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.
Okay, the zombies are up. They’re shambling, they’re walking, they’re doing the Thriller dance and they’re hungry. You just spotted one on your front lawn. What now? If you’ve thought this out or even considered the possibility of this day arriving, you should be ready.
We at the ZSC talk a lot about preparation in the sense of stocking up supplies, getting your go bag together, choosing your weapons and other required survival needs. Being prepared is the only real defense any of us have, so here’s 10 things you should know to ensure survival, or at least a fighting chance during the Z-pocalypse.
1. Go Bag
The number one most important thing you could ever possibly do is make your personal Go Bag and never let it out of your sight or put it beyond your reach. We’ve talked about preparation so much it’s running the risk of being repetitive, but the importance of preparing ahead of time cannot be overstated. Food, water, medical supplies, weapons, duct tape… it can be a long and sometimes overdetailed list. No matter how hard we try to think of everything in advance, nobody can plan for everything but we can learn to expect the unexpected. Prepared survival kits can be purchased online or put together manually to suit your preferences.
2. Keep In Touch
Have a network. Get everyone who matters to you on speed dial or prepared email/text message and make contact at the first sign of trouble. Let them know you’re okay, plan a meeting point or at least tell them where you are going. You won’t be able to rely on communications staying open as things go from bad to worse, so be sure do it early. A CB radio is also a good investment, one that can be taken with you either in a vehicle or on foot.
3. Know Your Destination / Escape Route
Okay, you’ve got the car packed up with all your survival gear and supplies. The gas tank is full, you’ve called your mom and told her you’re coming to get her, the CB radio is on and you’re armed to the teeth. So, where are you going? How are you getting there? Is there a mandatory evacuation that ensures all major roads will be jammed and completely impassable? Traffic alerts? Mass panic on the streets? Looting, robbery and general lawlessness? Chances are the answer is yes, so you need to know exactly where to go and the best way to get there before it all goes bad. You can’t pick up or rescue anyone if you’re stuck in traffic.
Whether you’re driving to get Mom or on foot running for the hills, try to avoid congested areas. Stick to back roads or side routes that are likely to be less populated. Arriving at your pre-planned destination is the first step of survival. Be sure to also have a backup destination in mind, a plan B, even a plan C if possible. The ZSC has an always-growing list of Resupply Stations and Rendezvous Points to help you get to where you should be when it all starts to go down. Even if you find yourself caught unprepared (which would never happen to any ZSC member), you can head straight to the nearest supply station or rendezvous point to get what you need and/or meet up with fellow survivors.
4. Outdoor survival
Even if you plan to be holed up somewhere indoors, secure and protected from nature’s elements, there’s a good chance you might have to eventually abandon your comfortable safe haven and literally run for the hills. It’s not a bad idea to brush up on basic survival skills now, before the dead start walking.
Take a course in outdoor/wilderness survival. Learn to build shelter, protect yourself from the elements, hunt and fish. Okay, you don’t have to be the great white hunter of the North, but learning to trap small game such as rabbits and squirrels or pull a fish out of the water means you get more than berries for dinner if and when the food supplies run down.
Learn to build a fire . Humans have enjoyed the ability to make fire for ten thousand years, give or take. But in the modern era of convenience, many of us would be lost with nothing but two sticks to rub together. A minor detail such as the lack of matches or butane lighter can be the difference between life or death in the colder places of the world. Fire also provides light, security and helps make that fish taste a little bit better.
5. First Aid
Even in the best case scenario where the Z-poc never begins, it’s a smart move to know what to do in today’s world of random unhappy accidents. Take a first aid course. Anyone can put on a bandaid, but when the world stops working and there’s nobody to call when someone is injured or sick it’s up to you to take care of them, or yourself. Learn which medical supplies to grab and how to use them, how to treat poison ivy rashes and bee stings, which medications to stock up on and which to throw away… what you don’t know in the world of first aid certainly could hurt you. Also, be sure to get a good first aid reference book and stash it in your go bag.
6. Weapons
It’s the first thing everybody thinks of. Ask anyone about zombie apocalypse survival and they’ll talk about head shots, ammunition, shotguns vs handguns, machetes, crossbows, axes, Bowie knives, baseball bats, cricket bats… hold on now, let’s pause for a moment.
