Destiny

Zombie Rules #4

by David Achord, Graham Halstead (Narrator)

Zach Gunderson is still reeling after the brutal massacre of most of his loved ones and the abduction of his two children. There is only one person in his life now, Kelly, the sole survivor of the massacre. In spite of her steadfast devotion, Zach finds himself questioning the purpose of trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

Genres: Zombies, Post Apocalyptic, Horror, Dystopia, Audiobook, Fiction, Apocalyptic

Audible Audio

First published November 15, 2015

About the author

After being honorably discharged as a Sergeant in the United States Army, David Achord found his true calling in law enforcement. His twenty-five year career included stints with the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. A lifelong Tennessee native, he is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and Cumberland University.

Reviews

[Tremont G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would have been a 5 star if 2 things were different. #1. If Zack had been more of a bad ass like he was in the 1st 3 books it would have been much better. #2. I think the killing off of many certain characters severely diminished this book. It felt empty without them and a little boring.

[Badseedgirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Misogyny, gay stereotypes, simpering eyed madonna/whores. Must be another David Achord special. This is the sound of me laying this series down, never to be picked up again.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent series ! The saga continues ! So does the story. I was quite impressed yet again with how this story changes direction and allows the characters to become more dynamic and rounded out.

Though the zombies are reduced in number they have also evolved and present more of a danger now more than ever. Though the characters remain focused on survival and not being eaten by the zombies they are now beginning to focus on helping to rebuild the country.

The psychological aspect of living under these harsh conditions seems to be quite accurate as the story continues onwards. Realistic.

The ending of this series, book 4, is very anti climatic and leaves the reader looking for the next book to see how the characters are doing after they have arrived at the secure underground complex. It is designed, It appears that a 5th book (or more) could be written regarding what these characters do and there experiences from their arrival etc. But it ends. Stops. Kaput.

I guess there is something to the old saying "ALWAYS LEAVE THEM WANTING MORE !" Well, it sure worked in this case. I hope the author will write more stories to this series. (HINT, HINT ). Don't let your readership down, David !

[Jennifer Staley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but

I really enjoy the series but this book must have been rushed because there are way too many errors. I can live with grammatical mistakes but the run on paragraphs were ridiculous , half the time I thought pages were missing ,it was difficult to keep straight what was going on as suddenly a conversation was taking place then next thing you know a whole other conversation is going on this book was all over the place. Please don't rush the next one and proof read it this time before just publishing it ,the story is good enough to wait for you to get it right.

[Randy Harmelink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still loving this series. The ending of the last book was a big surprise, so I wasn't sure how the story would continue, but it managed fine. Although I was hoping some characters would reappear. I'm just starting the 5th book and a little anxious that it's the last one out there. I like the zombie aspects of this series. It brings it up just a notch.

[Lexi J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoiler alert:

I haven't quite finished this book, yet, but felt the need to find reviews due to some confusion that I have. Fortunately, others had the same issues.
There is a scene early on, where the toddler, Jose, is found to have turned zombie and is eaten by a large snake. Many chapters later, the child is apparently playing with Zach's kids. You would think the author or the editor would remember writing/reading such a traumatic event... Definitely led to confusion.

The first book was amazing, although ended abruptly. The 2nd was pretty decent. The third book seemed hastily written, with many important (and traumatic to the reader) parts written as a quick journal entry "So and so died." And ended horribly. The 4th book seemed to pick up just as horribly. It almost feels like the author became bored with this story, or didn't plan out where he wanted it to end up while writing the first book, and is just going through the motions to appease fans and wrap everything up.

Just my opinion, but this series really could have been amazing, with more effort.

[Joel Kleehammer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy the concept behind the David Achord series Zombie Rules. I finished the first three early on and only recently noticed that he had continued the series with another three books. I was surprised by the turn the story took at the end of this installment, but I look forward to reading the rest of the books.

However, I must rate the version that I read. I read the Kindle version of this book. There were numerous issues with it. Among these were the following:
- Many commas where they should not be and so few where they should be
- Many incomplete sentences and run-on sentences
- Many times the author must have gone back to change a sentence, only to leave out words or repeat words that were there
- Switching up the rank of a soldier on different pages
- Calling a soldier by the wrong title
- Conversations between soldiers that were not portrayed the way they would talk
- Incorrectly identifying how a soldier (or even a Congressional staffer) would describe a vehicle

Maybe my 23 years in the Army color the way I interpret military scenarios in books, but David Achord has done so much better in the past that I am surprised. I think whoever edited the Kindle version should be fired, and this author should rethink how he portrays military in his follow-on books.

[Elvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still listening to the series. That should be enough.
I can't stop being irritated at the mysoginy but it appears the author realizes how it reads sometimes and puts it in the book.

I wrinkly my nose everytime the lead character describes women....why does it always have to be about the boobs???? Why? Or about their beauty? The woman can't just be strong. He's always gotta describe her beauty, or lack thereof. I have yet to hear him describe the men in this way.

[Sulestine Skinner-Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning!!

