Dead Cells

By: Adam Millard

Narrated by: Luke Smith

Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

As a prisoner in one of the most brutal facilities imaginable, Shane Bridge thought that he'd seen it all. Surrounded by murderers, rapists, gangsters, and pedophiles, Shane had managed to survive his three years in one piece. With parole just around the corner, and his wife and daughter at home awaiting his return, Shane has high hopes for the future. When a new inmate is brought in, carrying with him a deadly virus, Shane soon realizes that his plans, his release, and his very survival are in jeopardy. With the virus spreading, turning guards and inmates into flesh-eating zombies, it's up to a few survivors to figure out how to escape the facility, how to get along - and how to stay alive.

©2011 Adam Millard (P)2015 Adam Millard

ExZellent!!

Shane is an average man. He's never been in trouble before but now finds himself in prison. One stupid action has caused him to spend time in jail with murderers, rapists, gangsters
and paedophiles. He is up for parole soon and looking forward to getting back to his life with his wife and daughter. But when a new inmate arrives, bringing with him a deadly virus, it's up to Shane and a handful of survivours, to get out alive!

I have to admit that the concept of an outbreak in a prison really enticed me. Despite reading a lot of Zombie books, I never gave any thought to what would happen in a place where you are locked up! This is a new aspect of the genre for me, and I totally loved it! Imagine having a Zombie outbreak happen but you are locked up in a prison, with no hope of escape!! That is exactly what happens to Shane. He has to navigate the locked rooms and find an escape before it's too late.

I really liked Shanes character. He made one stupid decision but is paying the price. Despite his stint in jail, he wants nothing more than to put the past behind him and look after his wife and daughter. When the outbreak happens, his one thought is always of his family. That's what sees him through, and I admired his strength and tenacity.

The plot was fast paced, though I would of liked a little more back story on the origins of the virus. It just kind of happens and we get no idea from where or how? I also wanted a little more of an in depth look at the characters. There are quite a few but we don't get a sense of who they are. Also the time it took people to turn to zombies changed all the time, some changed quickly, while others it took days. Now I know that maybe the virus progressed but it should of been explained more. Other than that, I loved the idea of the outbreak in the prison. Even with the things I wanted, the story kept my attention throughout, and I was rooting for Shane all the time.

In all this is a action packed and addictive read. The setting was perfect and added extra tension. There were plenty of edge of your seat moments! I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to book 2!

This is my first listen by Luke Smith, and thought he did a great job. Easy to listen to and follow, he held my attention throughout.

*I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

GREAT NARRATION & CREEPY COOL STORY!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If they liked the Zombie Horror genre...Absolutely!!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Shane and the Doctor!! Shane because he is cool, brave and honestly wants to be back with his family..I also liked his celly...The doctor because she is a true survivor...and not afraid to stand her ground with the inmates!

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

I have, he is a creepy good narrator, and it fits the books he narrates perfectly..I like him!!!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Shane rescues the Doctor....I was like...YES!!!

Any additional comments?

** I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

I like this book...it is creepy and disturbing...and I cant wait to listen to book 2!

This story is mostly about Shane...he tried to rob a liquor store to help his family, and got caught...he is now in one of the worst prisons in his state...and avoiding sex offenders and murderers...he is lucky he has a big celly that watches his back...so when the infection breaks out and everything starts to hit the fan he has someone who can help him navigate this hell and possibly survive... really great story...I recommend for that zombie/horror fan....don't hesitate..well worth your time and a credit!!

Thank You Audiobookblast(dot)com

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Dead cells

Any additional comments?

Dead Cells comes from the Crowded Quarantine stable is a zombie novel set in the confines of a maximum security prison. So, sure there are still zombies to be scared of but you got to add to that hundreds of murderers, rapists and gangsters, not to mention one sick prison governor.Go get really scared !!!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Prison Zombies

Any additional comments?

