ZOM-B Gladiator

Zom-B #6

by Darren Shan

B Smith has seen evil in her time, but the Board are a whole new ball game. These inhuman humans use their money and power to buy their way to safety and entertainment ...

Genres: Horror, Zombies, Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Librarian's note: Also writes books for adults under the name Darren Dash. And in the past he has released books for adults under the names D.B. Shan and Darren O'Shaughnessy.

Darren Shan (born July 2, 1972 in London, England) is the pen name of the Irish author Darren O'Shaughnessy, as well as the name of the protagonist of his book series The Saga of Darren Shan, also known as The Cirque Du Freak Series in the United States. He is the author of the series The Demonata, The Saga of Larten Crepsley, and Zom-B. He has also released the stand-alone novel, The Thin Executioner, and the stand-alone short novels, Koyasan, and Hagurosan. Plus, for adults, he released The City Trilogy (originally under the name of D.B. Shan), and Lady of the Shades..

Reviews

[Faseeh Ilahi a.k.a Sunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I just finished Zom-B gladiator by Darren Shah which is the 6th book in the Zom-B series.

It is a zombie apocalyptic series.

Rating: 4.3/5 🌟

If you guys haven't read the first 5 books then stop reading this coz It might spoil those books for you.

The story starts where the 5th book ended, when Brian returned to country hall and was practising with master Zhang for the fight against Mr. Dowling.
There she learns how to fight and goes on missions to rescue any living people in London. But then all of a sudden she gets kidnapped and the kidnappers force her to fight and kill the other mindless zombies.

The story itself is getting really interesting and I am loving it now even more.

Like I said in my precious reviews, these books are really gruesome. They contain a lot of blood shed and some really creepy illustrations.

[Kimberley doruyter · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think this is the best one yet.

[Miranda Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was almost too much for me. B Smith has to fight - gladiator style - to protect a group of human children from a sadistic pervert.

Audiobook Comments
The one thing I cannot fault this book on is the choice of narrator. Emma Gavin (once again) does an absolutely amazing job of reading this novel.

YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

[Julie (Let's Read Good Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

Back to a mainly action based plot when B is kidnapped by a group of despicable rich people and forced to battle zombies for their entertainment.

Full Review
B is captured by a group of degenerate rich people and forced to fight zombies for their entertainment. I was happy to see the series return to more action and less introspection by B. Or maybe I just enjoy the mayhem of the zombie fights, so I don’t have to think as much!

I started listening to the audio book, which, again, was excellent, but then B was in an especially perilous situation, and I was home for the day. My headphones were dead. So I decided to check the ebook out of the library and finish it right away. I’m glad I did, because I forgot about the interior art. While there aren’t a lot of pictures, they do add depth to the narrative, so keep that in mind if you are only listening to the audio books.

After her frightening experience meeting the scary baby from her nightmares, B has settled back into life at with Dr Oystein and the Angels at County Hall. Though B still keeps to herself for fear of losing people she cares for, she has accepted Oystein’s belief that he’s a tool of God, and that there will be a battle with the evil Mr. Dowling and the Owl Man. While B hasn’t been sent on a mission yet, she has been scouting around County Hall. It’s when she’s out on one such mission that’s she’s captured by the American zombie hunter, Barnes, and his crony, Coley. Delivered to the HMS Belfast, she is given to a bunch of despicable rich folk who were powers in the world prior to the zombie uprising. Now, they are just spoiled, over-indulged brats who expect B to keep them entertained fighting zombies – or they’ll kill her without a care.

The plot doesn’t progress much, but the zombie battles sure are fun. Dan-Dan, one of her captors, is a complete freak, who gets off torturing young kids. B agrees to cooperate with her captors, but only if they promise to keep the kids safe from Dan-Dan, despite his objections. Now he’s not her biggest fan, and Dan-Dan is waiting for the day when he can torture her. He’s quite a lovely fellow, and I can hardly wait until he gets his comeuppance.

