Ex-Heroes

By: Peter Clines

Narrated by: Jay Snyder, Khristine Hvam

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.

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.

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!

Excellent story, concept, writing, and performance

If you could sum up Ex-Heroes in three words, what would they be?

Past, Presence, Zombies

What did you like best about this story?

Excellent blending of 2 genres that normally don't go together.

Which scene was your favorite?

The flashback of the demon's last moments before turning

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

It takes the best and the worst of us to survive.

Good story, good narration..... But.....

I enjoyed this take on zombies and superheroes and each narrator did a fine job juggling all the characters and accents. Really primo job there.

But...it was obvious they were not recorded in the same room at the same, so it lost that dynamic where two actors organically play off each other. Well done as individuals, but lost something as a team.

WOW!!! SOO GOOD!

this was the best! had a amazing zombie plot along with awesome super heroes and powers, this would be a great movies!!!! i would recomend this for sure