Customer Reviews

Cobble

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

 

 

This started off as a good idea, but very soon I got fed up with the typos and grammatical errors. Then, I was amazed to see the authors couldn't even follow their own story line...towards the end of the book they mix up their characters. And there are too many incomplete story lines for such a short book, absolutely no character development. All and all, a poor attempt.

When a demon unleashes the undead, zombies, the risen dead, on the world with the intent of destroying man, he is rebuffed by the efforts of one small community on an island called Cobble.

Cobble is the exciting and visceral story of the one surviving community of humans in a world taken over by the dead and how if copes with an invasion by the last remaining military forces of United States. And an attack by the very creature that unleashed the living dead on man to begin with. Ending in a final showdown between man and zombie and good and the foulest evil.

Eric S. Brown and Susan Brydenbaugh keep the story moving and interesting with crisp prose, interesting characters, and gut wrenching, gory action you have come to expect from the Zombie genre.

Check it out. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Eric S. Brown and Susanne Brydenbaugh collaborate for the first time in the zombie novel, COBBLE.

The end of the world appears near as a plague has swept the world, causing the dead to arise. Cobble Island stands alone in fighting back and is relatively zombie-free until a military unit and a genetic researcher insist on establishing a base on Cobble. Now, the dead are once again rising but this time they are sentient and led by an evil being as old as time. Will the residents of Cobble Island survive or is humanity's last hope fading?

COBBLE contains a wide cast of characters and there are heroes as well as horrors. Although there are no main characters in the usual sense, there are several predominant characters who exemplify either the heroic or evil of humanity, such as Michael, Amy, Terry, and Shannon. Michael Drake is a man haunted by visions of a demonic being stalking him but is willing to face his fears to save others. Terry is the sheriff and wants to do the right thing for the people of the island while Amy is his daughter. Shannon is a man struggling to cope with his fear and losing. Together, these characters and many more present a very vivid glimpse of humanity and their actions will spark numerous debates as to their motivations.

Eric S. Brown is primarily a writer of short stories and his talent is very apparent in the bonus zombie story, "And The Dead Shall Rise", provided at the end of the book. Susanne Brydenbaugh also writes short stories and poems and COBBLE is the first full-length book produced by either author. This reviewer has never read anything by either author but was impressed by the short, lyrical style of COBBLE. Rarely has so much been conveyed in so few words! The very succinct style makes the horror of the world island residents are residing in even more apparent as the zombies are not the only evil lurking on the island. The hearts of man can produce awful things in times of distress and this is perhaps the bigger message illustrated in COBBLE.

COBBLE is an intelligent person's horror story as it provides great food for thought regarding the fine line that sometimes separates good from evil. While some may disagree with the ending, the climax provides a very poignant picture of mankind as a whole. Readers looking for the next George Romero style zombie story will probably be disappointed but readers looking for a unique twist on zombies will thoroughly enjoy COBBLE. Eric S. Brown and Susanne Brydenbaugh have crafted a very credible zombie novel that urges readers to consider more than just the next gross-out scene. COBBLE is entertaining, suspenseful, and thought-provoking and a very solid horror novel.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Eric Brown's latest story, Cobble, co-written with Susanne Brydenbaugh, is the longest story he has written to date yet. Cobble is about Eric's favorite creature, the Zombie. The story centers on a small island that has managed to quarantine itself away from the entire world and the dangers of the zombies that have overrun the earth. But then someone comes and invades their safe haven, and it is safe no longer. The characters are well developed, and the suspense keeps you from putting it down. I found that I hated for the story to end. I could find no flaws with this book, either with typos, or in the story line. If you love zombies, if you love a good horror story, this is a must read.

Cobble by Eric S. Brown is a short and fast reading book with a great premise. The story takes place on an island named Cobble where the residents were able fight off the initial infestation of zombies and now live a relatively isolated and safe life. Then a Special Forces unit lands on the island and from that point on things go down hill fast.

As good as the premise of the books is Cobble suffers from trying to stuff an epic story into 108 pages. Throughout the book it seemed like the author was rushing you along. In some parts of the book the character POV changes between each paragraph, that's just poor structure that can lead to the reader confusing who's POV we are reading. In the end, this could have been a much better read if there was more detail across the board. It's not a good sign, when at the end of the book, you still feel like you don't know the characters.