Are you going to need weapons during the z-pocalypse? Most definitely, yes. But this does NOT mean you should plan to run out and raid a gun store the second it hits. Not only because everybody else will probably be thinking the same thing, but do you know how to handle a gun? If you don’t, the chances of you shooting yourself in the foot or mortally wounding a living person are a lot higher than your chances of making a successful zombie kill at any distance. This isn’t a movie. Picking up a weapon does not instantly turn you into Jason Bourne. If you’re going to carry a firearm, make sure you know how to use it. Visit a local firing range and have a look around. Many offer instructional courses or can point you in the right direction, and they won’t laugh at you (much) if you shoot like a girl. Learn how to clean and properly care for your guns, too. A poorly-maintained weapon is not the way you want to face the zombie apocalypse.
Many people don’t like firing guns. We’re not going to tell you get over it and learn to do it anyway, but rather think about the importance of being able to effectively defend yourself and your loved ones against the shambling horde. Your weapon of choice should be the weapon you are most comfortable with, and can handle confidently without supervision. Sometimes a solid wooden baseball bat is enough to save you from becoming a meal. Blunt weapons don’t require ammunition, you don’t need extensive target practice and they’re certainly easier to find. Machetes and other edged weapons make a bigger mess, but have the same advantages and may even require less physical work than a bat. Many outdoor survival classes offer bow hunting instruction, which would give you the opportunity to learn to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.
7. Know What You’re Up Against
Don’t underestimate the dead. Yes, at first glance zombies appear to be pretty easy to avoid. They’re slow (sometimes), not very smart (always), and in small numbers pretty easy to avoid (usually). But it’s important to remember that their strength is numbers and chances are at some point they will outnumber you. If you find yourself face to face with certain death with little or no means of escape, you have to know what it takes to put your undead attacker down for good.
Read books – Among many other well-written and admittedly entertaining how-to survival manuals, Max Brooks’ Zombie Survival Guideis a must-have for any household of future survivors. Ten years from now the battered, dog-eared copy of your favorite survival manual found in the bottom of your go bag might just be the answer to everything.
Movies – Zombie flicks are entertaining and fun, but sometimes they can be a good source of information. Also what not to do can be just as important as any to-do list you can find out there. It’s better that the hindsight came from watching a movie rather than figuring it out for yourself later.
One important note – Don’t set them on fire. It’s quite a spectacle on film, but the reality may not be what you hoped for. Not only is it likely to be the worst smell you could ever imagine, but do you really want a flailing, stinking, flesh-eating fireball chasing you down the street?
8. Trust Few
Isolation is dangerous. You need someone to watch your back. As the living population dwindles, your chances of survival are higher if you are part of a group rather than alone. But you also need to know your companions. Are they your friends, family or random strangers you met while picking through the remains of a looted Wal-Mart? It’s a tough choice to make. Anyone can learn to survive, but holding onto your humanity in the process can be harder than you might think.
Disasters can bring out the best of humanity, but also the worst. Some people will only want to be your friend as long as you are useful to them, or because you have more stuff than they do. Be prepared to protect yourself, your loved ones and your stuff. You should trust strangers only as far as you think you could throw them, and always assume that someone you don’t know might not hesitate to trip you to get away.
9. Minimize Risk – Or, Don’t be a Dumbass.
Don’t go to the mall. Not ever. We don’t care how many movies you’ve seen, malls have too many entrances and exits, and too many potential zombies inside. It’s a very bad choice. The only reason to go to the mall is to hit the bookstore to grab the aforementioned reference books. But you should already have these at this point, as well as copies of Undead is not an Option and Undead Uncensored in your go bag.
Don’t get yourself cornered. If you’re heading to the roof, be sure to have a secured way down. Most zombies can manage stairs or even a fire escape. If they know you’re up there they will find a way to get to you. Even if they don’t, you’re risking turning yourself into the proverbial cat in a tree. A siege situation is not one you want to be in during the Z-pocalypse.
Lock doors behind you. Stay off the booze and drugs. Don’t drive like a stockcar racer (unless you are one). Don’t jump from one rooftop to another. Don’t play “tag the zombie” to amuse yourself. Avoid shaky tree branches. If it smells like it’s spoiled, don’t eat it. Don’t consume any wild-growing berries or plants if you don’t know what they are. Don’t drink water from rivers or lakes without boiling or purifying.
Just think. Use your head. Don’t make rash decisions or take unnecessary risks. All the planning in the world is useless if you get yourself (or someone else) killed.
10. Be Prepared for Failure
If you find you’ve accidentally selected Plan D for Dumbass and all of your carefully thought out preparations have fallen apart, abandon ship. Run. Everyone makes mistakes. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Don’t dally around trying to analyze what went wrong and don’t worry about trying to fix it, just grab your go bag and run. You can make a new plan later.