This story is exactly what you'd imagine a zombie outbreak inside a male prison would be like. I haven't been to prison, but from watching several episodes of "Lockup," the setting and interactions seem pretty accurate. At a little less than 6 hours, it's hard to become emotionally invested in characters. But I would buy book 2, just to see how the story goes. I think the second book will be even better, considering there will be more locations. (This entire book is inside the prison) *SPOILER* The only scene that I thought didn't fit, was the helicopter. If I were a helicopter pilot, with a functioning helicopter, and the zombie apocalypse was upon us, I think the very last place in the world I'd be, is outside of a prison, waiting to pick up "escaped" convicts.

The narrator did a fine job. The editing needs a little tweaking, but that's no fault of the narrator's. At 00:57:19 "it appeared that he had all the troubles in the world hanging over him" was said twice. At 01:48:00 "Shane said" was said twice. There were numerous awkward pauses. It was like the long pause before a new chapter is announced, but there were no new chapters announced. Just in the middle of a scene, there was a long pause. But this is all editing. No fault of the narrator or author.

If possible, I would give this book a rating of 4.5 stars. Since there's no halves, I'll be generous and round up to 5.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Another zombie tale... With a twist.

While I am getting a bit sick of the zombie genre, Adam Millard managed to make this interesting by having a zombie breakout start in a prison.  Without that, it would have been just another zombie story. The prison aspect forces guards and inmates to work together when two hours previously they would have jumped at the chance to beat the others down.

I received a free copy of this audio book from the author, narrator or publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Another disappointing zombie book

What would have made Dead Cells better?

Better grasp of the English language, and I don't just mean American English (the writer is clearly British from his choice of words). Too heavy on the big word adjectives as most new writers are, and adjectives that are poorly matched to their nouns. The thesaurus is not the best first choice when looking for different ways to describe things.

Would you recommend Dead Cells to your friends? Why or why not?

No. Too poorly written, and not at all scary.

What didn’t you like about Luke Smith’s performance?

His tone was all wrong. He often speaks like he's sitting at a campfire with a flashlight under his chin, too slowly and deliberately. He made a couple of the characters sound just like Billy Murray's "Todd" from 70's Saturday Night Live, and I couldn't take them seriously. I expected the rapist to give his captive a noogie. Since the book was written by a Brit, why not place it in England and use a British reader? They tend to be better readers anyway, and it would class it up a bit.

What character would you cut from Dead Cells?

They are all pretty one-dimensional and stereotypical. Thuggish guards, Woman In Peril (at least Luke Smith didn't voice her like Lisa Lubner), convict who's really a good guy--robbing the liquor store with a bb gun was just to feed his family, after all. Rapist convicts who are still obsessed with raping the Woman In Peril, despite being locked in a prison with hundreds of zombies and no plan of escape. Crude language to further illustrate just how bad this guy is.

Any additional comments?

It was a good concept, zombies in prison, but poorly executed and badly voiced. I wish these "well, hell, I could write a better zombie story than THAT" first-time authors would buy some college English major a case of beer and ask him/her to read and edit his opus before it's uploaded to Audible. My embarrassing penchant for Zombie fiction has wasted me a lot of Audible credits. Oh, if only Max Brooks were more prolific! The production value wasn't the best, either. Several sentences were repeated.

What a ride in a prison!!

I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend to a Sci-fi (or anyone who would like a change from their same old routine). This book came out with a bang. I really liked the prison setting. Not to give away anything but prisoners and guards together makes a great recipe.

The narrator did a great job. I really like his voice , can't wait to listen to the second book.

I was gifted this audio for an unbiased review, now on to Dead Frost can't wait to see where we go.

A zombie virus outbreak in a high security prison

DEAD CELLS

Author: Adam Millard

Type of Book: Audiobook - Unabridged

Narrator: Luke Smith

Length: 5 hours and 52 minutes

Genre: Zombie Fiction

Release Date: March 13, 2015

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐

* I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review through Audiobook Blast.

