Jamie's Book Blog

This Book  Consumed Every Free Moment I Had

Wow, after reading this book I just have one word to describe it: HolyFreakingAmazingBatmanBalls. 

Seriously, this book rocks and I had such an amazing time reading it.  It's earned Jason Brant his own folder on my Kindle because I plan to snatch up the rest of his books as fast as I can.  I really try hard to make myself wait a day before posting a review that way the story has enough time to sink in but I couldn't wait for tomorrow so I've just decided to throw caution to the wind and write the review now.

What I love about this book:

1. Awesome mutant zombies or Vladdies as they're called in the book.  Get it Vladdies as in Vlad The Impaler!  They're mean, super strong, fast and are like these giant zombie gorilla flesh eating vampire monsters.  I know it sounds odd but trust me it's very cool and totally works.  These things are mean.  You know how you get when someone disturbs you when you're in the middle of a great book?  Yeah, they're that kind of mean. 

2.  Awesome Characters that you can relate to: There are so many great characters.  Lance is not your ordinary hero.  In fact he was a bit of a loser before the mutant zombie gorilla apocalypse happened.  Okay they're not really gorillas but their knuckles do drag the ground at times so they're getting called gorilla's by me.  Where was I? Oh yeah Lance, he's just your average guy. He was down on his luck, couldn't hold a job, his wife hates him and he doesn't have a lot of confidence anymore.  But once all hell breaks loose he's exactly the kind of person you would want on your side.  He's a great guy.  He's not super strong nor really fit or anything and he's not a very good fighter but he does his best and cares about people which is something I can totally relate to and once Cass entered the picture his confidence shot through the roof.  He might not be the best zombie killer out there but he is the best kind of person to have as a friend during the apocalypse.

Doc Brown (Gonna go back in time) is a great character too.  I love how can just take charge and gain control of a situation.  He thinks about everyone along with every situations from all angles.  He also happens to be one of the last doctors left in the US if not the world. 

Eifort who is ex-military (since there is no more military, at least not around these parts) is a wonderful character too.  She's small but deadly with a rifle.  All of the characters have an incredible amount of depth to them especially considering how action packed these books are.  They're an unlikely group of heroes who have become family to each other (and to me) in such a short amount of time.  I simultaneously look forward to and dread the next books.  I can't wait to read them but I don't want to lose any of these characters.  I care about them too much which is just a testament to Jason Brant's skill as a writer.

3.  Cass: Yes I know she should be covered under Awesome Characters but she's just so awesome that she gets her own number.  I love the fact that the main badass of the tale is a woman.  She's in shape, has a giant medieval battle axe (how cool is that?), can use a bow and arrow and dresses like a weird prostitute with a Mohawk.  Hey who cares about fashion, it's the end of the world.  Social conventions no longer have any meaning.  Time and time again she saves Lance or as she likes to call him: "dumbass".  I love their interactions.  I love how she seems to bring out the best in him and even though I think she should have chosen me over Lance I still really dig her character.  I mean I wasn't even really in the book so I can't blame her for that.  Besides Lance is pretty cool.  He does end up saving her quite often too, well maybe not as much as she saves him but you get the idea.  They're really good together and the two of them are the heart and soul of this series.

4.  Lots and lots of action.  The book is action packed.  If there was anymore action in this book then .... well I can't really come up with a good line for this one but you can imagine if I did.  it would have been awesome.

5.  Great Book Covers: These book covers rock.  The art work is just amazing.

6.  Stupendously Spectacular Suspenseful Storyline:  (Hey, I was going to throw sequel in there too so you got off lucky) The story-line is nothing short of incredible.  I'm all about the little things in a storyline.  Most of my favorite scenes in books aren't the big action sequences or the big reveal or the big moments but the little things.  I love it when a good author does those little things well.  A great author can turn anything into a plot device.  A shower, having a meal, a friendly conversation by the fire, etc.  Jason Brant not only does the little things very well but he manages to wrap them around the action so that the big things and the little things are all linked into one big smorgasbord of awesomeness. (I'm really big on that word)

Things I disliked about this book!

1. It Ended: I want to keep reading this forever.  Why did it have to end?

2.  Cass chose Lance over me:  Hopefully I'll be in the next book and she'll make the right decision :)

3. Uhm, that's it:  Oh yeah, I didn't like Ralph.  I really hated his character.  I really hope they get him in this book (I can't tell you if they did, that would ruin it).  But I guess that's not really a dislike since he's the badguy.  So I guess I like Ralph.  Now I'm very confused!

This series became an instant favorite of mine.  I cannot wait to read the next one and it never ceases to amaze me how Jason Brant was able to write about a zombie apocalypse which let's face it has been done a billion times and make it feel so completely new and unique.  I cannot recommend this series enough.   It's one heck of a ride and I think this book will pretty much appeal to anyone who likes good dialogue, plenty of action while still having a great deal of depth to the characters, lots of fun and funny moments and lastly but most importantly Cass.  Really, she's something else.  Plus if all of that isn't enough to entice you then Jason Brant included the short story Lotion as an added bonus which is a hilarious tale of post-apocalyptic proportions.  He wrote it and it was published in an anthology a while back and several people contacted him asking if he could expand the world and write some more books and he decided to do just that.  The rest is pure awesome reading goodness.