Command Center Report: Red Brigade Sergeant at Arms
Rating: PG-13 (intense frightening zombie sequences, violence and disturbing images) Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, and Daniella Kertesz
First thing’s first, this reviewer is fully aware that World War Z is based on the novel by Max Brooks. However, seeing as they don’t give me any books—just stacks of movies to shuffle through—I haven’t read it. This review will focus solely on the merits of what was on the screen during the film. Nothing else. Now that the business portion is out of the way . . . have I mentioned how much of a pain it is to not only sneak into a theater without freaking out the humans, but also get a pair of 3D glasses to stay on when one of your ears fell off fifteen years ago in New Mexico? Let’s just say there was liberal application of duct tape in the moments before the lights dimmed and the film began.
World War Z starts off with disturbing news reports of a rabies-like virus sweeping over the globe. America is seemingly unharmed by this virus. Our hero, Gerry is happy to be at home with his family and not with his old bosses at the United Nations dealing with the mess. Then everything flips on its head. Gerry and family are caught in the middle of a sudden outbreak of the zombie virus. In seconds, Philadelphia is overrun with the undead. The family escape and Gerry is called in to help the UN figure out how to deal with the zombies. He’s sent to every corner of the earth searching for answers in unlikely places. In the end, it seems the world’s only hope stems from utter devastation.
The opening is slow, designed to lull you into a false sense of security while simultaneously feeding viewers information through numerous television news clips—the tried, true, and vastly overused method of plot progression available to the zombie film genre. This is of course after viewers suffer horrendous vertigo and nausea from the title sequence, which is designed to make maximum use of the 3D format. Essentially, you can get stuck in line for popcorn during the first seven minutes and not miss anything vital to the film’s plot. A zombie movie is a zombie movie, is a zombie movie. Anyone hoping World War Z would prove to be ground breaking and different in this aspect is fooling themselves.
That’s not to say once the action kicks in, the film isn’t interesting. The mechanics of the zombies alone cause a lot of heart-stopping, breath-holding moments, and even a handful of really well thought out scares. The zombies are fast. Obscenely fast. They have no physical limitations, easily leaping over two cars to take down their prey. Any reservations the person held alive are gone after death, allowing the undead to climb over each other, sacrifice each other in the name of sinking their teeth into something alive, or even bash their skull repeatedly into a car’s windshield in order to get to the gooey yummy treat inside. The makeup ranges from normal looking people covered in blood, to the hero zombies who were desiccated, rotting as they wait for fresh food sources. Two of the hero zombies in the final act of the film were by far some of the best zombies character-wise I’ve seen in any genre film. They were wild, uninhibited in their ferocity and sheer weirdness of undead traits.
Brad Pitt, despite reservations about an A-list actor stepping into a genre film, delivers a wonderful performance with the script he’s given. He brings to screen the only compassion seen from any character, really. Some of the supporting cast shine—most of the good ones don’t get nearly enough screen time. Other members of the cast failed to give a performance capable of making viewers want to see them survive. Isn’t that the point of being one of the main characters? We want to see you live, not listen to you whine, garble lines, and have little to no facial expressions. When a zombie has more facial expressions than the wife of the main character, a main character who’s in mortal danger, there’s something wrong.
What can be learned from World War Z? Duct tape is your best friend. Armor can be made from fashion magazines. The police are indeed people and cannot be relied on after the undead invade your city. And most importantly, if you’re not careful, a can of Mountain Dew could very well lead to your demise.
I’m going to give World War Z four severed hands, out of five. The epic scale of the film was hard to ignore—something genre fans haven’t seen since Romero’s Land of the Dead. Bypass the 3D experience, though. The foot chase scenes in 3D format induce headaches. Chewing on aching brains isn’t good eats. Think of the zombies waiting outside for a snack when you head to the theater.
We put out the call for local information on resupply stations and rendezvous points, and the Zombie Survival Crew continues to respond. Information is coming in and we’re sifting through and compiling everything for communication to the loyalists. We started with information on South Central Resupply site Midland, TX thanks to Purple Brigade member, Kris O’Dell, continued with Wilmington, DE compliments of ZSC Yellow Brigade member Brian McCabe, and Blue Brigade member Jenni Womick brought us Trinity, and we now move forward with Sergeant at Arms, Sarah Quattrocci. Deep in the mountains of Vermont, she has located the perfect meeting place for the Blue Zone.