THE STORY:

The premise of this novel is a zombie outbreak in a high security prison. Not a bad idea, but limited in scope. Despite that, I decided to give this audiobook a chance.

The main character is a regular guy named Shane. Shane has a wife and young daughter, both of whom he adores. In fact, it is his devotion to his family that eventually lands him in jail.

With the threat of being evicted and despite his diligent job-searching, Shane has been unable to provide financially for his family. In desperation and a misguided attempt to avoid receiving charity, Shane's pride overrides his common-sense and he does something supremely stupid and very illegal.

Shane receives a three year prison sentence for his actions and the book begins when he only has three months left on his sentence.

Shane is incarcerated in one of the nation's most notorious prisons and is constantly surrounded by murderers, rapists, gangsters
and pedophiles.

When a new inmate is brought in, carrying with him a deadly virus, Shane realises that his plans, his release, and even his life are at risk.

The sick prisoner is carrying a horrible virus which quickly spreads throughout the prison, infecting both the prisoners and the guards.

"With the virus spreading, turning guards and inmates into flesh-eating zombies, it's up to a few survivors to figure out how to escape the facility, how to get along."

I expected more from this audiobook than I received. The author has taken some very large liberties with the story's logistics. For example: The warden's office does not have a lock. I find this simply ridiculous. Of course his office door would have a lock. I highly doubt that a high security facility would be lacking in such basic security measures. Not even a simple lock on the warden's office, and yet other areas require fingerprint scanning to enter. This makes no sense.

I did enjoy listening to the narrator's voice, however there were some editing errors that distracted me from being able to be fully drawn into the story.

There are at least three instances where the narrator repeats himself. This is both irritating and unpredictable.

Another thing that bothered me about this audiobook was the inconsistency of the time it took for people to turn into zombies. Some inmates took hours or even overnight to change and yet others seemed to change instantly. If the author had offered some explanation for these variations it might have been more believable.

Due to the issues listed above, I rate this audiobook as 3 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐

zombies, felons and zombie felons...

Where does Dead Cells rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's a good story, and I liked it quite a bit, but this wouldn't make my top ten.

What did you like best about this story?

Narration was good, the characters were interesting and the story was a little different than the normal for this ever so popular genre.

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

Don't drop the soap, or your guard

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."

Jail House Zombies

If you could sum up Dead Cells in three words, what would they be?

Zombies, Jail, Brutal come to mind, of course so does fast, unrelenting, unflinching, brotherhood (to some degree), apocalypse, hopeless, and so on and so forth.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was Shane because he was the closest thing to a hero in the whole book and yet he was one of the people on the other side of the bars. He started in the wrong place at the wrong time and it was good to see that despite that he didn't lose his humanity.

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked the variety of scenes involving the zombies themselves as they advanced on the living, no matter who the zombies or the living were. Adam Millard gave them such interesting physical descriptions that made the creatures come to life with the vibrancy of blood and gore.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn't.

Any additional comments?

I received this for free in exchange for an honest review, I'd read some of Adam's works in the past more on the bizarro side of things so it was definitely good to see that he does straight forward horror with a comparable level of adeptness. None of these questions addressed the presence of the narrator but he was pretty great as well breathing life into a story that quite frankly had a whole lot of death.

A good listen

Who was your favorite character and why?

The warden. I won't say why as it may spoil the story

What about Luke Smith’s performance did you like?

I think that when listening to a audiobook a good performance is vital (even more than the story itself). Luke gave a great performance

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

I listened over 3 days

Any additional comments?

Most of the story is set in a prison, but that doesn't make the world feel too small.
Some of the characters are likeable and some are loathsome (some are both).
The main character Shane, a convicted armed robber. He is a good man at heart and someone to root for. I also enjoyed the parts in the story from the zombies point of view, I thought this quite interesting. Looking forward to book 2.

“I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com" in your review.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful