Dead Hunger: The Flex Sheridan Chronicle by Eric A. Shelman

Dead Hunger: The Flex Sheridan Chronicle
by Eric Shelman

Synopsis

Something happened to the earth. Inexplicable. Not a product of man, but of nature. 

Now Flex Sheridan and Gem Cardoza must do all they can to protect Flex's six-year-old niece Trina and find ways to survive a massive outbreak that has caused most of humankind to metamorphose into the walking dead. 

Enter Hemphill "Hemp" Chatsworth. He is a scientist who has expertise in epidemics, as well as a mechanical engineering degree. He's doing all the important work, setting up a mobile lab in which to experiment on the zombies and learn what drives them. But he must also learn what will defeat them. 

Charlene "Charlie" Sanders is a punk rock-loving, crossbow-wielding firecracker who rivals only Gem Cardoza in her sharp wit and fighting capability. She'll join with Hemp in his lab to help him learn what they all need to know in order to stay safe. 

Review
I purchased this book on Amazon (Kindle) and gave it 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon and Goodreads.
Purchase Dead Hunger: The Flex Sheridan Chronicle on Amazon.

There are a lot of zombie books on the market right now. I've come across some great ones and I've come across some that were just "good". This one falls in the "great" category. I originally purchased this book because Eric Shelman has a friendly, fun Facebook presence. I figured I would show my support and buy one of his books. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did.

First of all, the characters are fun and refreshing. Flex, the main character, is just an ordinary man whose main interest is staying alive in the changed world while keeping his loved ones safe. He has a huge heart and is not afraid to show it. At the same time, he is realistic and doesn't back down from making difficult decisions when he has to. Shelman does an excellent job balancing these two characteristics, creating an unforgettable, albeit imperfect hero.  The other characters introduced in the book are just as likable, but this is Flex's story so the main focus is on him in this book. 

The second reason Dead Hunger: The Flex Sheridan Chronicle gets 5 stars is because there are some unique twists when it comes to the zombies in this story. I appreciate Eric Shelman making the characteristics and actions of his zombies just a little different than most.  I'm not going to explain what I mean by that. That would spoil it for new readers. 

Shelman weaves just the right amount of humor into the many intense scenes that take place in the book. This doesn't create a distraction, however. What it does, is make the book more realistic to me. We are often the cause of our own comedy and Flex Sheridan is no exception. As I stated above, he is imperfect and I love that there is humor in that.

A couple times, the story gets a little bogged down with details when it comes to weapons and vehicles, but this was only a minor issue for me. The rest of the story more than makes up for those moments.

The advantage to finding a series later, rather than sooner, is I don't have to wait for the next book to be written. I will definitely be reading the next several installments of this series as soon as I can!

Purchase Dead Hunger: The Flex Sheridan Chronicles

About the Author (in his own words)

Wow. Damned zombies. Who ever thought I'd go from my first book, a story of an abused child in 1870's New York being rescued by the ASPCA to zombies? Yes, the first book is true - all the rest, except for my second book on Mary Ellen Wilson - the little abused girl - are fiction. Serial killers, witches, and of course, my most popular books to date, the Dead Hunger series.

I sing. I write. I paint. I collect microphones, but only new awesome ones. My quirkiest thing is that I have over 200 videos on YouTube. Yes, they are of ME singing. It's cuckoo, I know. Another weird tidbit? My Van Morrison Brown Eyed Girl cover has over 3,500,000 hits. Yes, over 3.5 million.

So check out my writing. Download a sample for Kindle if you like. I think you'll like my style, because I write how people talk. I don't write how geniuses try to tell you to write. So conversational is my style, and I like to keep the shit real.

Thanks for reading! Visit my web page at www.ericshelman.com. I'll keep you updated on my new releases! You can also email me if you want to order shirts or autographed books. ALSO, look me up on Facebook - it's AuthorShelman there, too.

Thanks!

~ Eric

Connect with Eric Shelman on Facebook and Twitter.
Visit Eric Shelman's website here.

Zompoc Survivor: Exodus by Ben Reeder

Zompoc Survivor: Exodus
Ben S. Reeder

Synopsis
Dave Stewart is a man with a plan for almost everything. But the zombie apocalypse taxes even his skills as he tries to get his family and friends out of Springfield, Missouri. Caught at work, all he has to help him survive is his normal "everyday carry" gear, the contents of his get-home bag and, most importantly, his wits to keep himself alive as chaos and death reign around him. As Dave struggles to reunite with his family and friends and fight his way clear of the city, he will discover that the dead aren't the only enemies he will have to deal with. Some of the living are just as deadly, and he discovers that a sinister element in the US government may have a plan of its own for the zombie apocalypse, and that it includes the estranged wife and son of his friend and benefactor, Nathan Reid.

As he makes his way to his homestead outside of town, Dave will see the best and worst of humanity, and will be pushed to his limits and beyond. 

Can Dave overcome the dangers posed by both the living and the dead, and survive his exodus from Springfield?

Purchase Zompoc Survivor: Exodus on Amazon

Review
I purchased this book from Amazon (Kindle Edition) and give it 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon and Goodreads.

Before I read this book, I had heard many great things about it. It sounded like my kind of story: zombie apocalypse, survivors, weapons, etc. I won't rehash what this book is about-- that's what the synopsis is for.

I give Zompoc Survivor: Exodus 5 out of 5 stars because it exceeded my expectations. From beginning to end, the story entertained and kept me on the edge of my seat. Is it realistic? I hope not. It's a zombie story. I don't want it to be realistic. Is it fun? Most definitely. The story starts off in a fast-paced manner and only gains momentum as it goes. I was hooked from page one, fell in love with the characters by chapter 4, didn't think it could get any more exciting around chapter 10, felt hopeless by the end of chapter 13, and on the last page, found myself wishing the next book was already available so I could see what happens next. 

