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badseedgirl's review
4.0
Dana Fredsti, has in Plague Town written a surprisingly good Zombie tale. With the success of the TV series "The Walking Dead", we the readers have seen a flood of zombie fiction come on the market in recent years. It seems to be getting harder and harder to separate the wheat from the chaff as this genre has gotten saturated with sub-par offerings. Thankfully Plague Town falls in the wheat category.
The characters are well written, including an older heroine who is in a relationship with a younger man. Ms. Fredsti is able to create characters that are sexual without being graphic. A plus. There were interesting twist to the plot to keep the readers attention, and I enjoyed the sections from the zombie's viewpoint. I will definitely read the next book in this series Plague Nation
The characters are well written, including an older heroine who is in a relationship with a younger man. Ms. Fredsti is able to create characters that are sexual without being graphic. A plus. There were interesting twist to the plot to keep the readers attention, and I enjoyed the sections from the zombie's viewpoint. I will definitely read the next book in this series Plague Nation
birdloveranne's review
5.0
I am always up for a rocking good zombie story, especially when featuring a kick ass chick! This is a good one! I loved all the supporting characters, too!
erinld2005's review against another edition
5.0
First off I got this book through the goodreads giveaway, and so happy I did!
"It's Buffy meets the Walking Dead in a rapid-fire zombie adventure!"
More like Buffy + Walking Dead + Anita Blake! I LOVED it! Plague Town jumps right into the action and never stops. A real page turner. I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed the character of Ashley Parker, she reminded me of Anita Blake. Overall this book was superb. The writing was great, the plot was interesting and entertaining, and the characters rocked. Best zombie book EVER. If you like Buffy, Walking Dead and/or The Anita Blake series you HAVE to read this. I'm ready for the next two already. Anyone know when the next one will be out, because I am so buying it.
"It's Buffy meets the Walking Dead in a rapid-fire zombie adventure!"
More like Buffy + Walking Dead + Anita Blake! I LOVED it! Plague Town jumps right into the action and never stops. A real page turner. I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed the character of Ashley Parker, she reminded me of Anita Blake. Overall this book was superb. The writing was great, the plot was interesting and entertaining, and the characters rocked. Best zombie book EVER. If you like Buffy, Walking Dead and/or The Anita Blake series you HAVE to read this. I'm ready for the next two already. Anyone know when the next one will be out, because I am so buying it.
vikingwolf's review against another edition
I picked this up because I liked the sound of a mixture of zombies and urban fantasy. Sadly it turned out to be a book that just wasn't my thing. Like most books that I do not finish, the decision was based on my personal view of plot and characters etc, and not anything 'bad' as such in the writing.
Plot wise, it was ok. I don't mind what kind of world the author creates or if it might be a bit too unbelievable for some readers. For me, it's fiction and for the most part if it is well written, or entertaining or imaginative etc it's ok by me. So I didn't have issues with the historical zombie plots. I actually found that quite interesting.
So why did I stop reading it? It just wasn't grabbing me and I wasn't really connecting to the story. Just one of those things!
Plot wise, it was ok. I don't mind what kind of world the author creates or if it might be a bit too unbelievable for some readers. For me, it's fiction and for the most part if it is well written, or entertaining or imaginative etc it's ok by me. So I didn't have issues with the historical zombie plots. I actually found that quite interesting.
So why did I stop reading it? It just wasn't grabbing me and I wasn't really connecting to the story. Just one of those things!
gsatori's review against another edition
4.0
This was a joy to read. A roller coaster. Dana takes urban fantasy sensibility and infuses it with edge of the seat tension. I think this is going to be a series with sticking power. These characters are likable, and her female protagonist is at once endearing and admirable. Good story telling.
ruthiemacgregor's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
lehughes19's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting plot, decent writing. I liked the way the outbreak was set up. It was new and interesting. Overall, the story line was strong and the characters were like able. That is, except the main character, Ashley. She really, really got on my nerves. She's 28 and acts like she's 15. Her immaturity and relentless movie quotes made me roll my eyes and wish a zombie would just get her already. I mean, how would someone as level headed and grown up as Gabriel fall for someone like that?
A few redeeming qualities. Her relationships with the other wild cards are sweet, and she is very loyal. She's a fighting machine and has a good head on her shoulders during a fight. If her personality was more like able, I would have given this book 4 or even 5 stars.
A few redeeming qualities. Her relationships with the other wild cards are sweet, and she is very loyal. She's a fighting machine and has a good head on her shoulders during a fight. If her personality was more like able, I would have given this book 4 or even 5 stars.
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
Zombies are the latest gritty urban fantasy critters and I am not always a huge walking dead kinda fan. Unless it is the show Walking Dead or a book as well told as PLAGUE TOWN.
I could identify with Ashley, the main character. She's not your average college student. She's older than the other kids, but pretty much cooler. She also has the snarky backbone that made me laugh. It also gives her the intestinal fortitude that keeps her moving when the virus that everyone thinks is a flu type thing really is not-so-much. Yep, zombie-flu.
She's a wildcard and very few people are 'lucky' enough to be one. Wildcards get the virus but don't turn. They get to train to fight against the zombie apocalypse.
With that comes the agony of fighting people you used to know and coming to grips with that. And everything else that comes with the wildcard package.
Alternating between cracking up and covering my eyes as I read this fab story. Can't wait to read more of this series and this author.
I could identify with Ashley, the main character. She's not your average college student. She's older than the other kids, but pretty much cooler. She also has the snarky backbone that made me laugh. It also gives her the intestinal fortitude that keeps her moving when the virus that everyone thinks is a flu type thing really is not-so-much. Yep, zombie-flu.
She's a wildcard and very few people are 'lucky' enough to be one. Wildcards get the virus but don't turn. They get to train to fight against the zombie apocalypse.
With that comes the agony of fighting people you used to know and coming to grips with that. And everything else that comes with the wildcard package.
Alternating between cracking up and covering my eyes as I read this fab story. Can't wait to read more of this series and this author.
veronica87's review against another edition
4.0
At 350 pages, this book read remarkably fast. I just kept turning pages to see what would happen next and ended up reading it all in about a day. It's a zombie outbreak, something not as unheard of as one might think, apparently, but not everyone is affected in the same ways. If you like The Walking Dead, which I do, then you'll probably like this too. I will say that this story has more humor and pop cultural references than the more somber tv show but given the subject matter that's not a bad thing. This looks to be the first book in a trilogy and I'm excited to see what happens next.
paradoxically's review against another edition
2.0
A mixture of horror, comedy, and action, Plague Town didn't quite do it for me. Mostly because of the comedy bits, which kept me shaking my head and mouthing really? to myself. I don't need doom and gloom inundating the books I read, but Ashley comes off a bit too flippant, a bit too much of a wise-ass for me to really become attached to her. It's just one sarcastic comment after the other with her and it gets old after a while.
The author drops pop culture references everywhere in the book, and while it made me smile at first, there comes a point where enough is enough. The plot, while decently written, is nothing special. It's like a bunch of zombie cliches all placed in one bag, shaken around, and laid out for the reader. There's nothing really new brought to the table, which is a shame. Also it was stupidly obvious from the start how and why the zombie virus got out and around. There's absolutely no mystery there.
And--okay. So this virus has been around since practically the dawn of time. In fact, as a doctor says in the book, that is why Pompeii's volcano was (purposely) exploded and why Atlantis was sunk. I'm sorry, but this is the point in the story where my suspension of disbelief gets kicked in the gut and is wheezing all over the floor. Partly from laughter. It's just very convenient that Atlantis was in the position of being sunk into the ocean and that the people of Pompeii knew how to explode Mount Vesuvius.
On the plus side, I did like how Ashley took shit from no one and that she was confident and comfortable with who she is. And reading her interactions with Lily were some of the best bits of the book. The varied cast was pretty flat in general, but there were a few characters that stood out from amongst the rest (Lily, for example).
I do have to admit that the romance left me absolutely cold. I just don't feel it, though that may have been due to how underwhelmed I've been reading the book.
Overall, the pace was pretty fast and there's no shortage of action. I think it's a bit too easy for the characters, but seeing as the book is pretty light in general it kind of fit the tone. There were some gruesome bits, but this is a zombie book, what else would one expect? Heh. Ashley is okay for a main character, but she definitely doesn't feel her age (which is 29), and the plot itself is fairly straightforward with nothing new to add. All in all, 1-2 stars, rounding up to 2.
The author drops pop culture references everywhere in the book, and while it made me smile at first, there comes a point where enough is enough. The plot, while decently written, is nothing special. It's like a bunch of zombie cliches all placed in one bag, shaken around, and laid out for the reader. There's nothing really new brought to the table, which is a shame. Also it was stupidly obvious from the start how and why the zombie virus got out and around. There's absolutely no mystery there.
And--okay. So this virus has been around since practically the dawn of time. In fact, as a doctor says in the book, that is why Pompeii's volcano was (purposely) exploded and why Atlantis was sunk. I'm sorry, but this is the point in the story where my suspension of disbelief gets kicked in the gut and is wheezing all over the floor. Partly from laughter. It's just very convenient that Atlantis was in the position of being sunk into the ocean and that the people of Pompeii knew how to explode Mount Vesuvius.
On the plus side, I did like how Ashley took shit from no one and that she was confident and comfortable with who she is. And reading her interactions with Lily were some of the best bits of the book. The varied cast was pretty flat in general, but there were a few characters that stood out from amongst the rest (Lily, for example).
I do have to admit that the romance left me absolutely cold. I just don't feel it, though that may have been due to how underwhelmed I've been reading the book.
Overall, the pace was pretty fast and there's no shortage of action. I think it's a bit too easy for the characters, but seeing as the book is pretty light in general it kind of fit the tone. There were some gruesome bits, but this is a zombie book, what else would one expect? Heh. Ashley is okay for a main character, but she definitely doesn't feel her age (which is 29), and the plot itself is fairly straightforward with nothing new to add. All in all, 1-2 stars, rounding up to 2.