Kings of the Dead

By: Tony Faville

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

When the H1N1 "Swine Flu" virus mutates, it begins to not only kill those who have received the vaccination, but to also bring on the unthinkable: the dead reanimate.

Cole Helman and his friends are not only survival experts, they've spent hours discussing and preparing for just this event and quickly head to the hills before the cities become clogged with looting and riots. But the group knows all too well that the living dead are just the beginning of their problems, and they'll eventually have to deal with the worst qualities of the living - desperation, greed, selfishness, and cruelty - in this new post-apocalyptic world. And a chance encounter at a secret military installation may reveal a conspiracy bigger than any of them had imagined.

Straight out of the apocalypse comes the chronicle of one small group and their experiences with life and death, survival and loss. In a world of the living dead, is one man capable of maintaining not only his community, but his own sanity?

©2009, 2011 Tony Faville (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"With Kings of the Dead, Tony Faville blurs the line between our real world and an apocalyptic nightmare world of zombies. And makes that fun. Kings of the Dead is wild and weird, dangerous and delightful!" (Jonathan Maberry, author of Patient Zero and Rot & Ruin)

"For every zombiphile who's ever imagined how it might go down if the living dead came shambling into their world... they're here!" (David Dunwoody, author of Empire and Empire's End)

A relatively quick and good zombie story

If you could sum up Kings of the Dead in three words, what would they be?

Action, danger and friendship

What was one of the most memorable moments of Kings of the Dead?

There were a number of memorable moments in this book but if I have to pick one, I'll say it's when two of the characters stumbled across and rescued a young girl.

Which character ??? as performed by Marc Vietor ??? was your favorite?

Cole was my favorite. Likely because most of the story is told through his eyes and I liked him.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to listen to this book in one sitting because there was so much going on that I wanted to see what would happen next. There was danger at nearly every turn and sticky situations for the characters to dig themselves out of; all of which led to an interesting read and kept me on the edge of my seat. Likewise, most of the characters liked each other and were likeable. They developed strong, believable friendships that were constantly threatened by zombies, raiders and other dangers.

Any additional comments?

Overall this is a pretty good book. It is filled with triumphs, happy times, sad times and hope. If you're a crier, expect to shed a tear at least once.

Good post-apocalyptic zombie story.

Would you consider the audio edition of Kings of the Dead to be better than the print version?

Yes. The story is told through journal entries and some major events in the story are told in past-tense blurbs, but it's done well. I don't think that I would've liked the print version as much.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Kings of the Dead?

The "discovery" at the stadium. I don't want to give too much away!

Have you listened to any of Marc Vietor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. But he does a great job. His voice reminds me of Oliver Wyman and Christian Rummel.Very nice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. but it wouldn't have bothered me to do so.

Any additional comments?

This is a good zombie story. Although it really doesn't bring anything new to the zombie genre, it's a good tale worth the listen.

an American hero in zombie land

Would you consider the audio edition of Kings of the Dead to be better than the print version?

Enjoyed listening to audio version , no time to read the print version .
A typical tale with a twist at the end.

What other book might you compare Kings of the Dead to and why?

Any one that has a good moral charactor as the lead.dosnt like killing but survival of his family friends and other people matter.maybe a michael talbot.

What does Marc Vietor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He had in my opinion the right tone for the book .bringing the characters alive

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

Same as the title

Any additional comments?

I have a zombie addiction so as long as the book ends fairly well,I'm happy .

Realistic Zombie Apocalypse

Please find this complete review and many others at audiobookreviewer dot com

What a great premiss, what I mean is what a great way for the virus to be initially spread throughout the would, flu vaccines. Now I have made a point of not getting a flu shot for as long as I can remember, for many different reasons including but not limited to, they don’t immunize me from all the strains of the flu virus and what would happen if they were all contaminated like in this story. While I am not a survival expert, I do believe that I would be happier as a human eking out and existence in the zombie apocalypse than a mindless hunger driven zombie. Kings of the Dead is told in the journal style, much like Day by Day Armageddon, but much less polished. Meaning that sometimes it seemed as though Faville either forgot or didn’t care about following this format entirely. While not full of action, this was made up for by very tense and suspenseful moments throughout. Because of that there were few zombie interactions, compared to many of stories in this genre, with a huge focus on the human condition and how it degrades over prolonged exposure to the heightened stress and vulnerability of simply trying to survive. However, Faville was able to create a sense of this happening in the real world with believable characters, believable situations and a great mix of zombies and reality. Long story short Kings of the Dead was a very enjoyable addition to the genre and satisfied my need for the undead.

A zombie journal, exactly as described

What made the experience of listening to Kings of the Dead the most enjoyable?

It was an interesting lesson in zombie apocalypse survival. However, the author was also able to bring an element of emotion to the story that you do not find in most zombie stories.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Obviously, it would have to be the protagonist as the story is told in his words, and from his point of view. However, the character of Harley is quite intriguing as well.

What does Marc Vietor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He did a wonderful job in bringing this story to life as you could hear the emotion, or the anxiety that the writer was trying to portray at times.

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

When the dead rise, beware of the living.

Any additional comments?

The

A must listen to book for all zombie fans.

What made the experience of listening to Kings of the Dead the most enjoyable?

This book was written in the tradition of two of the greatest Zombie authors; ZA Recht and J.L. Bourne. Not to mention a good portion of the book takes place in my

What other book might you compare Kings of the Dead to and why?

This book incorporates the best traits of both the Day by Day Armageddon and the Morning Star Strain books.

I will be keeping an eye on this authur

Any additional comments?

I do like the journal style if done well and this book does just that.Well thought out survival decisions and true to the pure core of the genre.

Great job Tony a good read.

Not the best, but not bad.....

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Sure- if they were in a bit of a slump like me, and unable to find anything else to read.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It actually had a pretty good ending. Most zombie books do not have a real ending, but this book did a great job of wrapping things up.

What aspect of Marc Vietor’s performance would you have changed?

Pretty good.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Sure

Any additional comments?

This was not my favorite zombie story, but it was not the worse by far.

Zero Sense of Urgency

Would you try another book from Tony Faville and/or Marc Vietor?

No.

Would you ever listen to anything by Tony Faville again?

No.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No.

Any additional comments?

This book takes place over 2 years with no direction at all. There is no sense of urgency. Some scenes were ripped off from other Zombie books, movies, and TV shows and one bit of dialog was completely ripped off from Star Trek.

Awful

After I finish writing this, I am going to see if I can get my credit refunded. This isn't a story, its 90 odd 1-3min "chapters" written in journal form. If you want to hear 90 diary entries read out to you like a documentary of how to kill zombies and survive in a world after the apocalypse, then get this.