Review: Zombie Paradise Lost

Zombie Paradise Lost by Javan Bonds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another great book in the Still Alive series.

The Still Alive series continues to be one of my favorite go-to books for gratuitous violence, lowbrow humor, and descriptions of unspeakable things I wish I could unread. I can't be sure, as I'm not certain which scenes of the book my brain has blocked from my memory to protect itself from the mental trauma, but Zombie Paradise Lost may have been the most violent and gruesome book of the series. In a good way. If you haven't started this series, you should really give it a shot. Once you start, you won't be able to stop. Its kind of like passing a car wreck on the highway- you know you shouldn't slow down and look and you tell yourself you won't, but then you find yourself staring anyway. But in a good way.

But seriously, this is a great series. The writing is well done, the plot is exciting and detailed, and most of the characters are deep and developed. Hidden under all the blood and gore, Javan Bonds has some talent as an author. The humor typically balances the darker aspects of the books, providing levity and enjoyment when it's needed.

So basically, Zombie Paradise Lost is full of all things that make this series great but is also a "split book" that takes place at the same time as Zombie River Run and I'm still internally debating if I liked that. Many of the events from Zombie River Run are repeated in Zombie Paradise Lost, but described from a different perspective. It provides some additional insight into many of the events in the last book but also left me feeling a bit cheated on the plot and advancement of the story arc. And while I was disappointed Mo isn't a major character in Zombie Paradise Lost, I really enjoyed the fully developed story involving the investigation of the missing children -- the whole good versus evil element has been excellent.

S.W. Salzman's performance in this series continues to blow me away. I still can't believe that one narrator can create so many different, distinct voices. It really makes the book come alive and significantly adds to Bonds' already well-developed characters.

Special thanks to Javan Bonds who provided me with this book at my request.

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Review: Salvage Title

Salvage Title by Kevin Steverson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun, but ultimately simplistic story.

I picked this up as a free book to review, but its cover art and summary appealed to the SF fan in me. Salvage Title is a fun read but isn't particularly complex or complicated. The plot is simple, the characters are straight forward with few flaws, and everything pretty much goes as planned. It's a one-dimensional story that focuses on blowing things up and steamrolling opponents who constantly underestimate the heroes. In that respect, it may appeal to some YA audiences, but to me, a plot without many challenges or twists and a practically unstoppable group of protagonists gets tedious and predictable after a while. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad or unpleasant book, but the characters and plot don't have the sophistication needed to make it a really good book. However, as I believe this is one of Steverson's first published books, I think there's enough potential to explore other books he's written since to see how he's progressed as a writer.

In the audio version of the book, KC Johnston's performance is pretty solid. He narrates each character with a unique voice and creates distinct sounding speech for each of the five or six alien races that appear in the novel. His tone was appropriate and varied and he kept things upbeat and exciting through most of the book. I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another audiobook narrated by Johnston.

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Review: Blood of a Fallen God

Blood of a Fallen God by Joshua C. Cook
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blood of a Fallen God was a dark and epic fantasy, with a fast-paced plot and set in an interesting new world. Two brothers take on a blood cult and a corrupt priesthood who are intent on snuffing out their family's line in a sacrifice to resurrect an evil, world-destroying god.

I'm not sure if I've read anything quite like it, but I enjoyed it very much. If I had any critique, I would say that some of the ancillary characters felt a bit flat -- at least they had nothing near the depth of William. To me, a good epic fantasy that uses POV chapters needs to fully develop a handful of it's cast of characters or the story telling feels uneven as the POV shifts between characters. But as you may be able to tell from the five star rating for the story, its a minor critique in an otherwise excellent book.

The narration in the audio book is excellent and is one of several amazing performances I've listened to by Eric Bryan Moore. His voice has been great for dark and gritty tales and he's got quite a talent for producing voices for a wide range of characters.

Special thanks to Eric Bryan Moore, who provided me with this book at my request.

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Review: Angles of Attack

Angles of Attack by Marko Kloos
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Frontline series continues to get better and better with each book. I really enjoyed the first two books in the series, but the action and conflict really have started to escalate in Angles of Attack. Kloos does an excellent job with character development and I've really grown to love many of the characters that have been present throughout the series. In addition, Luke Daniels, who narrators the audiobook version, continues to deliver outstanding narration that really shows off his talent as a five-star narrator.

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