The zombie fighting is fierce, B’s rescue is even more fraught with excitement, and this volume was a great midpoint to the series. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
I really didn't remember the guy who kidnaps her nor the ship reference from the past and that frustrated me early on. Guess it was not a memorable part of the series. But let me tell you who is going to be memorable. Dan-Dan. And in a very bad way. Sick, nasty, evil man. A true villain in the series. In some ways I think he might be worse than Mr Dowling. I love seeing B as she is forced to come to terms with her emotions and how important others are or are not in her life. I also liked seeing a responsible side as well. I really feel she has come a long ways and this book showcases it in a great way.

[Erika Von]

how are people even adding and rating this book when it isn't even out untill January?

[Odin · Rating 4 out of 5]

من این قسمت در حماسه زامبی شان را خیلی دوست داشتم. مثل همیشه سریع و خشمگین است و من دوست دارم وقتی انسان‌ها به‌عنوان تبه‌کاران واقعی قطعه در معرض نمایش قرار می‌گیرند، همانطور که اینجا هستند. B با سیاستمداری که توسط پدر نژادپرستش و ویکی ویج پرستش شده بود ملاقات می کند - نام عالی، ها؟ - به همان اندازه که می توانید تصور کنید پست است. همچنین یک قاتل زنجیره ای شرور وجود دارد که جنایاتش قبل از آخرالزمان پنهان شده بود زیرا خانواده اش ثروتمند و قدرتمند بودند. او به طرز لذت بخشی وحشتناک بود. وحشتناک تر از وحشتناک.

[Christine (KizzieReads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't as interesting or sucked me in from the beginning. Once I got to the middle or so, that's when it sucked me in. The illustrations are a great part of these books. It helps you get a sense of what's going on visually.

[Sharon Mariampillai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 3.75

This was an interesting read. I thought the story did drag out a bit, but not as much as Zom-B Baby. B was more her feisty, badass self in this book. The story was really enjoyable. I think the best part for me was the gladiator part as it reminded me a bit of a Hunger Games and Gladiator movie vibe to it. Also, it is interesting to read a zombie world where zombie gladiators exist. I dislike DanDan. I hope he suffers for what he is doing. I thought the ending was great. I can't wait to read Book 7 and the rest of the series. Overall, a great read.

[Sean McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is absolutely the horrifying of the series, but not for the reasons that you might think.

This, the 6th book in the series, follows along with B Smith in the continuation of the adventures described in previous books (I know this is an oddly worded sentence, but it is written that way to avoid spoilers). The entire cast of characters comes back (with the noted absence of what I assume is the big bad, though there is some question as to whether he is or not), and the book ends on a very important note.

B makes a marked shift in her relationships, which shows growth. From a writing and plotting perspective, now that she has this realization, it is the perfect opportunity to throw a wrench in the gears and rain down all the terrible on top of her.

Ok, so going back to the opening sentence of this review. Why is this book horrifying? It's about zombies, that must be it. Nope. A possible horrifying clown? Nope. This has a much more visceral and realistic menace...the board. Beyond the board, the real Big Bad of the series may in fact turn out to be Dan-Dan. This new character is probably the most devious, evil, and terrifying character of anything I've read in Shan's bibliography. I wont describe him here, and there is some camp involved, but for some reason that makes him even more terrifying.

I'm excited to see where the series goes next, as Mr. Shan has said that the answers start to come starting in the next book Zom-B Mission.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just when you thought Darren Shan couldn't possibly think up of anyone creepier than the clown, enter Dan Dan. Okay, maybe it would have been creepier if Dan Dan also happened to be a clown, but trust me, I wouldn't want to run into Dan Dan in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded street, much less a dark alleyway.

Gladiator explores the point of having friends during a zombie apocalypse. We're not talking allies; we're talking friends about whom you truly care. Is there any point? They're just going to get killed eventually and lifespans do tend to plummet under these circumstances. In addition, you will see a couple of situations in which a character must choose between the lesser of two evils. That's always an interesting character study- What would your decision be if all options were bad options?

As always, there is plenty of zombie gore. And as always, I absolutely recommend this series to anyone who enjoys zombie books. This series is a quick read. For those of you who do not have kids at home because the schools keep cancelling due to snow or cold weather, each book can be finished in one sitting.

