INFECTED

Infected by Bobby Adair
Books 2 in the Slow Burn series
Genre: post-apocalyptic zombie urban fantasy
Format: ebook

About Infected

Slow Burn: Infected picks up the story of Zed, Murphy, and Jerome where Slow Burn: Zero Day ended. All three have all been infected but have not succumbed to the most pernicious symptoms of the virus. They’re not the mindless cannibals that most infected are. Nevertheless, their band of survivors, fearful about the trio’s infections, have ostracized them. Now, back on the street, with weapons to defend themselves but little food in their packs, they embark on a search for Murphy’s family while following the rumor of a safe haven in the form of a doomsday bunker under a house in east Austin. But the world is more hazardous than they could have guessed. They expect violence from the voracious infected but they have harsh lessons to learn about the lethality of the uninfected. And without people to support the infrastructure of modern civilization, they find that danger comes in many forms.

Source: Info in the "About Infected" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18633103-infected on 07/04/2023.

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My Thoughts:

Infected started exactly where Zero Day left off. This book continues the saga of Zed and company's struggle for survival in a zombie post-apocalyptic world. The same tempo. The same fight. Different day. Still beautiful world building and masterful story telling quality though! But I am starting to worry that this is going to start getting "same old, same old"...

This book tackles old societal issues like prejudice of things and people who are not exactly like us. Who got features which is different and if we can't find one, we make up one. Othering. And the burning desire in a lot of us, to do good. To be good. Hero complex. Real issues played out in fiction setting.

The ending, of course, was a cliffhanger.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 2
World building = 5
Cover art = 3
Pace = 3.5
Plot = 2

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Slow Burn Series:

 

Meet The Author

About Bobby Adair:

A bio is a weird thing to write.

Just trying to imagine presenting the highlights of ME sets off alarm bells in my head. Why would anybody want to know anything about me? What about me is remarkable enough to tell?

When I think about these questions, I recall lying on my bed back in high school, headphones muffed over my ears, heavy metal blasting through my head. As with most teens, music’s power seduced me, and as I listened, I found myself admiring the albums' cover art (yeah, I’m old enough that I used to by LP’s) and I found myself reading about the singers and guitar players and drummers in the liner notes. Why? Because those musicians had created something that was deeply personal, passionate, and wonderfully emotional, and they’d shared it with the world. They’d shared it with me.

It made me want to know them through more than just their music. So, I read.

Through the years, I found myself reading about writers I’d enjoyed, historical figures I’d admired, politicians who weren’t dipshits, and business leaders who’d built great companies. Again, why? Who the hell knows? We’re all just people. I think we find each other interesting. We like to feel connected.

And that was my answer, at least as to the WHY.

On the WHAT I can say about me, for those who feel moved by my work: I’ll give it a quick go.

I was born an Air Force brat and lived in a dozen states before I graduated high school. I’ve worked my way through a wide variety of jobs, left most on a whim, owned businesses, lived through times when I had more money than I knew what to do with, and worried my way through times when I wondered how I’d pay the rent.

Life has been boring at times, and it’s been plenty exciting, too. So far.

I’ve traveled to India, stood atop the tallest mountains around, swam with sharks, smarted-off to cops, and been arrested. I’ve tried beer and weed, but never made a thing of either one. I’ve been brushed too close by death a few times. Thankfully, doctors, EMT’s, and nurses were kind enough to put all the pieces together again. I've ridden my bike so deep into the mountains it felt like I was alone on the edge of heaven, and I've watched the red sun sinking on an evening so clear it looked like it was falling off the edge of the world.

I’ve always had a hard time being where I am, wherever that is. My daydreams forever call from just over the horizon.

I’ve been asked by a dozen bosses where I see myself in five years, and I've lied every time, always telling them what they wanted to hear. Because the only thing I knew for sure, was that I wanted to be anywhere but there.

www.bobbyadair.com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | amazon | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The various copy(ies)/format(s) of this book were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE HARVESTING by Melanie Karsak

The Harvesting by Melanie Karsak
Book 1 of The Harvesting series
Read by Kristin James
Genre: urban fantasy | zombie apocalyptic
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Harvesting:

It's all fun and games until someone ends up undead.

