Dead Living

By: Glenn Bullion

Narrated by: Mark Nelson

Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

It didn’t take long for the world to die. The dead rose with no explanation and only one purpose... to eat living flesh.

Born on the day everything died, the world of the living dead is the only world that Aaron knows. Kept in relative isolation from the walking corpses, his family teaches him how to read and write, how to survive on his own. After a tragedy hits close to home, Aaron discovers he is different than any human left alive.

The undead want nothing to do with him.

The survivors of the old suburb of Lexington call a high school their home. They survive day to day, without any of the luxuries mankind used to enjoy, and surrounded by the living dead. Samantha is a product of the new world. Alone, cold, looking out only for herself. She and the other residents of Lexington feel their hope dwindling. They need change. They need someone who isn't afraid of the walking corpses. They need someone who would rather live in a city of the dead.

They need Aaron.

©2011 Glenn Bullion (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Different hero for zombie book.

Any additional comments?

Really good, strong, likable heroes. I am looking forward to this Author writing more. So hurry up already.

pretty good story

I listen to or read every zombie story I get my hands on.
This one is well written with good characters and a fairly typical plot.
There was a couple interesting twists that made it original.
Not too graphic but still detailed.

Narration fit the book well.

Not in my top 5 books but made my must read list.

A nice twist on EOW Zombies

Loved the story, good parts, sad parts, cheesy parts. Not too much in the way of gun porn. Sometimes it’s just too much. This story had a twist on the weapon part. Main character has a different perspective on the zombies and behaviorism. Wasn’t “too violent”, I mean it is a Zombie story. Super cute little surprise twist at the end.

better than expected

Any additional comments?

three and a half stars

the 1st hour or so chronicles the initial outbreak. joe is at work, and he and his coworkers watch a riot breaking out in new york city. they soon learn that the rioting is worldwide. joe decides to call his pregnant wife and finds out she's on her way to the hospital. he's horrified, knowing that's where all the infected are being taken so he leaves to meet her there. among the chaos and carnage, his son, aaron, is born. after barely escaping with a few other people, the story picks up 14 years later.

i enjoyed dead living b/c it was a little different than most of the zombie stories i've listened to. as the publisher's summary says, "the undead want nothing to do with him." this is an interesting plot point.

let me stop here for a second. now, i've read and listened to a lot of zombie stories, and never once have i actually found myself emotionally touched by a scene. yeah, i've laughed at the things mike talbot has said and listened intensely to jl bourne in day by day armageddon, but i've never been made to feel so sad and mad at the same time while listening to a zombie novel. geezzz...i'm almost embarrassed writing that! LOL this tragedy has a profound effect on aaron's outlook. that's all i'll say b/c i don't want to spoil it for anybody who decides too listen to it.

once aagain, there is a time slip. we find aaron living among the undead in baltimore. i liked the time slips b/c they offer the perspectives of those who have grown up after the zombie apocalypse has taken down the conveniences of modern society.

at this time, we're also introduced to band of survivors living at a high school. sam is aaron's age, but she never learned to read b/c learning to read was not a priority when it came to surviving day to day.

aaron saves sam when a salvage run goes bad. the author does a good job hashing out their different worldviews due to the way they grew up. aaron in a loving family. sam constantly fighting for her life. aaron's selfless acts have positive effects on the survivors at the high school. it's interesting to see how a disaster, in this vase a zombie apocalypse, has long negative impacts on the social compact.

trust plays a big role in this story. can you trust the people to have your back? can you trust people with your secrets?

ya fans will lke the sexual tension that slowly builds b/ween aaron and sam as she slowly comes out of her shell.

this book also has all of your other typical zombie fare- zombie fighting action, human slavers, and light gore.

overall, i enjoyed this story, mostly b/c of the differences this story has compared to the others i've listened to. a quick, fast-paced, fun listen.

Once you get used to the narrator everything gets

Once you get Used to the narrator everything gets Better. The storyline takes a little time to create the background but then you're on for a fun ride.

Liked the story

Unique story line. Good characters. I hoe there is more to come in the future would like to hear more adventures of Aaron n Sam.

Another refreshing zombie outlook and its good!

What did you like best about this story?

Simple. Main character is able to run among the zombies like he's not even there. Didn't think I would like this outlook ...I was wrong.... author does fine job of adding background and development into his main character. Then he adds a person the main character must protect and does a equally great job on "Sam" his female character. Loved the feel the gore and the simplicity. Refreshing and a goodie.

What three words best describe Mark Nelson’s performance?

Very well done

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

When the main character and his family.... Well when the main finds out he is able to walk among the dead freely.... Don't want to spoil it :)

Any additional comments?

Loved the story and his characters. Not a typical zombie story... Not filled with usual survivors ,good always die, looters bandits, wash rinse repeat type. Worth your time!

A First Entry To The Zombie Genre Book

Any additional comments?

I found this book to be very Juvenile. It would be a book for 12 to 15 year olds who are just picking up their first "Zombie" book. The Story seemed to be a sanitized version that a child could read without getting a fright, and some people might like a book where the main character, living in a world overun by zombies, is sweet, gentle and totally innocent with values from the 1800's, but I found it rather annoying.When I read the "blurb" it sounded different and very interesting, but by the time it finished I just wanted it to be over, only the fact that I always read / listen to my books to the very end stopped me from turning it off and moving on.Another reviewer earlier said the story was "trite" and I have to say that word covers it beautifully.If you are a hardcore zombie apocalypse lover, really, don't bother with this one.

Astoundingly awful

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The narrator reads as though overly enunciating a grocery list while incredibly bored. The writing itself if just bad: trite, obvious, uninteresting. It casually jumps around different characters' perspectives with no thought to style or craft, and there is the sense that a previous work may have consisted of the monotone meanderings of Dick, and Jane and their dog Spot.

Would you be willing to try another one of Mark Nelson’s performances?

Dear god no.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Abject horror and gross disappointment in the publishing industry that such a thing would be funded, followed by ironic optimism that it is apparently quite easy to have any piece of crap published.

Any additional comments?

...

Poor dialog, narration and misleading synopsis

Also poor character development. Other than being mildly naive about certain human interactions, the protagonist seems to be perfect in every way, which is a great thing to aspire to, but makes for very boring reading. The love interest is just as odd. She goes from a lifelong distrustful loner to opening up and falling in love with him in just over 48 hours of story time. All the surrounding characters are extra flawed, ready to throw their own families to the wolves (or zombies anyway), to make Aaron seem that much better.

There’s inconsistency in the story as well. Chief among them being that the story explicitly states that the undead don’t decay – that’s why the story takes place 20+ years after it began and still has mobs of undead. However, just a few paragraphs later it describes the extreme and continuing decay of most of the creatures, some of them outright falling apart. This and several other inconsistencies continues on throughout the story in various ways wherever and whenever convenient.

As for the narration I can’t blame Mark Nelson entirely. Judging by what others he’s narrated he is used to doing a combination of non-fiction and B-movieish stories. He just doesn’t have the right voice for something that is not trying (at least successfully) to be campy.

I could see past all those flaws (the first two chapters were actually fairly good), but what I can’t forgive is that most of the book is devoted to Aaron and Sam’s love story. Zombies are happening somewhere in the background, but are just a peripheral focus after a few hours in and don't really matter. Despite this, the story tries to be extra graphic for the first couple of chapters I guess in an attempt to make up for the complete lack of action later.