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vikingwolf's review
4.0
All electrical components are destroyed. A strange green glow is in the air. Office workers are turned into strange mute creatures that wander the streets. The survivors have built a fortress like structure in the city to defend themselves from the creatures called The Commuters that patrol the night, crying, waiting to grab the unsuspecting. Each night a Kill Crew are sent out to thin out their numbers and keep the survivors safe, a job not everyone has the stomach for. You can volunteer for the Kill Crew as often as you want though only seven of the volunteers are sent out each night. Once a week, a lottery of all non volunteers is done to keep things fair. If you fail on Kill Crew, you are dragged away by the creatures and somehow turned into one of them.
Sheri was an ordinary person Before, a hairdresser with a normal life. Now she likes to have some purpose by being part of the Kill Crew with her guns Kane and Abel. On the nights that she isn't crewing, she sometimes spends it with Ike, the boyfriend of convenience that passes her time. As the numbers of zombies grow, it makes it harder to predict their movements and it seems like they might be developing a plan to get to them, making daylight just as risky to move around in. It is a grim life of survival and little hope, and I liked the way the author is able to build this world in such a short story. You can feel the tension and despair, and understand why the survivors are one step away from suicide.
On this shift, Sheri is crewing and the team are surprised to find The Commuters hiding nearby, waiting for them, despite the Kill Crew using different exits each time they leave. It becomes clear that it is an ambush. The closer they get to home, the more dangerous things become. A non volunteer on her second crewing mission is in a state of panic, forgetting everything she has been taught and putting the other six at risk. New tactics occur as the Commuters start running and working in packs. Sheri is torn between saving herself and saving someone else. It was an exciting part of the story where the tension is ramped up and you wonder if they will all survive.
I feel a bit sorry for Ike in the beginning, the way Sheri treats him. She is always thinking that he is a mindless idiot with no personality, someone she wouldn't bother with if things were different. She can't seem to see that he is kind and thoughtful, someone who would be a loyal friend even if they weren't sleeping together. Sheri always treats him as if he is a pain in the ass, there just to annoy her but it is she who is using him when she feels like it, pushing him away in a cruel way when she can't be bothered with him. Thing is, I can get her anger because of the stress she is under, and I like him for being so understanding and not giving up on her.
The book takes an interesting turn next as Sheri evaluates her life and that of her eleven year old friend Trixie. Now it is fellow humans who will be more of a threat than the Commuters. This was an intriguing plot change which I liked, and I certainly wasn't expecting this shocker, which turns the book on its head in more ways than one. Two things happen that I was not expecting and I did not see the hints of it, even when I read this until I read it second time round. It was an excellent piece of storytelling from the author.
I would have liked to see what happens next. This could easily be expanded into a full length novel showing the collapse of society or maybe the story after the novella ends. I found this story enjoyable and would recommend it for those who like apocalypse dystopia.
Sheri was an ordinary person Before, a hairdresser with a normal life. Now she likes to have some purpose by being part of the Kill Crew with her guns Kane and Abel. On the nights that she isn't crewing, she sometimes spends it with Ike, the boyfriend of convenience that passes her time. As the numbers of zombies grow, it makes it harder to predict their movements and it seems like they might be developing a plan to get to them, making daylight just as risky to move around in. It is a grim life of survival and little hope, and I liked the way the author is able to build this world in such a short story. You can feel the tension and despair, and understand why the survivors are one step away from suicide.
On this shift, Sheri is crewing and the team are surprised to find The Commuters hiding nearby, waiting for them, despite the Kill Crew using different exits each time they leave. It becomes clear that it is an ambush. The closer they get to home, the more dangerous things become. A non volunteer on her second crewing mission is in a state of panic, forgetting everything she has been taught and putting the other six at risk. New tactics occur as the Commuters start running and working in packs. Sheri is torn between saving herself and saving someone else. It was an exciting part of the story where the tension is ramped up and you wonder if they will all survive.
I feel a bit sorry for Ike in the beginning, the way Sheri treats him. She is always thinking that he is a mindless idiot with no personality, someone she wouldn't bother with if things were different. She can't seem to see that he is kind and thoughtful, someone who would be a loyal friend even if they weren't sleeping together. Sheri always treats him as if he is a pain in the ass, there just to annoy her but it is she who is using him when she feels like it, pushing him away in a cruel way when she can't be bothered with him. Thing is, I can get her anger because of the stress she is under, and I like him for being so understanding and not giving up on her.
The book takes an interesting turn next as Sheri evaluates her life and that of her eleven year old friend Trixie. Now it is fellow humans who will be more of a threat than the Commuters. This was an intriguing plot change which I liked, and I certainly wasn't expecting this shocker, which turns the book on its head in more ways than one. Two things happen that I was not expecting and I did not see the hints of it, even when I read this until I read it second time round. It was an excellent piece of storytelling from the author.
I would have liked to see what happens next. This could easily be expanded into a full length novel showing the collapse of society or maybe the story after the novella ends. I found this story enjoyable and would recommend it for those who like apocalypse dystopia.
ohmwu's review
5.0
I won this book from a Goodreads competition. There was some original trouble with delivery and the author was so kind as to send me another.
I would recommend this book for anyone interested in delving into the minds of others. The author does an amazing job of showing you the life and thoughts of Sheri Foley. She's not exactly a nice person, and has terrible taste choosing her partners, but her memoirs are written in such a way as to make the human in her appeal to you more than her faults. Her experiences are easy to relate to, and her philosophy of life is gritty and stark, like anyone changed by such a disaster.
The plot wasn't mediocre either. The twists were just twisty enough to be surprising, and just surprising enough to become effective storytelling. The book is very short, and the cover is low-resolution and could be better by far, but in this case it is certainly not prudent to judge a book by it's cover.
It is perhaps a little too short, and the story could have been expanded to fill a bigger book without having to compromise on any of the remaining mysteries. My last fiction book took me a fortnight to read, this one only took me an hour. In it's favour though, despite being quick it succeeded in drawing me in.
I did not enjoy the frequent references to her as a woman. Not just a normal woman. A woman holding a gun! And the usual rhetorical question about "How could that have come about?" as though it was some huge thing for her to not still be hairdressing. I got to know her as a person first and a woman second, and the references to how strange it is for women to hold guns seemed forced and unnecessary.
I am also not such a fan of swearing and sex references so early in any story. However, in this case the swearing is a big part of her character and the "Can I get laid now?" bits turned out to be part of the later plot, where a character takes on a disturbingly paedophillic view of Hobbes' Leviathan.
Four stars, with extra kudos because the author is such a nice guy.
[EDIT] I came to realise recently that this book is by far the best and most entertaining novel given to me to review, and I actually find myself wanting to read it again someday soon. So, I have changed my rating to five stars.
I would recommend this book for anyone interested in delving into the minds of others. The author does an amazing job of showing you the life and thoughts of Sheri Foley. She's not exactly a nice person, and has terrible taste choosing her partners, but her memoirs are written in such a way as to make the human in her appeal to you more than her faults. Her experiences are easy to relate to, and her philosophy of life is gritty and stark, like anyone changed by such a disaster.
The plot wasn't mediocre either. The twists were just twisty enough to be surprising, and just surprising enough to become effective storytelling. The book is very short, and the cover is low-resolution and could be better by far, but in this case it is certainly not prudent to judge a book by it's cover.
It is perhaps a little too short, and the story could have been expanded to fill a bigger book without having to compromise on any of the remaining mysteries. My last fiction book took me a fortnight to read, this one only took me an hour. In it's favour though, despite being quick it succeeded in drawing me in.
I did not enjoy the frequent references to her as a woman. Not just a normal woman. A woman holding a gun! And the usual rhetorical question about "How could that have come about?" as though it was some huge thing for her to not still be hairdressing. I got to know her as a person first and a woman second, and the references to how strange it is for women to hold guns seemed forced and unnecessary.
I am also not such a fan of swearing and sex references so early in any story. However, in this case the swearing is a big part of her character and the "Can I get laid now?" bits turned out to be part of the later plot, where a character takes on a disturbingly paedophillic view of Hobbes' Leviathan.
Four stars, with extra kudos because the author is such a nice guy.
[EDIT] I came to realise recently that this book is by far the best and most entertaining novel given to me to review, and I actually find myself wanting to read it again someday soon. So, I have changed my rating to five stars.
innae's review
4.0
I quite liked this little tale. The twist on zombie stories was especially nice, and unexpected.
I kept thinking of the computer game Plants vs. Zombies -- what if the plants WERE the zombies :-)
Another winner by JDL :-)!!
I kept thinking of the computer game Plants vs. Zombies -- what if the plants WERE the zombies :-)
Another winner by JDL :-)!!
gothicvamperstein's review
4.0
Fairly okay book, though I wish it was a bit longer than it's 75 pages. I liked the human touch in this book and the kick-ass female lead character.
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