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 by the author for the Zombie Survival Crew website (zombiesurvivalcrew.com), and chose to purchase it myself rather than receive a review copy because I was impressed with the first few paragraphs.
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 by the end of the book is another. The author does tie up a lot of the story. It was just that one thing that got me.
Tom is desperately trying to find his sister for penance, for the mistake of the scared twelve-year-old boy he was ten years earlier. 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. And I did enjoy the story. It’s not a complete halt at the end and you do get some closure. Just know that this is part of a series before you dive in.
Plagued is in need of a good copy edit by an experienced editor. I’ve rated the book 4 stars on Amazon, but rated it 3 stars on the ZSC site and on my own per 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 also thought the story was better than OK (Amazon’s 3-star rating).
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.
Jinxie
jinxiesworld.com 