Customer Reviews

Autumn: Purification

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Autumn, Purification, basically marks the end of a trilogy of zombie-focused books.

The story evolves around the same group of survivors that was featured in the previous, `Autumn, the City' book. The action starts exactly where it stopped there. The survivors are sheltered in an underground, army-occupied bunker. They take the decision to venture out of it after the shelter gets overwhelmed by a mass of zombies and all hope to stay safely in is lost. What follows is their quest for survival in a devastated, highly perilous world.

Without lifting the curtain off of the story plot, please remember that David Moody is a talented English writer who has decided to take his time to tell a very realistic tale of survival without any kind of biased opinion. Zombies are never called zombies, they are depicted as beings that used to be normal and that now suffer from their decaying condition. They don't hurt for pleasure, or without reason. The military is shown as a group of very different characters. They are not described as a stereotypical, 2-bit group of dumb-minded, orders-obeying robots. Some of the survivors are selfish and meet their end without judgment, while it becomes clear that their attitude is actually dictated by their incapability to feed their hope any longer. Some others are brave and courageous, but also subject to doubt. Boredom is shown as an implacable enemy. The fragility of hope in people's heart is demonstrated over and over. Only a handful of people get to see some kind of light in the gloom of their everyday life.

Moody seems to be willing to get away from any kind of judgment on the zombies' conditions, hence it becomes difficult to really feel disdain towards them. Rather, their evolving attitude becomes logical and, from them, less of a threat, more `acceptable'.

Overall, action is continuous and logical. The whole book is a real pleasure to read. It concludes with class and smoothness a fine trilogy of books that really deserves any reader's attention.

It would not be correct to say The Autumn series is a Romero-fan's ultimate zombie series, but its not fair to say its "the thinking man's" zombie series either.

If you worked your way through Autumn and its sequel, The City, you pretty much know what you're getting. Some occassional grisle and gore but mostly a lot of complaining and "didnt-we-already-go-over-this" dialogue. Still, I know I was at least invested enough to see how things turn out. The sadist in me wanted more of the survivors to get mauled by the hordes but the Lost fan in me was interested to see how the ending would develop from here.

Most of the most annoying characters have been weeded out by now, so you know that you won't get too many "what's the point" speakers from here on in, but you still get your gaggle of quitters and whiners, which would be fine, if it weren't every other conversation.

The scenes at the airport are certainly intense and make for the most thrilling in the series since the farmhouse stand-off on the first book.

The Autumn series did just-enough blood/guts/gore to keep me invested, the characters were interesting at time, annoying at others, and Moody's reliance on describing the state of decay on the zombies became less powerful the more and more he did it. By then, he needed to raise the bar and emotional resonance by sacrificing a few more brave souls in a gruesome demise.

Love this whole series almost as much the Hater trilogy, this one is a little toned down. Not as nearly as much blood and gore. David Moody is able to keep me want more throughout the first three books, waiting on the fourth to be released this month.

If you breath to loud, it will piss of the rotting bags of flesh, They are not anything you would want to mess with, Mr. Moody takes an idea of something you want, and punches you right in your face, These are not Zombie's, but more of a Viral Pandemic, A race for time, that just would not stop. Thank's! Because of this book, i sleep with one eye open and closer to the edge of insanity.

On another note, it's a great read, But you should pick up the first one's and the last few...

Do it, i dare you!

I thought this was a very good read. I have just got into this series but cant put the books down. I had my doubts while reading the first book "autumn," because it is slow at first, but once it picks up you really want to know what comes next.

The character development is great. You really want to see what happens to the characters you are introduced to. I could really sympathize with them, because of this I give Moody lots of credit as an author.

If you like Apocalyptic stories or are a fan of the Zombie genre, the autumn series is for you. Although the pages arent covered with blood this series is sure to prove to be a cult classic.

Not the most technically sound writing in publication but very far from the worst. For zombie fans, there really is no such thing as a bad zombie story, but David Moody's work really is something special. Its not your run of the mill flesh eating frenzy type of story and that's refreshing. The Autumn novel's power resides not in their ability to disgust or in the description of violence, but in the psychological despair and utter hopelessness that would be felt by the survivors of a zombie apocalypse. Very emotional, very disturbing, utterly wonderful.

Overall I recommend this series of books for those who like zombie stories. I've read all four and have enjoyed each one.

However, I do have a few issues.

1. David Moody should do a little more research on modern military technology. The military does possess protective suits like those used by the soldiers in his books. However, they protect only against a chemical attack. They do not filter out airborne biological agents. Bacteria is just too small. Viruses are even smaller. You would probably have to carry your own air supply. While it might be possible that the government anticipated this event and created suits customized for this particular bioligical agent, I just had a hard time buying it.

