Ex-Patriots [Paperback]

Peter Clines (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2011

It’s been two years since the world ended. Two years since the dead rose and the plague of ex-humanity decimated mankind. For most of that time, the superhero called St. George, formerly known to the world as the Mighty Dragon, has protected the people of Los Angeles at their film studio-turned-fortress, The Mount. Together with his fellow heroes—Cerberus, Zzzap, and Stealth—he’s tried to give the survivors hope and something like a real life. But the swollen population of the Mount is becoming harder and harder to sustain, and the heroes are feeling the pressure.

Hope arrives in the form of a United States Army battalion, based in a complex a few hundred miles away in Arizona. This is not just any base, however. The men and women of Project Krypton are super-soldiers, designed and created before the outbreak to be better, stronger, and faster than normal humans. They want the heroes and all the people of the Mount to rejoin America and have normal lives again.

But can the military be trusted? And is there even a country left to rejoin? There is a secret at the heart of Project Krypton, and those behind it have an awesome power that will help them keep that secret hidden. The power of Freedom.

“My two favorite things, zombies and superheroes.”—Nathan Fillion, star of Castle and Firefly

“Zombies and superheroes are two great tastes that have never quite gone well together ... until now.”—Mira Grant, author of Feed and Deadline

"My favorite horror novel since World War Z"—The Gaming Gang on Ex-Heroes

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Ex-Heroes:

"I loved this pop culture–infused tale of shamed superheroes struggling to survive a zombie apocalypse in the ruins of Hollywood. It's The Avengers meets The Walking Dead with a large order of epic served on the side."
—Ernest Cline, New York Times bestselling author of Ready Player One
 
"Zombies? Check. Superheroes? Check. Awesome? Check. Ex-Heroes has it all. You’re in for a treat!"
—Mira Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Feed --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

PETER CLINES has published several pieces of short fiction and countless articles on the film and television industry. He currently lives and writes somewhere in southern California. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: Permuted Press (September 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781934861875
• ISBN-13: 978-1934861875
• ASIN: 1934861871
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #616,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Clines grew up in the Stephen King fallout zone of Maine and--inspired by comic books, Star Wars, and Saturday morning cartoons--started writing at the age of eight with his first epic novel, LIZARD MEN FROM THE CENTER OF THE EARTH.

He made his first writing sale at age seventeen to a local newspaper, and at the age of nineteen he completed his quadruple-PhD studies in English literature, archaeology, quantum physics, and interpretive dance. In 2008, while surfing Hawaii's Keauwaula Beach, he thought up a viable way to maintain cold fusion that would also solve world hunger, but forgot all about it when he ran into actress Yvonne Strahvorski back on the beach and she offered to buy him a drink. He was the inspiration for both the epic poem "Beowulf" and the motion picture -Raiders of the Lost Ark-, and is single-handedly responsible for repelling the Martian Invasion of 1938 that occurred in Grovers Mills, New Jersey. Eleven sonnets he wrote to impress a girl in high school were all later found and attributed to Shakespeare. He is the author of numerous short stories, EX-HEROES, EX-PATRIOTS, --14--, THE EERIE ADVENTURES OF THE LYCANTHROPE ROBINSON CRUSOE, and an as-yet-undiscovered Dead Sea Scroll.

There is compelling evidence that he is, in fact, the Lindbergh baby.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#62 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#70 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#62 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#70 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lightning strikes twice! September 10, 2011

By Justin G. TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

Peter Clines took the zombie/post-apocalyptic world by storm with his debut novel Ex-Heroes, which chronicled the zombie apocalypse through the eyes of a fascinating cast of superheroes. Now Clines is back with Ex-Patriots, the highly anticipated sequel to Ex-Heroes.

St. George, Stealth, Cerberus and Zzzap have largely established a safe zone in the part of L.A. they control, with the zombies - sorry, ex-humans - kept at a distance from the living. They're soon taken out of that safe zone when a military plane makes contact. The heroes find out that they're not the only super-powered beings to survive the apocalypse. At a secret military installation, the government has been creating their own super-soldiers, plus a few other disturbing projects.

