This is one of the best zombie novels I've read since World War Z. The author definitely seems to have "found his voice" and his writing style is a plThis is one of the best zombie novels I've read since World War Z. The author definitely seems to have "found his voice" and his writing style is a pleasure to read - it's not bombastic or convoluted; I'm sure many readers would call it a page-turner. There is maybe a *touch* too much nerd revenge if there can be too much of such a thing....more
Virtually all of this book covers events that occurred in the graphic novels, specifically the siege on the prison - the caveat being that much of it Virtually all of this book covers events that occurred in the graphic novels, specifically the siege on the prison - the caveat being that much of it is told from Woodbury's point of view instead of the prison gang's. I bumped the rating of this novel up from its predecessors because Bonansinga took on some challenging goals with Lilly's character and successfully took me from disliking her, to being apathetic about her fate, to once again feeling sympathetic towards her. Trying to illustrate how a person could buy into The Governor's madness was a tough row to hoe, but I think he did well with it. As a bonus, the end of the novel covers what happens to Woodbury after the siege. Plenty of room to keep going, but I think he's found a good place to stop....more
This book covers the happenings in Woodbury before the siege on the prison. The first half is largely Lilly's story (new character, not to be confusedThis book covers the happenings in Woodbury before the siege on the prison. The first half is largely Lilly's story (new character, not to be confused with the Gov's girlfriend on the TV show) and the last half is basically a novelization of events in the graphic novel. That makes this book and its sequel a good source of information for fans of the show, who want to know the differences between the show and the graphic novels, but don't want to fork out the substantial amount of cash required for the compendiums.
-2 stars for persistent editing errors, mainly having to do with firearms: their operation, nomenclature, and capabilities. Also for some action movie theatrics, for instance, nobody shoots double-fisted, and if they do they're not going to make 6 head shots with 10 rounds, in the dark, in a melee. And why is everybody shooting full-auto if they have an ammo shortage? And why are they discarding their magazines on the roadside after one use? C'mon, I'll suspend disbelief for zombies, but don't ask me to do it for everything else as well....more
Lillie Caul (*not* Lilly from the TV show) and her group of survivors find Woodbury and discover the real danger may be inside the walls.
For TWD fans,Lillie Caul (*not* Lilly from the TV show) and her group of survivors find Woodbury and discover the real danger may be inside the walls.
For TWD fans, this book provides details on how Woodbury developed under The Governor's leadership, as well as giving some previously-unseen background on The Gov himself, Alice, Dr. Stevens, and Martinez. It follows the graphic novel setting, not the TV show.
Has some good fight scenes and it's nice to see the extra details on Woodbury and its residents, but I subtracted one star because I didn't particularly like Lillie (view spoiler)[after what she did to Josh (hide spoiler)] and subtracted a second star for poor editing on all things firearm related. Not trying to be a gun snob, but if you're gonna have that much gun play you ought to have at least *one* person who knows a little bit about them proofread your story....more
Fun little zombie story with the remarkable achievement of having a fresh, relatively unique model of how the zombies work and spread. Some of the chaFun little zombie story with the remarkable achievement of having a fresh, relatively unique model of how the zombies work and spread. Some of the characters are a little flat and a few clichés are used, but they can be easily forgiven. The novel seems to be set up for a sequel but I don't see that one has been released yet....more
This is an absolutely awful, juvenile, amateur attempt at a zombie novel - quite possibly the worst I've ever read. I Thank god I didn't pay for this.
This is an absolutely awful, juvenile, amateur attempt at a zombie novel - quite possibly the worst I've ever read. I should have put it down when I read this line:
...reaches the fence but keeps trying to walk forward like a retarded kid.
Then I read this line:
He slams it back home and jerks the barrel back so there is one in the chamber
...and decided I'd keep reading for the laughs. I made quite a few more notations on my Kindle, but I won't bother to transcribe them all here. Suffice it to say that Mr. Long makes the grievous error of attempting to write about things like medicine and firearms without bothering to take the time to make even a cursory Google search to see what, for instance, Coumadin would do for a hemorrhagic stroke, or how a pistol is loaded.
Women in the novel are treated with levels of misogyny and chauvinism that I would expect from a hormone-addled and poorly raised high-school boy. Multiple chapters are written as a platform to describe sex and sadism fantasies and make no attempt to advance the plot.
In short, this book should have remained a private endeavor, locked in a drawer in a desk. I feel cheated to have spent my time on it; don't dare make the mistake of spending money on it....more
Standard zombie-apocalypse fare. Not too badly written, but the point of view changes from character to character, and you only have one first-person Standard zombie-apocalypse fare. Not too badly written, but the point of view changes from character to character, and you only have one first-person pov at a time. It's a unique way to tell a story, but I don't see how it made the story better. I subtracted a few stars for inaccurate use of medical terminology, the use of graphic rape scenes to villify his villain, and a transparent use of the novel to air the author's idea that an interstate overpass is a good locale for a survivor settlement (which he then failed to support). That being said, it still had an effective story arc, believable characters, and a fine pace. It was a great break from several weeks of work-related studying.
Finally got around to reading it - thank you Lakeshia!!!...more