Plagued - The Midamerica Zombie Half-Breed Experiment

Plagued States of America, Book 1

By: Better Hero Army

Narrated by: Andrew B. Wehrlen

Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

When Tom, the son of a powerful senator, becomes stranded in the Plagued States while searching for his lost sister, his only hope of survival rests in the hands of a few grizzled veteran zombie hunters and a mysterious half-breed zombie woman he thinks may know where to find his sister....

In the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, the humans won by creating a moat surrounding the Plagued States of America. Now zombies roam freely, and only the most fearless of hunters venture in, but they don't hunt to kill. Zombie labor is too valuable a commodity. That's why Tom has come to one of only three sanctioned outposts along the Moaning Coast to check their sales records in the hopes of finding his lost sister. What he finds instead is a mysterious half-breed zombie woman who may know where she is. When the township is overrun by zombies, Tom, the half-breed, and a group of grizzled zombie hunters must fend for themselves in order to survive not only the zombie horde, but the military gunships trying to wipe out the infection.

This debut book by Better Hero Army stands to become the start of one of the best new zombie series with its action-packed story, great characters, and twists that keep you on your toes and breathless to the very end.

©2013 Evan Ramspott (P)2016 Evan Ramspott

Meh

The concept was good, but the presentation was not. Listen to the sample, that is the most exciting part in the book. A rare few Zombies are only half Zombies. The East Coast does not have Zombies and life is normal. If fleshed out with some interesting characters and a good plot, this could have been good, but I could barely stay awake and since I listen while I drive, that is not good.

I was not impressed with the narrator.

Drop the pen name- read this in spite of the name good novella

What a beautiful story you have written. I have a few suggestions: the premise of the story was very moving. I wish you had slowed down. I wish you had explored the relationships in more detail. The story could’ve started with the dysfunctional family relationships and explained a bit more ...why the search had continued for so long. The adversarial relationship between the brothers needed some explaining and would’ve given a good sounding board and hook which unfortunately is unusual in the zombie genre. Not just running and fighting and killing the dead - but the people and families left behind after a huge tragedy that would result from a zombie apocalypse. From what I have seen in your writing I believe you are a gifted storyteller and capable writer. The novella came together more like an outline moving from point A to point B to point C to point D to a conclusion.
I would suggest you take this story and expand upon it and re-release it. You have a winner here.
I believe your audience would enjoy digging down into the government experiments as it pertains to the half breeds. the relationships and emotions that develop and grow the more experience a half braid has.
The actual writing of the story was rushed but the storyline was full and has so much more to give and I wish you the best of luck. I will read your other works.
Great ideas. Now go back to the drawing board and write the real novel this could have been.
Best wishes! Thanks for getting me thinking.

On the edge of your seat!

I read this book when it first came out and loved it but getting to hear it narrated by Andrew Wehrlen was fantastic too! Sometimes I feel like reading a book and listening to a book and be two completely different experiences and I love both. This was fantastically done, I was on the edge of my seat. I loved the story, the length, the writing, fantastic characters. Loved getting to experience this book in a different medium.

Plauged

This is an interesting book as there are zombies and half-breed zombies, along with humans. The narrator was okay. It could have been better.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Plagued

An interesting concept in the huge world of zombies. Tom is a young man forced to go with his brother, Gary, to try to find his younger sister, Larissa. Tom blames himself (as does his father) for allowing Larissa to be turned into a zombie 10 years before. While Tom and Gary are in the zombie trading area, havoc breaks loose as the zombies become free.

The idea that the government would "cure" zombies in order for them to be used as slave labor is unique. What better way to get free workers than to use zombies? Of course, when you have slaves, you also have slave traders, who also seem to function as zombie hunters.

Tom meets a young woman who is a half-breed zombie and decides to use her to find his sister. Questions arise: can he trust Penelope to not hurt him? Can he find Larissa? And, most importantly, can Penelope be cured?