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Assuming that higher-population areas are high-risk, finding a location off the grid but not completely inaccessible is key. Just outside of Burlington, VT and easily accessible from both Northern and Southern areas West of the mountains via Route 116, this location is a safe distance from the more heavily populated areas. Located on Route 116 just north of Hinesburg village on the east side of the road.
Access from New York state can be made by crossing the Crown Point Bridge and following Route 17 to connect with Route 116 at the Junction in New Haven, VT.
This building is not only spacious and designed for the long haul, but also combines security with at least some of the comforts of home. The building is powered primarily by a photovoltaic system (solar power), a 10-kilowatt wind turbine and uses another renewable resource such as wood pellets made from lumber milling waste for heating.
The core of the building features a large, open-concept common area constructed of concrete, wood, natural stone and other natural materials. It includes a 3-story stone fireplace to help keep the entire area heated during the colder months. There are dozens of skylights and operable windows to take advantage of natural light, provide natural ventilation and fresh air and allow full views of the outside.
Situated within walking distance is a grocery store, hardware store, gas station, doctor’s office, police station and – perhaps most importantly – a large secure warehouse that is ideal for storage of supplies.
To read more on all resupply stations, please go to our (for members only) Key Links under the Escape Routes/Resupply Stations section!
Kissimmee, FL—Most people would say Disney right off the bat! But, is this where you want to be during the zombie invasion? I don’t think so! I don’t even want to think of the Magic Kingdom under those circumstances!
I chose Trinity School for Blue Brigade-Phase 1 Resupply station. The school is located on West Vine Street in Kissimmee, FL. West Vine is also known as US Highway 192, and Irlo Bronson Highway depending where on the road you are located. This is the main road in Kissimmee. It actually runs through a good portion of the middle of the state to the Atlantic Ocean. So, the school is easily accessible.
The school, is actually on a little campus that consists of several buildings, all of which are already fenced in. The school building is an older, two-story building that resembles an old motel. There are stairwells at both ends of the building, and an elevator (if power was on) in the middle. There are public restrooms in the middle on both stories. There are limited windows, and they are high up. Each classroom has an outside door, and a door inside that links it with the room next to it. There are also restrooms between the classrooms, and sinks in each room.
The other main building is the Family Life Center. This is a gym, with a large kitchen, restrooms with showers, and two other rooms that could serve many uses. There are very few windows, and the majority are very high up.
The other buildings on the campus are a church. There are restrooms, and other rooms and some offices here. Again, few windows. There is a another long building across from the school that has offices, a lounge and storage. There is also a fellowship hall that has a second large kitchen and an area for meeting. There are 2 small storage sheds, and in the very back of the campus there is an old house that now serves as day care-with a 3rd kitchen in it.
Since the entire campus is already fenced in, it would be not to difficult to fortify it and make it stronger. The aerial picture shows the entire area, but it’s old so there are no fences. The fences were added about 3 years ago.
For supplies, the school is in a perfect location. Directly across the street is a WalMart, and some other random stores (including a comic book store-study material for zombie killing). Next to that plaza (kiddie corner across the street to the right) is a Target and a Home Depot. Next to the school on the right there is a Play It Again Sports, and next to it on the left is a gas station. And, for the adventurous ones, a K-Mart and Big Lots about 2 blocks away.
Also, less than 1 mile away is the Kissimmee Gateway Airport. This is a “small” plane airport (no commercial planes). If any of the planes were flyable, this could be a HUGE asset.
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To read more on all resupply stations, please go to our (for members only) Key Links under the Escape Routes/Resupply Stations section.
As part of our collective efforts to prepare for the z-poc, ZSC command has undertaken a mission to bring you a series of recipes to keep the body strong and the spirit lifted during dark times. Now, don’t go thinking you’ll be cooking these up in the early days of the infection. You’ll be too busy slaying walkers on the move for this kind of fare. But once the initial dust settles and you’re in the fight for the long haul, you’re going to want something other than the beef jerky, energy bars and chocolate you’ve got stashed in your Go Bag.
Being on the run from the shambling horde doesn’t leave a lot of time for cooking every day, so a good way to get that protein you’ll need is to make some jerky out of whatever large game is in your area when you can’t loot any from surrounding stores any longer. Heck, you could probably even use this for javelina (native to the Southwest and quite the nasty beast in temperament).
