What do you think?
Rate this book
The Head Hunter
Year 2020: Caesar Meldano, Area 51 scientist and operative, survives the meteor strike that will change the world, creating a new threat to humanity.
Year 2027: The Government of Defense becomes the new world order while Caesar lives a life of seclusion, everything he has ever known gone in the wake of the creatures brought to life by the Syc Parasite brought to Earth by the meteorites. All while the world as we know it crumbles to fall to G.O.D. The monsters trying to rip them apart aren’t the true threat to the human race, but only the beginning of the horror.
Year 2027: The Government of Defense becomes the new world order while Caesar lives a life of seclusion, everything he has ever known gone in the wake of the creatures brought to life by the Syc Parasite brought to Earth by the meteorites. All while the world as we know it crumbles to fall to G.O.D. The monsters trying to rip them apart aren’t the true threat to the human race, but only the beginning of the horror.
295 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 17
8 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Kindra Sowder
52 books115 followersKindra Sowder was born and raised in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA until the age of 12, when her family moved to Spartanburg, SC. She graduated from high school in 2006 with full honors and as a member of her high school Literary Club and the Spanish Honor Society. In January 2014, she graduated with her second degree in Criminal NeuroPsychology. She married her husband Edd Sowder in May 2014 and still lives in Spartanburg, SC where their company Burning Willow Press is based. She is the author of the Miss Hyde Novellas that are coming to television, and the ground-breaking series The Permutation Archives. She has earned a number of award nominations and wins for her literary works. She is currently penning more works and is earning her Masters Degree in English and Creative Writing with a concentration in Fiction from South New Hampshire University. As of 2018, she is undergoing treatment for Behcet's Disease. She hopes to become an advocate, and a voice for others with this rare condition.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 13, 2017
My Five Star Review of: The Head Hunter (Zombiefied book one)
Written By Kindra Sowder and Santiago Cirilo
Caesar Maldano is a scientist and above all a family man. He has a wife and child and military training. His family was torn from him on a fateful day when the entire world was changed forever. This cataclysm was something that Caesar had a sparingly minimal amount of knowledge that such an event may happen. Caesar works for the Area 51 government facility near where he lives and through his scientific work he was able to prepare if only by the skin of his teeth. This event was so abrupt and had worldwide effects that the very fabric of society was changed forever. Now I don’t want to give any spoilers away so I must be vague. A man thrust into a situation without any hope, a world filled with horrors both in creatures and the very air itself affecting all life on the planet. Extraordinary circumstances described in vibrant and descriptive detail and supported by characters that are human and frail and some not very frail and definitely not human. This is a story about not just zombies but a wide and detailed list of creatures that humanity must survive in a world broken a world far different in just one day of a worldwide catastrophe. This is also a story of survival against all odds not just survival of that fateful day but everyday afterwards. Society is changed, the people are changed and morality and ethics are turned upside down or completely lost. This world is Caesar’s world and he lost everything and everyone. Such fear, such description and many detailed and believable characters that I was impressed time and time again. The story flow and character depth was always noticeable and worth mentioning in this review. A story filled with intense action and superb dialogue that only shined more with the top notch editing. The cover is perfect for the story and mirrors numerous scenes and even fits one of the characters who I especially loved getting to know. This is a story that mirrors in some ways television shows like The Walking Dead, The Last Ship and stories similar too Swan Song and The stand. This is only the first story in a series by these two authors and I have no doubt we will see Zombiefied in the movie theaters someday soon everywhere.
Written By Kindra Sowder and Santiago Cirilo
Caesar Maldano is a scientist and above all a family man. He has a wife and child and military training. His family was torn from him on a fateful day when the entire world was changed forever. This cataclysm was something that Caesar had a sparingly minimal amount of knowledge that such an event may happen. Caesar works for the Area 51 government facility near where he lives and through his scientific work he was able to prepare if only by the skin of his teeth. This event was so abrupt and had worldwide effects that the very fabric of society was changed forever. Now I don’t want to give any spoilers away so I must be vague. A man thrust into a situation without any hope, a world filled with horrors both in creatures and the very air itself affecting all life on the planet. Extraordinary circumstances described in vibrant and descriptive detail and supported by characters that are human and frail and some not very frail and definitely not human. This is a story about not just zombies but a wide and detailed list of creatures that humanity must survive in a world broken a world far different in just one day of a worldwide catastrophe. This is also a story of survival against all odds not just survival of that fateful day but everyday afterwards. Society is changed, the people are changed and morality and ethics are turned upside down or completely lost. This world is Caesar’s world and he lost everything and everyone. Such fear, such description and many detailed and believable characters that I was impressed time and time again. The story flow and character depth was always noticeable and worth mentioning in this review. A story filled with intense action and superb dialogue that only shined more with the top notch editing. The cover is perfect for the story and mirrors numerous scenes and even fits one of the characters who I especially loved getting to know. This is a story that mirrors in some ways television shows like The Walking Dead, The Last Ship and stories similar too Swan Song and The stand. This is only the first story in a series by these two authors and I have no doubt we will see Zombiefied in the movie theaters someday soon everywhere.
