As expected I loved this anthology of works from George R.R Martin. It was so cute how he included a couple stories from when he was yMy 400th Review!
As expected I loved this anthology of works from George R.R Martin. It was so cute how he included a couple stories from when he was young, while they were a tiny bit painful to get through it was amazing to see how far he has come with his writing.
As someone who discovered him from his Song of Ice and Fire series it was interesting to find out that he is actually famous in a wide range of genres. Horror, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, he masters them all. I don't think that there is a single story throughout this anthology that I didn't like. I also really appreciated his thoughts on the stories, it was a nice lead in. I can't wait to read volume two.5/5
So I picked up this book because I saw it was by the author who wrote “Warm Bodies”. I never actually read the book but I loved the movie, and after r So I picked up this book because I saw it was by the author who wrote “Warm Bodies”. I never actually read the book but I loved the movie, and after reading “ The New Hunger” I am eager to read everything that this author has published.
This story has multiple narratives and follows a family of three, a group of zombies and a brother sister pairing. Each voice is is fresh and fascinating. The writing is extremely immersive and the feels...oh man the feels! Amazing story with a unique take on zombies that a wide range of people would enjoy.
Buy, Borrow or Bin Verdict: Buy
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review....more
Often anthologies can be a bit of a risk quality-wise, rarely are all of the stories on par with each other. This spine-chilling collection is the exc Often anthologies can be a bit of a risk quality-wise, rarely are all of the stories on par with each other. This spine-chilling collection is the exception. Every story with the unfortunate exception of a couple, were amazing.
Seriously, I struggled to read this book at night because it was so awesomely scary. This collection claims to make vampires scary again and it delivers. I would recommend this to any fan of paranormal fiction.
Even if like me, you are not a fan of horror I still think you will like this book if you are a fan of vampires. The stories all feature varying myths of vampires from all over the world, and the diversity is refreshing. 4/5
“Trace didn't even bother wearing a watch any longer. When I'd asked him why, he told me that once a man's taking his last breaths, he doesn't both“Trace didn't even bother wearing a watch any longer. When I'd asked him why, he told me that once a man's taking his last breaths, he doesn't bother counting them.”
*closes book* Wow that was amazing! Okay Dana, deep breath now. You don't want this review to turn into a garbled fangirling mess now do you? Focus.
I wouldn't recommend reading this right before bed, but I would definitely recommend picking up this amazing collection of interlocking horror stories. This is the first time that I have read an anthology where all the stories are connected and I absolutely loved it. Each author has their own unique voice but they all somehow manage to flawlessly go together as an overall story.
I also loved how the vampires in this are not your garden variety vampires that we are all used to reading about now a days. The vampires in this collection are amazing. There is a huge assortment of completely unique vampires that range from incredible super-humans to traditional to gory monsters and beyond. I always appreciate when authors go outside of the norm, especially when it comes to the paranormal.
There were a couple small moments where it felt like the gore was more for the shock value then necessity, but there were only a couple instances where this stood out for me and overall I felt that the violence/gore was not in excess (although perhaps not for the faint hearted).
My favourite stories (although I loved them all) were The Monster Inside by Scot Nicholson and Love Lost by John Everson.
Overall this is an amazing and original collection of vampire stories, and I would recommend this to all fans of paranormal and/or horror.
Buy, Borrow or Bin Verdict:Buy
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review....more
This book turned out to be so much darker than I anticipated, and I loved it! I normally hate “found footage” type books but this really pulled throug This book turned out to be so much darker than I anticipated, and I loved it! I normally hate “found footage” type books but this really pulled through. Admittedly it did take me a while to get into this but once i did (especially once all the dark and scary stuff got started), I found myself very invested in the outcome of the plot.
I wasn't a huge fan of the main character, I always find it hard to root for people who's recklessness puts others in danger, but I can't deny that she did manage to redeem herself. I just hope in future books she uses her head a little more!
Buy, Borrow or Bin Verdict: Buy
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review....more
If I had to describe this book in one word, I would say that it was TEDIOUS. It kind of reminded me of a novelization of some super cheesy, low budget If I had to describe this book in one word, I would say that it was TEDIOUS. It kind of reminded me of a novelization of some super cheesy, low budget, made for tv slasher flick. I guess when they say non-stop action, they mean non-stop action!
The entire book was simply a massive collection of repetitious dismemberment and explosions. Yet despite all this action there was never any suspense due to the extreme amount of ludicrous saves. Not that you really care what happens to anyone, as they all have zero personality.
There is next to no dialogue in the story that isn't coma inducing, the only talking is spent explaining boring technicalities, and we already know that the God like MC will be able to McGyver her way out of literally any situation, so who gives a crap about the made up “how” and “why”.
The action is so over the top and repetitive that I truly felt that I was simply reading the same story over and over again. At the end of the day I can't even recommend this book as a dumb fluff read, because you will surely give yourself a headache from the excessive eye rolling that this book will cause. Two stars because it didn't cause me to throw it against the wall, although that was probably just because it was on my Kindle...
Buy, Borrow or Bin Verdict: Bin
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review....more
Overall I found this anthology to be a diverse collection of all things zombie, the quality was a little rocky at times, but the great stories squirre Overall I found this anthology to be a diverse collection of all things zombie, the quality was a little rocky at times, but the great stories squirreled away in this tome made it all worth reading. 3.5/5
The Afflicted I really liked this one, you should have seen the look on my face when(view spoiler)[ the zombie talked! lol (hide spoiler)] 5/5
Dead Song - I wasn't a huge fan of the writing but I wasn't too bored. 3/5
Iphigenia in Aulis - I thought this was a cool concept, the ending was sad! 4/5
Pollution - This was kinda boring and I didn't like the main character, I did find the ending interesting though, and thought that the overall concept was thought provoking. 2.5/5
Becca at the end of the world - I thought this was kind of dumb, the writing seemed a little amateur and the ending was very clichéd. 2.5/5
The Naturalist - Not sure how I feel about this one, I liked the beginning but then the story seemed to go a little wonky. 3/5
Selected Sources for the Babylonian Plague of the Dead(527-571 BCE) - Not a fan of the writing style at all but at least this was short. 1.5/5
What Maisie Knew - I feel like this was a darker, more thought out version of Pollution. However I found this hard to read as it was very sick and twisted. 3/5
Rocket Man - Kinda meh, not very memorable. 3/5
The Day the Music Died - Not bad, kinda funny in a messed up way. 3/5
The Children's Hour- Very Meh 2/5
Delice- Hard to read but I really liked this.4.5/5
Trail of the Dead- I liked this one too, would be up for reading more of this story. 3.5/5
The Death and Life of Bob: Loved this, hilarious. 5/5
Stemming the Tide: 3/5
Those Beneath the Bog: I was pretty bored with this story, it wasn't bad, just wasn't for me. 2.5/5
What Still Abides: 1/5
Jack and Jill: Pretty decent, but I'm biased towards this author. 4/5
In the Dreamtime of Lady Resurrection: nope,nope,nope 1.5/5
Rigormarole: Gross but interesting. 3/5
Kitty's Zombie New Year: 3/5
The Gravedigger of Konstan Spring: 2.5/5
Chew- Loved this!, so well done. 5/5
Til Death Do Us Part - 3/5
There is no E in Zombie - 2.5/5
What We Once Feared- 3/5
The Harrowers- 4/5
Resurgam - Okay, but I kept waiting for it to end, not a good sign in a short story 2.5/5
I Waltzed With A Zombie - This also dragged 2/5
Aftermath - Loved this, this story will probably stay with me for a long while. 5/5
A Shepherd of the valley - Not sure about the ending but liked this 3.5/5
The day the saucers came - The writing feels a little pretentious. 2/5
Love, resurrected - This was well written. 3.5/5
Present - This was sad but I enjoyed it. 4/5
The Hunt - I can imagine this happening in the event of a zombie apocalypse, but seriously (view spoiler)[what is the deal with everyone essentially raping zombies? (hide spoiler)]
Bit rot -Way too much Sci Fi gibber jabber for me to comprehend, really bogged down the story. 1/5 (hide spoiler)]
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. ...more
Too be honest I was disappointed with this comic. I enjoyed Jonathan Maberry's Benny Imura series, but this new work was bland. The plot just seemed r Too be honest I was disappointed with this comic. I enjoyed Jonathan Maberry's Benny Imura series, but this new work was bland. The plot just seemed ridiculous, everything about this book was so unbelievable and the plot twists were very predictable. Unfortunately I don't have anything positive to say about this. It wasn't terrible but I would not recommend this. 2/5
Ever since my lucky encounter with Max Brooks at FanExpo I have been a bit of a Fangirl regarding him. I was pretty late on the bandwagon with World W Ever since my lucky encounter with Max Brooks at FanExpo I have been a bit of a Fangirl regarding him. I was pretty late on the bandwagon with World War Z, although the movie did nothing to help this. When I finally read World War Z however I was entranced. I have read a lot of zombie fiction and this was first class.
When I met him at the convention he was promoting a new comic book of his called " The Extinction Parade", about a vampire in the midst of the zombie apocalypse. While I had faith that this unconventional premise would be fun, I had quickly depleted my funds that day and unfortunately could not pick this up. I went home and forgot all about this quirky comic.
Fast forward to today when I found this gem on Netgalley. I can confidently say that all is now well in the world. This comic is awesome, and admittedly more gory than I expected. Not necessarily a bad thing, but be forewarned. The main character had me torn, on one hand I found her infinity interesting but on the other I was disgusted with her way of life. However perhaps it's time we had more traditional, evil vampires rather than the currently popular Twilight variety.
Admittedly I don't read a lot of comics but this one was worth reading, I can't wait to pick up the next installment. The plot, the dialogue, the illustrations, were all spot on.
Note: I received this comic for free in exchange for an honest review.
This book was better than I expected it to be. Meaning no offence to the author by saying that, it's just that I can be pretty critical of Dystopian/Z This book was better than I expected it to be. Meaning no offence to the author by saying that, it's just that I can be pretty critical of Dystopian/Zombie novels because they are one of my favourite genres. However this action packed read didn't disappoint.
The pacing was good and the plot was intense. One thing I really enjoyed about this novel were all of the twists. They were really well done in that they were shocking but believable.
Overall this book is a great zombie adventure with fun twists and interesting characters. Can't wait for the sequel!
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
The first 70% percent of the novel... [image] Reading the first 70% of this novel felt like a penance for a terrible crime. It was so dull and reminded The first 70% percent of the novel... [image] Reading the first 70% of this novel felt like a penance for a terrible crime. It was so dull and reminded me of English class in high school where everyone would say everything in the longest way possible to meet the word requirement. This novel felt twice as long as it needed to be.
The last 30% of the novel...
The novel improved exponentially. It was interesting and suspenseful. Unfortunately it was just too little too late. The last bit of the story did buff away some of my resentment ,but I still mourned my time wasted from reading this
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review....more
“It's just that I'm fifteen, and I have this crazy idea I might actually have a life in front of me. I don't see how it's going to do me much good “It's just that I'm fifteen, and I have this crazy idea I might actually have a life in front of me. I don't see how it's going to do me much good to believe that the world is over and this is just an epilogue.” ― Jonathan Maberry, Rot and Ruin
Not sure how I feel about this installment. I think that the plot was intriguing but the pace dragged a little too much for my liking. I normally love big books but this one actually felt long if you get what I mean. I may be a little unfair in my criticism of this book though, in that I found myself comparing it slightly to the walking dead. The sheriff Rick Easter eggs in the series didn't really help to take away that comparison .
The "romance" in the story was irritating and I often wondered if I was reading a bad ass zombie novel or Twilight. The constant " I love you" " I hate you" over and over really tested my patience. I don't need romance in a novel to enjoy it and I feel like this book didn't need the romance aspect at all to make it a good novel. I felt like the "love story" actually took away from the overall quality of the book.
