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paulabellman's review against another edition
4.0
I originally read some of this book in blog form a few years ago. One of the zombie fiction groups I belong to shared the blog address. I spent a lazy Sunday during football season reading about 1/2 of Dark Recollections, which was called Adrian's Undead Diary on the blog. Then my computer died and I lost my browsing history. I had stupidly not bookmarked the blog address.
I won an audio copy of Dark Recollections before Christmas. I was wrapped up in the audio version of Dragonfly in Amber and it took FOREVER to finish. I was so happy to finish with that mammoth and move onto something fun, like a zombie novel. Once I started listening, I realized it was Adrian's Undead Diary's blog. I was pretty happy to rediscover this story since I had only gotten 1/2 way.
I work at a private boarding school out in the country. Adrian's descriptions of how his campus is a good place to hole up during the ZA are some of the same thoughts I've had myself about the campus where I work. The parallels are very similar, except we're all girls instead of a co-ed school.
There are no over the top escapes from a zombie horde. There are no ridiculous attempts to cross the country to find one's child/spouse/parent/cure. There are no raiding parties into a large metropolitan city which always end with an over the top escape or the death of a favorite character. There is common sense, thought put into long-term surviving, and humor in the face of horror.
I like the way this novel is written in diary form. There are a few flashbacks to people who are not survivors with Adrian. There are several diary entries dedicated to "that day", the day the world died with a bang. Many diary entries focus on the day-to-day tasks that one must do to keep safe during the ZA and the aftermath. Poor Adrian, living all alone. I want him to meet more people.
The narrator of the audiobook, James Foster, does a great job of bringing Adrian's voice to life. I think I enjoyed this book more via Audible than I did when I read it via the blog. Mostly because I don't like reading books on a computer laptop screen.
I think perhaps the only thing I didn't like about Dark Recollections is that it didn't end. Of course there is a part two. I'll have to see about picking up the rest of the series. Hopefully James Foster continues to narrate.
Thanks, Chris Philbrook, for gift of Dark Recollections and for writing such an engrossing zombie survival novel.
I won an audio copy of Dark Recollections before Christmas. I was wrapped up in the audio version of Dragonfly in Amber and it took FOREVER to finish. I was so happy to finish with that mammoth and move onto something fun, like a zombie novel. Once I started listening, I realized it was Adrian's Undead Diary's blog. I was pretty happy to rediscover this story since I had only gotten 1/2 way.
I work at a private boarding school out in the country. Adrian's descriptions of how his campus is a good place to hole up during the ZA are some of the same thoughts I've had myself about the campus where I work. The parallels are very similar, except we're all girls instead of a co-ed school.
There are no over the top escapes from a zombie horde. There are no ridiculous attempts to cross the country to find one's child/spouse/parent/cure. There are no raiding parties into a large metropolitan city which always end with an over the top escape or the death of a favorite character. There is common sense, thought put into long-term surviving, and humor in the face of horror.
I like the way this novel is written in diary form. There are a few flashbacks to people who are not survivors with Adrian. There are several diary entries dedicated to "that day", the day the world died with a bang. Many diary entries focus on the day-to-day tasks that one must do to keep safe during the ZA and the aftermath. Poor Adrian, living all alone. I want him to meet more people.
The narrator of the audiobook, James Foster, does a great job of bringing Adrian's voice to life. I think I enjoyed this book more via Audible than I did when I read it via the blog. Mostly because I don't like reading books on a computer laptop screen.
I think perhaps the only thing I didn't like about Dark Recollections is that it didn't end. Of course there is a part two. I'll have to see about picking up the rest of the series. Hopefully James Foster continues to narrate.
Thanks, Chris Philbrook, for gift of Dark Recollections and for writing such an engrossing zombie survival novel.
severina2001's review against another edition
2.0
A survivor of a zombie epidemic chronicles the early days of the plague.
This is the first of a long series of novels called "Adrian's Undead Diary". No, Adrian is not Undead; he is one of the few survivors after a zombie uprising. Adrian takes shelter on the secluded property of the private school where he works, and begins writing a journal of his initial escape and his further adventures. I had high hopes because I love a good zombie story, especially one that recounts the early days. But because Adrian is recounting past events, there is no sense of suspense or danger. Not only do I know he survives, I also know that his current situation is virtually unchanged – there's not going to be any surprise visitors or zombie incursions into his stronghold. The author also throws in various asides as he's telling the story, which further distances the reader from the action.
I feel that the format really hinders what could be a rollickingly great story.
This is the first of a long series of novels called "Adrian's Undead Diary". No, Adrian is not Undead; he is one of the few survivors after a zombie uprising. Adrian takes shelter on the secluded property of the private school where he works, and begins writing a journal of his initial escape and his further adventures. I had high hopes because I love a good zombie story, especially one that recounts the early days. But because Adrian is recounting past events, there is no sense of suspense or danger. Not only do I know he survives, I also know that his current situation is virtually unchanged – there's not going to be any surprise visitors or zombie incursions into his stronghold. The author also throws in various asides as he's telling the story, which further distances the reader from the action.
I feel that the format really hinders what could be a rollickingly great story.
ogrezed's review
5.0
Journal-entry type books are always iffy. Sometimes they work, other times they fail. Miserably. This one scored big for me. It helps that Adrian is a likeable guy. I WANTED him to succeed.
One technique that really helped is that there are two chapters, actually short stories, of people that Adrian has mentioned crossing paths with in his Journal. These short stories give us an outside perspective of Adrian. I found it very effective in making me like Adrian, and it helped to explain why some other situations played out the way they did. I found their vision of Adrian was a bit different than how I had pictured him in my mind. In a good way.
One technique that really helped is that there are two chapters, actually short stories, of people that Adrian has mentioned crossing paths with in his Journal. These short stories give us an outside perspective of Adrian. I found it very effective in making me like Adrian, and it helped to explain why some other situations played out the way they did. I found their vision of Adrian was a bit different than how I had pictured him in my mind. In a good way.
nicoma's review
4.0
My husband made me do it and I liked it :D
I'm not sure when I started liking zombies. Maybe with the movie Shaun of the Dead? The thing is, I do NOT like gore. Gross! I look away or at least cringe when I hear or see gorey stuff but some of my favorite shows are full of it (GoT, Spartacus, TWD). It doesn't seem to stop me anymore.
My husband picked this book for our road trip. I wanted to listen to Shelly Laurenston but he just didn't find it amusing so there ya go. This book is told mostly through journal entries. Again, I wasn't too sure about that. However, we were quickly absorbed in the story of "That Day" and the few months that have passed since. I thought it was going to be funny for some reason. It wasn't. It was sad and scary and pretty realistic. I guess with all the Zombie movies, shows, and books out there and how popular they are it really wouldn't be a huge surprise to a lot of people. Yes, it wouldn't be easy to accept but I feel almost prepared now.
The funny thing is that my husband got some new guns from his Father and wanted to go shooting. I learned all about gun safety and even did some practice shooting myself. Surprisingly, I'm a pretty good shot! And now after listening to this book (and shooting and TWD) I feel confident that I might survive a Zombie Apocalypse. At least for a little while.
There are still a lot of gaps in the time frame of "that day" to the present. Adrian hasn't told us everything yet and I'm eager to find out. The audio was excellent and we have our next road trip books lined up for a while now.
I'm not sure when I started liking zombies. Maybe with the movie Shaun of the Dead? The thing is, I do NOT like gore. Gross! I look away or at least cringe when I hear or see gorey stuff but some of my favorite shows are full of it (GoT, Spartacus, TWD). It doesn't seem to stop me anymore.
My husband picked this book for our road trip. I wanted to listen to Shelly Laurenston but he just didn't find it amusing so there ya go. This book is told mostly through journal entries. Again, I wasn't too sure about that. However, we were quickly absorbed in the story of "That Day" and the few months that have passed since. I thought it was going to be funny for some reason. It wasn't. It was sad and scary and pretty realistic. I guess with all the Zombie movies, shows, and books out there and how popular they are it really wouldn't be a huge surprise to a lot of people. Yes, it wouldn't be easy to accept but I feel almost prepared now.
The funny thing is that my husband got some new guns from his Father and wanted to go shooting. I learned all about gun safety and even did some practice shooting myself. Surprisingly, I'm a pretty good shot! And now after listening to this book (and shooting and TWD) I feel confident that I might survive a Zombie Apocalypse. At least for a little while.
There are still a lot of gaps in the time frame of "that day" to the present. Adrian hasn't told us everything yet and I'm eager to find out. The audio was excellent and we have our next road trip books lined up for a while now.
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