Customer Reviews

The Turning: A Story of the Living Dead

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kelly Hudson's first novel is a great romp through the Bay Area involving Zombies, gore and the worst villians, the living. Being from the Bay Area, I loved the emphasis on the locations and enjoyed the development of the characters Jeff and Jenny. Some great close calls with the undead and graphic details which gave me pause. Just how I like it.

This was a surprisingly good read. I enjoy zombie literature and read many novels in the genre. The Turning was much better than expected. Very grisly and gritty (even for this genre) but the story is interesting and takes some unexpected turns. The main character grows on you as he struggles to survive a zombie apocalypse. This was one of the better zombie novels I have read recently and I recommend it.

Not a perfect book, but it really kept me reading. I truly wanted to find out what happened to the people involved (in my opinion, that's a keeper!) Somewhat simplified, it still rang true and wasn't boring in the least. Shows how love can turn even a milquetoast into a hero! Plus, it had an added character I didn't expect in a zombie novel!

I really thought this zombie novel was a wonderful journey through the everyman hero having to turn from his self imposed isolated existence into a survivor in a world with nothing but Zombies ,and even worse, humankind turning to animals the longer the outbreak goes on. I felt that Jeff really grew throughout the story and found something to live for that he could be proud of. Great Storytelling and some wonderful passages especially towards the end of the book.
Great Job!

There needs to be another section for books, the exploitation / zombie area.

As a zombie book, this was one of my favorites. However I could have done without the constant over-the-top violence and abuse towards women. There has to be other ways an author can get the message across that humanity has fallen into complete hell without giving graphic descriptions of rape and gang rape. If these had been omitted, this book would have got a strong 5 stars for me. There are hundreds of other ways to display the depravity of human beings without bringing rape into the scene.

This is only the second zombie book I've ever read, the first being Day by Day Armageddon by J.L. Bourne. Day by Day was a great, easy, fun read. But I'd have to say that I found The Turning to be a much more gripping, gruesome, and exciting tale. You know a book is great when you find yourself concerned, frustrated, anxious, and joyous along side the characters, and that's exactly what this book did for me. Nicely done. I look forward to more!

I've just hit the half way mark with this novel and am rather pleased with what I've read thus far. Strong characters, fully realized and emotionally grabbing, kept me turning the pages long after I should have retired for bed. Gory, vulgar and violent as the story has been thus far, it's also been surprisingly beautiful. I believe what's struck me the most is that, for a good deal of what I've read, it was really spelling out my own personal zombie apocalypse fantasy, which I found to be quite satisfying. To delve more into that would be unfair to those who haven't read it yet and for those folks I do urge you to take a look. You're only reading this review if you have some interest in zombie tales or have read some of Hudson's stories from the horror anthologies he's been published in, so it's safe to say your interest is already peaked. Like his short stories, Hudson's The Turning doesn't disappoint. I'm looking forward to finishing the story and will post another review once I have, but I state again: Well worth the purchase at only the half way mark.

The Turning: A Story of the Living Dead is an easy yet intense read that kept me interested from chapter to chapter. Mr. Hudson took this nightmare of a read beyond anything I have enjoyed before. I recommend this book, but be cautioned, it is gruesome in sooooo many ways. Great ending too. Can't wait for the movie.

This book is a complete waste,The author has the characters either sleeping or vomiting every few pages.
Are they narcoleptic with purging issues ?
Every few paragraphs ends with "they fell asleep"
it seems like the author doesn't know what else to do with his characters so he has them sleep and the Three Stooges zombies was plain absurd as well as most male zombies wear flannel shirts (Creedence Clearwater Revival fans ?) and female zombies wear ponytails.
Many seem to be missing both arms.doesn't the author know any other ways to desscribe them ?
Also if firearms are used at leat take the time to learn something about them,you're sitting at a computer for heavens sake,it's full of information.
It's overall a lazy effort not worth the time it takes to read it.

Not a bad effort which follows the standard formula of a rapidly disintegrating world at the hands of zombies (and human weakness). But we have seen it all before as the atmosphere is drawn from The Road and how the city of Portland is portrayed here is similar to Romero's movie Land of the Dead. That aside, the main characters of Jeff and Jenny are not at all appealing so it takes away from the story as we really don't care about them (their ridiculous back stories are meant to garner sympathy but fail). Having said all that my favorite bit was a bighorn sheep taking apart a zombie. Overall, the book seems a little rushed - and because there is so much bad or mediocre zombie fiction out there - we really need more quality work like World War Z.