I did however love the ending. Benny's final monologue was insightful and wise and bittersweet, a perfect close. I did still have a lot of questions left at the end of the book, particularly pertaining to (view spoiler)[the zombie cure... seemed kind of farfetched. I think an immunization to the zombie plague rather than a " back from the dead miracle cure" would have been a more realistic road to go down. (hide spoiler)] At the end of the day though, this is a zombie book and not everything is going to line up perfectly and I'm okay with that. 3.5/5 ...more
"It was why Lilah did not fear death. So many of the people she loved were waiting for her there" - Flesh and Bone
I liked this book BUT Kind of an "It was why Lilah did not fear death. So many of the people she loved were waiting for her there" - Flesh and Bone
I liked this book BUT Kind of annoyed at how many times Benny says sorry to the zombies he kills. I'm Canadian and even I think this is getting to be too much. He is becoming way too deferential to these zombies and my eyes are getting exhausted from all the rolling.
And another thing, while I'm on a tangent and all, what the hell is up with Chong? He is the Lorrie of this book ( if you watch the walking dead you will understand), all he does is endanger people, the world is dangerous enough without him adding to it! I understand that not everybody is cut out for the rot and ruin but he is just plain reckless and that is not so easily forgivable. I think in a town setting he would be great and useful and make a big difference but out in the wild I just hate him. Then I feel bad for hating him because I certainly wouldn't last a day in the rot and ruin, but still why does he have to be so annoying?
Also,
Nix has turned into a massive bitch, buuuut I feel like I can't really blame anyone for being a bitch in the zombie apocalypse. Her harshness towards Benny is pretty cringe worthy though.
Now after all that griping you might think I hate this book. I don't. In fact I quite liked it, I think my issue is more with the pace/direction of some of the characters than with the quality of writing which is still just as high as the previous two. I was quite impressed with how the author winds in new characters in a natural yet interesting way.
Overall this was an enjoyable read and if you can get past some overly clumsy/bitchy characters I think that you will really enjoy this. 3.5/5 ...more
Forget the walking dead, this is where first class zombie action is at! My heart was pounding through the whole book! I usually prefer a single, first Forget the walking dead, this is where first class zombie action is at! My heart was pounding through the whole book! I usually prefer a single, first person narrative as opposed to several third person narratives(especially in YA novels) but Jonathan Maberry's writing won me over.
It reminded me of an awesome action/ adventure TV show where the movement from one scene to another is flawless. The pacing was great and I was eagerly awaiting the continuation of each characters story, even from characters that weren't exactly high on my list of favourites *cough* Chong *cough*
In this sequel I found myself disagreeing a bit more with the moral voice of the story i.e. Tom. While I do agree that you should have respect for the dead I do not think that you should put them above the living. I feel like Tom is doing that to an extent when he only kills for closure jobs and self defense. Sure you don't have to kill that zombie, but by letting it live you are essentially putting other people's lives in danger. People that maybe are not "warrior smart" enough to handle an attack. Zombies that you spare endanger the living. It's as simple as that.
Despite some internal disagreements I had with some of the characters, I still really enjoyed this novel. It was amazing. The subject matter is pretty dark though, I might have to take a breather between the next books in the series ... Oh who am I kidding, bring on book number three!
"Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope. "Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope." - Author Unknown
One word. Riveting! I could not put this book down, throughout the entire book it was constantly "one more chapter, one more chapter". I think this would be a great book to read in school, not only is its plot fascinating enough to keep kids/teens entertained, hell even adults entertained, it also teaches many valuable life lessons. I was initially even a little surprised at how wise the writing was. How many morality questions it raises. What I like about the novel is how it raises those questions. There is nothing preachy about it and the writing is very unbiased. The author lets you come to your own conclusions while laying out all the options. Maberry also challenged my view of zombies.
"There were soldiers, nurses, kids his own age, ordinary people, old people, many of them showing signs of the terrible bites that had killed them. Just standing there in the midday sunlight. It was such a strange site - all these dead standing there like statues. No...that wasn't it. They were like gravestones, using their own flesh to mark where they had died, and where they would spend eternity."- Rot and Ruin
I enjoyed how the book was about life after the apocalypse while still having people from before/after in the story. It was interesting to see how the younger generation felt about the zombies versus the older generation. I slightly prefer zombie books that are about the aftermath rather than the initial outbreak, probably because of my penchant for dystopian novels. This novel really strikes a perfect balance between the two, the present timeline is several years after "First Night" but we still learn many stories of those early days and years through other characters in the story. Rot and Ruin really makes me intrigued to find other Bram Stoker award winners. Amazing read. 5/5 ...more
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