Layla Petrovich has spent her whole life running away from her hometown of Hamletville. Raised by the town's medium, and dubbed the "weird" girl for her fascination with swords, the last thing Layla wants is to go home.

But when she receives a desperate call to return just as a mysterious outbreak sweeps the country, Layla's instincts urge her to go. Good thing, because the dead are rising.

Layla, however, isn't entirely on her own. With her psychic powers growing, surely everything will turn out okay, right?

Not so fast. Just when Layla believes she might survive the apocalypse, a sinister and ancient force rises from the shadows to finish mankind for good.

Because the truth is, we were never alone in this world.

Source: Info in the About The Harvesting was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31675361-the-harvesting on 05/02/2017.

My Thoughts:

Zombie apocalypse. The theme been around the block a few times. Despite being in a congested genre this book managed to be an enjoyable read.

The first thing that attracted me to this book is the kick-ass cover. However it seems too dark though that the beautiful details are lost in the darkness. That is a shame! But, it still did it's job as a marketing tool... it attracted a reader. It lured me in.

This book is a slow start for me. But once it got going, it picked up the pace. So worth it , plodding through, the first volley.

The best thing about this book though is the world building. It stays with you long after you have read the book. That, to me is a great kudos!

I have a tiny, tiny issue with the "details" though. For a knowable kick-ass heroine, Layla never cleaned her sword! I mean we all know that if you slice something with a knife in the kitchen, the knife always retain a little bit of a debris from whatever it is you are slicing. But the narrative never mentioned her cleaning her weapons. Once, it mentioned that Jamie cleaned her knife for her before handing it back to her but Layla never did. However I like to keep my fantasy, so I did what any prudent fantasy reader does, I added it to the story in my head whether or not it is in book. It just makes the character of Layla a bit more real to me.

This is the first time that I have listened to a Kristin James audiobook. And it was interesting. I like her reading style even though I disagree with a point or two with her interpretation. Lovely narration!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = 4
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Other Books In The Harvesting series:
     

The Author
	Melanie Karsak is the author of The Airship Racing Chronicles, The Harvesting Series, and The Celtic Blood Series. A steampunk connoisseur, zombie whisperer, and heir to the iron throne, the author currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children. She is an Instructor of English at Eastern Florida State College.
www.melaniekarsak.com | facebook | facebook author page | twitter | goodreads | amazon | instagram | pinterest | google+

The Narrator
	Kristin James aka Candace Pauline Camp was born on May 23, 1949 in Amarillo, Texas, U.S.A.. The youngest of three children born into a newspaper family -- her mother, Lula Mae (Irons) Camp, had been a reporter and her father, Grady Camp, was the business manager of the Amarillo, Texas, newspaper -- some of Candace's earliest memories are of making up stories which she played out on the floor of their den with whatever objects were handy. She cannot remember a time when she was not interested in creating stories. She began writing down her stories when she was about 10, and from then on writing was her favorite form of relaxation. Explains Candace: "I was always very shy and did not talk much. However, in written form, I could express all my thoughts and feelings." Writing remained only a hobby, though, as Candace attended college at the University of Texas at Austin and West Texas State University, then became a secondary teacher in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. She later moved to North Carolina, where she worked in the trust department of a bank. It was there that she discovered the romance novel in modern form and started to write her first romance. She also began law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and while she was there, she finished her first novel, entitled Bonds of Love, that was published by Jove Publishing in 1978, under the pseudonym Lisa Gregory. Candace credits the rigorous training of law school with teaching her the discipline necessary to finish a book. She gave up the practice of law to devote her time to writing. Two pseudonyms later (Kristin James and Sharon Stephens), Candace writes under her own name Candace Camp -- and still loves creating stories. Candace is married since 1980 with Pete Hopcus, and they had a daughter Anastasia Hopcus in 1982, who had started on her own career path in the field of acting and now also writes young adult novels.
www.candace-camp.com | goodreads | facebook | facebook author page | twitter | amazon | audible

FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.