Plague of the Dead

The Morningstar Strain, Book 1

By: Z. A. Recht

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

The end begins with a viral outbreak unlike anything mankind has ever encountered before. The infected are subject to delirium, fever, a dramatic increase in violent behavior, and a one-hundred percent mortality rate. Death. But it doesn't end there. The victims return from death to walk the earth.

When a massive military operation fails to contain the plague of the living dead it escalates into a global pandemic. In one fell swoop, the necessities of life become much more basic. Gone are petty everyday concerns. Gone are the amenities of civilized life. Yet a single law of nature remains: Live, or die. Kill, or be killed. On one side of the world, a battle-hardened General surveys the remnants of his command: a young medic, a veteran photographer, a brash Private, and dozens of refugees, all are his responsibility-all thousands of miles from home. Back in the United States, an Army Colonel discovers the darker side of Morningstar virus and begins to collaborate with a well-known journalist to leak the information to the public...The Morningstar Saga has begun.

©2006 Z.A. Recht (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Zombies!!! Yum!..

The problem with zombie books, for me, is there aren't enough of them! Z.A. does a great job here crafting an epic zombie apocalypse. The military aspect was key to the stories success and the narrator did a great job as well. Keep it up Z.A. I will be expecting more zombies...Stat!

OUTSTANDING

loved it bought part 2 loved it cant wait for the 3rd. Would love to see this on the big screen.

Good zombie story, will get the next one

This was a good zombie story. There was plenty of action, despair and seemed to be well thought out. There was an issue with one of the plot lines. It didn't seem to be developed quite as much as the other line. While not perfect, it was good enough that I will purchase the next one in the series.

Perfect for any Zombie fan

If you could sum up Plague of the Dead in three words, what would they be?

Please don't end.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Plague of the Dead?

the autopsy of the zombies. classic zombie fun.

Which scene was your favorite?

my favorite scene would have to be the big battle scene with the zombies.

Who was the most memorable character of Plague of the Dead and why?

every story is unique and amazing. i think i would chose eather agent mason or the general. . . . . im not sure.

Any additional comments?

keep um comin

Good Story, Weak Characters

I'm not sure if it was the weak character developement or maybe they were just so two dimensional and paper thin. I like the story, but there were times in it ....well lets just say the author didn't understand everything he was writing about. The characters didn't live up to their job titles. I listened to the book twice so it's not a total waste of a credit, I will most likely listen to the next book, after I am a story junkie. I love a story above all things, but do enjoy a good story with strong realistic characters.

Surprisingly very very entertaining.

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

Well it's not a classic and I thought I may give up on it. But wait, it gets better and in fact has a great storyline with a good engaging narrator and funny quirky characters too. You know a nice easy, entertaining read for the daily car journey.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I think it's the general or the sarge.

What does Oliver Wyman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's really good with the characters actually after persevering becomes addictive.

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

I don't think its that deep.

Any additional comments?

Stick with and enjoy the series for an easy listen. My daily commute is far more enjoyable with this book and if you love zombies...

good enough even with factual errors

one of the things that bug me is that that class of ship has one to two ASW Helos. they never mention that. Even if they weren't on board they have two hangers plus the landing pad. Still a good story. I was in the Navy and my brother was the EMO on one also. Don't know much about the Army stuff though.

Wonderfully grounded zombie series

I'm super happy to have found this series. It was written in 2006, so its a lot more grounded and focused on, you know, the scientific zombie side rather than the strange crop up of "Every supernatural villain and their brother is coming into the world at once" trend we are seeing.

I'd say the series is a mix of World War Z (Max Brooks), Day by Day Armageddon (J.L. Bourne), and The Extinction Cycle (Nicholas Sansbury Smith) and another positive is we get some interesting voice talent on the part of Oliver Wyman. Very happy with my purchase, will be listening to more of the series.

Love this series.

Would you listen to Plague of the Dead again? Why?

I will definitely listen to this one again. Very realistic for a zombie story.

What did you like best about this story?

Good character development and good zombie descriptions i.e. Shamblers versus Sprinters.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Pretty good performance for a single narrator. He did well at differentiating between male and female voices.

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

The best zombie story I've listened to in years.

Good zombie tale.

Decent story, great narrator. Good character development and inter-play. If you like sci-fi; you will enjoy. If looking for literature, move on.