Cobble is not a total loss, the premise is really good. I give it thumbs up for some Bub like action. The zombies were different and scary. The author's writing styles is pretty good, which makes the book more enjoyable. There is definitely enough action to keep you interested.

Cobble was a cool idea that ended up lacking the detail needed to pull off such an ambitious, epic story. It is far too short and at times the story seems glazed over. I cannot recommend this book to anyone who does not like smart zombies. Zombie fans may want to check this out, just be aware of short length and rushed story.

An isolated island with the last shreds of humanity isolated from a zombie-infested world...

A graphic murder of practicality in the opening pages...

A surviving military squadron landing on the island...

Sounds good, right?

Enter the typical INTELIGENT zombie and watch in disgust as it and every other zombie on the planet are destroyed as some guy who is appearantly some kind of demigod... ready for this? starts to CRY!!!! Please.

At least the writing wasn't bad, just the plot.

Why, oh why, must any author take an amazing premise, turn it into a fantastic plot, and then proceed to butcher it word, by miserably placed word. As destitute as I am, I would have been willing to PAY these two authors to let me edit it. I've already edited my copy with a Bright.Red.Pen. That's how much the authors' incompetence bothered me. Where, is their spellchecker? Their guide to grammer? Their freaking editor and agent, for that matter?! I'd be humiliated to have my name attached to something this poorly written and published. Note to self: If, when composing a sentence, you have to write: `had had', as in `he had had a bad day', chop fingers off. The amazing thing is, when I looked at the reviews for this book, not one single person mentionedthat judging by the writing, this was probably written by a three year old. Blech. Did I somehow manage to get my hands on a copy that was unedited? I don't see Advance Readers Copy anywhere on my copy of this rubbish. Shame on both of these authors, and everyone else involved in the publishing of this book, for allowing crud like this to be published.

Save your money and your time, stay away from this turkey!!!.It is a complete and utter ripoff of 'brain kneen"s, the rising, anyone who has read the rising an city of the dead,will know this to be true!!. cobble may have some novel touches to it , but that can not save it from being one lame duck of a book. I Will not ruin this book for those who may still want to read this piece of excrement, others reviews will have given away enough about it already, there are far better books you could read like"Wetwork" by philip nutman ,still the best zombie novel,followed by brain keene.

Cobble takes you to the last place on earth where humans reside. The dead have wiped everyone else out and the last stand is about to occur.

Cobble is populated by people who took care to wipe out the undead that popped up there when the plague hit. They have lived in relative safety ever since. Now a small group of military personnel have landed on the island along with a doctor who is still trying to cure the plague. They need the resources the island have and won't take no for an answer. An uneasy truce is struck between the islanders and the military to attempt to live in and work in harmony.

Enter into the story the idea of an epic battle between good and evil. It was a plague, but it was a plague started by a being of ancient evil who has wanted the downfall of mankind its entire existence. Amongst the military is his arch nemesis, who is only now starting to realize who he is and what he must do. The final battle shall be waged on Cobble as the dead are once again reanimated and these two foes will finally meet in combat to decide the fate of humanity.

All in all, a really strong idea for a zombie novel. An epic clash of the titans as it were. The desire to wipe out humanity vs. the desire to save it in the end. It is a concept that demands a grand stage. One like "The Rising" and "City of the Dead" provided. The "void" is even mentioned here, as some of the newer zombies the "demon" in the story has now created on Cobble are faster and more intelligent this time around. Unlike in those two books I mentioned above, humanity has a savior in the guise of a human who will champion it in the end.

The idea behind Cobble certainly is big. This isn't just about a group of survivors, it is about THE group of survivors. The last of humanity. Good vs. Evil with the prize of all humanity disapearing off the face of the earth or for a new beginning for the few who remain.

