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Z Children #2
The Surge
An alternate cover for this ASIN can be found here.
The forecast for tomorrow?
Bloody!
Z Children 2: The Surge is action-packed from start to finish. Focusing on JW & Virginia's group, the story captures the true ugliness and sacrifice that goes along with survival.
Buckle up as a rescue mission is brimming with spine-tingling terror. An armored truck becomes the new Alamo. And there's a wedding which is anything but ‘a happily ever after’.
JW's group has made camp in a hotel overlooking a Dallas hospital where someone is trapped. Bonnie and Ranger, the now inseparable duo, have faith that JW can, not only stay alive, but also save this person from an otherwise certain death. JW, however, isn't so sure. He’s faced enemies before, but nothing as unsettling as the innocent death masks these Z children wear.
The ex-special forces drifter used to believe he’d seen the worst the world had to offer.
He was wrong.
The forecast for tomorrow?
Bloody!
Z Children 2: The Surge is action-packed from start to finish. Focusing on JW & Virginia's group, the story captures the true ugliness and sacrifice that goes along with survival.
Buckle up as a rescue mission is brimming with spine-tingling terror. An armored truck becomes the new Alamo. And there's a wedding which is anything but ‘a happily ever after’.
JW's group has made camp in a hotel overlooking a Dallas hospital where someone is trapped. Bonnie and Ranger, the now inseparable duo, have faith that JW can, not only stay alive, but also save this person from an otherwise certain death. JW, however, isn't so sure. He’s faced enemies before, but nothing as unsettling as the innocent death masks these Z children wear.
The ex-special forces drifter used to believe he’d seen the worst the world had to offer.
He was wrong.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 5, 2016
11 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 24, 2016
I love the Z Children series. Wow what a concept that the smallest and most innocent could turn into a foreboding, efficient killing machines with a hive mindset.Fast and cunning.The drawback is their size and strength.But if there are a lot you best be running.
There are the infected adults, who seem to get their orders from the children though they are unspoken, they are much slower and seem confused at times.An asset to the children but the children are indifferent to them and will snap their heads off when they grow tired of their undead counterparts.
We follow a small group trying to survive In book one we followed Susan Fields ,her dad and two small children as well as others.
In this book we are following this group:
J.W. Military, Ranger ,J.W.'s canine partner,Bonny an orphaned girl, Dr.Virginia a and Dr.Chris Hastings Neonatal & Pediatric Surgery. I love the character of J.W. All of the characters are well written and rounded but I really like J.W. and the conflict between Chis and him. Bonny and Virgina are loveable as well. Both Eli Constant and B.V.Barr always write a character that you love to hate till you find out they are not all bad. But you spend much of the book trying to decide if you want them to be Zom bait or to live.
As the norm for this collaborating team, they are phenomenal storytellers and create such realistic scenes that you can see them so clearly.They bring out your compassion for the characters and make you feel in your heart the struggles of each one. The story is compelling and steady, it draws you in on the first page and leaves you wanting more.
There are the infected adults, who seem to get their orders from the children though they are unspoken, they are much slower and seem confused at times.An asset to the children but the children are indifferent to them and will snap their heads off when they grow tired of their undead counterparts.
We follow a small group trying to survive In book one we followed Susan Fields ,her dad and two small children as well as others.
In this book we are following this group:
J.W. Military, Ranger ,J.W.'s canine partner,Bonny an orphaned girl, Dr.Virginia a and Dr.Chris Hastings Neonatal & Pediatric Surgery. I love the character of J.W. All of the characters are well written and rounded but I really like J.W. and the conflict between Chis and him. Bonny and Virgina are loveable as well. Both Eli Constant and B.V.Barr always write a character that you love to hate till you find out they are not all bad. But you spend much of the book trying to decide if you want them to be Zom bait or to live.
As the norm for this collaborating team, they are phenomenal storytellers and create such realistic scenes that you can see them so clearly.They bring out your compassion for the characters and make you feel in your heart the struggles of each one. The story is compelling and steady, it draws you in on the first page and leaves you wanting more.
July 9, 2016
A great second book, The thing I liked about this book was how the main characters hardly got on. It felt real and a struggle for everyone. They had to be on the same page to reach a common goal...SURVIVAL! Again the Z children were uncompromising and efficiently horrific. This book leaves you wanting to know more with lots of unanswered questions. Hopefully book 3 in the series isn't far off and we'll get the answers we are looking for. A great addition to the series, worth reading.