[Addee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this book on the shelf at the library and grabbed it purely based on the title alone. I love zombies, I love gladiators, so a combination of the two seemed like the perfect match, right? What I didn't realize until I started reading is the audience it is aimed at. Yeah a little too YOUNG adult for me. The story is fine but extremely simplistic & has little depth. I am sure though, that some kids out there will find it AWESOME!

[KC Chapa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn...now I have to wait for the next one to come out. I am so happy that I found a great new series...and frustrated because I'm stuck waiting impatiently for the next one! I LOVE B!

[Stormy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this was another book from the zom-b series by Darren Shan in this book it starts with b basically telling everyone she doesn't want friends later on we find out b is getting into art and she reads a lot of art books at night and one of the other Angels gave her a van Gogh book what she actually really liked when the Angels go out on a mission to have a look for revivers they find a woman and her kid who are still alive how they did it I do not know because it must have been hard not been killed by the zombies so the angels take her to a coffee bar and just start talking to her  b decides to wander outside and she gets herself kidnapped really kidnapped b the people who kidnapped her a wealthy high-power people who are still alive obviously but they make her fight other Zombies just for their pleasure and one of them kidnaps little children and then kills them and that is the most disgusting part of this book so you want to find out what else happens you're just going to have to read the book

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I really liked this book and the plot was much more interesting. It's sad to see that in this plot people would actually turn to this and not care about the race, but rather ruling everyone. B is back at County Hall training for the fight to come between them and the mutants. B gets trapped when out by a pair of soldiers she has met before. They take her back to a boat where she will serve the purpose of entertainment. There on the boat are a group of people who just want to take over the world and want to be rulers. There also happens to be a psychopath/ killer on board who likes to torture children for fun. This is more gruesome than the zombies themselves. B has to make sure she survives long enough to make it out and try and save the children. Then her team comes in to break her out, but the killer- Danny takes off. I'm hoping they find this guy to take him down sometime in the next few books. This book was more of a setback in the preparing for a war, but it was an interesting book this time around.

[16PrideauxS]

It's a horror/fantasy story in a 13 book series I like it because its full of action and there's never a boring moment It's exiting and a page turner it ends in a good way were the good guys win. I would reccomend it to anyone over the age of 12+

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

B decides to return to the Angels. She keeps herself distanced from everyone so that she won't make friends. One day while out, she is captured and is taken to a boat filled with the formerly rich and famous. There, she is made to fight reviveds.

[Kaileigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I passed on this so many times at the thrift store and I’m glad I finally grabbed it. This was a great read for Halloween!

The first zombie book I’ve ever read and it was good! A different way of telling the zombie story than I’ve heard before. A quick read and some pretty cool illustrations!

[Sajid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response
I really liked this book, because I like books that have to do with post apocalyptic worlds and zombies. It isn't an average zombie book. I like these kinds of books, because they are interesting to me and are more enjoyable to me.

Plot
In this book, Becky was just going about her normal week, training, fighting zombies, eating brains, and scouting. Until they meet a survivor, Becky and her friends got to know them where the survivors were comfortable near the living zombies. The group found out that a little boy of the survivors did not have any toys to play with, so Becky and Carl went out to a toy store a block away. Becky stayed outside to keep watch, but got kidnapped by a human hunter named Burke. Burke took her to a ship that was heavily guarded and housed a couple of powerful people. She was then forced to fight in gladiatorial battles against the walking dead. After many weeks of fighting, her group of friends found out she got captured and went to save her, succeed, and got rid of the nasty people of the ship.

Characterization
Becky Smith was just like every other zombie in the films, except that she could control her cannibalistic urges and could speak. She didn't remember much about her life or what happened to her before she was turned, other than weird dreams of zombie babies. At the beginning of the book, she didn't like having conversations with people or getting to know them because she was afraid of losing people she cared about. At the end of the book she realized that the entire time all she needed was friends.

Dan-Dan is a supposed child killer who captures zombies and watches them fight to the death with his accomplices. He has a soldier go out and capture Becky while she was looking for survivors. He is a sociopath that wants to hurt people and things to any extent, and he is one of the lucky three who escapes before Becky can get him.