Ex-Heroes was a very effective novel, giving us realistic and unforgettable characters, both good, evil and points in-between, not to mention sharp dialogue, plenty of unexpected twists, and a truly epic final confrontation. With Ex-Patriots, Clines delivers all of that and more, adding government intrigue, secret plots, and even more powerful characters. The book hooks you from the very first page, and is one of those rare novels that you feel completely compelled to barrel through to the end. Encountering St. George and company was like catching up with old friends, and new characters like Captain Freedom and his team are instant favorites.

Once again Clines delivers the perfect mix of action, super-heroics, intrigue and of course all-out zombie mayhem. If you were a fan of Ex-Heroes, Ex-Patriots is an absolute must-have. It's by far the best post-apocalyptic book released this year (and that's saying something), and is just a great story overall. It also sets up book 3 - Ex-Communication - quite nicely, though waiting for that one is going to be difficult!

Disclosure - I was given an electronic copy of this book by the publisher for reviewing purposes.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Doubleshot Reviews book review September 20, 2011

By HeadshotHeather

Format:Paperback

Ex-Patriots by Peter Clines was calling my name after having just finished reading Ex-Heroes and, boy howdy, did it deliver. Packed with every bit as much action as it's predecessor, Ex-Patriots introduces us to the Unbreakables, a group of super soldiers led by Freedom a true American patriot, Dr Sorensen, the doctor who figured out how to create the super soldiers and Mr. Smith, the man who is behind the notion of having super soldiers. There are other new characters, including a new Hero and, of course Zzzap, St George, Stealth and Cerberus are back to entertain us. (YAY for a Buffy reference and a special 'cameo' of a Whedonverse alum)

Initially I thought the plot of Ex-Patriots was going to be extremely cliche and was not necessarily going to give up hope, but was not going to hold my breath that Ex-Patriots would be nearly as good as Ex-Heroes. I was wrong...in my opinion, it was better. It would be best for a reader to read the books in order, as there is not a lot of character development for the Heroes we were introduced to in the first book. I do not want to say much more about the book, because I don't want to chance any type of spoiler...as I said there was an element of predictability to the plot, but then all of a sudden KERPOW! I was hit with a HOLY GUACAMOLE, BATMAN moment, thus not wanting to chance spoilers.

Fast paced, full of action, humor and heroism, Ex-Patriots is a zombie/superhero book for true American readers (and anyone out of States, too).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A sequel that is better than the first. September 25, 2011

By W. P. Collins

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have to admit I gave the first book 4 stars- it was good, well written (and to the nitpickers, its fiction. okay?) and the pop culture references were a lot of fun. Never been a huge zombie fan, but Clines mythology is fascating (esp the 'how they came to be' explanation is startling).

Now to 'ex-patriots' .... the plotting was good/interesting/basic...until HOLY SMOKE! Did Clines just do what I THINK he did? DANG. Talk about a writer who can pull it together. I was torn between dragging out reading this book to make it last or sitting down and chewing threw in one big GULP. Really nice work on existing characters- I really like how he is....humanizing Stealth- more than what you think there, showing a wacky human-er side to Zzzap (love the pop culture references (to someone who watches movies all day (Zzzap, not me)...and some of the newer characters. The alternating then/now takes takes some getting used to, but Clines does a nice job of feeding us bits and character pieces that really enhance our knowledge fascinatingly. Captain Freedom being a nice example- instead of a stock character we get some really interesting shading on this 'hero'. Ditto Dr Sorensen, we are never quite sure if he is 'mad/angry', 'mad/looney' or 'mad/scary' or just flat out nuts...or is he?

If you remotely liked the first book, this is a MUST read. Please read in order. The plot twist is a true hum-dinger, one of those 'glad I wasn't in a diner so no one could hear me exclaim "Damnnnnnnn, didn't see that one coming" (for the record I am writing this review having read 89% of the book).