Book Review: 900 Miles (900 Miles #1)

Today I'm reviewing the book 900 Miles (900 Miles #1) by S. Johnathan Davis 

I didn't know what to expect from this book.  I found it with a bunch of other zombies books and needed something different.  I hadn't read a zombie book for a while as I had concentrated on other books.

I say this in a good way, but it was written in a very simple straight forward way.  After reading a lot of Stephen King and other large novel authors it is nice to not to have to read a chapter to know what color the dress on a woman cross the street was.

The book itself was nothing special and standard zombie stuff, which isn't a bad thing.  It had what you find in 95% of zombie books.  Someone trying to get to a loved one.  Humans are actually the enemy.  Big cluster fights.  You know standard fare.

I could see where the author was trying to do things slightly different but at the end of the day it is hard to find an original idea when it comes to the zombie motif.  With all the movies and books a lot of it has been done before.

I think the the biggest downfall was that I didn't relate to any of the characters and I think it is because there wasn't much build up of the characters themselves.  They were just there to me.  Also the action just kept coming with no lull really.  I understand this idea however.  As someone who has tried to write a few of my own zombie stories I know that you don't want the story to be boring so you think I've got to have one battle after another after another.  Which lets be honest, is realist in a sense if this did happen, but lacks storytelling at time.

That isn't to say that I hated it.  It was right there middle of the road.  I enjoyed it for what it was but, and again this isn't meant as an insult, I wasn't going to be reading the Hobbit or IT.

If you enjoy zombie books, or are looking for quick easy enjoyable read this isn't a bad choice.  I'm going to see if I can hunt down the second one just to see where the author goes.

Book Review: Armada

I have enjoyed both of Ernest books.  Perhaps it is the nerd in me and the many nerdy references.  I am sure that is part of it.  But part of it is the writing style.  It is simple...and I don't mean that in a bad way.

Years ago I was accused of "writing like I talk" and I feel that way here as I read the story.  It felt more like a transcript of an oral story rather then a novel.  As much as I like Stephen King he often takes paragraphs to say what could have been said in two lines.

Both Ready Play One and Armada had good pacing without feeling rushed and I enjoyed the story in both.  Nothing ground breaking or anything like that but just good solid story telling.  I didn't care for the ending but no matter which directly it was taken I think I would have disliked it.

I also think I liked this book because it hit close to home.  I related to the Zach character.  As a young man, like most who lose a parent, I used to dream of my dad coming back.  Being a secret agent or in hiding from the mob or something!  Of course stuff like that rarely happens in real life but a boy can dream right?   I also have what some would call an anger issue so I understood the Zach character more then some might have.

There were issues with the story I didn't like.  The Lex character seemed a little stereotypical and a few of the other "politically correct" items seemed slightly forced/didn't add much to the story.  I guess it just kind of took me out of the story instead of showing "real people" which I think was the point.

Overall I really liked it, 4/5.  The few things above is all that stopped me from giving it 5/5.  Check this out for a quickish fun read.

Book Review: The Scattered and the Dead (Book 1)

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening...whenever it is you've come across this set of ramblings!  Today I am going to review a book.  "The Scattered and the Dead (Book 1)" by Tim McBain and L.T.Vargus.  "With 99.7% of the Earth's population dead and gone, the few who remain struggle to survive in an empty world. The scattered. The leftovers. These are their stories."

This sounded interesting for sure!  With this description I felt like it would be like World War Z only not in a first person/interview style...and anyone who knows me knows how much I love the World War Z book! I looked on Goodreads and saw a lot of 5 star ratings so this was going to be a great read.

However I was disappointed.  I felt most of the stories were just there and I even got to the point where I was skimming certain characters because I disliked them so much...and not the characters I should dislike if that makes since.  

I found the character of "Baghead" interesting and the storyline of the two girls Erin and Izzy I liked. Beyond that didn't care about the other characters.

Spoilers below so you've been warned:

I really REALLY hated the Mitch character.  I skimmed/skipped most of his story.  He was such a whinny bitch that I wanted his kids to kill him just to shut him up!  And whoever wrote that section liked to write a lot of words to say very little.  The chapter of him in the shed went on for a whole book I think.  I had a birthday during that chapter it was so long!  I was like he was trying to be Stephen King without the talent.

