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Ex-Heroes  By  cover art

Ex-Heroes

By: Peter Clines
Narrated by: Jay Snyder, Khristine Hvam
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Publisher's summary

Stealth. Gorgon. Regenerator. Cerberus. Zzzap. The Mighty Dragon. They were heroes. Vigilantes. Crusaders for justice, using their superhuman abilites to make Los Angeles a better place. Then the plague of living death spread around the globe. Despite the best efforts of the superheroes, the police, and the military, the hungry corpses rose up and overwhelmed the country. The population was decimated, heroes fell, and the city of angels was left a desolate zombie wasteland like so many others.

Now, a year later, the Mighty Dragon and his companions must overcome their differences and recover from their own scars to protect the thousands of survivors sheltered in their film studio-turned-fortress, the Mount. The heroes lead teams out to scavenge supplies, keep the peace within the walls of their home, and try to be the symbols the survivors so desperately need. For while the ex-humans walk the streets night and day, they are not the only threat left in the world, and the people of the Mount are not the only survivors left in Los Angeles. Across the city, another group has grown and gained power. And they are not heroes.

©2010 Peter Clines (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

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What listeners say about Ex-Heroes

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,734
  • 4 Stars
    3,363
  • 3 Stars
    1,535
  • 2 Stars
    420
  • 1 Stars
    222
Performance
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    4,498
  • 4 Stars
    2,672
  • 3 Stars
    967
  • 2 Stars
    214
  • 1 Stars
    145
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
    2,861
  • 3 Stars
    1,595
  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Superheroes vs. Zombies? Sure, why not...

Okay, so the zombie genre has gotten a bit bloated as of late, with everyone having a crack at it and employing the poor undead corpse as a vehicle for everything from pointed social commentary to gritty military science fiction. What we have here, I am happy to say, is something more in line with zombie entertainments of yesteryear, something you can and really should just take in as light entertainment. Don't get me wrong, I loved Day by Day Armageddon, and zombie apocalypse as medium for social expression is all well and good, but sometimes you just want a story in which people fight hordes of the undead and live to tell the tale. And there are superheroes? What? This should be good for a laugh or two, right? And it is.

I'm blind, so the primary media for superhero fiction (comic books, summer blockbusters, etc) are a bit beyond my easy reach. So the story of person learns to employ superhuman powers, meets naturally or artificially imposed limitations, circumvents same, repeat, is not as tired for me as it may be for some. And the same goes for the entertainment had when the good guys get to cut loose and finally save the day, inevitable as that turn in fortune might be. There are some rather big gaps in this plot, to which you must just nod and go, "Okay, well I guess that's what they have to deal with," and move on. If you're like me and just want to be entertained, these qualifications shouldn't matter all that much, as you just enjoy the ride to its conclusion.

I was very excited by the use of two narrators at the outset, then a little concerned as the editing of some conversations and mismatch of tone occasionally suggested to me that the presentation would have been cleaner and more coherent with just one. But in the end, when asking myself if having both made the experience better, I'd say the choice was a good one.

I did wonder whether the reduced price I paid for this book during a sale played a part in my opinnion of the experience. I have to conclude that it did, given that on sale it was about half its typical member price. All the same, what I think was a great short listen at the price I paid would more than satisfy in exchange for a credit.

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64 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A+B+C+D...

I am not now, nor have I ever been a super hero fan. I always kind of liked Batman, cause he did not have super powers, he used his brain. Even though Zombie movies and books kind of creep me out, I am a fan of well written Zombie books and Movies. So, I was a little hesitant to get this book, due to the super hero stuff, but since I really liked 14, by Clines, I gave it a shot.

There are lots of bad Zombie books and I sure was glad this did not fall into that category. I especially liked the A+B+C theory. The book keeps flipping back and forth in time in order to give you a back ground story on each Super Hero. I normally don't like books to flip in time like that, but Clines handled it well and I enjoyed getting the back stories. I will admit that even though it was explained how the dragon got his super powers, either it was not explained or it went right over my head, but I was never real sure how the others got their powers. This was entertaining and kept my attention on a really long trip. I was glad to have it to listen to.

I will not continue this series in the near future. It missed getting a five star rating from me and I am trying to be more particular in what I listen to, since time listening to a good book could be time listening to a great book. On the other hand I like to be loyal to good authors and it seems other then 14, Clines is writing in this Ex-Heroes universe only. Hopefully he will write more books similar to 14.

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53 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Clines, What Have You Done To Me?

As I've stated previously, I LOVE Armageddon and dystopian audiobooks. Let's not forget my predilection for the superhero genre', as well!

Oh, wait, did I mention zombies? AND good writers?

Clines is one of my favorite writers in these genre'. Why? The man can WRITE, people. And write quite WELL, thank you.