Most people don’t realize that Arizona and the Southwest have deer and elk, along with the mountain lions and javelina, so this very basic recipe really goes a long way. I haven’t tried this using javelina, and that’s a different type of meat, but hey, it’s worth a shot. Either way, the meat from a javelina is good to eat. Have a pig roast, if anything.
We’ll just go with the deer/elk/buffalo recipe. I’m also assuming you know how to skin these animals. If you don’t, that should be on your “Top 10 Things I Need to Know for the Zombiepocalypse” list.
First, you’ll want to trim off all visible fat from the meat because it becomes rancid. Cut the flank steak lengthwise with the grain into long thin strips no more than ¼ inch thick. Rub it aggressively with salt cover for 10 to 12 hours so it’ll absorb the salt and release some of its natural juices. At this time, you can add additional spices, fruits, liquids, etc. This is why I require spices in the Yellow Brigade Go Bag (you’ll have to be logged in to view that link).
Next, you’ll need to build a scaffold to support the meat over a slow fire beneath it; the heat and the smoke completes the process in half a day, and with an occasional sunning, the meat will keep for months.
Not too hard, right? Just get yourself somewhere safe for a couple of days so you can do this and you’ll have that protein you need for a good long while, depending on the size of the animal, of course.
Happy hunting!
I’d like to thank my ex-husband, the bow hunter from Wyoming, for helping me with this.
Review of “The Walking Dead” 315 – “The Sorrowful Life”
This week’s episode was . . . wow, intense. So much so, we’re going to do things a tad differently this week. We’ll do a quick run-through of a couple things, but of course there is one major event we need to discuss. At length. Possibly with stick figure diagrams. Okay, kidding about the last part, but it is something we can’t gloss over at all.
***Warning, this review is full of spoilers. Do not read past this part if you haven’t watched episode 315 of “The Walking Dead” yet.***
Where to start? Things at the prison are far from okay. Rick’s marbles are still scattered across the floor. Daryl is torn between being Rick’s right hand man and living up to the expectations of his brother. Carol is dealing some hard-hitting truths about Mere’s place in their sanctuary-slash-death trap. Hershel is having a serious conflict of faith and doing what needs to be done in order to ensure the safety of his two daughters. Oh, and Glenn is getting all romantical with Maggie (which proves to be the only moment in the episode where fans can take a breath and feel a split second of normalcy during the hour of emotional torture).
On with the “holy hell” portion of the show–Merle.
Merle was a character who, by some weird mixture of piss, vinegar, and the incredible talent of the man portraying him–Michael Rooker–managed to win the hearts of Walking Dead fans from the get-go. The redneck from hell spit every racial slur he could think of (and say on basic cable). Kicked the tar out of a lot of the characters we were supposed to find sympathetic. Admitted to heavy drug use. Cut. Off. His. Own. Hand. And everyone wanted him back for more. When we did get him back for one episode during season two of the show, fans were in an uproar because Merle was just a figment of his brother Daryl’s imagination. What a figment he was. We got to see the real backbone of the relationship between the brothers, how Merle loved to antagonize Daryl when he’d already been kicked down about as low as a person can go in just one day.
Producers for The Walking Dead took full advantage of the massive amount of fan love and brought the real Merle back for season three. He quickly became the perfect antagonistic balance between the Governor and Rick, going to the extremes neither men could handle emotionally. This isn’t because Merle was devoid of emotion, oh no. Merle had simply learned to navigate around what he was feeling. In the past, he relied heavily on drugs to keep himself blanketed and numb from the nagging feelings tearing him apart. We caught a glimpse at the lengths he’d go to lean on the drugs like a crutch again in this episode when he rips apart nearly every single mattress in one of the abandoned cell blocks inside the prison. Merle’s secondary method to block out the emotions he can’t cope with is to chase the jobs in Woodbury none of the others could handle emotionally. After the Governor cleaned him up, got him sober, he relied on violence to get his high. The deaths he caused left a darkness in his eyes, a shadow hanging over everything he did. And when the adrenaline crash came after, he’d get antsy and start looking for ways to get his next fix. Merle racked up sixteen (well, closer to twenty now) human deaths in the roughly year-long span since Rick handcuffed him to the roof of the department store in Atlanta.
Did being buddy-buddy with Death change Merle? You bet your Aunt Fanny it did.
