A Shrouded World: Atlantis by Mark Tufo & John O'Brien

As Mike, Jack and Trip further their journey to Atlantis they try to figure out why they are there.

Mike with his usual humour and Trip just being Trip, I was unsure of Jacks character at first, being new to JO’B’s work but I am really starting to like him, he has none of the humour of Talbot but he is much more practical, which takes some getting used to, he also has a real sentimental side when thinking of family/friends which is endearing.

The difference in writing is a bit more obvious in this book as author MT goes for fast paced humour laden scenes and author JO’B tends to pull out his scenes with lengthy tension inducing scenes, both end in fight scenes usually.

The mental image of Talbot doing the River Dance had me giggling and snorting. As for Trip and his antics, they bring some much needed humour to a terrifying situation.

There is enough zombie, guns ‘n’ ammo, gore and weird goings on for all hard-core horror fans, plus a few brave sci-fi ones too.

The pace never lets up with the switcheroo telling of the same tale. A constant battle for life that never seems to let up, the threats from the zombies, night runners and whistlers are still there but a new happening is occurring and it’s a little worrying.

 And what is so special about Atlantis?

Lots of theories are thrown into the mix, I was a bit upset that just as the book gets somewhere it stops…. But book 3 is on its way!

Not sure about the cover picture as not sure I had the mental vision  of Trip being that “with it” looking, he looks too clean and intense for my liking but woo hoo at the sexy looking MT!

Shrouded World Book: Atlantis

A Shrouded World: Whistlers by Mark Tufo & John O'Brien

This is a first time collaboration between Mark Tufo and John O'Brien, two authors that are known for their own zompoc series of books, Zombie Fallout for MT and A New World for JO’B and it's here in Whistlers that their two main characters both crash land into this strange new world where the worst of their two worlds collide.

Michael Talbot, Trip ( aka John the Tripper) and Jack Walker.

As I have only read the ZF books (it’s my hubby that loves Jack Walker) I can say that both writers put their character across easily and leave no guess work. 

If you haven't already done so I would recommend reading both MT and JO’Bs books before hand to get some background on the characters and their individual stories, however this IS intended to be a standalone series so more maybe revealed as the books progress. 

Trip is still my favourite character in almost every book I read barring a few, fantasy novels; and I think he would fit right in there too. He seems to have been given more visionary skills, whereas Mike and Jack have retained their new enhancements from their old worlds. 

Although I think that some sort of explanation as to why the two have super powers might have helped the newbie reader.

Both authors have certainly honed their writing skills now and are able to produce a story line that gels, excels, excites and is basically worth every penny spent. They mash up together very well. 

I was curious (and worried) as to how two such strong characters (and authors) would be able to blend but it’s like peas in a pod/flip sides of a coin (yes, yes I know they aren’t the same!! See, what I did there though!) 

Fabulous way to introduce the three lunatics to the rest of the world.

They have distinctive “voices” and styles that worked really well with the alternating chapters and PoV, I loved the way a “thing” would happen to one character and then you would get a different view of the same “thing” from the other.

Left on a knife edge I cannot wait until the next book is released in what, I hope, will be a long series.

Negatives; there is a lot of dialogue in here BUT that does allow the characters to merge and the new readers to get to know them, however, it could get tedious for current fans.

If you don’t like a certain authors style then their character may get on your nerves a bit, personally I don’t like all the over egged military stuff so tend not to read about every little nuance regarding guns, bullets and kick backs, again got tedious for me.

A Shrouded World

Epic Apocalypse: Apocalyptic Horror Bundle

Zombie Fallout by Mark Tufo

If you like horror or zombies then you will LURVE this book/series.

When reading the Amazon reviews I loved this comment from one fan "I get a sneaky suspicion that in 20 years' time we'll all be talking Romero vs. Tufo"; the fact that in the UK alone he has 140+ and USA is 575+  tells you what a great book this is.

Mr Tufo introduces you to a family struggling to survive during the apocalypse, the love shown amongst them really marks this out as a "more than horror book", and it also has SO many other elements to it.

