Awakening

The Hunt Chronicles, Book 1

By: J. D. Demers

Narrated by: Joshua Story

Length: 9 hrs

Publisher's Summary

After a contagion engulfs humanity, zombies rise to feast on the few survivors that are left. But they are not the worst monsters to come from this plague. There is hope, though: Christian Hunt is immune. But how many lives will it take to bring his gift to what's left of mankind?

©2015 Jacob D. Demers (P)2015 Jacob D. Demers

I wish I had thought of that!

When I sat down and wrote my journal-based zombie book, I was just getting my feet wet. Admittedly, when I look back on it now, I can tell. There are some clumsy bits and awkward moments. I tended to introduce too many "background" characters and such.

THIS is the book that I wish I had written. It is a fun ride that has you shaking whatever version you have and hoping that more will fall out. (I used the audio book version, so that would be my phone getting throttled.)

J. D. Demars brings a lot of the standard zombie fare to the table, but then he mixes in some special ingredients and turns the zombie into his own beast. Also, he has the best utilization of a canine companion that I have read in the genre. he makes this pooch into an integral character in the story that you will have real feelings for in a short time.

Besides the zombies, there is a bit of that evil monster known as "man" that pops in and proves that the zombie might not be the most feared creature out there. Also, Demars makes you hate Fish. The person...not the food. (Although I suppose it is okay to hate both.) The Fish protagonist is an excellent foil for Christian (who I wanted to slap and demand that he kill Fish in his sleep on several occasions.)

Overall, this is a wonderful introduction to an author I look forward to reading more from. Considering this book only covers a month in the time line of what we are told is a year, I would say we have a lot to look forward to. The audio book is 4.5 stars for me. Honestly, I held back the half a star just because there were a few glitches in the production quality of the audio book. The story was a smash. Did it have a few hiccups? What story doesn't? But not enough for me not to say that I loved and enjoyed this tale.

Very good first days of the outbreak book!

This book is open-ended so of course there is a second one. Over all I enjoyed this book very much. I'm partial to outbreak zombie books rather than 50 years after books so this was up my alley. A canine sidekick is featured which I always enjoy, characters are a mix of retired military and every man, well fleshed out and interesting, and I am definitely in for book two. No huge new zombie ground broken here - attempts at which I am sick of as they rarely go well - but a solid entertaining story with solid writing and characters.
Great female character I hope to see more of as well!
Medium gore, mild swearing, no sexism, no animal abuse, no sex (thank you to the author), and no military jargon rants or long equipment descriptions that will annoy civilians.
Very solid first book in a series. Narrator was invisible.

I HAD TO TAKE HER HEAD OFF

A DUCK IS A DUCK
I got this because it was on sale and I was told it was different. Demers, changes some of the minor rules involving Zombies, but they are so minor as to not warrant mentioning. The main character is kind of a loser who is set straight by the prepper he meets. He is not a super military expert and he does not travel across the state as in most of these stories, but nothing really happens, it is all the same. If you have read one Zombie book, you have read this one. You want different, get Cattle. It is not a bad book, it just is not unique.

Somewhat unique take on the zombies

The story starts with a beaten down Christian Hunt starting to write down his apocalypse adventures up to this point. Right now he fears the worst, very little food and ammo, surrounded by zombies, it is not looking good. Hunt is a military veteran of Iraq suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) who wound up having a roommate that was a novice prepper / survivalist.

The zombie virus spread through the population as a severe flu. I find in very amusing that Hunt was able to steer clear of the initial outbreak because he was home sick for days. Eventually meeting up with several survivors, all colorful characters, especially Fish.

My favorite part of this story is the unique take on the zombies. A mere bullet to the head might not kill the undead, we find out that you have to completely destroy the brain for them to be down for the count. Along with that they are not your typical completely stupid variety of zombies. Given enough time they will be able to climb stairs and ladders and even turn door knobs. If that wasn’t enough there is a second type of ghoul. The are referred to as Scabs, and are very fast and smart. They are able to stalk humans for days, waiting for the perfect opportunity to take them down. Then they like to get up close and personal for the kill, with their own home made melee weapons. Did I mention these scabs are even harder to kill.

Second favorite part was Boomer, the German Shepherd, I love when animals take a role in survival situations. They can add so much humanity to a story with so little effort.