However, it did not change him in the way it would most men. Merle was always painfully aware of what he was doing. He just couldn’t stop himself. In this episode he told Rick he didn’t know why he does the nasty, cruel things he does. Truth is, he lied. Merle suffers his personal issues without needing anyone to coddle him and tell him it is okay to hurt, to be afraid, to need someone to keep his feet on the ground when he wants to soar above it all in a meth haze. He doesn’t want to be a burden anymore. Even after the vocal distrust coming from everyone in the prison, Merle still took up arms to protect its occupants on more than one occasion. He wanted to pull his weight, or what little the others would allow him to do while keeping him under close scrutiny. Instead of getting pissed off, he played into it. It didn’t matter if they hated him, so long as he felt he was doing what needed to be done, when it needed to be done. Which is why when the time came, Merle took it upon himself to take Michonne and make the deal with the Governor.
Or did he?
One has to stop and think if Merle meant to go through with the plan to turn Michonne over, or if he’d determined in advance to go it alone and make the ultimate sacrifice. With as complicated as the man was, we’ll never know for sure. One thing can be said, though; both Woodbury and the prison are missing one vital helping hand in the fight to survive. The Walking Dead will never be the same. Not with the lingering impact from Michael Rooker’s stellar performance.
If Merle had survived, would he have eventually fit into the group at the prison? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Review of “The Walking Dead” 313 – “Arrow on the Doorpost”
Occasionally, the non-stop action of a show has to take a backseat in order to allow characters a chance to build toward something spectacular, like the epic clash on the horizon between Rick’s group and the people of Woodbury. Unfortunately, these “talking head” episodes are full of inaction, intrigue, and contests of wit and strength as characters measure each other for what will surely come in the next episode or two. With only three episodes left in the season, was it wise to allow an entire episode to be spent talking? We’ll see.
**Warning, there be spoilers ahead!**
It’s taken thirteen episodes for Rick and the Governor to share more than bullets flying past each other and angry words spread through third parties. Sadly, the encounter was predictable. Rick stood on his high moral ground and Phillip dug it out from under him. The Governor twisted Rick’s words around, trying to make him the bad guy, taking advantage of Rick’s fragile mental state in order to plant seeds of doubt in his opponent’s mind. Phillip used several tactics to get under Rick’s skin. He tried to play humble, saying he hadn’t appointed himself as governor, but the people chose him to lead them. In the next breath, he went from humble to sadistic. Before we could recover from his evil streak, Phillip flew into a story about how his late wife died before the zombie outbreak happened. But how much of the story is true? How much of his emotions were true? Phillip is a textbook sociopath. He mimics emotions he sees in others, but they never last long. He can charm the pants off everyone. He has absolutely no remorse for the death and destruction he’s caused. It was difficult to keep up with Phillip’s rapid-fire subject changes in his parlay with Rick—which was the point. He was feeling Rick out, getting a bead on his foe to see if he’s mentally capable of out-maneuvering him. Phillip’s power is smoke and mirrors, with a dash of pure intimidation thrown in the mix. Without his intelligence and taste for blood, he’d be just another guy trying to survive.
Rick, for all his mental shortcomings since Lori’s death, managed to keep up with Phillip’s ever-changing conversation. But whereas the Governor talked, bragged, and played his mental games, Rick brooded in silence. He did what so many people fail to do, he listened to the person he is at war with. And through listening, Rick realized one important thing—no matter what deal they strike, Phillip will never allow the people in the prison to live. When Rick did speak, he played right into Phillip’s hands. Only on one occasion did he gain the upper hand, when he told Phillip killing Michonne was beneath him—it wasn’t worth his time to kill one woman. Rick is way out of his depth. The wars he’s fought within his group and the emotional trauma he suffered from the death surrounding them every day, they’ve left him with little resources to deal with the current threat. It wasn’t until Rick returned to the prison that we caught a glimpse of how he planned to play out the war. Rick lied to his group about the Governor’s intentions. And despite what he said to Hershel later, I think he did it to keep a leash on the wildcards in the prison. How quickly would Merle turn around and try to give Michonne to the Governor in order to save his baby brother from the battle ahead? Sure, Rick wanted his people scared, honed for the war, but he also wanted to make sure he was the one holding all the aces so no one could surprise him later on.