It is written from Mike Talbots PoV, with some other diary entries thrown in for good fun, his wife, Tracey, especially makes me giggle. It is not purely a diary/journal though, so don't be put off.

The humour is a large part of the story; the Talbotisms really guide you through some of the most horrific descriptions of the start of ZomPoc that I have ever read.

The scares and horror scenes are, unfortunately, all too believable and the route of initial infection is personally terrifying.

Many times you are left on tender hooks as the Tufo family seems to get/put themselves into some very butt clenching scenarios.  As others join the group this seems to multiply as Talbot has a way of antagonising people!

The climax to this first book is pantwettingly scary; Eliza is in a realm of her own.

It's hard to say more without giving the story away, particularly as I know how it progresses through the next 6 books, and onto Lycan Fallout.

As a side note, Mark Tufo is very involved with his fans and enables you to comment and ask questions on Facebook his page, often having random Unfair Competitions of the day to win all sorts of stuff you never knew you REALLY wanted. I also believe that a new trend has been started, if you become a fan you are called a Tal-BOT!

Return of the Phoenix: Monster Squad by Heath Stallcup

Ok, it is hard to believe that this is the first book from this author, I'm sure (and hoping!) he has many hidden away, ready to launch.  It is simply AMAZING!

The whole layout of the story is brilliant, he slowly gives you background on every member of the "squad" and the main outer characters, without detracting from the story line, each little nugget of information really blends in and allows the character to become real; I am already missing them.

There is some seriously hard core military stuff for those of you that like it, but nothing that bores us non gun toting fans silly.

The humour is subtle but grin worthy. The erotica was fantastic, not gratuitous and very much needed in such a hard hitting novel, plus it’s done with love. Now for the monsters!

Well from vamps to werewolves to trolls and everything else that goes bump in the night.... what can you say! HS even manages to have back stories on these guys! I am sort of expecting a troll to turn up in my back garden any minute now and will be most disappointed if it doesn't!

The little blurb at the end promises at least three more in the series... I will be booking the release date day off as Holiday to fully enjoy it.....bring it on!

This new author is one to WATCH!!!

Darlene Bobich: Zombie Killer by Armand Rosamilia

Aha! at last a full novella full of Darlene! I love this girl!  Thong obsessed! What a butt kicking woman!

She can even stop in the middle of Zompoc to shave her legs!

Lots of true to life moments, people will probably be horrible and not all jolly friendship types when Armageddon begins but Mr R manages to bring some dark humour into that future.

I was a bit confused at the ending (I can’t do spoilers) but am looking forward to more from this great girl, with some real insecurities....

Chaos: A New World by John O’Brien

My Hubby attended the World Horror Convention in Portland Oregon, with me and among others met this author, who very kindly gave me a signed copy of this book.

As Horror is not  his my usual bedtime reading the fact that it was a gift in no way influenced my opinion of this story. He grabbed it off me and this was the result!

As an ex-serviceman details of the weapons and the plane were as food and drink to me.

On receiving the book I explained to John that I have a 20 page rule i.e. if I am not hooked by then I will not waste my time trying to continue, needless to say I had no difficulty passing that barrier

The book is set on a premise that could actually happen if we (society) are not careful and drives forward at a good pace.

The characters are well rounded and in most cases likeable with the odd clusterf*** to provide contrast.

There are quite a few twists and turns throughout the plot.

The lead character is Jack Taylor an ex-USAF and Special Forces veteran, who faced with the collapse of society and the evidence of an epidemic decides to try to secure his family and then set out to rescue his girlfriend Lynn, who is based in Kuwait.

He has, because of circumstance, been able to take his children and his son’s girlfriend with him, to leave them behind would have placed them in obvious jeopardy.

The action is based initially on his collecting his children and the girlfriend, the drive to collect them through eerily quiet streets gives no real hint as to what is yet to come; only that it is not going to be a picnic in the park.

Jack then begins preparing/planning to get an aircraft, that hopefully Jack is able to fly, if not initially, at least after reading the manuals.

They proceed to put the plan into action.

