Plagued: The MidAmerica Zombie Half-Breed Experiment
When Tom, the son of a powerful Senator, becomes stranded in the Plagued States of America while searching for his lost sister, his only hope of survival rests in the hands of a few grizzled veteran zombie hunters and a mysterious half-breed zombie woman he thinks may know where to find his sister.
I was asked to review this book, and chose to purchase it myself rather than receive a review copy.
One can’t say this book by Better Hero Army lacks action. In fact, it’s full of enough action and detail to really keep you reading. The first three chapters move quickly and are very well-written. Beginning with chapter four, however, the editing errors creep in and take over, though the action and detail never stop.
I was impressed with the detail throughout the novella. Better Hero Army does an excellent job in describing the people and surroundings, giving a good layout of the land, enough to give the reader a good visual. Logistically, I had a few issues, but other than that, it was well done.
Tom is the main character, of course, and I’d consider Penelope—the half-breed zombie—the other main character, as Tom grows quite attached to her and the story centers around the two of them. The only part that bothers me with Penelope is that a certain thing I can’t discuss here because it’ll be a spoiler doesn’t get explained in the end. Cliffhangers are one thing; leaving the reader hanging without an explanation is another.
Tom is desperately trying to find his sister for penance, for the mistake of a scared twelve-year-old boy. There is a good plot to this story, background is well thought out, but it doesn’t wrap up everything at the end. I know there will be other books to follow, so I’m hoping this isn’t one of those ‘let’s split one book up into five’ deals. As much as I enjoyed the story—though not totally enthusiastic about it—it drives me bonkers when an author splits a story like that.
Plagued is in need of a good copy edit by an experienced editor. I’m rating the book 3 stars (my star rating system: 1=hated it, 2=disliked it, 3=liked it, 4=really liked it, and 5=loved it) because while I enjoyed the story overall, there were a lot of distractions with misspelled words, lack of punctuation, passive voice, and formatting, etc.
I wish Better Hero Army the best of luck with the series and future endeavors.
Plagued can be purchased on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback formats.
Hi Everyone! I’m M.M. Shelley and I’d like to give a BIG thanks to The Zombie Survival Crew for having me today so that I can share my novella:
The Zombie Story
My story is about Magick and Zombies, a little different take on the Zombie genre and follows the adventures of Orlando as he arrives in a new city.
Ruben Juarez has always been careful; he’s had no choice not to be. Orphaned at a young age it has been just him and Elodie, his younger sister, they avoided the foster system by staying anonymous. It hasn’t been easy and it has made him feel disconnected.
To make money he became involved with underground fighting and he has become quite good at it. He can detect someone’s weak spot just by watching how they carry themselves. Ruben has never boasted about the number of wins he has on his belt or about anything else for that matter. Boxing has always been a way for him to burn off steam, a way to forget about everything and just live in the moment.
He didn’t begin hunting zombies until he learned that he could make money at it. He was approached by a man named Maxwell who made him a generous offer if he would agree to train Orlando Drake.
It was an odd offer, but the money was good so he didn’t question it. Maybe he should have questioned it and just maybe he should have walked away. If he had not felt a deep responsibility to look out for his sister he just might have walked away.
His dream would be to just ride on his motorcycle from town to town, nowhere in particular–just far away from everyone who knows him. Ruben has never been one to run away from his responsibility but if it wasn’t for Elodie he just might decide to up and leave.
Thanks again for hosting this stop on my tour!
About the Book:
The Zombie Story is the first novella in a young adult series.
Unfolding on the streets of Los Angeles is a new breed of monster…
Orlando, fresh from the mid west, arrives at his new high school on his Harley Davidson.
All he wants is to make it through the day, and begin his training as a Zombie Hunter.
After discovering what was hidden in Mexico and having to sneak back across the border Orlando returns to Los Angeles, but is unable to return to his home.
Instead of hunting Zombies he is now hunted.
Betrayed by those he thought he could trust, Orlando must keep the truth of what he knows to himself.
That is until dead relatives return with dire warnings.
* * * * * * * * * *
About the Author:
M.M. Shelley is a storyteller, word smith and dreamer. She has traveled the world extensively in search of the magic which is often overlooked in every day life. M.M. Shelley is a native of southern California, and a student of mythology from which she gets much inspiration.
Dauntlessis the third book of Shannon Mayer‘s Nevermore trilogy, a Zombie-ish Apocalypse novella series.
In this final installment, be prepared for death to come knocking, as the apocalypse and monsters stretch the bonds of love and friendship, demanding a reckoning of those who are willing to do what they must to survive.
When “I Am Legend” meets “Resident Evil,” the Nevermores in this trilogy are similar to the “vampires” in I Am Legend with their feral pack mentality, and the cause of the change in humans is because of a supposed cure-all drug, similar to the toxin in Resident Evil. The Nevermores aren’t quite zombies, in that they aren’t dead, but they will eat anything and everything.