This book deserves high ratings in the characters, story line and the action! Zach has met every challenge head on. I'm convinced that an adult male is a match for Zach. I really did think that Zach was going to stay on the farm, but his kids deserve some semblance of normalcy back before. I'm kinda torn between the farm and Mount Weather. This author does not mind killing off major characters, so who is next?

[John A. McLeod]

Interesting series !! Things you least expect happen.

I've read several instalments of this series, and have been very surprised by events. Most apocalypse novels follow one premise; the main characters are sacrosanct, but not these stories. These are more like real life, in that "things happen", no matter who you. It makes the stories more real. I can't wait to see what will happen next !!

[Chelsea Causgrove · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had been losing interest from the time that basically all of the best characters were killed in book 2, but was trying to tough it out and hoped that it got better. Book 3 was boring. Book 4 was much of the same and after the introduction of the president at Mount Weather I put the book down and have no intention of finishing the series. Disappointing.

[Nicole M. Wyant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but crap editing

The storyline is good and keeps you interested but could really benefit from a decent editor. And someone should explain to the author that just because someone is black doesn't mean their grammar is terrible. Every black character has atrocious grammar, and it's kind of ridiculous.

[Veronik Durocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

My Kindle app has a bad annoying bug: some books disappear before I have the time to write a critic and they reappear randomly sometimes as far as one or two year later… So I can't comment this specific book, but I remember that I gave that series 4.5 stars and that I read 10 years of writing (9 books) in a little less than a month, as I was really hooked.

[Maly Copeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book!

The author continues to show that he knows what he is doing. Another great book in this series and its action packed! The narrator was on point and brings the characters to life, it wad very difficult to put book down to sleep or work!

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well

It was not as good as the previous ones. But enjoyable. Some characters played outside the realms of what we had seen of them so it was hard to swallow when they did opposite of their habit.

[Sandra Atkinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story moved too slowly for me. It was also hard to keep track of the additional background characters.

[Robert Yearsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent zombie series. Well worth reading

[~xo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a series!

[Vikas Jadon · Rating 4 out of 5]

GOOD BOOK

[Auntmolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good book from this series. I still miss the old gang from the last book. This gang is slowly growing on me. Lets see what’s next

[AnnA Helms · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this series as fast as I could get the books.

[C.W. Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another 4 star read in this series. I really do like this series.

[Lesley Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zach struggles to cope with the massive loss of his loved ones along with his children as Zombie Rules continues on. Having been blessed (or cursed) with an immunity to the zombie virus, his blood along with that of his children has become a priceless commodity in this new world. Zach struggles to revive his farm life alongside the sole survivor of the massacre, Kelly. Haunted by the knowledge that his children are still out there somewhere in the hands of unscrupulous people, he struggles to reconnect to other people. Until a miracle occurs and 2 Marines that have a heart, allow with one doctor in town, show up with the kids along with the news that the CDC where they'd been at, had been overrun by zombies clearly displaying rule#14, they have evolved. Looks like the fight just keeps getting more and more complicated the further along they get.

[Mellissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you liked the other books in the Zombie Rules series, you will like this one as well. Like the other books in this series, Zack has lots and lots of sex. I think the author mentions how much Kelly likes sex at least 10 times. There are several new characters in this book, as soon as Zack meets each one they reveal to him that they haven't had sex in a long time and are there any single men/women in his group. Really?!? I'll read the next book just to see what happens, but I am sure my eye roll will continue each time the author mentions how much Kelly likes sex.

[Hessah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zach, Mr Know it all, moved on quickly from the massacre that killed his friends and his wife. I understand the narrative in making Zach practical to the reader, but isn’t he a human? His outrage and disgust when a female survival is raped doesn’t make sense if he isn’t showing similar emotions to the killing of many of his friends people. Zach is a friend of no-one but his ego.

The development of the story was slower than the previous books especially after the introduction of no less than 5 characters and dazzling them with Zach knowledge about everything.

[Crystal Marcela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another solid read

I love the twist it had regarding past so-called enemies . As that made new discoveries on how his feelings had evolved mine evolved as well for new characters and old ones .

This particular book is more about Zack than any of the other ones I felt like. He really goes from being a kid to being a man , having to deal with tremendous loss and having to come out of that with a new appreciation and what he has and not what he lost .

[Andrew Niemann · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of zombie books to choose from; most of them are pretty much rehashes of the same storyline or scenario - cookie cutter. This series does have many of the expected issues, but it is also well written, has characters to cheer for, and still has one or two unexpected twists along the way. Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

[Doghouse Gav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another belter

You would think after 3 books the 4th might be a little stale. But no. The characters are so deep and realistic its like you know them. The story line is fantastic and brilliantly written once again. The humour is a real breath of fresh air in a book like this. Perfectly set up for book 5. Don't keep us waiting too long Dave!!!

[Ray Yody · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the third installment was disappointing with its bleak ending, the author redeemed himself in ending the series on an uncertain but hopeful note. Perhaps the story has been left open-ended for continued episodes.

[Clayton Cravath · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the soul-crushing ending of book 3, I was not as excited for this sequel as the previous books. However it was just as page turning as all his books. If you liked the first three, then keep reading to continue the saga of Zack