It progresses through their locating and acquiring a C130 and then their cross country/cross continent travel to locate Lynn.

With stops and confrontations on the way not least with authority,

The action involving the people affected by the epidemic is fast paced and because of the way it is written, you can almost feel them outside and hear them in you nightmares, you certainly do not want to open the door to check.

The characters of the children and the girlfriend are quickly established and they mature throughout in response to the circumstances and trials that they are forced to face.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and read it at one sitting interspersed by breaks for food and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre and likes the military angle that John puts on it.

I would rate this 3 – 4 and am already reading the next book in the series and looking forward to not only meeting all the current characters again but new ones along the way.

Having never read this type of story before, I am now a fan.

The Dead Wait (preview) by Joe McKinney

Great comments to readers and loved the “ground rules”.

The bug-out bag list is now on my shopping radar although so many pages of it did seem excessive.

I’m glad JM explained the zompoc was quite slow in coming or it would have felt very unreal even for fiction.  I loved the premise though and have put the book on pre-order.

My favourite bit was the drunk bear story.

This little sampler has allowed me to see why so many people rave about JM writing and I look forward to a start of a new series from him.

Trudge: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse by Shawn Chesser

I fell in love with this family. However, the initial attack scene was totally off for me and the inner dialogue could have been so much better.

This sort of sticky but bland writing continued but the actual story and characters were brilliant.

Around chapter six it seems that SC slides into some awesome author mode and the book/writing steps up several gears. The beginning needs some more kick and condiments to it (IMO) to draw in new readers.

The main characters are Cade, his wife Brook and daughter Raven. As they are on opposite sides of the country the dual settings and storylines really give good, but non distracting, tension.

I really enjoyed all the news caster feed, back histories of the family and even the political rhetoric. The military element is there but again, it is non distracting to us less interested readers.

As each group gathers and loses members no character is safe. There are occasional humour moments which really bring home the realism of the people and the horrors they are facing.

The White House situation was a shock but brilliantly done, it also allowed for the “why” to occur.  SC left the book hanging on a fantastic note, no shocking cliffhanger but I have to know what happens next.

Surviving the Dead Vol.1 by James N. Cook

Gabe & Eric have bonded hard and fast over beers, martial art fights and grief. 

The start of this book really drew me in but then swung me back to sometime before the apocalypse.  I was slowly informed how they got set up so well, plausibly believable.

JNC does a spectacular job of starting the zompoc with a unique way of describing the ground rules regarding infection and how to kill a zombie.

Both men are 3D and I worried about them from the start.

As I was led to follow Eric on his cross country trek to get to Gabe I lived all the detailed descriptions of the houses and places he visits.

There is a lot of gun chatter and strapping on of weapons, which for non ammo-nerd this gets a little tedious.

When he stumbles upon a group sheltering in a warehouse it’s nice to see JNC does not go down the “only the bad survive” route.   A plot is soon hatched amongst them to raid the nearest town as Eric brings valuable information about the undead.

The planning does get a bit repetitive after a while and I wanted to skip on past to get to the action. However, I really enjoyed all the people interaction and I did enjoy the way JNC incorporated the back story of everyone in the group in a different way for each.

One niggle in the continuity is in the first chapter where it states that Eric is not a good shot due to being rusty, but then as the story travels backwards you are shown how much practice he gets and how often he is told how good he is!

As JNC brought me full circle I have to say I really enjoyed the hope given and not just the misery.

I am supposed to be going to Atlanta for the next WHC (2015) after reading this I am not so keen.

EpicApocalypse: Apocalyptic Horror Bundle

New World: Chaos By John O'Brien - Guest Blog by Hubby!

Ok, so if you dont know by now (!) Hubby and I have been at WHC in Portland, Oregon. 

Primarily Hubby came to keep me company and hold my hand as I dont "do" flying very well.  However, whilst there is was given some signed books and he set about reading them during the "boring" moments!

This was the result he presented me with.....

I have just attended the World Horror Convention in Portland Oregon, and among others met this author, who very kindly gave me a signed copy of this book.