June 9, 2017
Omg!!! Why did ZC2 end?! I want more!!! Write faster lol
December 10, 2023
JW, Ranger, Bonnie and Virginia have arrived at a children's hospital in Dallas to rescue Virginia's on-off partner Chris who is a doctor there. Chris has been inside the hospital since the outbreak began and JW has a million places he'd rather go than inside the building. Against his better judgement, he leaves Ranger to guard his companions while he runs the gauntlet of zombies and child beasts in the parking lot to enter the building itself.
I'm no fan of smart zombies ie ones that talk, fire weapons, drive cars etc-just a personal preference in my zombie reads-but I do like the limited intelligence shown in this series by the undead. The zombie parents of the child monsters grief when the kids are killed and their limited understanding of what is happening around them is an interesting twist. On a couple of occasions a zombie adult has tried to protect a living loved one and that makes their fate sad. The child monsters pack hunting and ability to plan to a limited extent is also scary but doesn't go too far into smart 'zombie' territory.
I love JW, his amazing dog Ranger and 12 year old Bonnie who is a mature girl who was dealt a really bad hand in life. She doesn't whine and complain, she gets on with things and she is intelligent. Virginia is annoying at the start of this book. She is hell bent on rescuing Chris but seems to lack the brains to wonder what will happen to her and Bonnie if JW doesn't return from this deadly mission. It's only when he goes into the hospital that it seems to register that she is incapable of looking after herself and Bonnie if he dies trying to save Chris. She also fails to give him a physical description of Chris or even mention to him that he's looking for a woman (Christine not Christopher), not a man, a somewhat important detail. Talk about dumb.
And then we have Chris. SPOILERS
First she irritates JW by making a ton of noise during the rescue and alerting every zombie around. She leads him to an exit teeming with zombies then complains about his plan to get her out. She gets into a fight with him because he's not prepared to go round the hospital rescuing sick kids before they leave. She has a total hatred of men, hates that a man has come to rescue her, is ungrateful that he saved her life and Virginia's life, complains about everything and gets jealous every time JW talks to her girlfriend. She is whiny, pathetic, bitchy, selfish and I totally hate this character. I wanted her to get bitten and die or for Ranger to rip her throat out. To show how bad she is, she gets annoyed that a starving 12 year old gets a bigger share of the food they find, while she has food hidden in her pocket and won't share her portions with anyone. Total bitch.
I love Ranger. He's a military dog who was injured on duty and has to keep getting sunscreen put on his furless scars to protect him. Totally brave and devoted to JW and Bonnie, Ranger is very intelligent and I was worried about him all the way through the book. Ranger also doesn't like Chris which is another point in his favour. He's the character I like best in the book. As much as I love Ranger, I just don't think I can bear having to suffer any more of Chris. The end of the book couldn't come quick enough for me.
Towards the end of the book we have an update on what is happening to Susan, her two kids and her dad. They are still on board the boat, trying to decide who is going to go on to land to stock up on their supplies. Susan is either going to have to leave her kids behind and go on shore alone, or let her disabled dad go instead. Not a great choice with zombies and monster children everywhere.
I was about to move on to book 3 when I noticed the lack of other books in the series. At the back of book 3 there is a story plan for a 10 book series and an extract from book 4. Books 1 and 2 were published between 2015-2017 but there is still no sign of book 4, never mind books 5-10. I don't really see the point in continuing to read the series if there are no more being published, as I hate reading unfinished series. In fact, had I realised this, I wouldn't have reread book 1 and read book 2.
I'm no fan of smart zombies ie ones that talk, fire weapons, drive cars etc-just a personal preference in my zombie reads-but I do like the limited intelligence shown in this series by the undead. The zombie parents of the child monsters grief when the kids are killed and their limited understanding of what is happening around them is an interesting twist. On a couple of occasions a zombie adult has tried to protect a living loved one and that makes their fate sad. The child monsters pack hunting and ability to plan to a limited extent is also scary but doesn't go too far into smart 'zombie' territory.
I love JW, his amazing dog Ranger and 12 year old Bonnie who is a mature girl who was dealt a really bad hand in life. She doesn't whine and complain, she gets on with things and she is intelligent. Virginia is annoying at the start of this book. She is hell bent on rescuing Chris but seems to lack the brains to wonder what will happen to her and Bonnie if JW doesn't return from this deadly mission. It's only when he goes into the hospital that it seems to register that she is incapable of looking after herself and Bonnie if he dies trying to save Chris. She also fails to give him a physical description of Chris or even mention to him that he's looking for a woman (Christine not Christopher), not a man, a somewhat important detail. Talk about dumb.