I will admit it took me several hours to get into the story. Mostly because of the authors somewhat repetitive writing style. Lots of statements followed by “but” and then something obvious. That being said I am into it now and I will be looking forward to the next installment of this series and other work by J.D. Demers.

There were several spots where there was an obvious recording session change, going from the “normal” sound to a horribly tinny along with an increase or decrease in the volume. That being said Joshua Story did a pretty good job with the characterizations and he keeps a steady pace no matter what is happening. Some would find that not changing pace for action versus drama would hinder a story, usually I feel that way, because Story’s delivery was so constant it did not bother me at all.

Looking for something in the zombie genre with a unique twist? Take a chance on this one. If you can get past the minor issues that I found and stick with it. You will be able to enjoy a story you may have overlooked.

Audiobook provided for for review by the author.

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Awakening is Phenomenal!

Excellent! This is my first J.D. Demers book, and he does not disappoint. Fantastic storyline and Joshua Story does a terrific job narrating. Definitely going to keep plowing through Demers work! \ : 0 )

World War Z meets Zombieland meets I am Legend!

When this book was recommended to me I wasn't sure but I am REALLY glad I got it! I listened to it in just 2 sittings. This is not just another Zombie book, the storyline is awesome with great character development.
This is the best fiction book I've read all year, I can't wait to get the next book! awesome reader too! Get it, you won't regret it.

It's Pronounced May-Lay.

Any additional comments?

I wish book 2 was out so I could immediately start listening to it! I loved this take on zombies. The scabs were something new. There were times when the author could have elaborated more, but didn't......like the zombies eating vegetation.
The narrator was good, but not the best. I just have to point out, and I hope he reads this, it's pronounced MAY-LAY, not mee-lee. Melee is "may-lay." Also, at one point, Cambell slipped into a Latino accent. It was just a one liner, but I caught it and thought "huh???"
And last, this book would have been close to perfect if he'd just said, "if you hurt my dog again, we're done." He didn't have to threaten to kill him. Just split up. Don't let someone throw your dog out the window of a moving vehicle and not reprimand them!

Not your Father's Zombies

A great addition to the Zombie genre, “The Hunt Chronicles” takes readers through one man’s experience at the start of a zombie apocalypse. I’ve read tons of zombie books, and the really great thing about this one is these aren’t your typical zombies. I won’t ruin it for you here, but it’s got two interesting twists that I really like.

The book is well written and the author does a good job of mixing action, storytelling and setting the scene. The main character is likable and he feels very real in his approach. He’s not a hero right out of the gate which makes him feel very real. The other characters are a motley crew each which their own flaws which again makes it feel as if this could actually be happening in the present.

The only thing that I didn’t like about this book is that it doesn’t tell the whole story. It sets up the next book in the series nicely but it feels a bit incomplete because there isn’t a resolution to the characters’ situation in the end. That’s a pet peeve of mine, otherwise I would have rated it 5 stars.

I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!

Mr Story does a great job with the narration. He differentiates between the characters nicely and really brings them to life.

Omg

Will update this if and when I finish book but right off I think author was being paid by the word main character just keeps rambling on repeating same information diving me crazy I was like omg come on with the story

Impressive and exciting

So Christian gets bit and thinks he is going to die. But doesn't. He can't tell anyone he got bit of they'll shoot him. He finds himself all alone initially, but then hook up with a grizzled super soldier. And a dog of course.

All pretty standard fair, except for the scabs. The book has a good mystery going on about them for a while, so I'll let listeners discover it for themselves. Nothing really emotionally compelling in the story. Except the turning of one particular character made me feel sad. I don't know what the deal was about the voice of his father in his head all the time, acting as a moral compass. I found it plain lame and glad he dropped it towards the end. I hope it doesnt make a reappearance in the next book.

Instead, I how the author goes throgh Christians thoughts in intense moments, about what he does, should have done instead and how he learns. As others have said, not a great book, but a good one.

meaty storyline

Nice find in a sea of mediocre Zompoc storylines... captivating characters, flowing plotline and believable scenarios. All in all a great listen made all the better by a good narrator who didn't over act the scenes or blow up the good writing by ruining it with ego driven narration... good job all around!!!

really enjoyed this book

loved this book kept me interested and just got the 2nd book cant wait to see were this gose

Amazing

Great story. Definitely suggest if you are into zombies. I want book 2 now. Amazing