Impacts Of Setting
This book took place in London, England. This book didn't really give a reason that it took place in England. The author lived in London, other than that there was no real reason it took place in london.

Theme
The theme of this book is friendship, because, throughout the book Becky pushes the group she is in away and tries to be by herself. At the end of the book, she was saved by the entire group and she decided to change her mind and accept them as friends.

Recommend
I recommend this book to both males and females who like action and adventure. The age for this book should be high school level, because of its gory parts and death that are not appropriate for younger ages.

[Ali.J · Rating 3 out of 5]

هرچی جلوتر می‌ره بیشتر مشتاق ادامه میشم:))

[Jojobean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was awesome just like the other books in this series.

The plot of this book is simple as you can tell by the name of the book. B is now part of Dr. Oystein's angel and she goes on training missions and scouting missions. Nothing too heavy as of yet. While out on a scouting mission with her angel roommates, B gets captured and, you guessed it, is forced to battle zombies in an "arena" as the entertainment to some sick and twisted individuals.

First, I really like B in this book. She had grown so much from the first book. She has really given some thought to her life and has made adult decisions. She distances herself from her angel roommates and she actually has real reasons for it. No attitude and her reasons are how she truly feels. There's no b.s. Her feelings are genuine and I respect her for them and her decision. I can see where she is coming from and what she is trying to prevent from happening in the future. While she is becoming more mature she is still the same sassy, sarcastic, kick ass B from the other books. She is loyal to the angels and Dr.Oystein. She is a survivor, fighting the zombies she's pitted against to stay alive, not only for herself but for other people. She has beliefs and is steadfast in them, not changing them for other people or to save her life. B is a character that has truly grown over the series and I hope continues to do so for the rest of the series.

The people who she fights as entertainment for are delusional, twisted, sick people who think that, once the world has settled, they will rule it. They are rich and cruel people. But by far the worst of them, that I hated the most and wanted to go into the book to kill, was Dan Dan. He is a self proclaimed torturer and killer of children. He tells B that he enjoys torture and killing and that the children he has are "his darlings". At times he acts like a bumbling idiot and other times like the intelligent evil bastard that he is. He is a very depraved human being and is the scum of the earth. He needs to be tortured slowly so that he can feel what he has done to innocent children. And the other people who he is with is no better because they know what he does and they allow it. The whole lot of them should be killed unmercifully. Some meet a grisly fate but others escape to grace us with their presence in another book of the series. I just hope that by the end of the series they die horrible deaths.

With that being said, while I like the whole idea of B being a zombie angel, I hope that the next book goes back to the whole situation with the creepy Mr. Dowling and Owl man. My questions about them from the last time they appeared in a book (I think it was book 4?) are still unanswered and I want them to be answered. I also wanna know more about that creepy baby. I hope they are featured heavily in the next book of the series.

This review is also posted on The Book Owl Extraordinaire

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Response: I liked Zom-B Gladiator because of the action that the plot has. The characters seem to be a little ruthless about the issue during the book. I think that the book was relatively the same setting throughout the book.

Plot: During this book B goes on a mission with fellow Angels. She and another Angel were investigating a rundown building for survivors. B was in charge of staying out and watching for zombies that will try to get in. After a while B is jumped by a hunter that stalked her. B is taken to a military jeep, and then to a yacht. The people who were on the boat heard about zombies that could talk and were very few of those kinds of zombies who could talk. The leader of the crew, DanDan, inspected B while she was tied up. She was tazed and brought into a glass area for further inspection for the other crew members. The crew members examined her and wanted to hear her talk so they knew that DanDan wasn't lying. She was threatened to be killed if she would not talk, so she did what was requested. The crew discussed what to do with B, and decided to make her brawl other zombies. They later brought back some zombies for B to kill. She did as told and amused the crew. They locked her up in a cell where she got to rest for awhile. The next day the same process occurs with more zombies appearing. After a couple of days of repeated fighting, B was put against more fighting-type zombies- at least that were fighting type when they once were human. B was severely injured by one of them and fled into an air vent, hiding in that spot for a while. Sirens start to rumble and screams start to erupt. The boat was under attack by the rescuing Angels. B was freed by her fellow Angels and she goes after DanDan to kill him. She finds him cowering in a corner with one of his guards and pushes the guards and B latches on to him killing him. While killing the guard, DanDan makes in escape out of the boat. He leaves the scene and continues his legacy.