The story was entertaining, but left me with a lot of unanswered questions about what made half-breed zombies. I don't know if there are more books in this series that explain things better, but I would like to know more. All in all, an interesting book if you love zombies.

The narration was a little bland. I would have enjoyed it more with more inflection in the narrator's voice. It was basically just reading the book aloud. I was given a copy of this Audible book by the author/narrator/publisher and chose to review it.

Good start to a series

Any additional comments?

Good start to a series. Very entertaining and enjoyable. It pulled me in and kept my attention. I love all types of zombie books and this one has an interesting little twist on a zombie apocalypse.

Honestly, I wish it had been a little longer. When a story leaves you wanting more you know you enjoyed it. It's a series I would definitely like to hear more of and I'm looking forward to the next installment. It's the start of a series and it does leave you hanging.

Zombies, half-breed zombies, a cure and of coarse the government. What secret is the government hiding? Using zombies as workers and other things though is a risky business. One that definitely has some consequences.

Andrew B. Wehrlen does a great job with the narration as usual. His voice just draws you in and brings the characters and story to life. He has one of those voices that is perfect for narrating books. Really good character voices. Clearly spoken with a smooth even pace. He brings the characters and story to life through his narration. Hopefully he will continue to be the narrator for the rest of the series. Very enjoyable.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily provided this review

Nice start

Nice short read. It was a good start to the series. I enjoyed the main characters. The story progressed satisfactory but I felt as if something was missing. Looking forward to next read and hopefully more back story and action.

This was unique

I have read a lot of zombie books and this one is definitely different from any that I have read before. That is what made me pick up the book in the first place. Half Breed Zombies, intrigued enough to try the next one in the series as well.

Unique

This is a change from most zombie stories. The characters are conflicted and a great combo to make this story great

Decent Listen

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.

Andrew B. Wehrlen is a talented narrator. It was his performance more than anything else that kept this story interesting.

The story itself has a solid premise. A young man strives to find his sister, who was turned into a zombie a decade earlier. He wants to recover her in the hopes that she can be cured at some later date. From that perspective the story is fine.

What this story lacks is compelling drive. The main character, Tom, certainly has motivation. He also begins to care for a half-breed zombie girl, though whether the interest is romantic or protective is a bit muddled. Hopefully it is the latter, but there is evidence enough to argue for the former.

It is difficult to pin down, but the chief issue is that I couldn’t ever find myself caring what happened. People died, meh. Tom has daddy issues, oh well. What’s going on between Tom and the half-breed? Disturbingly interesting, but not compelling.

Overall the story was entertaining to a fair degree, it just didn’t “grab me.”

Interesting

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was a really interesting take on a zombie apocalypse. The book itself had a lot of interesting ideas, and it really appealed to me, but I wasn’t a massive fan of the book itself. It didn’t keep my attention, and I often found myself having to rewind and relisten to chapters.

Andrew B. Wehrlen was a pretty good narrator. He made each character feel different, and he really embodied each character so they felt real.

"Welcome to the Wild West, brother."

Any additional comments?

Plagued, brings an horrifying new aspect to the zombie genre: the trading and use of them as slaves . The Synopsis given is full so I do not want to further rehearse the story which was exciting and action packed, though fairly short in length. As always, the narration by Mr.Wehrein was impeccable, clear, well paced with just the right dramatic emphasis and clear voicings for the individual characters. His reading most definitely enhances the experience.

I have not previously heard of the author, Better Hero Army, and I have the rights holder of Plagued to thank for introducing his work to me with this book, gifted to me via Audiobook Boom. I will certainly be watching out for more in this new zombie series by him as he has already inserted some intriguing ideas which need to be followed up in future stories: what happened in the original outbreak? How did the whole trader enterprise come about? The real story behind the half breeds? The zombie children, what more of them? The medical programme, what exactly does it do and how was it developed? All these, and more, have really piqued my interest as well as, of course, what happens next with Tom.
I hope to find out more in future books.