Customer Reviews

Cheating, Death

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It is Zombie Time! Cheating, Death by Teel McClanahan III is a horrifying roller coaster ride through the zombie filled streets of Denver. The book is a short, thrilling ride...so I'm going to keep this review nice and short also.

The story takes you to Denver where some zombies have gotten loose in the streets - and they are doing what they do best -eating people. Melvin, who witnesses the first attack, grabs his family and skedaddles. But, escape is not that easy, and Melvin and his wife find themselves in a very terrifying and heart breaking race to save themselves and hopefully their children.

The book is well written, and the tone of the novel is consistent. The tone is narrative and almost apathetic. Straight forward descriptions are given of bloody gag-inducing scenes. This kind of narrative tone can turn some readers off, but it actually helped me keep reading. The disassociation of the narrator let me not panic as much as I would have when reading a particularly gruesome scene in the stadium.

Because of this disassociation though, I did have a few little problems. The characters sometimes seemed to be reacting in a manner that was not consistent in a real world situation. Now, don't get me wrong, I have never been in a zombie attack and I'm guessing everyone would be in shock. But I have been in some high-stress situations and I think the characters reacted in a manner I didn't expect.

Other than that, I was happily pleased with this book. Recommended for adults who want a little gore in their books. If you like fuzzy kitties, happy love stories and meadow frolicking with dukes that like to ravish...well I don't think this would be your thing.

Ok, now that's out of the way. I've been trying to decide if I should do this review. Not because I didn't like, but because I do. You see, I'm in a bit of spot here. My husband is an author. In fact, he is the author of this book. So it could be seen as a marital obligation or some such....but it's nothing like that. I promise. I enjoyed this novel.

I'm a bit surprised with the revelation that I enjoyed a zombie novel. To date, I've only read one other zombie novel (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) and I didn't finish that one. I don't think it was a conscious choice to not read them, I just managed to read stories with other kinds of monsters. Wait! A year or so ago I read a novel with some vegetarian zombies. I don't think I'm going to count that one. This one is the real deal. Slow moving, non-thinking, brain craving zombies. Plus, it had some emotional situations that all but forced me to feel for the characters.

What I liked:

1. It's set in Denver, CO. I have a soft spot for stories that are set in locations I know well. The area of Denver this takes place in is one I've spent several weekends in. It's easy to picture where they are.

2. Frances has emotional responses to the situations she's placed in exactly how I expect people to react. She goes into overload and shuts down. Her character is well written and easy to sympathize with.

3. The story just builds and builds. The action movies fast and flows easily from one event to the next. Though each event isn't exactly unexpected....it's a zombie novel after all...each is surprising in its own special way.


What I didn't like:

1. This isn't a real complaint. It's more of a recommendation. Don't expect a completely satisfying, wrap everything up , ending. As a stand alone novel the end seems to come to fast and is honestly a bit of a let down after the continual action of the book. However, I know something a lot of readers might not. The events in this story lead up to the events that happen in another novel. Seen as a series, the ending is perfectly reasonable.

Overall:

I had a lot of fun reading this novel. I read it in the course of an afternoon and was hard pressed to put it down anytime during. The wife in me wants everyone to read it. The reader in me thinks most people....people who enjoy zombie stories...will enjoy it.

Interesting start and then DIES a quick death, would not recommend this E-book for any price.