Let me say that I can't do better.  I am a HORRIBLE writer of stories...and maybe of this blog I don't know...but I feel like I know good and bad writing and that was bad.

I don't remember the Rex character at all so I can't say anything about him....I feel like there was a character near the beginning that bit it early one for doing something stupid...oh wait I remember now.  Yeah not something stupid just kind of a pointless story I guess.  Okay it wasn't pointless it gave you a glimpse at what was going on in the world but very unmemorable.  

The others were just there as well.  That isn't to say it was a bad book exactly, just not 5 star worthy at all.  I give it a 2/5 on goodreads but honestly it't be a 2.5 if I could.  It was average, again...better than anything I could write, but nothing out of this world.  I have book 1.5 to check out next and I'll continue reading because I am interested in Erin, Izzy and Baghead.  

If you need something to read this isn't the worst thing out there but there are better choices as well. Until next time...Abyssinia

Book Review: Kill Switch

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening...whenever it is you happen to be reading this.  I'm back for something a little different, this time with a book review.

If you've seen my past book reviews you know that Jonathan Maberry is one of, if not my favorite, author.  Be it his Joe Ledger series, which this book is part of, his Pine Deep, Benny Imura or other series...everything I've read of his has been fantastic!

From Amazon:

Terrorists have acquired a terrible new weapon that can crash the power grid and plunge America into a new dark age. A coordinated attack is planned to shut out all lights and emergency services to ten major cities. Planes will fall, hospitals will go dark, no help will come.

And in that terrible darkness, a dreadful plague will be released. If the lights go off, nothing can stop the bioweapon from killing millions.

At the same time, the intelligence services are being torn apart from within by a plague of betrayal, murder, and suicide. Even the Department of Military Sciences is stumbling in its response to the growing threat.

Time is running out, and Joe is being hunted by a terrifying new kind of assassin. A team of remote viewers have the ability to take over any person and turn ordinary citizens into killers. Where can you turn when there’s nobody left to trust?

Joe Ledger faces his deadliest challenge as friends and allies become enemies and all of the lights begin to go out…

How can you NOT want to read a book that has that description?  You have terrorist.  You have mysterious power outages.  You have betrayal.  You have the DMS.  You have remote viewers/dream walkers.  You have Joe F'N Ledger!  Sounds like a good time for everyone but those close to Joe and his team.

I sound like a fan boy here and I am to a certain extent.  From here on out there will be minor spoilers so you've been warned.

While not my favorite book of the series, that would probably be the first Patient Zero or Code Zero, this was good once it got going.

I thought it was a little slow at the beginning....mostly because they were adding new characters to the Maberry Universe so to speak.  In a quite a few of the previous books they built upon themselves so there wasn't as much background as there was here.  I guess I wanted more Joe fighting and Church being Church and what not.  Having just typed that I realize that is unfair of me to say but it is true, that is what I wanted so I struggled a bit getting into it which was odd.

The giant Albino penguins showed up and things started to pick up.  I realize now as i type this that things aren't as bad as I thought initially.  It really was a nice rollercoaster ride with slight little hills to start with, each new one slightly bigger till the end and the assault at the end the giant near 180 drop you want and dread.

The other thing that I disliked was that I knew the big bad guy in the book rather quickly.  It didn't take me long to realize who was pulling the strings of the puppets.  That isn't a huge problem for me personally because for me it is the journey not the end that matters for the most part (that is why I don't mind spoilers for most things) but from almost the first page the character was introduced I had a feeling like "I have a feeling that Joe is going to headbutt him in the face".  There were a few good red herrings in there and at one point I had convinced myself that it was someone different but briefly before I realized that didn't make sense but most of the time I was targeted on the one character.

The story was really good and interesting and I loved all the little inside references to the Maberry Universe like the droppage of the Lucifer 113 about midway through the book.  Then near the end with the Flash Forwards...I guess you'd call them...made me smile a lot.

Then throw in the includes of the alternate dimension ideas and cthulhu/Lovecraft stuff and I wa really dug the book.

Also I liked that it gave Bunny and Top a little more character than in some of the other books.   I'd really like to see them get their own short stories just to know more about these characters that I've read 8 books with and half a dozen or more short stories.

