Review: Dead Mann Walking by Stefan Petrucha

Book description:

JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE DEAD
DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T HAVE A LIFE...

After Hessius Mann was convicted of his wife's murder, suppressed evidence came to light and the verdict was overturned — too bad he was already executed.

Thanks to the miracles of modern science Hessius was brought back to life. Sort of. Now that he's joined the ranks of Fort Hammer's pulse-challenged population, Hessius attempts to make a “living” as a private investigator.

But when a missing persons case leads to a few zombies cut to pieces, Hessius starts thinking that someone's giving him the run-around — and it's not like he's in any condition to make a quick getaway...

Review:

Livebloods call us chakz-a mangled version of charqui, or, en ingles, jerky-dried meat.  If we're still oozing, whch is pretty rare, they call us gleets or juicers. Then there are danglers, but I'll leave that definition to the imagination.~Hessius Mann

It's like the holidays came early this year and every couple of weeks I am lucky enough to read a really fabulous book, one that I would easily recommend to every person that I know. Dead Mann Walking is exactly that kind of book, full of action and suspense, all wrapped together with an almost detective noir vibe. A real urban fantasy zombie thriller from start to finish.

It's apparent from the beginning that this zombie lore wasn't just being rehashed, instead Petrucha reinvents the zombie mythology with a world that makes chakz a believable member of society. Just like with regular folks, some are good, some are bad, and others just function better. In most cases, chakz do better when they have a purpose, again, just like with most regular people. It's a strange day indeed when you stop to contemplate the role that zombies might play in the day-to-day...but Hess makes you wonder.

The standout of the story is the backstory and worldbuilding. The method for reanimating corpses is a little bit Frankenstein with a whole lot of science fiction, something that doesn't necessarily seem all that farfetched. Scary, right? You can absolutely see how humans might try something like trying to reanimate corpses in a feeble attempt to right past wrongs. Humans trying to cheat death? Nope. Not us.

That's how we do things in Fort Hammer! Rush in where angels fear to tread, then suddenly realize that maybe the angels, being angels, had the right idea in the first place. Send a man to the moon? Sure! Bring peace to the Middle East? Why not? Raise the dead? Line 'em up!

I was surprised at how many subjects in the book are relevant to reality and modern day living. Things like chemicals in buildings that poison human beings, disposal of toxic waste into rivers that harm both the environment and people, civil rights, police brutality, and political corruption are just a few that I found to be woven seamlessly into the urban fantasy world. Who knew that Hess had the ability to enlighten readers to the things that really matter, like truth, justice, friendship...the American way!

Dead Mann Walking has a cohesive and tightly woven storyline that will keep you reading well into the night. Chakz, like any good zombie, are scary and fascinating in equal measure. The ick factor isn't too terrible, but at times I was a bit squeamish. Yep, once again, I am a big baby about zombies, but despite my fear and the threat of nightmares, this book was too good to put down.


Author website:
http://www.petrucha.com/

*Reviewed by Anna Dougherty
*I was sent the NetGalley review link by the publisher in exchange for a review.

Wipeout: zombie edition

Every Thursday night my family gathers together on the couch to watch whatever version of Wipeout happens to be on, tonight being part of the spring edition. Tonight one of the contestants was wearing a shirt that touted the Zombie Research Society, something I immediately needed to investigate. They have a pretty cool site and I think maybe we should band together and create a Bite Club blog chapter, if that's even possible. The blog has useful scientific information (I read about bananas purifying water) that might help if zombies ever gain enough ground to takeover the world, or if you are ever stranded in the rainforest, and the shirts are cool too. Since I can't figure out how to do links on the mobile app I will just give you the site:

www.zombieresearch.org

Review: BRAINS: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker

Meet Jack. Jack's a zombie. Jack loves his wife (who is not a zombie). He would never do anything to hurt her. But oh, do her brains smell good.

So begins the craziest story I've had the pleasure to read in a long time. First, I have to note: I don't like horror stories, never read them, and most especially avoid them at the theater. Zombies? They freak me out. So why did I read this story? EOS sent out a sampler of their books to reviewers, and as I was paging through the selections, I took one look at the title, and was ready to keep flipping pages. But for some odd reason I read the first page. Then the second page. And then, well, EOS had only provided the first three chapters, and by the time I'd flipped the last page, I was hungry for more. Brains! This book has a lot of brains, both literally and figuratively. It's a smart, gory, laugh-out-loud tale of sentient zombies on a quest to find salvation. Or do they just want brains?