As Horror is not my usual bedtime reading the fact that it was a gift in no way influenced my opinion of this story.

My wife Vix had previously failed to review it as not being an "Ammonerd", she could not deal with the descriptions of weapons, not a problem I encountered.

As an ex-serviceman details of the weapons and the plane were as food and drink to me.

On receiving the book I explained to John that I have a 20 page rule i.e. if I am not hooked by then I will not waste my time trying to continue, needless to say I had no difficulty passing that barrier.

The book is set on a premise that could actually happen if we (society) are not careful and drives forward at a good pace.

The characters are well rounded and in most cases likeable with the odd clusterf*** to provide contrast. There are quite a few twists and turns throughout the plot.

The lead character is Jack Taylor an ex-USAF and Special Forces veteran, who faced with the collapse of society and the evidence of an epidemic decides to try to secure his family and then set out to rescue his girlfriend Lynn, who is based in Kuwait. 

He has, because of circumstance, been able to take his children and his son’s girlfriend with him, to leave them behind would have placed them in obvious jeopardy.

The action is based initially on his collecting his children and the girlfriend, the drive to collect them through eerily quiet streets gives no real hint as to what is yet to come; only that it is not going to be a picnic in the park.

New World: Chaos

WHC 2014 - Fifth/Sixth Days in Portland, Oregon.

This wonderful place has some brilliant and beautiful extremes!

We spent yesterday at the beach, with our amazing friends Todd & Denise.

However on the way we stopped at a little place called Voodoo doughnuts and we were treated to a huge box!

There was a bloody (jammy) massacre in the back of the car on the way!

Decimation of the Doughnut

Ivor was then treated to an American football game! and I got to go Walmart shopping, now I must burn out my own eyes  (hehehe!)

And here comes the extreme, approximately an hours drive in the opposite direction to the beach is Mt Hood, a dormant volcano that is well known for its wonderful ski resort Timberline, which just happens to be the "Over Look Lodge" from The Shinning.

The inside was not used in the film as it really is just a quaint little ski lodge,  but its still impressive to drive up that winding road with "Here's Johnny" running through your mind :)

Tomorrow is our last day in Portland, Oregon and we are cream crackered from all the excitement. So it will be a day of packing all our goodies away and preparing to fly back to Blighty and our much missed fur babies.

We have had an absolute blast and I have been fan-girled out by all the amazing authors I have finally been able to meet, hug and squeee over.  

We do hope to be able to return the favour of their amazing hospitality to any of them that wish to fly over the pond. 

WHC 2014 - Third day in Portland Oregon

Today was all about panels, snagging signed books and generally schmoozing!

I have been lucky enough to meet several new (to me) authors and as you can see by the HUGE pile of books I got signed today I have a lot more to read, and review, in the coming weeks! That is if I can prise them from Hubby's hands of course as he has suddenly become very zombie orientated!

John O'Brien writes the A New World series and Shawn Chesser has the equally impressive Surviving the Apocalypse set.

It was also super cool to meet Jeff Strand who has written a huge amount of books and he was kind enough to sign his very awesome Wolf Hunt for me. This was one of the first books I ever left a review for on Amazon and its woefully inadequate in its praise - so I hope to reread and give a new improved review within the next few weeks. 

Tomorrow I have been promised the whole DEAD and That Ghoul Ava series by TW Brown!!  I will definitely need excess luggage on my flights home.

I also did a few "panels" and talks today too, another feature of the WHC. Listening to some of the couples that both write and how their creativity really affects their relationships was interesting and funny. 

Another amazing moment was the talk given by Victoria Price in which she honours her father, the wonderful Vincent Price, with her beautiful chat and montage to him, it was a real pleasure and highlight of the day.

However I think the pinnacle of the day was voodoo doughnuts. The menu is extensive and the taste is wholly amazing!  but seeing grown ups get SO excited and start actually sprinting for the van that was outside was hysterical!

More pictures of the doughnuts when I do a proper shop run on Sunday prior to being taken to the "beach"!!

Another brilliant day over here, more panels, chats and adventures await me tomorrow.