Overall another very good book by my close personal friend Jonathan Maberry!  You can pick it up online or most likely at your local bookstore however I'd go back and read all of the series first. Honestly if you want to pick up a fantastic book pick up Ghost Road Blues and read that trilogy before going into Ledger and the rest of his series.  They are all interwoven but I think Ghost Road Blues is a great intro to Maberry and not as military as the Ledger series.  Go go go!

Mockingjay: A Book Review

I finally finished the Hunger Games series last night.  You can pick up the series here.  You can find my past reviews of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire on older posts.  

Overall I'd give this a 2.5 out of 5 and the series the same.  Average.  I will admit that I read Mockingjay in one sitting basically.  I wanted to know how the series ended, even though much of it become obvious.  That is a good thing but...

Suzanne Collins has the abilities to make me hate almost every character in her series.  By the end of the series I liked two characters I think.  Finnick and Beetee.  By the end of the series I pretty much hated everyone else.  

From here on out there will be spoilers boys and girls so you've been warned.

I honestly don't know how Collins mapped out her characters but it must be with the idea that everyone in Panem is bipolar!  Okay almost everyone.  Finnick and Beetee are pretty much constant but everyone else flip flops sides so often I think I got whiplash a few times!  Peeta isn't too bad but his decision at the end does make me dislike him.

Lets look at the end first I guess because the idea that Katniss would agree to have one more Hunger Game makes me wish she had died even more then I had before.  It goes against everything she had been for the entire series!  She hated the game but then is willing to send kids from the Capital?  WHAT?!  She is in love with Peeta but often throws herself at Gale.  I realize she is 17 so I give her a bit of a pass on that...I guess.

I am trying to think of another series, book or movie or TV, that I've hated the main character as much as I have "The Mockingjay".  Off the top of my head I can't think of one.  I realize that the character goes through a lot in a few years and that it would mess anyone up but she is just so unlikeable!  Gale isn't much further behind although he is a little more consistent with his hatred.

Collins also didn't hid the fact that President Coin wasn't much better than President Snow.  I found it weird that her right hand man Boggs basically said not to trust her at the end since they were both from 13 and against everything and everyone else.

Overall the book series is a great idea and I am probably being a little hard on the series since it is a Young Adult book meant for a younger audience.  I just feel that just because it is meant for the youth of the world doesn't mean that it has to be dumbed down.  I feel like there was such an opportunity to make younglings think about bigger things and show that anger and revenge aren't the answer yet again and again and again its all about revenge and death.

Oh and the fact that Peeta, even though he loves Katniss, forgives her for things like another Hunger Games made me a little sick.  Love doesn't conquer all and I would think sentencing another generation of kids to suffer like they did is something you can't forgive but I guess I'm wrong.

If you want a fun-ish series that is an easy read this isn't a bad series and feel like there was a miss opportunity for more for the younglings!  Until next time...may the odds be ever in your favor....but don't be like a Mockingjay!

Flesh and Bone book reivew

I finally sat down and read Flesh & Bone by Jonathan Maberry.  This is the third book in the Benny Imura series and as good as any of the others.  I read it basically in two sittings and if I didn't have this damn cold I would have probably done it in one.

I won't ruin too much but the store is about a world after First Night when the zombie virus (you find out the name of the virus in this book but I won't ruin that).  We pick up after the groups adventure at Gameland.  Gameland was a sick place where kids were taken to zombie pits to fight while people made bets on the survival of the kids.  It was there that Benny's brother Tom was killed after being shot in the back.  Strangely Tom didn't reanimate as a zombie and that is where we pick up the story of Benny, Nix, Chong and the Lost Girl.

This story goes a little darker than the first two and I liked that.  I liked it because it dealt with things that zombie books often don't touch and that is grief.  Jonathan has a nice intro about it and how his own grief at the time from some personal issues were there as well.  There is talk of suicides, mass killings and the like.  Remember this is a YA, a young adult novel, so it is edgier but stuff that kids need to hear.  

You also have the introduction of a cult, a little greek history and a crossover character.  Even though it is known I won't ruin it.  I wish I hadn't heard ahead of time although if you've read some of Jonathan's other books you'd know who it was the moment the name is mentioned.  

