The Rage Plague [Paperback]

Anthony Giangregorio (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2009

An unknown virus spreads across the globe, turning ordinary people into ravenous killers. Only a small population proves to be immune, but most quickly fall prey to the infected. Isolated on the rooftop of a school near the outskirts of Chicago, Bill Thompson and a small band of survivors come to the frightening realization that, without food or water, they will perish quickly under the hot sun. Some wish to migrate to a safer, more plentiful refuge, but the school is surrounded by rampaging murderers. Without a plan, Bill and his group don't stand a chance. Their only hope lies in their one advantage over the infected: their ability to think. Not far away, a leader rises amongst the psychos, a man stricken by the virus yet still intelligent and in control. His need to destroy humankind becomes an obsession, and he rallies an army of killers to seek out and destroy all who remain unchanged. Now Bill and his fellow survivors not only need a safe haven, they must also escape legions of hungry infected. But the virus and its hosts will find them, no matter where they hide, because even sanctuary has its perils.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Permuted Press (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934861197
• ISBN-13: 978-1934861196
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,236,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 50 Pages of fun, Then 200 more of boredom, May 1, 2009

By 

E. Makowski (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rage Plague (Paperback)

Well I picked up this book at my local Bookstore, intrigued of the idea of a Zombie story in Chicago (my home city) Figuring the unique challenges of a large Midwestern city (as opposed to the stereotypical Manhattan, which is easily cut off from the mainland with a few downed bridges and tunnels) Instead the story seemed to just knock off every major Zombie flick out there, the original Day of the Dead, the Dawn of the Dead Remake the the 28 Days/Weeks movies.
I'm also sick of the stereotypical "evil Army" sub plot, which raises the "philosophical" (please notice the instant sarcasm quotes)question of who is really the monster us or the zombies? *YAWN*
Not to mention the author doesn't seem to know anything about the military, switching between Marine and Army lingo/labels, spelling issues and confusion (the rank of Sergeant Major is capitalized, and is NOT the same as Major)and soldiers in boot camp are not called cadets. because of this I was actually confused for several chapters (where is that Major? why is the Sergeant Major in charge now?) Oh duh, they are the same character) Maybe the average Joe who reads the story might not notice, but for someone who has been in the military, these mistakes are glaring, and hard to miss.
I also noticed many spelling mistakes.
I also mentioned my excitement as the story takes place in and around Chicago, but with the exception of "name dropping" of a few locations, you wouldn't know, in fact, the story mentions the characters taking the highway at one point. Overall i was dissatisfied with the book, I would recommend a more "classic" World War Z over this.
Added note: It seems the author has some issues, just about every female in the book (named character or random victim) has their breasts described, sometimes in a level of uncomfortable detail that I had to look behind me to make sure nobody thought I was reading some sort of romance novel. Also rape is brought up a lot, and not in some way that psychologically effects a character, it just a female, rape, murder done, next. add it for shock value once, twice maybe, everything beyond that is just sheer perversion.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor facsimile of 28 Days Later..., March 26, 2009

By 

John Rapp "Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian Fanatic" (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rage Plague (Paperback)

Rage virus? Animal experimentation? Mean soldiers? Hordes of the infected? Sounds a lot like 28 Days Later. Only that movie was good. This book does not live up the hype created by the five star reviews. The writing was below average, the characters were superficial and irritating, and the plot was underwhelming. I was really disappointed by this book. Read something by Brian Keene instead if you want fun zombie horror.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quite Underwhelming, August 25, 2009

By 

Felicia A. Sullivan (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rage Plague (Paperback)

I was somewhat...disappointed by this book. First, I have about 15 books by this author on my BookMooch wishlist that I have never purchased. One, because they are expensive and two, because there are so many, apparently they are a series, and I don't know what order they are supposed to be in. Hardly anyone gives up zombie books on BookMooch, so I sit and wait.

When this book became available, I mooched it right away, VERY eager to read it. I mean, after all, there's zombies, right? Not exactly. These were not shambling zombies, they are more of the 28 Days, mad, driven variety....not my favorite type of zombie.

I found the story stilted, not full, and rather juvenile. There is an interesting take on the "zombie" situation that I will not ruin for anyone else, but I do prefer my zombies stupid and shambling.

In addition, the plot reads nearly EXACLTY like both Hater by David Moody and 28 Days Later. There is nothing new here, and both Hater and 28 Days were WAY better.

Second, I don't think I would pay cold hard cash for his other books if they are like this one. I would definitely READ them if I got them on BookMooch (book swapping site), but I wouldn't purchase them.

I gave this three stars only because it sort of had zombies in it.