January 16, 2017
Kindra and Santiago are an amazing writing team. This is an action packed non stop crazy story. Ceasar will grab you from the beginning, Jenny, his daughter, Joshua, and many others also wind up in your heart. What a great twist on the zombie genre. There is so much that happens in this I cannot possibly put it all in words. You really don’t want to miss this one. Excellent read, cannot wait for more. Thank you Kindra and Santiago for a great story.
February 14, 2017
Review of The Head Hunter: Zombified Book 1 by Kindra Sowder and Santiago Cirilo
In the year 2020, Area 51 is a known organization and have spread out past the deserts of Nevada. Lead Scientist Caesar Meldano is working on a serum called “Faith.” Before he can develop it further, a meteor strikes the Earth bringing with it a deadly alien parasite that transforms most of humanity into flesh eating creatures. Jump seven years into a dystopian future where the only ruling body is the Government of Defense. G.O.D. controls four bastions of humanity and if you cannot conform to the rules you are banished to the Dead Zone. Caesar managed to survive in a life of seclusion away from the reach of G.O.D. What forces Caesar out into the world? How do the survivors cling to life? How does G.O.D. rule over the survivors? What could be worse than G.O.D.? Read the book and you’ll find out.
What I liked about this book is that Sowder and Cirilo take classic horror monsters and instill logic into them. This isn’t your normal zombie book where you get a sketchy or vague origin for the creatures. You can tell the authors have done their research and it’s an interesting angle. The characters were fleshed out and I felt genuine concern for their well-being at times. The writing was fast paced and well written. There were times when I was forced to put it down because I had real life commitments to attend to. Other times, I opted to read The Head Hunter instead of going out into the real world.
While reading this, I kept thinking about how well this could be transferred into a screenplay. Which is what I am expecting to see later on either in theaters or as a Netflix series. If you haven’t recognized the name of co-author, Santiago Cirilo, then look him up on IMDB and you’ll understand why I’m predicting this.
The story has a few twists and turns that actually surprised me, which is tough because I feel like I can see a plot twist from a mile away. Apparently the plot twists in this book came from two or three miles away because they caught me off guard.
There is one thing that I am disappointed about, however. It has to do with the seven year gap between the beginnings of the crisis to present day. Readers are shocked by the initial meteorite striking the Earth just as much as the characters in the book. I was wondering how they were going to survive, how the government was going to react, and whether or not all of humanity was effected. Instead we are fast forwarded to the Dead Zone, Government of Defense, and the four stations that G.O.D. controls. We’re also introduced to Crankers, Revenants, Barbarians, Shadows, and the mythical Head Hunter.
In my personal opinion I would have loved to see characters Jenny, Misty, Mark, and Joshua try and survive in the Dead Zone before coming into the G.O.D. Stations. Experiencing this with the characters would make readers more sympathetic to why they are afraid to get kicked out of the safety of the stations. I’ve read a lot of Kindra Sowder’s works and the main thing I always want is more, more, more. That’s the sign of a great author when readers desire more of the story.
This is the first in the Zombified series and I hope they continue to bring more of the same as The Head Hunter. Overall, I would give this a 5/5. Even though I was disappointed by the seven year gap, I was only disappointed because there wasn’t more story and really, that can’t be a bad thing. I would like to see some of the seven years in the form of flashbacks or dreams in the next one though.
In the year 2020, Area 51 is a known organization and have spread out past the deserts of Nevada. Lead Scientist Caesar Meldano is working on a serum called “Faith.” Before he can develop it further, a meteor strikes the Earth bringing with it a deadly alien parasite that transforms most of humanity into flesh eating creatures. Jump seven years into a dystopian future where the only ruling body is the Government of Defense. G.O.D. controls four bastions of humanity and if you cannot conform to the rules you are banished to the Dead Zone. Caesar managed to survive in a life of seclusion away from the reach of G.O.D. What forces Caesar out into the world? How do the survivors cling to life? How does G.O.D. rule over the survivors? What could be worse than G.O.D.? Read the book and you’ll find out.
