Showing posts with label end of the world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label end of the world. Show all posts

Twilight of the Dead Review

Twilight of the Dead
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As a fan of all-things-zombie for over twenty years I had never experienced "zombie fiction" before, and eagerly scoured the Amazon reviews of probably the exact same books you have already looked at. After reading the glowing reviews of this book I discounted the amateurish cover art and immediately ordered it.
Upon arrival the first thing I noticed once I began perusing the first few pages was the size of the font. I'm sure I'm being nit-picky but it seemed to me that a larger size font was chosen to maximize the number of pages - slim still at just over 200 pages. This, coupled with the actual dimensions of the book and the heretofore cited simplistic cover art just gave me the feeling I was holding something aimed at a much younger audience. Don't get me wrong, I fully realize this is a book about the Zombie Apocalypse, but I guess I expected something a little more literary after seeing reviews calling it the "best book I ever read" and throwing out phrases like "metaphysical subjectivism." I have to wonder what other "books" these reviewers tend to read.
As for the story, I will admit it is enjoyable for what it offers. However, some things had me wondering "wait, didn't they just say.." and "that doesn't seem right, wouldn't they have..." a little too often. I felt like I was reading a second or third draft where the plot hadn't been cemented nor the holes filled in. And my god, please use a proofreader in future. I can forgive an overlooked comma but there were too many instances where something that should have been caught actually took me out of the story wondering if maybe I had read it wrong. The biggest offender being a cliffhanger-type situation closing out a chapter - "But he had been bitten!" instead was printed "But he had bitten!" which made no sense in the context of the scene and really ruined the tension of the moment.
Character-wise it was refreshing to have a female protagonist, but I was struck by the fact that seemingly every male in her life, excluding her father, either wanted to have sex with her or already had. Seemed a bit banal to me. I found myself rolling my eyes every time another newly introduced male character threw out a clichéd come-on or uttered a moronic innuendo. Enough.
Bottom line: it's a fairly enjoyable read if you can get past the overall unpolished feeling and glaring editorial oversights.
I just glanced down at the next part of this review form, where it says "I am over the age of 13." A very applicable phrase with which to end this .

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Courtney Colvin was nearing the end of her teenage years when the undead apocalypse began. She survived, forsaking her youth and innocence, and five years later she continues to exist--albeit lonely--in the fortified town of Eastpointe. Nightmares and the unwelcome advances of Leon Wolfe are the worst things she's dealing with now in her otherwise mundane life. But when a newcomer arrives in town and claims to know the location of the antidote to the zombie plague, it sends Eastpointe into an uproar. To retrieve this cure, she and a group of other survivors must venture outside the relative safety of the compound's walls and into a world ruled and dominated by the flesh-eating undead. Twilight of the Dead puts a new spin on the zombie genre, yet remains true to the classic rules that have already been set forth. A sure-fire reading pleasure for anyone who loves character-driven horror. This Special Edition contains an Introduction by David Moody and three bonus short stories detailing important moments in the lives of other survivors

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The Undead: Zombie Anthology Review

The Undead: Zombie Anthology
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The Undead certainly spans a wide gamut of zombie fiction, with tales ranging from the sick and twisted to the intriguing and humorous, from well known authors and those just planting their feet inside the door. This anthology takes it's reader into space, back in time to the high seas of the late 1700's, out to deserted islands, and back to the streets of present day, showing just how versatile this genre of horror fiction can be. Some of my favorites include:
"Pale Moonlight" by D.L. Snell - Nathan seems stuck in a house quickly being overrun by the undead, but he has a surprise of his own for them once the full moon comes into view.
"Home" by David Moody - Anyone who has read any of David Moody's Autumn books can easily see how this stand-alone short story could fit into that same vision. However, this tale contains an intriguing twist.
"Only Begotten" by Rebecca Lloyd - A child with a bite only a mother could love.
"Hell and Back" by Vince Churchill - A very ill father tries to protect his children in the wake of the Romero flu that has swept the globe.
"The Dead Life" by Mike Watt - Bernice Dobbs has a zombie infestation in the basement that needs to be cleared up before the women's auxiliary shows up. An odd pair of exterminators show up to handle the problem.
"Cold as He Wishes" by C.M. Shevlin - A boy uses a trick taught to him by his grandfather to obtain any girl he desires, as long as she's among the recently deceased.
"Graveyard Slot" by Cavan Scott - A gruesome reality show goes horribly awry when an unwitting and unwilling participant gets thrown into the mix.
Most anthologies contain several "hits" as well as several "misses." However, each and every tale within The Undead is as interesting as the one before it. This anthology should not be passed up by anyone who is a fan of zombie fiction, or good horror fiction in general. A sequel to this amazing anthology has already been announced, and I intend to snatch it up as soon as it is released!