Recommendation:
I recommend this book to someone with a lower reading level. The book shouldn't be read by someone who frightens easily. The book should be read by a middle schooler to a younger highschooler.

[Brooke ♥booklife4life♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

At A Glance

Genre: Young Adult; Zombie
Love Triangle/Insta Love/Obsession?: no
Cliff Hanger:Rating: 3.5 stars

Score Sheet
All out of ten

Cover: 8
Plot: 8
Characters: 9
World Building: 8
Flow: 7
Series Congruity: 9
Writing: 8
Ending: 8

Total: 8

In Dept

Best Part: um. Gladiator fights with zombies...
Worst Part: i read these out of order...
Thoughts Had: poor b; GET THEM!!; good job!

Conclusion

Continuing the Series: yes
Recommending: yes

Short Review: So i read these out of order, i read 5, 7, 6. oh well. anyhow, this book! whoa! Gladiator fights with zombies, can you really ask for more, i don't think so! B is just the best thou, she gets her ass kicked so many times, but just keeps on going, and going!!! I am sicken by this Dan-Dan character thou, i hope he gets eaten or something! The picture of his sailor suit was enough for me!

Review in GIF Form:

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is from the series Zom-B Gladiator By Darren Shan. The basic plot of this book is that there was a zombie apocalypse but its not the point of view of a human. It is In the point of view of a zombie. now this series is a little different from normal zombie books and there are special zombies. though these zombies are called angel’s they are called angels for the fact that when they were killed and first became a zombie their brains were never eaten.
Now the main angel is B Smith, before the apocalypse happened. she was a normal tomboy girl that went to high school. the only difference about B was that her father was a racist and would force B to be racist and to dislike black Humans, and when the apocalypse first went down her father ran to the school to save her and some other student’s. as they were running to safety, her father had forced her to throw a black boy to the zombies in order to save the group. once she did that evil deed she stopped running and ran back into the school.

[Carien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining addition to this series.

The religious blah was almost gone and there was some cool action. Story wise this book seems to be filler material before we move forward on the actual story. There's no progress on outstanding issues, just lots of new action that felt like a sidestep, but maybe I'm wrong.

Not that I minded. As I said: the events in this book are very entertaining and cool. I breezed through it in no time.

On to the next book soon, which is in my TBR pile already.

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like all of Darren Shan's books, but I think this series is by far his worst. Doesn't help that all of these books are short, but only a few significant things happen in each book.
In this one, it was just that Dan-Dan, the child-killing dude, got away That was about it.
The thing I like about these books though is that I get through them really fast and they make me feel accomplished. XD I plan to read Zom-B Mission (#7) today as well so then I'm up to date.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what it is about this series, but to they all start slow with the except of the very first one in the series and then just jump to the point and then its over. I think that I might feel that way because they are short books and are meant for the younger age group. It doesn't matter but I keep coming back so there must be something amazing!!

[Setzoka · Rating 3 out of 5]

خب حسی مثله آب گرفتن توی داستان داشت.. توصیفات کم و ناکافی بودن و بیشتر صرف ارجیف بی اهمیت می شدن. شخصیتا همه به جز بی غیرقابل درک بودن و یکم شبیه به شخصیتای قبلی دارن شان بودن. موضوع اینه که دارن شان یکم انگار داره از سبکش خارج می شه. . به شخصه از داستان لذت نبردم. منظورم اینه که زامبیای باهوش ایده ی توپیه. اما خب یه جورایی حوصله سر بر شده. فکر کنم ادامه ی این مجموعه رو نخونم

[Bridger M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has 160 pages.The main character is Becky smith and I cant connect to her. I gave this book five stars becuse I like fighting and zombies.This book reminded me of resedent evil its a zombie movie the ending is a clif end and its cool I love this series

[Book Mitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questions, anger, creepy, questions, awww friends....
...in a nutshell.