I really don't have anything bad to say about this book, which everyone knows is rare for me.  Well may be one complaint, that I have wait over a year for what I believe is the end of Benny and Nix's journey.  I do wish I knew a little more about a few of the new characters in this book such as Mother Rose and Alexi but you've only got so much you can do or you end up like Stephen King and the books are thousands of pages.  

If you want a good fast read I recommend this series or his DMS/Joe Ledger series (those these are not YA).  I haven't read his Pine Deep Trilogy but they are on my list of books to read.  He is also in several zombie anthologies.  Even a bit of the Benny Imura story is in one which is what made me grab the first in this series.  Lastly, and I don't know you can find this until next year, he was featured in the History Channel special about zombies,  Zombies:  A Living History, which was really good and featured Max Brooks and J.L Bourne, two more excellent zombie authors.

Unfortunately it looks like it'll be a quite a few months before Jonathan's next book comes out.  Looks like March of next year when Joe Ledger returns to fight something evil in Extinction Machine.  

Dead of Night book review

Last night I finally finished the new Jonathan Maberry book "Dead of Night". I say finally because it took me way to long to finish this book. It was, like everything I've read of his, extremely well done.

The book is about a zombie type outbreak. I say zombie like because it is closer to the movie "28 Days Later" in the creatures. The story takes place in a small town in Pennsylvania. Much like Maberry's other books I can't give much of a plot outline because EVERYTHING is important and I don't want to ruin anything. Basically a zombie virus is released after an execution.

The book is slow at parts but in a good way. He builds the tension up very well and the characters, well most of them, are well defined. I say most because I would have liked to know more about the JT character personally. Not that he wasn't well developed I just wanted to know more about his background having so much about the other characters.

This had a Stephen King feel to it the way it ebbs and flows. Much like King he made me care about the characters and feel what the character feels. The tension, the anger, the frustration and the fear the characters feel are intense. The pat where Dez jumps out of her trailer played out so well and vivid.

I wanted more from this story in a good way. I didn't want it to end. The brief story ideas that come from the gym scene makes me want stories from this universe.

All in all another great book by Jonathan. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he has become one of my favorite authors. I look forward to his next Ledger novel, which is not soon enough for me, and need to go read his older stuff.

Another great book from Maberry. It can be picked up at your local bookstore, at BN.com or amazon.com

Pick it up, enjoy it and pass it on!

Book review of Dying to Live: Last Rites

This is the third book in the Dying to Live series. I really enjoyed the first one. The second one was okay but I didn't like where the story was going. I was wrong and Mr. Paffenroth I am sorry for doubting you. This story picks up after Will, Rachel, Truman and Lucy are exiled. I don't want to give too much away as pretty much anything is a spoiler but I will say Rachel and is sick and the other three man some difficult decisions to save her. New Sparta isn't the savior that they think it is.

Let me say this, while this is a third in a zombie series this does not really feel like a zombie book. While the characters, Truman and Lucy, are both zombies neither feel like it. While this book was completely different then World War Z I look it at the same. World War Z was about survival and I look at this the same way. I felt for the characters quite a bit.

Kim takes the zombie story in a very different way as the zombies becomes basically a different species but not the brainless eating machines that so many stories make them. As much as I didn't like Truman and Lucy in Life Sentence I really liked them in this one. The story arch that each character goes through was amazing, especially Lucy's.

I almost don't want to say this is the third in the series as you don't have to have read the others to enjoy this. It is a different book. I extremely enjoyed it and read it in basically two sittings give or take.

Overall I would give say if you enjoy zombie stories this series is a good one. This one is about survival and almost a commentary on human nature...and not a good one but a true one. What happens in this book could happen in our society.

If there is another book in this series I will pick it up and I am going to try and pick up his book about George A. Romero.

King of Plagues by Jonathan Maberry

I just finished finally reading the third book in the Joe Ledger series. King of Plagues you into the world of secret societies and Ledger does battle with the Seven Kings.

If you remember I did a review of Dragon Factory last year and became GREAT friends with the auther....okay he sent me a brief thank you, but that is more than enough for me to lie through my teeth. However I am a broadcast journalist (I still miss seeing the Brain on TV) I will not allow that to cloud my judgment.