Minor spoilers:
Dauntless picks up after Bound, continuing Mara’s and Sebastian’s story of love and survival even when everything on the planet is stacked against you. It begins in the mad scientist’s compound, follows their escape, and Mara’s struggle to fight for Sebastian and their child, even when he doesn’t want to continue on. Did Donovan’s cure work? For a good amount of time, Sebastian is sick as hell and on the verge of death. Throughout the trilogy, Mara makes some pretty stupid decisions, which someone points out to her, and yet, she somehow manages to make it. How, we’ll never quite know.
Scout, Mara’s loyal Nevermore, returns to help and in the end, gives his life to save his alphas’ lives. He was a very likable character; one that was written well enough to be remembered for a long time.
The trilogy is essentially one book split into three. There is also a short story, first published in Forever Nocturne e-zine, that goes with the trilogy, centered on two other characters. The entire Nevermore trilogy is a quick and easy read, though it could have used a better copy edit. Some of the mistakes were a little distracting, but the average reader likely won’t notice most of them.
Dauntless was definitely the “love will conquer all” happy ending. I won’t, however, tell you where they’re heading or the surprise that waits.
Thank you, Ms. Mayer, for such an entertaining series. I look forward to your Celtic Legacy series next.
Boundis the second book of Shannon Mayer‘s Nevermore trilogy, a Zombie-ish Apocalypse novella series.
A continuation from “Sundered” that will again shock you with life in an apocalypse with twists, thrills, monsters, and, of course, an undeniable love story.
The trilogy is “I Am Legend” meets “Resident Evil.” The Nevermores are similar to the “vampires” in I Am Legend with their feral pack mentality, and the cause is because of a supposed cure-all drug, similar to the toxin inResident Evil. The Nevermores are quite zombies, in that they aren’t dead, but they will eat anything and everything.
Bound continues right where Sundered left off, where Sebastian attacks Mara along the back path behind their house. Directly after, they’re captured by an “army” squadron and taken from their farm. One of the Nevermores consistently outside the fence of their home, whom Mara named Scout, crawls up under the truck without being seen and makes it to the squadron’s compound, to Mara’s pleasant surprise. When the leader discovers she has control over Scout, mainly due to the fact that she stopped Scout from killing him, he decides to have Mara train the Nevermores.
Bound is a quick and easy read. There seemed to be a character name mix up at one point, but I could be mistaken and misjudged the relationship the author was attempting to build. It left me a little confused. Listed as paranormal romance, Bound is full of warmth and the power of love at its best, and heart wrenching at its worst.
We can only hope that in the next book, Dauntless, love truly will conquer all and Mara and Sebastian will get their happy ending.
Sundered is the first book of Shannon Mayer‘s Nevermore trilogy, a Zombie-ish Apocalypse novella series.
Compared to “I am Legend”, Sundered will take you into the dark realms of an apocalypse, with a new breed of zombie that will have your heart pounding, your palms sweaty and the pages flying. A Novella with true bite.
This is Ms. Mayer’s first release, and it’s a good start. The story is an “I Am Legend” meets “Resident Evil” book, in that the creatures are similar to the “vampires” in I Am Legend without the vampire aspect but having the wolf pack mentality, and the cause is similar to the Resident Evil drug/toxin that kills everyone off. Except in Sundered, people don’t die from getting the Nevermore shot; they become feral predators. Quite the unique little twist—one of many within the book.
Readers can easily identify with Mara, the main character. She’s trying to lose weight and trying to get pregnant…again. After having a miscarriage, her world was devastated and it threw her into a deep depression. But when the Nevermore “miracle” drug becomes available, Mara’s excitement can hardly be contained. Her husband Sebastian isn’t quite so convinced, but when Mara goes in to get the shot, her world shatters once again. She discovers it may have been her saving grace, but as the apocalypse takes hold of the world around them, Mara soon learns that not every story has a happy ending.
The novella could have used another edit, as the timeline is a bit off in one area, but all in all,Sundered is a quick, easy, and entertaining read. Listed as paranormal romance—and no, there is no “zombie” sex, thankfully—Sundered is full of warmth and the power of love at its best, and heart wrenching at its worst, enough to make one cry. Three. Times.
We welcome Shannon Mayer into the world of published authors and look forward to reading more from her.
Plagued is in need of a good copy edit by an experienced editor. I’m rating the book 3 stars (my star rating system: 1=hated it, 2=disliked it, 3=liked it, 4=really liked it, and 5=loved it) because while I enjoyed the story overall, there were a lot of distractions with misspelled words, lack of punctuation, passive voice, and formatting, etc.
Bound
You can find 