I kept questioning my sanity for reading this book as I turned more and more pages, eagerly following the zombie hero on his quest, followed by a literal rag-tag (and decomposing) team of misfit zombies who for reasons unknown also possessed a bit of consciousness. What a clever idea to narrate a zombie story from a zombie's point of view! And also gross. Because yes, this is about zombies, and nothing about their kind is pretty or cute. (Accept maybe the baby Isaac. Until he starts swimming in guts at feeding time.) I laughed out loud dozens of times. I also cringed as many times at the horrific milieu of the story. The author doesn't glorify her zombies, she presents them as they are: brain feeders.

Like the zombies in the story whose bite marks begin to tingle as they sense live, human meat, so too did my deeply buried sick humor button tingle as I breezed through this story. Whoda thought I'd love something so strange, so darkly humorous? Highly recommended for zombie lovers, and even for those who would run screaming from the limping undead. Go on, take a chance. Get bitten!

Blurb: Forget contemporary American literature--former college professor Jack Barnes has a new passion: Brains. It’s in his nature…he’s a zombie. But he’s not your normal, vacant-eyed, undead idiot. No, Jack Barnes has something most other victims of the zombie apocalypse don’t have: sentience. In fact, he can even write. And the story he has to tell is a truly disturbing--yet strangely heartwarming--one.

Convinced he’ll bring about a peaceful coexistence between zombies and humans if he can demonstrate his unique condition to the man responsible for the zombie virus, Howard Stein, Barnes sets off on a grueling cross-country journey to meet his maker. Along the way he meets more like him, rotting brain-eaters who have retained some sort of cognitive ability, and soon forms a small army that will stop at nothing to reach their goal. There’s Guts, the agile, dread-locked boy who can run like the wind; Joan, the matronly nurse adept at re-attaching rotting appendages; Annie, the young girl with a fierce quick-draw; and Ros, who can actually speak coherent sentences. Together they make their way through an eerie new world of roving zombie hunters, empty McMansions, and clogged highways on a quest to attain what all men, women--and apparently zombies--yearn for: equality.


—Michele Hauf for Bite Club

Review: FEED by Mira Grant

Hey, Biters! We're pleased to spotlight a guest reviewer today. Yolanda Sfetsos is an author who writes paranormal romance, so do stop by her website and show her some love. Now on to Yolanda's review:

I'm a huge zombie fan, so I couldn't wait to get stuck into this very 'meaty' book. Seriously, it's a long book. :) Feed by Mira Grant

The story takes place twenty years after the Rising. That's when everything went wrong, and the dead started rising. When scientists found a cure for the cold, and others were perfecting a cure for cancer, something worse struck the world. Now, people no longer get either of those, but they do become zombies as soon as they die and/or are infected with Kellis-Amberlee.

Georgia and Shaun Mason are a brother and sister team of bloggers living in this uncertain world, where you have to constantly get tested to make sure you're not infected. Georgia's what they call a Newsie, which is a journalist who states the facts. Shaun's an Irwin, which is a daredevil-type who likes to do things for the thrill. There's also a third member in the team, Buffy Meissonier. She's what they call a Fictional, and writes poetry and fantasy but is also a techie.

The story starts out pretty action-packed with Georgia and Shaun in the wild. While Shaun's busy poking a zombie with a stick, a hoard of zombies appear out of nowhere and give chase.

After that incident, things slow down. A lot. Especially when they get accepted into the Ryman presidential campaign. It's an awesome opportunity for them, and they're looking forward to doing it because it will propel their blogging ratings sky-high. So they head out with Senator Peter Ryman and his people across the country, campaigning in a lot of different places. This introduces the Masons into a world of danger, mystery, backstabbing, conspiracy, and politics that gets them into a lot of trouble. Things become so serious that they might just end up paying with their lives.

Although I enjoyed this book a lot, because of it's original take on the zombie outbreak, I also found it a little frustrating at times. For me, the politics seemed to outweigh the zombies. And I'm one of those zombie fans that needs more zombie, not less. lol. Like I said before, it's a really 'meaty' book, which in some places felt weighed down by facts and politics. I kept hoping to see zombies on the page. And that's what kept me going. Sure, there were some great zombie scenes in this book, but they were more background noise than anything. Though I suppose that makes sense. After all, twenty years have passed, right? People have adapted to having them there.

One of my favourite scenes takes place in Eakly, Oklahoma. It was awesome. I didn't expect any zombie action here, but got plenty of it.