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"The Undead" is a stunning collection of 23 tales of the living dead by zombie fan favorites and up-and-coming authors."The Undead" includes classic tales of survival in a world populated by the living dead as well as an array of unique takes on the zombie genre: zombies as reality entertainment, glimpses from inside the "life" of the undead, intergalactic war withhumanity's own dead turned against us, and everything in between."The Undead" will leave zombie fans hungry for more!

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Will Population + Technology = Armageddon Review

Will Population + Technology = Armageddon
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Dr. Mullins paints a dramatic but factual picture of the effects of population growth on a sustainable human ecosystem and explores the question of whether advances in technology ultimately help us, or lead to our demise. The inevitable problems the human race will face, and the problems we now face are described in a manner that scientists and non-scientists can appreciate. Dr. Mullins is able to intertwine examples from human history and examples from the present day to illustrate both specific and wide-ranging issues that affect our very survival as a species. This is an important book that should be required reading, especially for policy makers that continue to ignore the realities of just how much of an impact human beings have on our planet. Dr. Mullins explores the relationship between the earth system and the corrective forces of that system as it reacts to humans, who have profoundly transformed the planet in a very short period of geologic time. By addressing how we use and abuse the planet, perhaps our inevitable decline could be avoided. A must read for anyone who seeks to understand the very issue of human survival.

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A scientifically based, thoughtful look at the long term survival of our species, written by a scientist for non-scientists.

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The Devil Next Door Review

The Devil Next Door
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that would make even Ruggero Deodato nauseas.
What would happen if 6,000 years of human evolution reversed themselves in the blink of an eye? Thats the interesting premise in this novel from the always interesting mind of Tim Curran. This book kicks like a mule from almost page 1 and doesn't let go to the end. As an aside, that's what I enjoy about this novel, as well as Curran's Biohazard and Resurrection (which I'm currently reading), he doesn't futz around and pushes you immediately into the thick of things; he knows he has a cool premise and runs with it.His novels instantly grab you and have you compulsively turning the pages long into the night.
The book is amazingly savage (pun intended). This is possibly the most graphically and realistically violent novel I've ever read. Not a limb or innard goes unmolested or uneviscerated. If you can bear the literally unrelenting brutality on display here you'll find an incredibly interesting work about the nature of humanity and how we're really not as far from the animals as we like to think we are. It's a truly entertaining and original take on the apocalypse. I don't know how Mr. Curran does it but I've loved everything I've read by him and kudos to Severed Press for publishing such an utterly awesome writer.