Andrea’s part in the war is changing. What it is changing to, I have no clue. She had her chance to kill Phillip and she didn’t take it. Hershel invited her to come back to the prison, she got back in the car with the Woodbury folks. How long can she play monkey-in-the-middle before someone (Phillip) gets tired of her indecision and disposes of her for good? Playing both sides of the fence is dangerous. Mostly, it is stupid. Andrea’s little bubble of reality has burst. The man she’s been protecting wants the blood of the people who kept her alive. The only ally she has left is Milton. He knows most of what goes on in Woodbury, but Phillip has been keeping him ill-informed just to throw Andrea off. Yet despite everything, Andrea thinks she alone can prevent the clash between the two survivor groups. I’m not quite sure if she’s been hit on the head one too many times or has allowed the little bit of power Phillip gave her to go to her head. She does not want to be caught in the middle of this conflict. If Andrea were smart, she’d move on and get far away from Woodbury and the prison.
In better news, Glenn and Maggie kissed and made up. Every episode since they were rescued from Woodbury, they fought their own personal war. A war bred from the intensity of the emotions dredged up during their torture and interrogation. Sometimes, no matter how painful it is, a person needs to talk through what is plaguing them. Maggie did her talking, but Glenn was so wrapped up in his inability to protect her and the guilt it raised, he couldn’t let go of the control he’d blanketed himself in to cope. It is refreshing to see them together again. Love is rare in the world they live in. More often than not, it turns into betrayal that is more likely to kill a person than the undead at their doors. Just ask Shane. He thought he loved Lori and his betrayal to Rick morphed into the actions which caused his death.
Is one life worth more than many? Will Rick play the ace up his sleeve and give Michonne over to the Governor in order to save his people? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
Review of “The Walking Dead” 310 – “Home” By R.C. Murphy
As hard as it is to believe, everything happening so far in season three of “The Walking Dead” was the calm before the storm . . . and the first arm of the hurricane swept through the lives of Rick and his crew in the newest episode. Hope you have something to hang onto. It is going to be a bumpy ride.
Warning: Spoilers below
Let’s get this out of the way, the show hasn’t jumped the shark and added ghosts into the mix. Robert Kirkman clarified it on “Talking Dead” after episode 310 aired. Rick is hallucinating. There are various forms of hallucination. Rick progress from auditory hallucinations—hearing the voices of the group’s dead through the telephone—to visual hallucinations. He picked an image of Lori from a happier time in their lives to cling to. In other words, he’s cracked his gourd and is no use to anyone anymore. Even when Hershel pleads with Rick, he is reluctant to listen to reason. His eyes move constantly, seeking the comfort of his vision of Lori. It isn’t until the last moments of the episode, after the fecal matter hits the fan, when Rick’s eyes lock on anything other than his hallucination. But by then the damage has been done.
Being crazypants pulled Rick out of the running to be the leader for Team Prison. His second-in-command, Daryl, decided to go on a road trip with his brother. That leaves an old man with one leg, a kid, and the funny sidekick to try and keep the others safe. Glenn tried to keep everyone together, working on fortifying the prison. He also came up with the best plan to take care of the Governor—send Michonne to Woodbury to assassinate Phillip and cut the head off the snake slithering their way before it can strike. The problem? Glenn is working from a deep-seated revenge against the Governor. He would, if given the chance, forget about keeping everyone safe in order to avenge what was done to Maggie. Hershel sees this and calls him on it. When trapped in a corner and forced to think, Glenn backs down from his plan. Hershel is no Dale. He tries to guide Glenn to the right decisions. Their history makes it harder to convey what is the right decision, and just like Rick, Glenn is thinking three steps behind Phillip.
If Rick and Glenn are scrambling to keep up with the Governor, Andrea is about a mile behind and running in cement boots. She’s a smart woman, but she’s even more guilty at this point of letting her emotions blind her to the truth—Phillip is a d-bag and will slaughter everyone she’s loved because he has the power. Andrea was so focused on being the savior Woodbury needed, she never saw what she needed to in order to truly save anyone. One can only hope she catches up with the scheming of everyone else, or we’re going to see more graves pop up in the next few episodes. There are no saviors in war. There are people who believe they are doing good and are used as pawns, sacrificed by the kings in order to ensure their survival.
This was a huge episode for the Dixon brothers. From the get-go it was obvious Daryl had his fill of Merle’s Flavor-Aid and started to think for himself again. The brothers have drastic views of what is right and wrong. Daryl, for all his gruffness, genuinely wants to help others. He wants to make a positive difference in the lives of people caught in a bad situation. Merle claims it is Rick’s pansy behavior rubbing off, but I’m not so sure. When we first met Daryl, he was brash, loud, and angry. However, he hunted to feed the camp as a whole, jumped into fights to protect others even after failing to find his brother in Atlanta, and took care to be as gentle as possible with the emotions of the women in the camp—namely Carol. Merle, on the other hand, works from a selfish place and likely has since the day he left Daryl to fend for himself against their abusive father. Merle uses people to make ends meet, and if he can’t get anything from them, well forget those bastards. There is a kinder side to Merle, but so far we’re only seeing it around his brother. That won’t get him far with Team Prison, though.
