Morbid Hearts

by Susanne L. Lambdin

Cadence Sinclair was a seventeen year old girl from America's heartland who loved horseback riding, a comfortable pair of jeans, and hanging out with her friends. That was before the Scourge. It's been eleven months since a deadly virus wiped out billions. For the few who remain, life as they knew it is over. Nations fell, governments were rendered obsolete, and resources became scarce. The human race had to start over, facing even greater odds . . . Zombies. Now, Cadence leads safety patrols and supply missions for a survivor's camp at Pike's Peak. When a routine mission goes south, Cadence gets more than she bargained for. She must lead a ragtag group of teens against an onslaught of scavengers, zombies, power-hungry military leaders . . . and a mutating virus. Her team, the Fighting Tigers, face increasing dangers threatening the stability of the camp. An uprising in their fragile, new home may bring further devastation, but what they discover lurking beyond their security fences could be the end of the human race.

Genres: Zombies, Horror

316 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2012

About the author

Susanne Lambdin received a 'based in part' screen credit for writing a portion of ST:TNG Eps. 76 entitled FAMILY. Her series, Dead Hearts, is a fantasy/supernatural/horror for young adults. The series of 5 books revolves around a group of teenagers on Pike's Peak fighting zombies, vampires, and demons.

Morbid Hearts
Forsaken Hearts
Vengeful Hearts
Defiant Hearts
Immortal Hearts - now for sale!

Her new high fantasy series involves Taliesin, a strong female character, set in a war torn world where magic is outlawed. It is intended for MYA, however, adults will enjoy this new trilogy as well.

Realm of Magic Trilogy:
Seeker of Magic - now for sale
Mistress of Magic (due out soon)
Queen of Magic (due out soon)

Reviews

[A.R. Crebs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Morbid Hearts was an enjoyable read from the beginning. There’s tons of action, and the story doesn’t really stop for any breathers. It’s morbid, which I like. And there was even a scene that had me gasping and re-reading! I enjoyed this novel because it isn’t your typical zombie story. It seems to gather all kinds of folklore and wrap them all together into one seamless story. Nothing really seems out of place, and it all pulls together in the end and leaves you interested to keep along with the series. The characters are all unique with different personalities and jobs, all being teenagers. And though I’m not usually into young adult characters or kids, this story really did a good job at portraying the characters. These kids had to grow up fast and learn to survive in the sudden conditions they were thrust into. In a lawless world consumed by zombies, the interactions and battles between the characters seemed realistic and logical. Overall, Morbid Hearts is a new take on the zombie franchise, has interesting young characters, and fun plot twists that will keep you interested throughout. Great read! I’d recommend it to anyone who loves zombies and anything along the lines of mythical creatures, horror, and has a morbid sense of humor.

[Tracy Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this book -- has a feel of The Walking Dead meets Red Dawn with the teenagers dealing with the zombie apocalypse. The main character is a girl: Cadence, who is super tough, super smart. She's head of the gang, Fighting Tigers, living on Pike's Peak in Colorado, a year after the world has been lost to this mutating virus. Now the zombies are morphing into vampires and werewolves. This ain't your daddy's zombie story....

[Lori Spier · Rating 1 out of 5]

Decent idea, poor execution. Characters are two-dimensional; you never wind up caring about any of them. Some scenes needed to be cut completely. They seemed like just an excuse for the author to write what was supposed to be teenage angst and drama. Definitely not YA - language and sex scenes alone knock it out of that genre. Lots of inconsistencies that annoy the reader - everything is trashed from zombies yet electricity still works? The virus makes zombies or sometimes vampires (complete with vampiric culture and hierarchy) or shapeshifters. Strange enough, but apparently it gets even weirder when ancient gods and demons join in the fun.

Overall, there's just so many bizarre elements that the reader can't suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy the story.

Btw, edition one and edition two are the same book - just with different covers and ISBN.

[Nola Arganbright · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great new read by an amazing new author. Susanne Lambdin has a winner with her first book Morbid Hearts. This will be the first of a series of five books. The main characters are a group of strong, tough teenagers who have come of age fighting for their lives and those around them. This book is full of excitement. The characters are teenagers you would meet daily who have become what the time of the Scourge made them. I wish I could have read it in one sitting as the flow is that good.

[Mabrams · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't the worst book I've ever read, but it's far from the best. I know it's a young adult book, but I'd like to think that even young adults are better than this. All the characters have stupid pirate nick names and poor dialogue. You don't feel anything for any of them. This book tries to cash in on the whole "Twilight" saga and fails badly at it. Read this book at your own risk is all I'm saying.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

All around a good book. I enjoyed the plot twists and the characters were real enough. I would have liked to have seen more detailed descriptions in the writing but otherwise it was a good book. Nice job Lambdin.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.nerdophiles.com/2017/07/28...

If you are looking for a new post-apocalyptic story to sink your teeth into, look no further than the Dead Hearts series. Starting with Morbid Hearts, Lambdin’s novels take the age old zombies, vampires, and lycanthropes and turns them into something that is entirely new and exciting. I know we’ve all been bogged down with zombies lately, but trust me, this isn’t your average zombie novel.

Following the story of Cadence and her group, The Fighting Tigers, as they navigate this new world where there is no government outside of the Freedom Army, a citizen run group. Set in Colorado Springs, patrols of teenagers fight and try to survive the zombie scourge which destroyed civilization, while the adults try to fight off the zombies and maintain some resemblance of life.

The only way to survive in this new world is to fall in line, work hard, and hope the zombies don’t break the fence. However, things go awry when a large group of outsiders comes seeking a place to live. The plot thickens even more when it is discovered that the virus they know creates zombies mutates. No longer is it just humans versus zombies; it’s humans against zombies, vampires, werepumas, and more.

Honestly, going into it, I expected a normal zombie story. A tough girl fights her way in this new world, not only finding herself, but true love along the way. This is not that type of story. Lambin gives us a brand new twist that will keep you entertained from the first chapter.

Cadence and the other girls in this novel are strong, capable, and don’t-take-anything-from-anybody types. Finding characters like these, that remain such throughout the entire story is a great change. Sure, there’s a little romance, it is a book about teenagers after all, but the romance isn’t overwhelming or distasteful. The focus remains on the characters and story, not the budding relationship.

Lambdin’s style is easy to read and follow. One could finish the five-book series in a weekend easily. The world was built solidly and realistically. There was nothing that made me question if that could really happen in a world that has gone mad. Even the style of speaking of the former military guys was spot on, which, as a military kid, is a big deal to me. It was a good, twisty, surprising story to follow.

Truly, this is a new take on the whole zombie virus story. But it is also so much more than that. Strong female leads, enough twists to keep you guessing but not confused, and a realistic view on what would actually happen in an outbreak. Cadence herself is just a great reason to read the story.

If you like The Walking Dead show, you’ll like this book. All of the grit of that, and the added pluck of teenagers growing up in a world shaped by supernatural beings. I easily devoured this series and enjoyed every bit of it.

[Lanetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing!!!! took a little bit to get going after character build up, but once that was out of the way, o.m.g. it just took off. Couldn't put it down, then work forced me.