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Cannibalism. Murder. Rape. Absolute brutality.When civilizations ends...when the human race begins to revert to ancient, predatory savagery...when the world descends into a bloodthirsty hell...there is only survival.But for one man and one woman, survival means becoming something less than human.Something from the primeval dawn of the race."Shocking and brutal, The Devil Next Door will hit you like a baseball bat to the face.Curran seems to have it in for the world ... and he's ending it as horrifyingly as he can." - Tim Lebbon, author of Bar None"The Devil Next Door is dynamite! Visceral, violent, and disturbing!." Brian Keene, author of Castaways and Dark Hollow

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Into the Forest: A Novel Review

Into the Forest: A Novel
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I'm a big fan of post holocaust fiction. I've read hundreds of stories over the past 40 years about Life after Doomsday. This is absolutely one of the best. It avoids the common assumptions of the genre. There is no sudden and dramatic change in the lives of the two young protagonists. There isn't an immediate awareness on the part of the community that something awful and terrifying is occurring. People don't suddenly go berserk. Marauding gangs of psychopaths don't appear out of nowhere to prey upon the vulnerability of their fellow citizens. Every character, every behavior, every reaction is believable and easily explained within the context of known human behavior. Everyone initially clings desperately to the belief that things haven't really changed, that the situation isn't that bad, that tomorrow, things will all return to normal. It's just a matter of holding on and continuing with their daily routines.
Hegland's placing of Nell and her sister Eva in a forest, far from the nearest town, was a brilliant device on many levels. Normally, doomsday writers place their protagonists right in the thick of things. They trap them in cities or situations where they can inflict upon them every supposedly predictable terror of life after the collapse, showing us clearly frightened people in clearly frightening times.
But Nell and Eva live in a quiet forest. The forest isn't just a location here. It's not there just to show us the girls' gardening skills or how to live a self-sufficient life. The forest is a major, living, breathing protagonist. Hegland renders it's character brilliantly. It is both serene and tumultuous, comforting and menancing, fiercely protective and neglectful. Placing Nell and her sister in this quiet, slow environment creates a constant sense of dread and tension in the story - what unknowable things are going on outside this ageless, unjudgmental sanctuary? What horrors are taking place? Are cities burning? Has the law of the jungle replaced the fragile contracts between people? Is inescapable death slowing overtaking mankind? Are all the horrors imaginable about to invade this oasis of calm, and when and how will they come? The little intrusions of the outside world that do occur are more terrifying as a result. The forest doesn't protect Nell and Eva from evil. It wreaks no havoc on transgressors, it passes no judgments, it doesn't change or adapt. "Bring it on" it seems to say. "I will not be changed. I will simply out last you, neutralize you with my steadfastness, absord your impact and accept it as part of my nature."
The forest is a sort of allegory for the the human spirit. Primieval, indestructable and unchanging, it survives despite the modern mistakes of humankind.
I disagree strongly with the reviewer who says this is not an inspirational story. It is a story filled with hope and promise. Strip away the false values, the intellectualism, the materialism and the intolerance that are so much a part of the modern human's psyche, and you are left with what got us this far to begin with, and what will save us in the end - a sense of beauty, perseverance, tolerance and acceptance of the world as it is.
It's a beautiful, poetically written story, and well worth a place on anyone's bookshelf.


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Containment Review

Containment
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Mr. Cantrell has written a very tight story with Containment. The characters are believable. The references to modern science are accurate (at least the ones in my field were) and insightful. I felt like I was given just enough to connect with the main character and to understand his connection (or lack thereof) to the world around him. There was no extraneous fluff in this story which was appropriate for a tale about a space colony surviving on the bare necessities. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and started downloading more of his work as soon as I finished this piece.

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As Earth's ability to support human life diminishes, the Global Space Agency is formed with a single mandate: protect humanity from extinction by colonizing the solar system. Venus, being almost the same mass as Earth, is chosen over Mars as humanity's first permanent steppingstone into the universe.Arik Ockley is part of the first generation to be born and raised off-Earth. After a puzzling accident, Arik wakes up to find that his wife is three months pregnant. Since the colony's environmental systems cannot safely support any increases in population, Arik immediately resumes his work on AP, or artificial photosynthesis, in order to save the life of his unborn child. Arik's new and frantic research uncovers startling truths about the planet, and about the distorted reality the founders of the colony have constructed for Arik's entire generation. Everything Arik has ever known is called into question, and he must figure out the right path for himself, his wife, and his unborn daughter.

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