What I liked about this book is that Sowder and Cirilo take classic horror monsters and instill logic into them. This isn’t your normal zombie book where you get a sketchy or vague origin for the creatures. You can tell the authors have done their research and it’s an interesting angle. The characters were fleshed out and I felt genuine concern for their well-being at times. The writing was fast paced and well written. There were times when I was forced to put it down because I had real life commitments to attend to. Other times, I opted to read The Head Hunter instead of going out into the real world.
While reading this, I kept thinking about how well this could be transferred into a screenplay. Which is what I am expecting to see later on either in theaters or as a Netflix series. If you haven’t recognized the name of co-author, Santiago Cirilo, then look him up on IMDB and you’ll understand why I’m predicting this.
The story has a few twists and turns that actually surprised me, which is tough because I feel like I can see a plot twist from a mile away. Apparently the plot twists in this book came from two or three miles away because they caught me off guard.
There is one thing that I am disappointed about, however. It has to do with the seven year gap between the beginnings of the crisis to present day. Readers are shocked by the initial meteorite striking the Earth just as much as the characters in the book. I was wondering how they were going to survive, how the government was going to react, and whether or not all of humanity was effected. Instead we are fast forwarded to the Dead Zone, Government of Defense, and the four stations that G.O.D. controls. We’re also introduced to Crankers, Revenants, Barbarians, Shadows, and the mythical Head Hunter.
In my personal opinion I would have loved to see characters Jenny, Misty, Mark, and Joshua try and survive in the Dead Zone before coming into the G.O.D. Stations. Experiencing this with the characters would make readers more sympathetic to why they are afraid to get kicked out of the safety of the stations. I’ve read a lot of Kindra Sowder’s works and the main thing I always want is more, more, more. That’s the sign of a great author when readers desire more of the story.
This is the first in the Zombified series and I hope they continue to bring more of the same as The Head Hunter. Overall, I would give this a 5/5. Even though I was disappointed by the seven year gap, I was only disappointed because there wasn’t more story and really, that can’t be a bad thing. I would like to see some of the seven years in the form of flashbacks or dreams in the next one though.
December 20, 2018
When you pick up a zombie book to read, you already have a predisposed idea of how some of the story will turn out. Up until now, I figured there wasn’t much of a difference besides the plot the author chooses, the area in which it takes place, and so on. How could there be? You know, a zombie is a zombie, usually resulting in the end of the world as we know it. They eat flesh, pass on the virus so that that evenings meal comes back as some form of reanimated monster, and typically they only have the bassist of instincts to survive.
The Head Hunter: Zombified, Book One by Kindra Sowder and Santiago Cirilo blew me away with the creativity shown in their world building but also in the cast of characters chosen. This post apocalyptic storyline is unique and clearly well thought out. It’s extraordinary how well they planned it; mixing in some sci-fi and paranormal, adding their own perspective to make somewhat familiar creatures new again, showing that readers don’t need a new series of events to get interested, just a new way of looking at them. The names of the new species are completely different from what our society has become familiar with, the author’s adding their own spin, altering the aesthetic of the story to suit the intended time and culture in which this novel takes place.
I am super excited for book two to come out, waiting impatiently since this first installment ended on a gnarly cliffhanger. I’m giving this five stars and wholeheartedly recommend reading this for yourselves, fellow bibliophiles.
The Head Hunter: Zombified, Book One by Kindra Sowder and Santiago Cirilo blew me away with the creativity shown in their world building but also in the cast of characters chosen. This post apocalyptic storyline is unique and clearly well thought out. It’s extraordinary how well they planned it; mixing in some sci-fi and paranormal, adding their own perspective to make somewhat familiar creatures new again, showing that readers don’t need a new series of events to get interested, just a new way of looking at them. The names of the new species are completely different from what our society has become familiar with, the author’s adding their own spin, altering the aesthetic of the story to suit the intended time and culture in which this novel takes place.
I am super excited for book two to come out, waiting impatiently since this first installment ended on a gnarly cliffhanger. I’m giving this five stars and wholeheartedly recommend reading this for yourselves, fellow bibliophiles.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews