try to like this book but oh my freakin hell, I was soooooo damn bored!!!! Maybe the author meant it as satire, I don't know. Boring. 100% freakin boring and not a single damn character worth their weight in salt. No one at all likable. I spent half the book screaming at the main character to grow some damn balls and evict his worthless, holier than thou roommate and her friends. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
...but if the shoe fits. The zombie apocalypse was a bit of a flash in the pan. Now companies of zombie (sorry, former human) control companies collect up the undead, and take them to government control facilities, where they are rendered docile. Hippy protesters, gunhappy vigilantes, farkwit politicians, and an entire retirement community that's turned...
This is so much better than the often read stories of ZOMBIE Apocalypse an there being no end or no suvivors. You will enjoy this new look at Zombies and the people who make their livings by using zombies. I RECOMMEND this excellent read and different take on a favorite topic..ZOMBIES. ENJOY!!
I am not sure but I think the author was trying to be funny most of this story, but it fell short of that mark. It was not a scary zombie story either, in fact it took what seemed forever to get to any kind of action at all, and that was crammed into the end. Not impressed.
All In All was the first book I read by this author since it was free, and I really enjoyed it, so i decided to give his other work a read. Although it wasn't as good as All in All, I still enjoyed it even though it felt slow and uneventful at times. However, it did put it towards the end. I will still be reading the rest of his work.
I loved the build up of the characters in this book - some humour, some social commentary, some horror - the narrative pace of the story mixed with a dose of cynical irony at the manoeuvres of politicians made this a pleasure to read
The story had potential but needed more polish and attention to detail. There was too much jumping around and too much time spent trying to justify everything. It had some interesting concepts and potential.
Quite the story Mr Allen, great characters, exciting story, very hard to put down. Spectacular ending as well, thank you for the ride. Looking forward to more from you.
A different kind of story. Loved all the underlined sections, as they were amazingly close to today's political situation, and almost as hysterical. Loved the ending chapters.
War between zombies and human themselves. Love how the writer focus on each characters development . How what really happened is usually not like what it seems .