I really enjoyed this book. It started a bit slow I thought and that is a good thing. It was like a freight train it was slow at first and then it picked up steam and by the end there was nothing stopping it. Unlike the other Ledger adventures this one was going to take more than just brute force and luck. Some great new characters were introduced and I hope continue in the series. I personally would love to know more about Hugo and I liked him from his introduction. There is also some great foreshadowing to future DMS investigations.

We also so the return of two of my favorite characters. The King of Plague and his conscious. Wait, I've read the other books you are saying and those characters are there. Read the book and you'll know the characters! The Conscious actually might be my favorite character in the book....besides Ghost (I have a weakness for dogs as mine is snoring away next to me).

The book is a good mix of straight forward plot and mystery. Maberry does a great job of making the solution so simple that you solve it and then second guess yourself. I had several key parts figured out and dismissed because it couldn't be, that would be too simple yet it isn't. Other 'mysteries' are obvious and they are suppose to be. I found myself several times yelling in my head for Joe to use his head because he is better than this. We also get to meet the infamous Aunt Sallie who I hope we see more of.

Overall another great novel by one of my favorite authors. I would give it 4 out of 5. I think this was better then Dragon Factory but not as good as Patient Zero. His next book, the second in the Rot and Ruin, Dust and Decay comes out at the end of August and I can't wait. Makes me wish I was still working at a book store for the possibility of an advance reader version of it. August is a few months and I don't plan on waiting to read that one like I did this one.

Great work. I know there was a rumor about a possible DMS/Joe Ledger TV Series. I hope it goes on a real network like HBO or Starz where they will give it the proper funding. Patient Zero especially was so vivid that it would be a waste if it ended up like Legend of the Seeker!

Okay got of track there but all talk of the DMS. I am off to buy my DMS Coffee mug.

Review of Battle: Los Angeles

Today I did something I hadn't done since July. No it wasn't take a shower, I do that once a month if I need it or not. I went to see a movie. We were talking about it last night while gaming and I realized that it had been that long AND that I could afford it once a week or so. Also I am quite stressed and a movie relaxes. I went to movies.yahoo.com and found out what was playing at my local Cinemark theatres. Most of it looked like NOTHING I would enjoy. Then I saw it. Battle: Los Angeles

I had heard of this movie but without TV now I don't see previews and I was out of the loop. It stars Aaron Eckhart, Bridget Moynahan, Cory Hardrict and Michelle Rodriguez atleast those are the people you would know. Bridget, while I enjoy her wasn't a star really.

Anyway I really enjoyed this film. It was everything that District 9 wasn't and I mean that in a good way. District 9 was trying to make a politically point and wasn't close to what I expected. I really like the movie and own the DVD but it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted explosions, shooting, people screaming and stuff like that. That is what you get from Battle: Los Angeles.

The plot is basic, meteors are crashing off the coast of most major cities and then BAM alien! Aaron Eckhart plays a SSgt. Michael Nantz who is putting in his retirement papers when he finishes his current training mission. Very cliche I know but there is more I could say but I don't want to ruin anything. He replaces another soldier who is off on leave and he is trust into action. From there you get explosions, aliens, more explosions, shooting, yet more explosions, Michael Pena of Shield Fame, an actual emotional scene and yes more explosions.

As I said earlier this is what I wanted when I went to District 9 originally. Was this "The Kings Speech"? I don't know as that doesn't look entertaining to me but I doubt it. This was dumb excitement and I loved it. It was slightly long and could have been cut down a little. I applaud them to try and make us care about the characters at the start but that isn't what you want from movies like this typically. They tried but they tried to be too much at times. I just wanted to see stuff blow up and they gave me that.

Overall I would give it 3.75 out of 5. Was it a movie I would see again? Probably not. Depending on DVD extras I could possibly get the DVD. The acting was well done and Aaron gave a great speech at on point. He really does good in movies that shouldn't be any good, The Core, Thank You for Smoking, and lets be honest no one expected anything from that Dark Knight POS (sarcasm on the last one, please don't send death threats!).

If you want just a stupid action flick this is a great option. It isn't preachy like almost everything else anymore. It was just dumb entertainment and I dug it. I am doing six days next week at work and I might not get a chance to go see a flick next week. Paul is my next flick I think as it comes out this week.

