Zombie Maelstrom

By: Bryan Cassiday

Narrated by: D.G. Chichester

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Virulent pockets of plague, first reported in China, break out worldwide and spread with mind-boggling speed. CIA black ops agent Chad Halverson flies to Los Angeles to visit his brother after receiving a call that his brother has been hospitalized after a car accident. Halverson's Boeing 737 crash-lands in an eerie Los Angeles shrouded with an impenetrable haze of smog. But that is only the tip of the iceberg of Halverson's nightmare. Lurking in this mist are legions of plague-infected living dead who are driven by an all-consuming lust for human flesh. Halverson's reunion with his brother must take second place to his own struggle to stay alive.

As civilization crumbles into chaos, it will take all the skills and wits Halverson and his fellow passengers possess for their hunted party to survive in a world overrun with hordes of flesh-craving zombies. Which will pose a bigger threat to Halverson and his ever-dwindling band - their own bickering as they try to organize and defend themselves, their enemies - the living dead, or the new "civilization" of men that is superseding the old?

©2011 Bryan Cassiday (P)2015 Bryan Cassiday

What happened when they were in the air?

Passengers aboard a flight landing at LAX were surprised when their captain announced that they were landing without the approval of the air traffic controllers. Once they land, they're not sure what they are stumbling into. LA and LAX are covered in fog/smog/smoke and they can't see anything. Passengers start to go missing and people are crashing out of high windows and falling with no screams. What is going on?

The narration for Zombie Maelstrom was done by D.G. Chichester and it was done well. Chichester did different voices for different characters, which was really nice. Though a few times I found myself having to pause it to get my bearings on who was talking in the book. The production value is great, I didn't have any issues with this audiobook -- it sounded great.

The story was different. I've read many different zombie books, and a lot of them even start out with the main characters not knowing what was going on. But this one still felt unique to me. The main characters in the story felt hashed out by Cassiday.

The book fell just a little flat for me with the confusion of characters (two or three of them just felt like they were the same person). I think slightly more back-story (without getting boring) would be needed to really explain what makes some of these people tick. The turn towards the end of the story (not trying to give anything away) was probably the best thought out part of this book. They could have spent slightly less time trying to figure out what to do, and more time in and around the camp.

The camp's leader felt like the most explained character in the book, but maybe because he was easily hated. But not as easily hated as the main antagonist, Leamans, who is with the survivors the whole time (seriously I haven't hated a character in a book that much in a long time). Writing a character who is that much of an a-hole couldn't have been easy.

Overall, the book felt like it had some new and different aspects to add to the zombie fiction/post-apocalyptic genre. And it had some other aspects that felt very "been there, done that." This book was a pretty quick read, and the audiobook was enjoyable.

Spoiler alert - Strange progression of the plot

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

I have mixed feelings about this book.
It started off as a plane crash and moved to a post end of the world theme.
The best elements of the plot slipped away one by one as the story progressed. It was frustrating as all the good effect of having a number of different characters, each with their own voice vanished one by one.
The craziness, absurdity and nothingness of zombies took over the story telling itself, leaving the plot "empty handed."
The book kept me hooked, scared me beyond my comfort zone. The style is energetic and fast. Seldom use of nouns in the narrative always the name.
Loved it but was disappointed by the way everything moved to total loss and nothingness.

Seemed repetitive to me, didn't hold my attention

Would you try another book from Bryan Cassiday and/or D.G. Chichester?

Possibly

Has Zombie Maelstrom turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I love this genre

What does D.G. Chichester bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I felt he "played" the roles of the characters very well, I enjoyed his tone and pace with the story

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably.

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.

The first part of this book had a lot of promise and got my hopes up, but after the first hour or two, it felt like it was dragging on. There were some great descriptions of zombie executions, in vivid detail, but those scenes seemed to repeat over and over.

INTERESTING AND WELL WORTH A LISTEN!

Would you listen to Zombie Maelstrom again? Why?

I just might, because I like a good zombie tale!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Zombie Maelstrom?

crash landing at LAX...that would be scary even not in a Zombie Apocalyptic situation!

Which scene was your favorite?

I had a lot of faves in this book.... the landing, the unknown after the landing and how Chad Halverson really stepped up to protect and serve!

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

Yes and No...with these kind of books you have to expect tragedy...

Any additional comments?

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

I first want to say, I am surprised this isn't being more well received..The story is interesting and I was fully engaged...I like the plane crash idea and how we have a real hero in Chad Halverson! If you are a fan of this genre...you will like this book...give it a chance, you wont regret it!!!!

Really Enjoyed!

After reading some pretty bad reviews regarding this book, I went into it with no expectations, and you know what, I really enjoyed it!! Shocker ;) Don't let the bad reviews sway you, this was an enjoyable listen!