So unfortunately this story came off, to me at least, as rather lacking in depth of detail of what I believe should have been the two main characters. I am not saying that all the others should have taken a back seat, but both our "demon" and "angel" are given a lack of any depth. Humanity's hero doesn't even realize who he is and what he must do until near the very end. The final results of a battle that has been something that both sides knew was to come...this EPIC showdown...well, it ends up being not so epic. I am not a person who likes to ruin a review by giving out spoilers if I can so I won't here. Lets just say if you are expecting something incredibly powerful, you will probably be pretty disappointed. I guess it could be argued that there is some beauty in the simplicity of the story is completed, how the two finally clash. As in: you expect this fire and brim stone, lighting from the heavens type battle but it is something so human, so basic, that ends it all.

As for the positives with this book, the authors have a strong writing style and I enjoyed some of the character development. Mostly of the Terry character, who seemed pretty real and approachable. Some of the others were a little less fleshed out, but overall it was a cohesive story line. It just needed some more pages, more details as it relates to such a big vision.

This book was entertaining enough for three stars. I am always up for a zombie story and I certain did enjoy how the authors put together what I would call the "simpler" aspects of this tale: a story about people trying to survive on an island with some military interlopers trying to come in and take over. If they had stuck to that plot line alone OR had expanded the story with more development of our "evil" and "good" arch-nemesis' it would have gotten a higher rating from me. I still feel that both authors writing skills are of a good quality and I would not hesitate to try out something else that either have written.

Eric S. Brown and Susanne Brydenbaugh, Cobble (Mundania Press, 2005)

Eric S. Brown is, arguably, the most prolific horror writer of the past decade. Never heard of him, you say? This despite eight novels and about two hundred short stories (a number of which have been pressed into eight short story collections)? Well, it's not entirely unexpected. He tends to publish either on micropresses (Coscom, Mundania) or through vanity outlets (CreateSpace). In this case, as most, he had a co-author, and in this case that was Susanne Brydenbaugh, another short-fiction specialist (Brown talks in his afterword about whether he was really a writer, since he didn't have a novel under his belt, this being the main reason he undertook the project). The two of them put their heads together, and what they came up with was... this. And once you've read it, you will likely understand a whole lot better why you haven't heard of Eric S. Brown.

It's almost too easy to attack micropress releases for spelling and grammatical errors, but my god, I can't help it here. Assuming any proofreading on this was done at all (and one assumes someone must have at least glanced over it, either the authors or someone at Mundania), those who did it were beyond incompetent. Have yourself a merry little Christmas trying to figure out what some of these sentences were even supposed to mean. I've read some awful vanity-published material, but Cobble takes incoherence to new heights:

" Drake let the silence stretch on. What he had learned about the creature that
Amy had begun calling "the Dark Man" was part intuition, like a dream handed down from a dream or collective memory from ancestor to ancestor..."
(90)

[Yes, the paragraph break is in the text.]

"Terry grunted non-commitably as Amy joined him at the table." (16)

Even better, once they get about halfway through this (108-page) novel, things begin to fall apart. Not for the characters, but for the authors. Plot threads die. Characters get mixed up, not that it matters given that there is no character development whatsoever. And the climax is so confusing you'll have to think about it for days before coming up with a workable hypothesis... but you will have no desire whatsoever to think about it for even five minutes.

While looking for a way to wrap this up, I wandered over to Mundania Press' website, and then over to the press blog. I found myself very amused by some of what I read there, and I wonder if some of it isn't a direct response to having published Cobble half a decade ago in the execrable state it's in. Skyla Dawn Cameron writes in the post "Reasons for Rejections", in the MP blog on 20 Dec 2010:

"Your cover letter shouldn't have grammar errors and spelling mistakes. I know typos happen and I'm fairly forgiving of them, but if your cover letter shows you don't know how to use a semicolon, I'm not even going to open the manuscript to glance through. And when I get to the manuscript and find serious misspellings and errors in the opening paragraph? Reject.

Yes, every publisher (by which I mean legit ones--let's not even get into the others) has editors on staff to work with you on your manuscript, and no book goes out without at least three rounds of edits, but it's not their job to teach you even a medium level grasp of the English language, let alone a basic one. It's not the editor's job to hold your hand. They will point out weaknesses, flaws, and help you polish the book, but they shouldn't have to teach you how to properly use punctuation."

If that policy had been in place in 2005, I wouldn't currently be holding Cobble in my hands--a novel which embodies not only those two paragraphs to the letter, but most of the rest of that post, as well. Awful from first word to last. ½