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Dead Living  By  cover art

Dead Living

By: Glenn Bullion
Narrated by: Mark Nelson
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Editorial reviews

On the day "everything" died, an old and new world are created. Mark Douglas Nelson brings to life Glenn Bullion’s story of trust, friendship, and, of course, romance among the living who survive among the dead. For reasons he can’t understand Aaron can travel unstalked among the biters. Raised to help others he saves Samantha, who has learned only the lessons of putting one’s own needs first in a world where those no longer living will not decompose. That rescue is the first step on the dramatic path that will change her, him and all the others who live in fear.

Publisher's summary

It didn’t take long for the world to die. The dead rose with no explanation and only one purpose... to eat living flesh.

Born on the day everything died, the world of the living dead is the only world that Aaron knows. Kept in relative isolation from the walking corpses, his family teaches him how to read and write, how to survive on his own. After a tragedy hits close to home, Aaron discovers he is different than any human left alive.

The undead want nothing to do with him.

The survivors of the old suburb of Lexington call a high school their home. They survive day to day, without any of the luxuries mankind used to enjoy, and surrounded by the living dead. Samantha is a product of the new world. Alone, cold, looking out only for herself. She and the other residents of Lexington feel their hope dwindling. They need change. They need someone who isn't afraid of the walking corpses. They need someone who would rather live in a city of the dead.

They need Aaron.

©2011 Glenn Bullion (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Dead Living

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

better than expected

Any additional comments?


three and a half stars

the 1st hour or so chronicles the initial outbreak. joe is at work, and he and his coworkers watch a riot breaking out in new york city. they soon learn that the rioting is worldwide. joe decides to call his pregnant wife and finds out she's on her way to the hospital. he's horrified, knowing that's where all the infected are being taken so he leaves to meet her there. among the chaos and carnage, his son, aaron, is born. after barely escaping with a few other people, the story picks up 14 years later.

i enjoyed dead living b/c it was a little different than most of the zombie stories i've listened to. as the publisher's summary says, "the undead want nothing to do with him." this is an interesting plot point.

let me stop here for a second. now, i've read and listened to a lot of zombie stories, and never once have i actually found myself emotionally touched by a scene. yeah, i've laughed at the things mike talbot has said and listened intensely to jl bourne in day by day armageddon, but i've never been made to feel so sad and mad at the same time while listening to a zombie novel. geezzz...i'm almost embarrassed writing that! LOL this tragedy has a profound effect on aaron's outlook. that's all i'll say b/c i don't want to spoil it for anybody who decides too listen to it.

once aagain, there is a time slip. we find aaron living among the undead in baltimore. i liked the time slips b/c they offer the perspectives of those who have grown up after the zombie apocalypse has taken down the conveniences of modern society.

at this time, we're also introduced to band of survivors living at a high school. sam is aaron's age, but she never learned to read b/c learning to read was not a priority when it came to surviving day to day.

aaron saves sam when a salvage run goes bad. the author does a good job hashing out their different worldviews due to the way they grew up. aaron in a loving family. sam constantly fighting for her life. aaron's selfless acts have positive effects on the survivors at the high school. it's interesting to see how a disaster, in this vase a zombie apocalypse, has long negative impacts on the social compact.

trust plays a big role in this story. can you trust the people to have your back? can you trust people with your secrets?

ya fans will lke the sexual tension that slowly builds b/ween aaron and sam as she slowly comes out of her shell.

this book also has all of your other typical zombie fare- zombie fighting action, human slavers, and light gore.

overall, i enjoyed this story, mostly b/c of the differences this story has compared to the others i've listened to. a quick, fast-paced, fun listen.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow

What did you love best about Dead Living?

I am out of breath....this story gained speed as it went. Loved the characters. Loved the fast pace. And loved the concept....so many zombie books/movies/tv shows....this the first I've seen or heard with this concept. I will read other titles by Glenn Bullion.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

nr 1!!

Would you listen to Dead Living again? Why?

Absolutly! loved it!

What other book might you compare Dead Living to and why?

Jonathan Maberrys Rot and ruin series.

Any additional comments?

Read this! I have read/listening every book that is aviable in the Zombie gene and this is among the top 10!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

A First Entry To The Zombie Genre Book

Any additional comments?