If you're looking for a fun read that will keep your attention from start to finish, I highly recommend Zompoc Survivor: Exodus. You won't regret it!

Purchase Zompoc Survivor: Exodus

About Ben Reeder
Ben Reeder's parents claim they found him in a pineapple patch in Hawai'i and brought him home, which was their way of telling him that he was adopted. He grew up in South Texas reading Tolkien, Asimov, and Robert E. Howard. Ben has always loved telling stories, and in high school, he wrote pulp style action adventures for his friends. Ben has been filling notebooks and hard drives with stories and ideas ever since.

After graduating from Calallen High School, Ben joined the Air Force to see the world. The Air Force had other ideas, and he ended up in Kansas. Since serving his country, Ben has had a myriad of jobs. He has worked in a video arcade, on a farm, selling ads, a clerk in a convenience store, scanning medical records, and has been a manager and in a New Age bookstore.

Over the years, he learned archery and sword fighting in the Society for Creative Anachronisms, became a solitary Wiccan, plus he has learned a little bit about a host of other religions, trained to be a massage therapist, has attained his second level in reiki and can list a dozen other skills that have no particular use outside of an historical recreation event or one of his stories.
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Allegiance (Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse): Shawn Chesser

Allegiance (Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse)
by Shawn Chesser


Synopsis
Taken from Amazon

Allegiance, Book 5 in the Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse series, picks up two days after “A Pound of Flesh: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse” left off. 

Outbreak – Day 1. Like a fragile house of cards in a hurricane, Presidents, Premiers, entire governments and their ruling bodies disappeared instantly. Some had ensconced themselves in deep underground bunkers or remained holed up in fortified strongholds, but history would tell that most had been swallowed up by the dead - never to be heard from again.

Infection rates skyrocketed in the United States’ largest cities the first days of the outbreak, as the rapacious dead delivered the Omega virus with emotionless efficiency. During the ensuing days, the rest of the country and the world shared the same fate as Omega spread exponentially from within the mega population centers, pulsing into the countryside, a rotten, shambling diaspora. 

It had taken 3.7 billion years for man to evolve from a universal common ancestor – to stop dragging his collective knuckles - finally to emerge the dominant species, complete with shiny new iPads, Smartphones, worldwide non-stop air travel, and all manner of high tech war machines. Yet it had taken one microscopic man-made virus only three days to deliver mankind, on its collective knees, to the doorstep of extinction. 

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD 

Outbreak - Day 15. With an estimated ninety-nine percent of the United States’ population having already succumbed to the rapidly spreading Omega virus, and countries and cities worldwide teeming with the dead, the struggle to survive the zombie apocalypse continues unabated in the high desert of Colorado. 
Having just returned from a hastily thrown together secret mission that saw Robert Christian—the self-proclaimed President of his “New America”—snatched from his mountain redoubt and delivered kicking and screaming to the justice awaiting him at Schriever Air Force Base, Cade Grayson, father, husband, and Delta Force operator is horrified to learn that during his absence the base had been compromised, putting his family in harm’s way. 
Its inhabitants still reeling from Pug’s act of terror, and recently rocked by an undead outbreak inside the wire, Schriever no longer seems an island of safety surrounded by a sea of dead, but more like a shadowy prison, danger lurking within its walls.

So, with the Z-infested cities of Denver and Aurora to the north and a hundred thousand flesh eaters inhabiting Pueblo to the south, and all hope of a cure for Omega dwindling faster than the world’s population, Cade uses a mandated two-day stand down to fully weigh out his options. 
With each passing day, he finds himself warming to Brook’s stance that they pull up stakes and put the acres of squat buildings and fenced-in concrete in their rearview mirror for good. 
With his allegiance walking a tightrope between family and flag, will Cade appease Brook and move the family to Logan Winter’s compound outside of Eden, Utah? Or will he lobby her to allow the family to stay at Schriever, so that his Delta Team—still recovering from the recent loss of soft-spoken Sergeant Darwin Maddox and the Unit’s longtime commander General Mike Desantos—will not find themselves undermanned and outgunned should another important mission crop up? 
Or will the talented Mister Murphy—of Murphy’s Law fame—throw a monkey wrench into the equation and alter the best laid plans of mice and men?

Review
I gave Allegiance: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon and Goodreads

There is so much to like about this installment of the Surviving the Apocalypse series. Allegiance is gripping, well-written, professionally edited, and highly entertaining. Shawn Chesser's writing only seems to get better! 

What I like best about Allegiance is the way Chesser goes more in-depth with the side characters. This has become increasingly the case as the series progresses. The reader gets to discover what is happening with characters introduced in previous books. Not only does this help keep the story from becoming one-dimensional, it allows the reader to connect with each unique character. I found myself looking forward to reading what each character was up to with every new chapter.

There is plenty of excitement and action in the book, but Chesser expertly balances it with character development and insight into human nature. 

Allegiance has a very exciting, abrupt ending and it came as quite a shock to me. I am one of those readers who likes knowing there will be another story coming up, so the ending was perfect. I already downloaded the sequel (Mortal) so I can find out what happens next. Hooray for not having to wait!

Purchase Allegiance: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

About the Author

Shawn Chesser resides in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and two children. He studied writing at Harvard on the hill(PCC Sylvania) many years ago. Shawn is a big fan of the apocalyptic horror genre. Stephen King, Cormac McCarthy and George Romero are strong influences. When not writing, Shawn spends the rest of his time doting on his two children and doing whatever his wife says. :)

Where to find Shawn Chesser:
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