Lastly, we have to say goodbye to yet another character. Axel’s death was so sudden, it took a good long time for it to sink in. Really, though, we should have seen it coming. Minor characters never get to have nice, cheerful conversations unless they’re going to bite the big one. The writers are horrible about making us like someone, only to splatter their brains across the pavement. Lew Temple really made us love Axel in this episode. It sucks to see him go so soon.
With Daryl back in the mix, who do you think will take the reins for Team Prison? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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.
Reviewer: A. Zombie
First thing’s first, this reviewer is fully aware that World War Z is based on the novel by Max Brooks. However, seeing as they don’t give me any books—just stacks of movies to shuffle through—I haven’t read it. This review will focus solely on the merits of what was on the screen during the film. Nothing else. Now that the business portion is out of the way . . . have I mentioned how much of a pain it is to not only sneak into a theater without freaking out the humans, but also get a pair of 3D glasses to stay on when one of your ears fell off fifteen years ago in New Mexico? Let’s just say there was liberal application of duct tape in the moments before the lights dimmed and the film began.
The opening is slow, designed to lull you into a false sense of security while simultaneously feeding viewers information through numerous television news clips—the tried, true, and vastly overused method of plot progression available to the zombie film genre. This is of course after viewers suffer horrendous vertigo and nausea from the title sequence, which is designed to make maximum use of the 3D format. Essentially, you can get stuck in line for popcorn during the first seven minutes and not miss anything vital to the film’s plot. A zombie movie is a zombie movie, is a zombie movie. Anyone hoping World War Z would prove to be ground breaking and different in this aspect is fooling themselves.
That’s not to say once the action kicks in, the film isn’t interesting. The mechanics of the zombies alone cause a lot of heart-stopping, breath-holding moments, and even a handful of really well thought out scares. The zombies are fast. Obscenely fast. They have no physical limitations, easily leaping over two cars to take down their prey. Any reservations the person held alive are gone after death, allowing the undead to climb over each other, sacrifice each other in the name of sinking their teeth into something alive, or even bash their skull repeatedly into a car’s windshield in order to get to the gooey yummy treat inside. The makeup ranges from normal looking people covered in blood, to the hero zombies who were desiccated, rotting as they wait for fresh food sources. Two of the hero zombies in the final act of the film were by far some of the best zombies character-wise I’ve seen in any genre film. They were wild, uninhibited in their ferocity and sheer weirdness of undead traits.
Brad Pitt, despite reservations about an A-list actor stepping into a genre film, delivers a wonderful performance with the script he’s given. He brings to screen the only compassion seen from any character, really. Some of the supporting cast shine—most of the good ones don’t get nearly enough screen time. Other members of the cast failed to give a performance capable of making viewers want to see them survive. Isn’t that the point of being one of 
What can be learned from World War Z? Duct tape is your best friend. Armor can be made from fashion magazines. The police are indeed people and cannot be relied on after the undead invade your city. And most importantly, if you’re not careful, a can of Mountain Dew could very well lead to your demise.
The school, is actually on a little campus that consists of several buildings, all of which are already fenced in. The school building is an older, two-story building that resembles an old motel. There are stairwells at both ends of the building, and an elevator (if power was on) in the middle. There are public restrooms in the middle on both stories. There are limited windows, and they are high up. Each classroom has an outside door, and a door inside that links it with the room next to it. There are also restrooms between the classrooms, and sinks in each room. 
The other main building is the Family Life Center. This is a gym, with a large kitchen, restrooms with showers, and two other rooms that could serve many uses. There are very few windows, and the majority are very high up.
The other buildings on the campus are a church. There are restrooms, and other rooms and some offices here. Again, few windows. There is a another long building across from the school that has offices, a lounge and storage. There is also a fellowship hall that has a second large kitchen and an area for meeting. There are 2 small storage sheds, and in the very back of the campus there is an old house that now serves as day care-with a 3rd kitchen in it.
Since the entire campus is already fenced in, it would be not to difficult to fortify it and make it stronger. The aerial picture shows the entire area, but it’s old so there are no fences. The fences were added about 3 years ago.