And then we have Chris. SPOILERS
First she irritates JW by making a ton of noise during the rescue and alerting every zombie around. She leads him to an exit teeming with zombies then complains about his plan to get her out. She gets into a fight with him because he's not prepared to go round the hospital rescuing sick kids before they leave. She has a total hatred of men, hates that a man has come to rescue her, is ungrateful that he saved her life and Virginia's life, complains about everything and gets jealous every time JW talks to her girlfriend. She is whiny, pathetic, bitchy, selfish and I totally hate this character. I wanted her to get bitten and die or for Ranger to rip her throat out. To show how bad she is, she gets annoyed that a starving 12 year old gets a bigger share of the food they find, while she has food hidden in her pocket and won't share her portions with anyone. Total bitch.
I love Ranger. He's a military dog who was injured on duty and has to keep getting sunscreen put on his furless scars to protect him. Totally brave and devoted to JW and Bonnie, Ranger is very intelligent and I was worried about him all the way through the book. Ranger also doesn't like Chris which is another point in his favour. He's the character I like best in the book. As much as I love Ranger, I just don't think I can bear having to suffer any more of Chris. The end of the book couldn't come quick enough for me.
Towards the end of the book we have an update on what is happening to Susan, her two kids and her dad. They are still on board the boat, trying to decide who is going to go on to land to stock up on their supplies. Susan is either going to have to leave her kids behind and go on shore alone, or let her disabled dad go instead. Not a great choice with zombies and monster children everywhere.
I was about to move on to book 3 when I noticed the lack of other books in the series. At the back of book 3 there is a story plan for a 10 book series and an extract from book 4. Books 1 and 2 were published between 2015-2017 but there is still no sign of book 4, never mind books 5-10. I don't really see the point in continuing to read the series if there are no more being published, as I hate reading unfinished series. In fact, had I realised this, I wouldn't have reread book 1 and read book 2.
September 19, 2017
Good addition to the series. Just as entertaining, engaging and enjoyable as the first book in the series. The story puled me right in once again and held my attention from start to finish. These zombies may be small but they are fast, fierce, smart and very deadly.
Be warned just like the first book in the series this one ends in a cliffhanger. Really good cast of characters. Both likable and unlikable. Of coarse JW and Bonnie are favorites as well as Ranger. Chris falls in that last category.
Once again the story switches between groups of survivors. I was however disappointed this one didn't start at the exact place the last one ended. I couldn't wait to get back to the dock and harbor. Then we are left hanging as to what happened. By the time it did get back to them I had forgotten about them and was wrapped up in what was happening with Bonnie and JW. When it added another survivor and their backstory it seemed like it was out of left field although it made sense in the end and is where they should all come together in the next book. Hopefully, unless the story takes another turn to yet another set of survivors. I am hooked though and will continue with the series no matter which direction the story goes.
Johnny Mack does a great job with the narration. Nice voice that it easy to listen to for long periods of time. His voice pulls you into the story and brings it and the characters to life. Clearly spoken with a nice even pace. Good character voices. Male and female. I never had a problem knowing exactly who was speaking. Very enjoyable.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily provided this review.
Be warned just like the first book in the series this one ends in a cliffhanger. Really good cast of characters. Both likable and unlikable. Of coarse JW and Bonnie are favorites as well as Ranger. Chris falls in that last category.
Once again the story switches between groups of survivors. I was however disappointed this one didn't start at the exact place the last one ended. I couldn't wait to get back to the dock and harbor. Then we are left hanging as to what happened. By the time it did get back to them I had forgotten about them and was wrapped up in what was happening with Bonnie and JW. When it added another survivor and their backstory it seemed like it was out of left field although it made sense in the end and is where they should all come together in the next book. Hopefully, unless the story takes another turn to yet another set of survivors. I am hooked though and will continue with the series no matter which direction the story goes.
Johnny Mack does a great job with the narration. Nice voice that it easy to listen to for long periods of time. His voice pulls you into the story and brings it and the characters to life. Clearly spoken with a nice even pace. Good character voices. Male and female. I never had a problem knowing exactly who was speaking. Very enjoyable.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily provided this review.
November 14, 2019
Of the 3 books I like this one most but I did not like the ending I hate be left dangling with unfinished ending not knowing when the ending will be picked up and finished. Since I can not find a 4th book the reader is left hanging.
The storyline in this book mostly stayed with one set of characters most of the way thru and their adventures to try and stay alive and get from Texas to Atlanta with many short stops in different places and you meet Virginia's Chris is not a man but a women who adds to the story so much with her hatred of all men and her hatred of everything and not willing to admit their survival was due to JW and his dog.