Keep in mind that good writing is simple, descriptive, rich, has a destination and moves you toward that destination. No, that's not a dichotomy, It CAN be done, but not by many writers, ESPECIALLY in the zombie genre'. Seems like any and everyone wants to write a good zombie novel or series, but pulling it off? Not so much.

Clines, who's given us his enjoyable and unpredictable "14" and his recent smaller but worthy "Quatrain" audiobook, just keeps giving us good reading and listening, period.

When I first cracked open my wallet, pulled out my Audible credit, and purchased this audiobook, I had my doubts. Well, Clines proved himself worthy of the daunting task. I liked this listen so much, that I listened TWICE. Yes, that correct. I did it. Don't judge me! It was that well written.

Here's what to expect herein:

Great writing (Already said that!), a conceivable storyline, excellent hero origin stories (especially the zombie origin!), wonderfully descriptive plot lines, and a strong interwoven story that punches forward boldly into the following two novels. The zombie aspect of this novel was descriptive, believable, and in the end, enjoyable. In all, a welcome departure from the recent authors that stumble together into a muddled mess of a novel, and therefore a listen . Believe me, I know, because I'll be review a few of those soon, and I won't be gentle, nor will I be forgiving.

But back to Ex-Heroes.

You'll be excited, nervous, thoughtful, sad, mad, and at the end of the listen, satisfied, yet ready for more. I've already purchased and listened to the other two audiobooks in the series, and YES,they are AWESOME listens, if you like these genre'.

Clines, what have you done to me? You've written three great novels in this series, THAT's what you've done.

So, hurry up, and get to writing the next one!

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46 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I can't believe I listened to the whole thing

I kept thinking, "this is Peter Clines"....it has to get better. BUT it's a glorified zombie book. None of the magical thinking of his previous work. You have to like zombies to like this book.

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45 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A great read if you like heroes or zombies!


Ok, I am writing to recomend this book to anyone who can lose themselves in a new world.

I loved it.

It has a great mix of superheros, their origins, classic coming of age sections, along with the end of the world. I like the way zombies come to be.

I have read the second book as well and it only gets better.

If you are someone who likes to follow characters over more than one book I can reccomend this one for sure.

Full of realistic dialogue and some great pop culture references, this book says what we all would be thinking if the zombies started taking over.

I can’t recommend it enough

The cast gives a great audio performance and never crosses into the dreaded "Acting" that seems to hurt some audio books.

Great job Mr. Clines.

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35 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Superheros, Villians & Zombies... mmm heaven

What did you like best about this story?

Contains enough elements to hold anyone's attention. Superheros, villian, zombies and end of the world type events. What else do you really need?

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Good Bad Ugly and Everything Inbetween

Any additional comments?

In a couple of places some mistakes or shortcomings in the story become obvious. However, there are enough twists and turns in the plot to help you overcome these mistakes.

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28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

I really like Pet Cline's other books

The awkward sexual descriptions of the female characters in the book really ruined the whole journey for me.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

really didn't get it

bought this on the strength of the uniformly glowing reviews, but did not enjoy it. i found the story disjointed and just rather weird (and i am a big zombie fan). i also did not like the dual narration of male and female for parts. any voice actor worth his/her salt can do voices of the opposite gender so it was pointless to have all of the dialouge gender-matched. it just kept distracting me (having said that, the individual narrators were excellent).

really struggled to get through this one, but was determined to make it to the end to get value out of my credit (on that note: Audible, can we please have longer samples?)

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Zombie Apocolypse, Super Heros in LA

Any additional comments?

So I needed a quick book for a trip I had coming up. This was on my recommend page, and being a 'hero' fan I read the description. 'Super Heroes... blah blah blah... Zombie Apocalypse... blah blah...' I finished reading the summary and thought this book sounded dumb... very dumb. But I listened to the preview and was very impressed by the both the readers, and thought that its a small price for a couple of hours, besides the reviews were high. While the story plot is over the top cliche, which is even mentioned by the characters in the book, but this only helps drive the story. The character development and interaction makes this book totally worth it. You find yourself laughing, and rooting for the characters every step of the way. Clines does a great job of just plopping you into the story with no real idea whats going on, and letting it unfold around you with the 'Then' and 'Now' chapters. Its worth the listen if you are any type of comic book hero fan.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

WOW! What a pleasant surprise!

I read the plot summary for this book and thought "CRAP". Later I downloaded it just to have something in my ear while I did yard work. BAM! This book was great! It turned a refreshing corner in the genre. I was like "superheroes, really?" Yes really! It was somehow...feasible! It was like the X Men trying to hold it together after the planet got its ass kicked by the undead. Then to make matters worse, we have a gang problem. The only thing I didn't like about this book was its length (too short) and the fact there isn't a sequel on Audible. If you are looking for a life altering classic treatise on the human condition... keep moving. If you want to have fun, look no further.

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17 people found this helpful