Plague of the Dead

The Morningstar Strain, Book 1

By: Z. A. Recht

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

The end begins with a viral outbreak unlike anything mankind has ever encountered before. The infected are subject to delirium, fever, a dramatic increase in violent behavior, and a one-hundred percent mortality rate. Death. But it doesn't end there. The victims return from death to walk the earth.

When a massive military operation fails to contain the plague of the living dead it escalates into a global pandemic. In one fell swoop, the necessities of life become much more basic. Gone are petty everyday concerns. Gone are the amenities of civilized life. Yet a single law of nature remains: Live, or die. Kill, or be killed. On one side of the world, a battle-hardened General surveys the remnants of his command: a young medic, a veteran photographer, a brash Private, and dozens of refugees, all are his responsibility-all thousands of miles from home. Back in the United States, an Army Colonel discovers the darker side of Morningstar virus and begins to collaborate with a well-known journalist to leak the information to the public...The Morningstar Saga has begun.

©2006 Z.A. Recht (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

great story

great story great narrator
This is one of the better story / narration combos I've heard. I can't wait to delve into the next story.

A awesome beginning

Wonderful characters a frightful stories in a venture that you can't wake to continual A must buy

Wait. What? No way, really?

Way too many inconsistencies in this book. While the action and drama were pretty good, the scenarios that set them up were unbelievable and distracting. Career military officers that don’t know a thing about tactics, strategy or planning, let alone how to run a military op. People needlessly exposing themselves to blood when they know the virus is blood borne. And, characters consistently choosing the really bad options, it’s a wonder any of these people survived long enough to make it to the second or third book. (Which, by the way don’t get any better - actually worse).

If you’re able to completely forgo logic and common sense and avoid thinking “what would I do” (because it wouldn’t be what the characters in this book do), you might enjoy the listen. Otherwise, the incongruities are really distracting and hard to stomach.

Worth the Credit

Any additional comments?

As a fellow author, I find it hard to write reviews for books. But, since I started out as an avid reader, I always see myself as a fan first.

I enjoyed this book, though sometimes the way he portrayed the military kind of threw me off. I might be a little bit too judgmental as a veteran though. I don't know if the author served himself or not, but you never know what their experiences are.

The way the apocalypse unfolded was nice and believable. I thought it was great how the author had the main group of characters on a ship for the much of the beginning. I'm not so sure on the NSA conspiracy, though, but it was a decent twist.

Enjoyed it and will continue with the series.

J.D. Demers

What can I say I enjoyed the book

I am not entirely sure why I enjoyed this book as much as I did, but I did. The characters were all very cliché. You have the gruff old Army General, the young idealistic Red Cross worker, an Army private that reminds me allot of Gomer Pile or Beetle Bailey, and others. The situations they find themselves in are very predictable and you can almost always tell what is coming next. But at the end of the day I would stay up an extra hour or two later at night listening to the book, and I am wait for my next credit in order to get book two. I am not sure why but I really did enjoy the book.

Very slow start

This book isn’t bad, if you’re okay with not a lot of action for the first two thirds of the book. It started to pick up and get better, so I have hope for the rest of the series.

rough start

I really like the story but the beginning almost turned me off. I came very close to putting it away. the reading of emails was just too drab. other wise I liked it and I am going ib to the next book

Good beginning to a tragically short lived series

This is a fantastic opening to the Morningstar Strain universe that Z.A. Recht would sadly never get to finish. He was midway through the third book in the series before he passed away at age 26.

The story covers the start of the plague that plunges the world into a viral pandemic that ultimately degenerates into a full blown zombie apocalypse. It has more in common with Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, or Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of Dawn Of The Dead. Here, the infected early on are fast and lethal ("Sprinters"), as opposed to the lumbering, largely brainless zombies in Romero's originals that populate the hordes later on as their bodies decay ("Shamblers"). They make quick work of the military and emergency services, leaving the world defenseless and in total chaos.

A great deal of time is spent on both the build up to the pandemic, as well as the major characters and canon fodder that we'll get to know over the series. Recht was smart to do this, because the book gets a little information heavy later on (especially with its characters), and the time spent building the Morningstar world is invaluable.

Among the people we meet, there's a battle hardened general and what's left of his men, a journalist, a scientist who may hold an important key to the plague, some shady government guys who mercilessly torture one of the characters for information, etc. There are also shifting motives, shifting allegiances, and shifting points of view. It could be confusing in lesser hands, but Recht deftly juggles all of this in a way that keeps the story clean and flowing.

Recht is finding his footing here, but it's a fine introduction which would lead into one of the most exciting books of the genre ever written (Morningstar Strain 2). Definitely recommended.

B movie screenplay

story arch is good, but the dialog is just silly and the decisions people make are just nuts. good book so long as you're not taking it seriously.

Non Stop great listen

I was able to listen through book 1 between yesterday and today... Oliver Wyman does an awesome job seperating and recognizing characters with ease. What Romero does for the screen, Recht takes pen to page. If you're a Zombie fan, you'll love it.