It seems like the survivors are mostly idiots. I can think of a number of ways to fight the zombies that were never even tried in the book.

1. Your in an airfield or some other enclosure and there are so many zombies around that it is difficult to get in an out without letting loads of them in. What do you do?

a. Create a "zombie lock." Think of an air lock on a space ship. You have an smaller enclosed area around the entrance to your large enclosed area. You can use fencing or just create a circle of cars. When you need to let someone in or out, have a crew of guys with baseball bats at the ready. You open the get and let your people out/in. When that happens many of the zombies are going to get in as well. Your bat boys jump in and start smashing skulls while you close the gate. Any zombies that get in are contained in the zombie lock. Then your bat boys kill them all. If there are really lots of them, get .22 rifles and pistols and start shooting them in the head to bring their numbers down.

b. When the number of zombies surrounding your safe haven get too numerous, send out people in tough vehicles to simply do laps around the perimeter while mowing them down. Sure this will make a lot of noise, but I bet you could kill them faster then they could show up.

c. Create a diversion. The zombies are attracted to noise and activity, so have a brave crew of people set up a noise maker at a location farther away but still within earshot. Put a CD player with fresh batteries on a roof top of a nearby building. Have the player loop so it will go on constantly. This will draw the zombies away from you and toward the distraction. Then you can get in your vehicle and start mowing them down.

2. You want a safe haven where you can have food and water as well as the conveniences of the pre-catastrophe world without having to worry about getting trapped by too many zombies.

a. How about a boat? Go to the coast, or even a large lake or a large river and get in a house boat. Go a short distance from shore and drop your anchor. You can stock the boat with all the food and water and fuel you will need for a long time. On board you will have electricity, running water, flush toilets and safety. If you are close to shore you can expect the zombies to gather at your launch point, but you can just travel to a different harbor to get resupplies. The only real worry is bad weather.

b. Just keep moving. There is pleny of gas and vehicles. Do what Mike and Emma did and get a motor home and travel the country. Camp in remote locations and when there are too many zombies around, just step on the gas. Not as good as the boat idea because you will have to be very quiet whenever you stop for a while, but still workable.

UNLIKE most zombie novels, the Autumn series explores the horror of the situation with an incredible depth into the many character's psyche. To even refer to this series as being about "Zombies" shows a complete lack of literary understanding, and shallowness.

I was fortunate enough to find David Moody's writing by accident while searching the internet for something to read. I had never read an on-line novel before, and that was the only form offered at the time. "Autumn" is an incredible read. The way David takes you into the mind and souls of the characters is masterful. The interaction between the helpless victims is completely real and true to life. Their thoughts could easily be your own.

While David's writing does center around the "undead", that is never its main focus. From the military, to the loner, to the lover, you experience the passion and motivation that drives each person. There is also a simplistic, yet far reaching epiphany to be had for those that can see it. In short, each book in the "Autumn" series leaves you frantic for the next. You just have to know how it all plays out. And, you won't be disappointed.

I have read all four books in the "Autumn" series, and also "Trust", a spectacular, real version of first contact. I hesitated to read "Straight To You" for the fact that it was a love story. I was so mistaken in putting it off. "Straight To You" has ended up being one of the most thought provoking novels I have read.

I have read and reviewed the first 2 "Autumn" books and I am probably sounding like a broken record. There is not enough of the over-the-top Zombie gore that I enjoy so much. There is however more action in this book than the first two in the series.
The books are well written and interesting. The problem I have, besides the absence of extreme Zombie gore, is that the books focus mainly on the characters. The Zombies almost seem secondary to the story.
I enjoyed all three books, but this was my favorite so far. The suspense is tight throughout almost the entire book. You get a possible explanation of what may have caused most of the world's population to die. The Zombies are more violent than ever, and the feeling of despair is at an all time high. Then the mood changes, there may be hope!
These books wouldn't be my first choice in the Zombie genre, but they are entertaining. The story does lure you into wanting to know how it all ends. I have read the first three in the series and plan to read all five books.

I've been a Moody fan for some time now, and I must say that each book he writes gets better and better. This is definately NO EXCEPTION. I read this book in spurts in about a week, and it was aggravating because i DID NOT want to put it down. Bust schedule prevented me from finishing it in one sitting. Moody continues his brilliant epic tales of the survivors of the apocaylpse and creates a mood in the story so deep and creepy, it will leave you looking over your shoulder for days to come. I reccomend this book to ANYONE who can read and likes the crap scared out of you. Excellent job Mr. Moody, I look forward to your next ones!