I found this book to be very Juvenile. It would be a book for 12 to 15 year olds who are just picking up their first "Zombie" book. The Story seemed to be a sanitized version that a child could read without getting a fright, and some people might like a book where the main character, living in a world overun by zombies, is sweet, gentle and totally innocent with values from the 1800's, but I found it rather annoying.When I read the "blurb" it sounded different and very interesting, but by the time it finished I just wanted it to be over, only the fact that I always read / listen to my books to the very end stopped me from turning it off and moving on.Another reviewer earlier said the story was "trite" and I have to say that word covers it beautifully.If you are a hardcore zombie apocalypse lover, really, don't bother with this one.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Astoundingly awful

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The narrator reads as though overly enunciating a grocery list while incredibly bored. The writing itself if just bad: trite, obvious, uninteresting. It casually jumps around different characters' perspectives with no thought to style or craft, and there is the sense that a previous work may have consisted of the monotone meanderings of Dick, and Jane and their dog Spot.

Would you be willing to try another one of Mark Nelson’s performances?

Dear god no.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Abject horror and gross disappointment in the publishing industry that such a thing would be funded, followed by ironic optimism that it is apparently quite easy to have any piece of crap published.

Any additional comments?

...

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wow, pretty good!

As the blurb reads, the twist in this story is that the zombies ignore our protagonist so hes basically invincible. So I thought, what kinda pointless story would that be?!

Well, surprisingly, the author made a pretty cool story from it anyways. I love the start of zombie apocalypse stories and this one started with a regular schmo, the unsung working class hero of the modern era; the warehouse worker. Its all pretty good, but standard, he's trying to find his wife and bla bla..then suddenly 14 years into the future the group of survivors are only now starting to flirt and fall in love and then tragedy strikes.

The rest of the story is about sexual tension, love, revenge and how Aaron tries to help out a community of survivors all the while, like Superman, he tries to preserve his "secret".

Its not too heavy a read, fairly light and entertaining. Narrator was a bit stiff in the beginning but got pretty good further into the story, so 3 stars for average. I also think the writing followed the same pattern too, kinda short, simple writing but got better and more fluid later.

The 4 stars may be a bit generous, but I enjoyed the read and too bad there doesn't seem to be a continuation.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A bit different and a bit not

I am a sucker for a new zombie audiobook, especially if I have a gap in my listening queue. To be honest if I was living in a zombie apocalypse I think I would prefer that the zombies wanted nothing to do with me. Would probably get a bit on the lonely side, but at least I would be alive, right? For some reason from the moment I heard about this audiobook I wanted to listen to it, I even pre-ordered on audible.

Dead Living starts out as many zombie stories do, with the event of the apocalypse. Bullion was able to convey the utter chaos and destruction that such an event would surely create. Very quickly he moves us on years latter, which I really appreciated, following the same family as in the before time, giving us a glimpse of what life was now like to the survivors. After a series of, again tragic events, the story jumps ahead decade or two. Introducing us to the way that life was now, yet still different than before. All the while following the life and times of Aaron born on the day the world ended. Dead Living is less about the zombies and more about an expansive action packed, love soaked, story with real depth and human emotions interwoven throughout. Bullion adds in a very unique twist to the typical zombie apocalypse and that is that the zombie want nothing to do with Aaron and we get to advantages and disadvantages of a gift like that or is it a curse?

I really enjoyed Mark Nelson’s narration, his voice made me reminisce about television shows from the 1980′s, you know the ones that had a narrator to help you through the show, with his very “normal” voice. As usual lately it takes me awhile to warm up to the narrator and Dead Living was no exception. Once I did I was completely comfortable and transported to world I can only hope I will never know.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

pretty good story

I listen to or read every zombie story I get my hands on.
This one is well written with good characters and a fairly typical plot.
There was a couple interesting twists that made it original.
Not too graphic but still detailed.

Narration fit the book well.

Not in my top 5 books but made my must read list.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not an edge of your seat Zombie story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I found this story to be more about the human condition, with zombies "around". More of a love story really.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing please put all your books on audible. Use that stupid AI thing if you have too.

The character building the world everything was great. One of my top zombie listen. Only bad thing about it is there’s no sequel.

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