Cross Rhodes book review

Tuesday pro wrestler Dustin "Goldust" Rhodes released his auto biography 'Cross Rhodes'.

Anyone who watched the WWF during the mid 90's into what is called the Attitude era of Stone Cold and The Rock know Dustin's alter ego Goldust. Goldust has had several versions of his character. He started off as the very effeminate movie quoting character. Then came the Artist Formerly Known as Goldust who would dress up in weird outfits including bondage outfits with the late Luna Vachon. Then you had his stuttering gimmick after being electrocuted. No matter which version you know a 6'4" blonde painted gold like an Oscar is hard not to notice.

The book takes you on a very quick tour of his career but it is more about his life outside the squared circle. In it he talks about his on again off again relationship with his famous father pro wrestler Dusty Rhodes. He talks about his ex-wife Terri.

That isn't what was most interesting in my opinion. It was his open honest talk about his demons, alcohol and pain pills. He talks about hiding the pills and the booze. He talks about spiking his mountain dew with vodka. He talks about how his life went down hill.

Overall it isn't as good Mick Foley's books or Bret's (which would have been extremely hard since those are the measuring sticks) but it is a quick read. I personally would have liked to have more backstage stories about the wrestling itself but I don't think that is what Dustin was going for. This was about getting the story out. He doesn't use the line but it I got the idea that it wasn't about getting knocked down it was that Dustin kept getting up each time.

It took me around 2 hours to read this book. There were several quotes in the book that I wish I had wrote down. Dustin made you feel his pain without smacking you across the face with it.

I was a fan of Dustin/Goldust as the wrestler going back to his first's back in 1990 with the WWF. I actually remember Ted DiBiase beating him up and outlasting Ted's 10 minute challenge. Then his run as the Natural. One of my favorite matches is still Dustin taking on Vader on a Clash of the Champions. Now however I'm a fan of Dustin Runnels, the man behind the paint.

I hope Dustin is happy and I hope his latest set back, a shoulder injury that resulted in surgery, is just that a set back. Goldust is still one of the best in the ring and I would love to see one last run for the Golden One. One way or another as he said all those years ago...."You'll never....ever....for get the name of..." *long inhale* "Of Goldust."

Oh and as always go here to buy it from BN.com or here to buy it from amazon. The website will also give a little back to the best wrestling web site on the net pwinsider.com

I just finished reading "The New Dead" a zombie anthology. It has a series of zombie short stories in it from authors like Max Brooks, Tad Williams and others. Overall I would say it was interesting. It wasn't like World War Z or the Day by Day Armageddon books. Most of the zombie stories actually weren't zombies. Hell one had nothing to do with the undead actually. I'm still confused about that one.

I bought the book because it had a new World War Z universe story. I was actually disappointed with the story quite a bit. It wasn't written like WWZ and didn't have the same feel. Maybe it is true you can't go home again or revisit the past. Perhaps Max had lightning in a bottle when he did WWZ and he forgot to keep any for a sequel.

The anthology starts off slow but slowly picks up the pace. Most of the stories are new twists on the zombie idea. Some I liked others I didn't and there was only one that I thought was crap and I actually ended up skipping. It was mostly due to the strange writing style. Similar to the writing in the Road which is why I didn't like that either.

If you enjoy zombie stories, which I do, you should read this. I enjoyed Family Business, The Zombie who Fell from the Sky, My Dolly, Second Wind, Among Us (which I really liked the ending of the story), Ghost Trap, The Storm Door and Twittering from the Circus of the Dead. If you are a fan of WWZ you should read Closure as well. If you aren't don't let it taint you to one of my favorite books WWZ.

I hadn't read an anthology in a while, the last being one of Stephen King's collections of short stories. I don't usually don't like short stories because I like connection you get with a full novels characters. That is why I liked Family Business, the author of Patient Zero, and The Storm Door. They were written so that you connect with the characters quickly. Twittering is the same way but in a different way. It is done as a collection of tweets which is different but worked really well.

Again if you like zombies pick this up. I'll attach the link to BN.com (shameless plug) or even better go to your local BN or other book store and pick it up. Up next I think will be the squeal to Patient Zero " The Dragon Factory."