Day Zero

Dead Texas #1

by Derek Slaton

A plague has been released in Austin. It’s highly infectious, incredibly lethal, and turns the recently deceased into fast moving zombies with a taste for human flesh.

Rookie officer Lacy Sparks is thrust into the action when she is assigned to a federal strike force tasked with preventing the outbreak from becoming a full blown pandemic. It’s a race against the clock as she and her team struggles to survive against the growing forces of the undead.

Genres: Horror, Zombies, Fiction, Audiobook

159 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 2, 2018

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was terrible. Beyond terrible. Thank the universe it was so short. Every time the diminutive main character "pipes up, " a kitten dies. Every time you capitalize "Sir" and "North," your reader's IQ drops forty points. How can you write a book and not know how to use a comma? Do yourself a favor and never ever pick this book up.

[Aya Blackwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 gory and fast paced but I would expect nothing less from a zombie apocalypse book

[Siobhan Leahy · Rating 3 out of 5]

glad I've got books 1-4 to read straight after each other.

nice to find a YA zombie book i can share with my kids

[Johnathan Breeland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way 2 short

It was a alright read some cool characters and some good zombie action just way to short,there's more books but I just feel they should a be made into 1 book instead of short novellas,if I didn't have kindle unlimited I wouldn't but then to find out what happens not worth the money cause of the length of book,I will read other books when I don't have anything else to read

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is sort of juvenile and the story pretty predictable, but it's still mildly engaging and a (very) slightly different take on a zombie outbreak. Not bad for the start of a series of short novellas, though I doubt it would hold up to feature length.

[Vince · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out rough with the writing.... serious lack of use of contractions that made the reading feel very stilted. The problem certainly cleared up by the second novel in the series. Overall, this was a good start for an interesting series set during the zombie apocalypse. Worth checking out.

[Hailey Jackson]

Quote: “Forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.”

Review: I’m a sucker for anything zombie! Dead Texas by Derek Slaton follows officer Sparks as a plague is released in Austin Texas. Her team must race against time to defeat this threat. Will they make it out? This book was so fast. The writing was easy to follow and understand with the exception of some errors. With the length of this book it’s really hard to pick apart the good and the bad so I do feel like it would be unfair to do so. What I can say is the story line was very interesting and definitely makes you want to understand more. Of course for a zombie book it’s has the potential to feel “far fetched” and this book does take on that roll but it has a lot of potential. This book is book 1 out of 4 for this series and I am really excited to continue reading officer Sparks journey.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dead Texas (#1), Dead Texas / Dead America Universe (#1)

A plague has been released in Austin and those infected are turned into zombies.

Officer Lacy Sparks is assigned to a federal strike force tasked with preventing the outbreak from becoming a full blown pandemic.

Point of fact to know, only those with type A blood will get infect. But if a zombie makes a meal of you, well welcome to the undead.

[Arnis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ostina, Teksasas štatā, un pirmās mini sērijas Dead Texas galvenā varone Leisija Spārksa ir vien nesen uzsākusi darbu policijā, vēl cīnās pret seksimu vīriešu dominētajā darbavidē, kad kāds terorists, kurš vēlāk sērijā netiek pieminēts par savu uzbrukuma mērķi izraugās NFL futbola spēli.

https://poseidons99.com/2024/11/02/de...

[Tim Valkenburg · Rating 1 out of 5]

The fact this is at 3.5 stars means almost noone on goodreads can read.


This is junk. And I'm saying that as a fan of zombie lit who knows zombie lit can be very cheesy. It's allowed to be.


This isn't like that, this is just bad. This feels like it was 75% written by AI and would have been better if it was 100% written by AI.

[Nick Pineda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super campy short story series the author has put out as a Podcast.

Big ‘I have all these criterion movies to watch but I’m gonna watch the crappy horror movies on Prime’ energy when I’m listening to this

[Mary Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super short but had me hooked. I wanted to read more

[Marc Chénier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, not great literature, lots of grammatical errors, but the premise is interesting. I will continue the series and see where it leads.

[Greig · Rating 3 out of 5]

run of the mill zombie novel. on Spotify audiobook

[Ann-Christin Reichelt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked how it was a bit different than other zombie stories, but the writing and the characters weren't great.

[Glass · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
so ive been listening to the audiobook version of this series on youtube. this series is super silly i have been enjoying it thoroughly. the writing can be a bit juvenile at times but when you listen to a series on 1.5x speed minimum, its not that bad lol. it has some interesting ideas sprinkled in, the main one in this entry is the zombie virus specifically turning people with blood type-A without needing to be bitten. I can't imagine that fact coming up in any entries that don't take place in the very early days of the outbreak, but it's still cool. anyway this is a campy serialized zombie action series so you know what you're getting yourself into when you start :p

[Hessah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Day Zero opens with a classic outbreak scenario: a virus attack erupts inside a packed stadium, triggered by a disgruntled scientist bent on unleashing destruction on humanity. From the start, the premise leans heavily into familiar territory, and unfortunately, it rarely strays from that well-worn formula.

What begins as a federal investigation with a highly skilled team of agents working alongside local forces to track down the culprit quickly shifts into straightforward survival mode. Once the virus spreads across the city, the focus narrows to finding shelter and safe zones, trading suspenseful discovery for predictable crisis navigation.

I didn’t go into this book with high expectations, but even then, the lack of originality stood out. Considering it was written in 2018, it’s surprising how dated it already feels. The story relies on stock character dynamics: senior officers are rigid and arrogant, while junior members are portrayed as the empathetic, morally grounded counterparts. These familiar archetypes are presented without enough depth or nuance to make them feel like real people rather than narrative placeholders.

Nothing in the plot truly surprised me, challenged the genre, or added a fresh twist to the outbreak narrative. It didn’t frustrate me, but it also didn’t move me: it simply unfolded exactly as expected.

That said, it’s not entirely without pull. Despite its predictability, there’s still a lingering curiosity about how events will escalate and ultimately conclude. For that reason alone, I’ll continue the series , not because it broke new ground, but because I want to see where the journey ends.

[Rodney LaMarr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't think it was a bad book. It did enough to draw me into the rest of the series. I liked the storyline. Who doesn't like a zombie outbreak? Well, honestly, I don't think any of us would, but that's neither here nor there. My only real gripe was with the main character. She was too perfect, which made it hard to relate to her. She could do everything with no issues, and I'm pretty sure anyone in a zombie apocalypse would at least one problem.

[Karen Mccollin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok read

It was a short story but the book was ok, Jackson got his in the end so that was ok

[Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and the series as a whole. I was surprised that the book was fairly short but the action was constant and the characters were well developed.

[carla novotny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

One of the best I have read in a while. Keep up the great work. Can’t wait to read the next one. Finally a zombie warrior with red hair

[HOLLY · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book! A must read series.

[Joye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading.

i want to sue about this book based on the description. Turns out out had a decent pace and interesting characters. I am looking forward to the next book.

[Victory Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Give it a try

I have been reading the series and these little add in books are great. Fast paced with great action. I like this authors writing style.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable end of the world with zombies! Great! Liked it!

[Bev]

This reads like a god awful fanfiction!

[Nikii · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story. Lost a star for too many typos.

[Dawn Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zombies!

I like that it's fast paced. Good characters so far. And the BIG ONE.. Great STORY KICK OFF!! IT'S almost foreseeable!

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok I’m invested!