One of the side story drought in was of Susan Sherry's friend who is on a boat with her father and her 2 children. In this storyline Susan has to leave the boat to get supplies for them and she shows even though she is a meek and mild woman she will do whatever it takes to survive. Also you a young man who Susan runs into and tells of the horror that he witnessed at his wedding were e everyone is killed even his new wife.
This book is more touching and the characters seems so much more realistic and alive but to you can feel their pain and horror they go
The storyline in this book mostly stayed with one set of characters most of the way thru and their adventures to try and stay alive and get from Texas to Atlanta with many short stops in different places and you meet Virginia's Chris is not a man but a women who adds to the story so much with her hatred of all men and her hatred of everything and not willing to admit their survival was due to JW and his dog.
One of the side story drought in was of Susan Sherry's friend who is on a boat with her father and her 2 children. In this storyline Susan has to leave the boat to get supplies for them and she shows even though she is a meek and mild woman she will do whatever it takes to survive. Also you a young man who Susan runs into and tells of the horror that he witnessed at his wedding were e everyone is killed even his new wife.
This book is more touching and the characters seems so much more realistic and alive but to you can feel their pain and horror they go
November 16, 2019
Z Children:The Surge is the second book in the series by authors B V Barr and Eli Constant. As the story continues we get more suspense, action, drama... the characters get more developed - some likeable and some not so much. The story is creative, interesting and keeps you addicted. Again we end in a cliffhanger and I can not wait for book three.
July 25, 2016
Eli Constant and B.V. Barr are some seriously twisted individuals. Z Children: The Surge is full of great zombie action and some very…creative….scenes. It’s a great continuation of the first book and we get a peek at what everyone has been up to since the last book.
There is one point in this book where all I have written down for my notes is…”oh fuck no”. It’s probably in the top 3 for the most disturbing scenes from a zombie book that I have ever read. Of those top 3 places, Constant and Barr hold spots 2 and 3, with only one of Claire C. Riley’s scenes from her Odium series ahead of them. And there is definitely not a huge margin in between them. They could probably be interchangeable given the day and my mood. This scene is at the airport, and I think it would be disturbing enough with just one aspect of it, but it’s multi-faceted disturbing. There are multiple elements of sickness in this scene. You’ll know it when you see it. You can’t NOT know it.
I seriously hate the character Chris. I want to either punch her in the throat or feed her to the zombies. All she does is run off at the mouth and piss everyone off. Her personality sucks. It’s a character flaw btw, not the writing. Constant and Barr have done a great job of developing a character that is worth hating. Just when you think the crap that comes out of her mouth couldn’t be any more condescending, she opens it again.
I really did enjoy this book immensely. I actually think I liked this book even better than the first book, Z Children: Awakening. If you like zombie books, and aren’t squeamish (which if you are reading zombie books, I certainly hope not), this is a great book to make you cringe in a good way. I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for something different from your run of the mill zombie book.
There is one point in this book where all I have written down for my notes is…”oh fuck no”. It’s probably in the top 3 for the most disturbing scenes from a zombie book that I have ever read. Of those top 3 places, Constant and Barr hold spots 2 and 3, with only one of Claire C. Riley’s scenes from her Odium series ahead of them. And there is definitely not a huge margin in between them. They could probably be interchangeable given the day and my mood. This scene is at the airport, and I think it would be disturbing enough with just one aspect of it, but it’s multi-faceted disturbing. There are multiple elements of sickness in this scene. You’ll know it when you see it. You can’t NOT know it.
I seriously hate the character Chris. I want to either punch her in the throat or feed her to the zombies. All she does is run off at the mouth and piss everyone off. Her personality sucks. It’s a character flaw btw, not the writing. Constant and Barr have done a great job of developing a character that is worth hating. Just when you think the crap that comes out of her mouth couldn’t be any more condescending, she opens it again.
I really did enjoy this book immensely. I actually think I liked this book even better than the first book, Z Children: Awakening. If you like zombie books, and aren’t squeamish (which if you are reading zombie books, I certainly hope not), this is a great book to make you cringe in a good way. I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for something different from your run of the mill zombie book.
August 25, 2016
This is a series that has the potential to be one of the most horrifying in the genre. There is little that can be more horrifying than for the zombie apocalypse to come at the hungry mouths of children. Constant and Barr are not rushing this tale and, along the way, are introducing us to a variety of characters who you build attachments as well as dislike for. Each person feels three dimensional and very much like a person you may know. I look forward to seeing where this goes.
Just a note...if you don't get a bit antsy during the "wedding" scene...you may be a zombie your own self.
Just a note...if you don't get a bit antsy during the "wedding" scene...you may be a zombie your own self.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews