Day by Day Armageddon (A Zombie Novel)
by J. L. Bourne
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Book Reviews of Day by Day Armageddon (A Zombie Novel)
Book Review: Far from Dead but Far from alive
Summary: 3 Stars
I agree that a good zombie novel is hard to come by, most are just mediocre at best. and outright awful at worst. Day by Day is somewhere in the middle on the scale of bad vs good. it's not bad, it's not good. it's just ok. most characters are flat (which is bad cause there's not a lot of characters to begin with. and the few here are very vague and uninteresting. some of the character's names i already forgotten. which is never a good sign. i do like the fact it's written as a quasi war journal. the narration is sometimes genuinely interesting. there's roughly 6 main characters (7 if you include the dog). one is a young naval officer (the character that has the main POV, it's his "journal"), one is a middle aged neighbor of his, one is a former advertising agent whom is a vague love interest to the prime protagonist, and a family of 3 a husband & wife and their little girl. nothing of any real importance happen to these characters accept them escaping to a missile silo and fighting off redneck marauders later in the book.
somebody else mention that this was "right wing propaganda" . i can kinda see the right leaning undertones to the book but it's not over bearing. there's is however A LOT of military jargon. it's as if that's the writer's bread and butter cause that's all he knows (the writer was and still is in the service). which is why the main character (and writer) are constantly finding themselves in a situation that gives the lead protagonist an excuse to use some type of military techno babble. World War Z had this too and i got tired of it then (and i think WWZ is a better novel.....by far). but WWZ get's a pass cause most of it was justified. in this case the writer just seemed to use it as a crutch almost.
the book has some very tense moments, but over all nothing really happens. it's mostly about the survivors scavenging. it's not a bad start but i hope the supposed sequel kick into high gear.
Book Review: A lone survivor battles hordes of plague-infected zombies
Summary: 5 Stars
I watched a few of the recent zombie movies (28 Days Later and I Am Legend) over the past few weeks and got intrigued by the whole `zombie apocalypse' genre and decided to get this book on a whim from Amazon. I started reading it and was totally hooked by about the second paragraph! It is written in journal format and is the `diary' of a US Navy pilot as the world is transformed by a plague that turns people into mindless flesh-eating zombies. It sounds hoaky (and maybe it is), but the story is damn entertaining. A lone survivor is trapped in his house as the implications of the plague slowly dawn on him. The plague starts in China and eventually spreads to the US. At first it doesn't seem to serious, but the plague spreads with amazing speed and there is a rapid breakdown in the government and in the day to day operation of society. Bourne has written a great tale about a lone survivor trying to survive and come to terms with the world as it changes around him. At first he is stunned by what is happening, but slowly the hero comes to grip with the problem and finds a few other survivors. The initial part of the story revolves simply around the survival of the main character: how to find food and water, how to avoid the zombies, etc. As the story progresses a small group of survivors has banded together and they are looking for a more permanent and defensible site to continue their lives. This story combines many of the most important aspects of the post-apocalypse genre: what will society be like after the collapse, what equipment will the survivors need, can they use their cunning and bravery to overcome obstacles, what happens when a zombie gets hit with a .223 round? The only negative to this book is that it ends somewhat abruptly. There is no real climax, it simply ends. I can't wait for the second book in this series though. Highly recommended! Pulp fiction at its finest!Book Review: At the core of the Zombie thrill! That's how all zombie books should be written!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you are looking for non stop, credible action with a fine balance between realism and horror, then here is a book that deserves your full attention!
The story told in this book has the reader follow the fate and adventures of a Navy transport pilot that gets caught up -as everybody else- by a China-originating, fast-growing zombie plague. In order to save himself, the `hero' needs escaping from his town. The story unfolds rapidly and, thanks to the hero's skills and the support of other characters encountered during the escape, leads the number of survivors to grow and find shelter in unexpected locations.
The format used to tell this tale is a personal diary, with scratches, comments, some B&W pictures and underlined sections of the text.
Each diary entry is quite short, fast paced, and very credible. The tone used is the one of a military man: straightforward, no-nonsense, efficient. The whole story is seen from the standpoint of one single person, so don't expect to get any overall view of what's happening in-country or abroad, except in the early sections describing the evolution of the "disease" and through some broken, sporadic conversations on CB or else afterwards.
There is no super-hero, just a growing group of survivors whose ties strengthen in time. Danger, insecurity and tension are omnipresent. Any erroneous decision is paid cash through wounds or, worse, death.
The story is well documented, references to weapons, tactics or aircraft hardware are spot-on. This alone bestows an unmatched level of realism to the book.
Obviously, this book is the opening sequence of a series -hopefully a prolific one!!- and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequels.
A must-read for any serious Zombie fan.
Book Review: Well paced horror
Summary: 5 Stars
Day By Day Armageddon is presented in the form of a journal written by a Navy pilot. It is literally a day-by-day account of the world's decent into being overrun by zombies. As civilization deteriorates and news gets harder to come by, the focus tightens more and more on the nameless narrator and what is happening around him. As you might guess, there are plenty of scenes involving brushes with the undead as well as what has become the obligatory encounter with the most dangerous predator of all, living men.
If the plot of this book is less than original, it is no less compelling as a result. The tension builds slowly but surely and keeps the reader on the edge of his seat. I wouldn't say the characterization is particularly deep, but the main character is both intelligent and reasonably likeable. Because of the writing style, there are no full conversation detailed and so the dialog that would reveal more about the supporting cast is absent. I should add that I did not find this a weakness since the primary goal is to generate suspense and the author more than achieved that.
Alert readers may find that the text riddled with misspellings and other errors. This is actually explained at one point since the narrator says that this is a hastily written journal and acknowledges that it may be poorly written. Personally, I don't object to the idea, but it's probably a trifle overdone and in future volumes I hope this is either toned down or eliminated altogether.
Day By Day Armageddon is an excellent novel about a post-apocalyptic world overrun with zombies. Due to the subject matter, it certainly won't fit everyone's taste. But the pace is relentless and the tension unrelenting making it one of the better horror novels I've read in quite some time.
Book Review: A Journal of the Infestation
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not hugely well versed in the world of zombie stories and this is really the second book I've read with such a theme. I was intrigued by the fact that it was written in journal format. I really enjoyed the way "World War Z" was setup, and that kind of made me interested in other ways of presenting literature, so I snatched this up considering all the praise in the reviews.
I tore through this book very quickly. I simply couldn't put it down. It really does feel like you're reading through a first hand account of the zombie apocalypse. Here we join the story of Jon a member of the military trying to make his way in a zombie infested world. Jon brings us on a journey starting right before the zombie invasion begins. He brings us through the rumor infested beginnings to precarious survival after it reaches epidemic proportions.
For me, this book kept me on edge always wanting to find out more about what happened. I really like the format the book is published in. It actually looks and feels like a journal. Though not hand written, there are pictures of photographs posted throughout the book. There are also hand drawn diagrams to give the reader a better sense of the area. I felt this added an air of authenticity and gave the book a more unique feel.
J.L. Bourne has definitely shown me that he has some serious literary talent for constructing a story around this scenario. I simply can't wait for the next installment. For my first few steps into this genre, I am greatly pleased.
4.5 out of 5