New Zed Order: Survive

By: Todd Sprague

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

The dead have risen, and they are hungry. They are tough, they are lethal, and they are everywhere. Savage packs of the undead wander the world, feeding on the living. And they are getting stronger... In Brattleboro, Vermont, John Mason and his beautiful young wife Sara believe that family can survive anything. When the apocalypse arrives they pack food, clothing, and weapons, then hit the road with their dog seeking refuge in the mountains of John's youth. There John and Sara, together with family, friends, and neighbors, build a stronghold against the encroaching mass of the dead. The mindless walking dead are only the beginning of their troubles in this new, violent world. Something darker still is moving, and John, Sara, and the other survivors must unite and fight together or be torn apart by this New Zed Order.

©2010 Todd Sprague (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

One of my favorite Zombie/Post-Apocalyptic Books

Any additional comments?

I truly enjoyed this book, finally a Zombie/Apocalypse book where the main characters actually make smart decisions and are rational individuals. One of the first Zombie books I've read where I wasn't wincing at the assinine choices made by the group of survivors. From the set up of the camp to the re-supply and running of this new society, it was quite refreshing to read this story and see how things can be done right. It seems like every post-apocalyptic book out there that has a group of survivors as the main story line, always has someone in that group that ruins it for everyone. I would strogly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre. From what I read on the authors website this is only the first installment for this series, I eagerly await the next book.

Great Zombie Book!!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. I have read hundred of zombie books and most of them don't keep my interest. This one had a great story line and I really enjoyed the characters. I will be watching for more from this author!!

New Zed Order: Survive. . . Nice Listen!!

Fun! I believe this is the first book in the Zombie genre I have read/listened to as a stand alone.

Good character development interspersed with a nice amount of Zombie action.

Excellent narration by L. J. Ganser. . . Great job individualizing each character!

Quite an enjoyable book for an exciting, action-packed few hours of escapism!

Great zombie story

This is a great story. Good character development and a well rounded story. I am looking forward to the next installment.

never finished the series

fun romp that was left on a cliffhanger, sprague claimed his dog/computer crash ate the sequel ( like a decade ago) and then he subsequently ignored his fan base. basically pulled a Rothfuss.
its a shame. guess the loss of his manuscript took the wind out of his sails.

Actucally Pretty Good!

I liked the characters and wasnt a bad story line, a little confusing toward the end of the book, I am still wondering about that military presence, but all in all ok

A bit childish

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would take out the romance novel style love scenes, and stop the main characters from constantly getting weepy.

Would you recommend New Zed Order: Survive to your friends? Why or why not?

No

Would you listen to another book narrated by L. J. Ganser?

yes

Do you think New Zed Order: Survive needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. I did not like the characters enough to be concerned with their future.

Any additional comments?

This book would be good if written for young adults. It comes across as naive and immature.

Pretty bad book

What would have made New Zed Order: Survive better?

A better story and even better narrator.

Would you be willing to try another one of L. J. Ganser’s performances?

No, it has this backwoods story quality.

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

Annoyance. the summary made it sound interesting, but it really wasn't.

Any additional comments?

The narrator was quite terrible. The book was okay at best, good for people who have some time to waste. Nothing to really get into or follow. The author is not one I will seek out.

run, flee! save your credit and look elsewhere!

Any additional comments?

story goes by way to fast for me. they leave for a destination and two sentences later, they're there. they scope a seemingly empty military base, fight off zombies, and get supplies all in 5 minutes of listening. imho, the author rushes too much. there are a couple of interesting subplots, but they're never followed up on so i guess the author's planning a sequel.

the relationships are not believable. john's father is killed, and he doesn't even give it a second thought. i think it's mentioned one more time in passing. his father's death doesn't affect him in the slightest. in fact, it seems like death doesn't affect any one. characters are one dimensional. the survivors they find don't have any backstories. they're just zombie fodder.

they must be the luckiest survivors ever, in any zombie story. they find a full gun shop, several abandoned military bases that are stocked with food, guns, unlimited ammo, and vehicles.

there are only a few zombie battles. the zombies really never seem to pose a serious threat. there's no tension. yes, a huge hoard that can be seen as far as possible is dispatched. ok. they have tons of ammo, but they don't even tire. the guns don't malfunction. one minute, there's a huge hoard, the next they have it handled. what do they do with all the dead zombies that are piled up as high as a shipping container. the book never says.

there are so many other, better zombie stories out there than this. this is at the bottom of my list. yes, i listened to the whole thing only b/c i paid for it and hated the thought that i had wasted a credit. save yourself and save your credit.

Average

There is nothing special about this. If you like zombie books, and have exhausted all the good ones (such as World War Z, Day By Day Armegedon, Beyond Exile, Ex-heroes or the many others too numerous to list all) and are craving a zombie story, this will do. But don't expect a lot. It is just your typical zombie survival story, nothing original or creative or particularly interesting. I sometimes think when I come across yet another of these types, that there is a computer with a formula just churning them out. A group of people during an unexplained outbreak struggle to survive with various dull run ins with zombies, etc, etc...

To be fair, it isn't the worst, and isn't terribly written (though not well written either), but it is just another in a long list of the same old story regurgitated over and over. Every now and then some writer does something in the zombie genre that is really different or interesting or just so well done, with extremely compelling, interesting, well developed characters, or some unique premise, or some scientific exploration, and really well written that it reminds us why zombie stories can be so great. This is not one of those... It is one of the books that is capitalizing on how popular those books have made the zombie genre.

Note to prospective zombie fiction writers: A group of survivors dealing with various zombie run-ins has been done. New names and new setting does not a new story make.

I didn't particularly care about any of the characters or their relationships as they weren't well established or likeable or interesting in any particular way. The dialogue was equally sparse and uninteresting and at times sounded contrived and not well thought out. I found the plot to really drag and mostly just staggers from one zombie conflict to another very predictably with very familiar crisis and problems that are obvious and inevitable and predictable in such a scenario (needing food, someone got a bite, logistics of moving around, etc.) and some dull descriptions of the characters' survival situation and boring interactions in between. I had to force myself to pay attention and almost didn't finish.

Also, it is too easy. They have readily available machine guns, shotguns, pistols and endless ammunition, and any vehicle they want and are all gun loving, end of the world planners... Ok, whatever. It is just easy and dull and disconnected from what most people are like and thus takes a lot of the fun out of the survival dilemma found in such stories. Also, the main character is Mr. Super Tough, in a real stereotypical way and his wife is correspondingly clingy and weak. None of the characters were well founded or likable or anyone you really care about at all and there are too many of them as well so it feels spread thin.

The narrator does a good job, which helps. And as I said, it isn't terrible, just nothing special at all and very familiar and unoriginal. However, it isn't a waste of a credit, particularly if you like zombie stories but are somewhat unfamiliar with them... That said though, I advise you go through some of the real gems out there before this if you haven't read a lot of zombie stories, as your credit can be better spent in the same genre. Hunt around, there are several really great ones.