I had a few issues with the characters, too. Although I found Georgia and Shaun interesting, I also found them to be a little annoying, and never really felt close to either of them. And I just can't put my finger on why that was. All through this book, I kept changing my opinion of it. One minute I loved it and couldn't wait to sit down to read some more. The next I had to put it down and didn't like it anymore. Then I would get stuck into it again. I found the blog excerpts at the end of each chapter refreshing. I really enjoyed reading them. Very cool.

At the end of the day, I'm glad I read this book. Because any story that makes me go through so many ups and downs while reading it--excited, enthralled, disappointed, frustrated, sad--is worth spending time with. The social commentary of how the world has changed and how bloggers have taken over the news media is fascinating. And I got a kick out of the George Romero references.

FEED is an interesting, clever, and engrossing book that kept me reading to the very end. Sure, it took a little extra time to get there, but I was glad that I stuck with it. Because what happens in the end was unexpected and very risky for a writer to do. Yet, I think Mira Grant pulled it off very well. It's also well-written, and the worldbuilding very detailed.

If you're a huge zombie fan, you might be a little disappointed with this book. If you like policitics, you'll love this book because it's full of twists, turns and controversy. Also, if you're looking for a different angle in the zombie world, then this one's for you.


Yolanda Sfetsos is a writer who loves reading and writing about the supernatural. She also loves to read, and collects books. Feel free to visit her website: www.yolandasfetsos.com

Review: Married With Zombies by Jesse Petersen

From the Publisher:
Meet Sarah and David— a couple on the verge of divorce. On their way to marriage counseling, they notice a few odd things: a missing guard, a lack of cars on the freeway, and their counselor ripping out the throat of her previous client.

Now it’s up to David and Sarah to work together, save their marriage — and survive in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

Review:
Zombies are gross and totally creepy so I was a little hesitant to read this book for fear of having nightmares for the next year or so. It's true. But I must like to be scared because I watch zombie movies even though they scare me senseless and I bravely put on my brave girl face and started reading my very first zombie book.

I'm so glad I decided to step out of my comfort zone because Married With Zombies was like reading Shaun of the Dead, funny and scary at the same time!

Some of the descriptions were completely whacked and left me with more than one disturbing visual. Vomiting black sludge was a total eww! moment, as was the image of a legless zombie dragging itself across the road. A few moments had me wanting to scrub out my brain so I wouldn't be forever traumatized by the thought of a therapist eating a patient, or a neighbor being bashed with a toilet seat. Okay, the toilet scene was actually kind of funny.

Sarah and David had issues but I loved how the zombie threat brought them closer together. Yes, they still bicker but they are committed to each other and also to fighting the zombies until the absolute end.

Some of my favorite lines/scenes are:

Beer.
F@#^ that sounded good.
Even though it was barely eight-thirty in the morning. But zombieism breeds alcoholism. It's true. Look it up.

and then,

These were times I was glad I had married a former Boy Scout. Those rope-tying skills had come in handy more than once during our relationship. What? Everyone experiments. Don't judge.

So if you want a good laugh and a fun-filled action adventure, give Jess Petersen a try. And to learn more about upcoming zombie books, or if you just want to send a zombie valentine...visit her website.

*This book was given to me by the publisher (Orbit/Hachette Book Group).
*Reviewed for Bite Club by Anna Dougherty.

Fanged friends, True Blood and TBR piles

We usually focus on vampires here at Bite Club but it's come to my attention that other things bite too! Werewolves, demons, even zombies. My question is...Would you all be interested in expanding our discussions to include any paranormal creature that sports a set of dangerous lookin' fangs?



True Blood season 3 starts soon. As if you didn't know by the absolute inundation of promotional material out there. I enjoy the books and I enjoy the show- for totally different reasons. I'd like to do a weekly feature for the show and I'm looking for a little help. If you would be interested in doing a weekly post about each episode as they air, email me at vampchixreadbooks@gmail.com




My TBR pile is out of control! I added only one title to the every growing mountain: Cindy Gerard's latest Black Ops title, Risk No Secrets. I've been waiting for this one and Gerard definitely writes some of the best military type characters out there- her characters always have such depth to them and I can't help getting attached to them. She was actually one of the very first writers that I ever wrote a note to. I was extremely embarrassed to do it but I wanted her to know that as a military spouse I appreciated the realism of her books. It was a short little email but I will always remember because she responded back with kind words for me! My point? Jump outside the paranormal genre sometimes and read romantic suspense? Maybe. Now I have yet another question for you. Do you stick to one genre? Why or why not? Favorite authors from other genres?