9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
3 1/2 stars...., December 12, 2002
This review is from: Zombies in My Hometown (Paperback)
Gary Wedlund writes an interesting book that has a lot of black humor and reads like Dinner and a Movie on Ted Turner's TBS station. He is also reminenscent of George Romero's horrifying Dead series.
Joe is just your average guy trying to catch some fish.
Police officer Sandra Anderson is a girl he'd like to get to know.
William is a mortician who packs some SERIOUS heat and knows his way around an M-16 and a bazooka. His girlfriend, Patricia, is not the perfect picture of loyalty.
Reverend Purswell is a televangelist who has taken the word "terrorist" to a new extreme.
Throw in a lawyer by day, dominatrix by night, in Dominique and you have a recipe for success.
Oh yeah, a 13-year old Billy the Kid and lots of zombies add up to a fast-paced action filled rollicking good read.
This book flew by for me and I think Wedlund has the moxie and the stuff to make a really good horror writer. He has found a niche and all I can do is hope he has a sequel coming soon. Oh, the reason I only gave it 3 1/2 stars is Wedlund is extremely detailed in dialogue scenes and it was just a little annoying when the conversation's kept going. It could have been wrapped up a little tighter, but hey who am I to complain?
I am also an aspiring horror writer who plans on publishing through iuniverse.com as Mr Wedlund did. Hope u read this Gary, a very impressive debut!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Where's the spell-checker?, April 8, 2005
This review is from: Zombies in My Hometown (Paperback)
I am not even done reading this book yet but had to put my two cents worth in. The one thing that stands out above all else is the huge amount of spelling errors in this book. I have never seen anything like. So far my favorite is the poor woman who dies of freight... I assume they meant fright. Unless of course a trunk ran her over or a large crate fell on her. There is another instance near the beginning where I am not sure if the character's name is Truck or Trunk. Errors aside, I am enjoying the book because I live in the area where this takes place and the obvious and not-so-obvious references to the locale are a hoot. My favorite subplot is the minister starting his own second coming by shipping zombies out of Port Columbus to all parts of the world to wreak havoc. Funny stuff. I am still surprised by how long it takes before everyone realizes what is going on and figures out how to kill them. The zombie genre seems to exist only because of self-denial. "Nope, never heard of or seen a zombie movie". Overall a good Zombie story with plenty of twists and turns and the stuff we zombie-fans like. Just make sure you have a pen with you to correct the errors before you loan it to someone.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An almost forgotten but good book, January 28, 2009
This review is from: Zombies in My Hometown (Paperback)
I had read Zombies in my Hometown several years ago and really enjoyed it. I've just re-read the reviews on this book and the most obvious point made are the editing issues. Those are fair complaints... however, this book has had a lasting impression upon me and I honestly don't remember any major editing issues of significance. They were minimal as I remember.
I have read well edited books where the proper writing was plain and uninteresting. Technically correct but boring. This book however was very colorful, with a lot of spirit, with fun characters and a riviting story. True, the author could have edited better. But really, this book did shine and the editing issues can be overlooked.
There's a lot of writers out there. But, this author has "IT"... a gift of story telling. I remember this book as fun and satisfying. And if there are editing issues, well then, this author can reissue an edited version. After all, a good writer's first draft is superior to a hack's polished work. Sadly, this book seems out of print for quite some time and I hope the criticism is not the reason.
This is a great read and if you can, pick up a loose copy for resale. The writing is colorful, has many great characters, with a fun story to boot. I'm not going to nit-pick about the plausibility of the zombie's origins as other reviewers have. When the story really starts, it its a fun read that will keep you up wanting to know what's next. It is a great read! Besides, the best stories don't even have an origin... so why not overlook it here as the rest of the story plays out so well. Besides, the origins explained here are fun to read anyways.
Obviously, this is a self-published book and god bless the author for going through the effort and expense in publishing. Also, thank you for the great read. I had read this more than three years ago and only now writing a review after recently discovering I could do so. So let's put it this way, if this book was that bad, why would someone remember to think of it much later?
This book is a gem to find now. If you're lucky to find a copy, enjoy! I'm keeping my copy. Maybe someday it might be worth some money... but I wouldn't sell it (despite the attractive resale price of $75 currently).
I will say this.... this author has talent and I hope he writes another book (and reissues this one). Sure, make sure it's edited as to avoid the obvious criticism. But even in the raw, this author's books are fun and memorable. I only hope this writer hasn't been discouraged yet because he has a lot to offer THEN and yet to come. .
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