When a flight has to land with no communication between the plane and LAX, the passengers don't know what to expect. They don't expect a place shrouded in fog and seemingly empty though. They can barely see a few feet in front of themselves, but some of the passengers break off, while some head to the airport to see what's happening. While on their way there, they hear moans and screams, just what is going on?? As they arrive at the place, a person seems to jump from the tower, screaming. Their initial thoughts are terrorists in he building, but what they get is something worse.

Who would have thought that a book based in an airport a lot, would grab my attention so much, yet this one did! The plot was relatively fast paced and quite eerie! Anything taking place in a fog is eerie, but add in an abandoned airport, Zombies and an awful camp, and you have a decent read!

All the characters are well written and developed. I liked Halverson a lot. He is capable, smart and a take no prisoner kind of guy. He does his best for his fellow passengers and tries to keep them all alive! There isn't many books out there that make me despise a character as much as this one did, but despise Leamans I did! The man tried his best to become leader and was so arrogant and a down right despicable man! He seemed to do his best to get on the wrong side of every character!

Anyway, this was a really quick read for me, and I look forward to checking out the rest soon. Give these books a go, you won't regret it!

I really enjoyed the narration done by D.G. Chichester. With the amount of characters in this, he did a great job distinguishing each. I hope he is narrating the rest of the series!

*I received a copy of this for review. This in no way affects my thoughts.*

Substandard Zombie Fare

What would have made Zombie Maelstrom better?

Realistic situations and dialogue.

What didn’t you like about D.G. Chichester’s performance?

The narrator struggled at times with accents and voices.

Any additional comments?

Pretty much the standard zombie plot with the characters painted with a very broad brush. There is the CIA spook, the obligatory gruff military guy, the rich blowhard and the religious nut among others. The characters are so extreme in their portrayal that they seem like cartoons. The main character seems to be willing to take a back seat or be second chair in the story instead of using his knowledge and experience to take the lead. Many of them say and do things that make no sense in the situation they are in. Conveniently available weapons, stupid decisions and unbelievable dialogue make this tough to listen through. Overly described zombies take up way to much time in the book. How is it relevant if a "ghoul" looks haughty? Further, why would someone in this situation risk their life to save someone who threw another person to the zombies to save themselves?
There appear to be sequels, but I don't think I could muster the energy or interest to listen.
The narrator struggles with some of the accents and voices which doesn't help the overall delivery.
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

Its OK

I won a copy of “Zombie Malestrom” from Goodreads. It had been on my to read list for a little while so when I got a copy, I added on the Audible version and gave it a listen. I was a little disappointed in the book overall. The story itself was OK, it standard zombie fare with tons of blood and guts for those of you who love that. The story is left open for future books in the series so you don’t get the whole picture which I a pet peeve of mine. The characters were a bit silly, for the most part they were so rigid in their beliefs and not above to move one bit that they seemed a bit unbelievable. My biggest complaint was the writing felt a bit amateurish. I like a good description but I felt the author over described everything to the point where 1) he seemed to be adding in words for the sake of words and 2) he wasn’t leaving enough up to the imagination. Some examples are:
“navy blue Yankees baseball cap” the Yankees have one of the most if not the most recognizable brand in the world there are few people who need to be told the cap it navy blue
“smashing the glass to smithereens” and “weighed into the Donny Brook” after already telling us there was a fight. These seems a bit overly descriptive and not necessary
The description of what type of tie (Hugo Boss if you were wondering) a zombie is wearing while he’s being run over by a car. Not sure why that really matters or what it adds to the overall story
If those things don’t bother you and you love zombie gore I think this book will be right up your alley.

Moost of the narrator's characters sound the same and he's a bit monotone.

Boring from start to finish

What do you think your next listen will be?

I will listen to another Zombie book hopefully better than this one.

How could the performance have been better?

If the narrator was not so monotone throughout the entire book.

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

I was very disappointed I finished it but it was not very good. Should have listened to my gut and returned it after the first two chapters.

Halverson, Halverson, Halverson...

I really wanted to a like this. However between the overtly dramatic narration and the fact that every sentence mentioned the character's last name at least once, I could not force myself to finish it. I swear if I ever hear 'Halverson' again I'll blow a gasket...

some new and different aspects to add

What would you do if your plane did an emergency landing at LAX in dense fog? What if when you landed everyone was gone? The passengers of this plane were faced with these and many much more gruesome questions after their plane lands at a seemingly deserterede LAX. Passengers start to go missing and people are crashing out of high windows and falling with no screams. What is going on?

The narration for Zombie Maelstrom was done by D.G. Chichester and it was done well. Chichester used different voices for different characters, which was really nice until it was confusing. I know the main characters were Halverson and Tom but there were times I couldn’t tell them apart other than who they were talking to. I’m not sure if this was a problem that just I had, or if others would have the same issue too. The production value is great; I didn’t have any issues with this audiobook — it sounded perfect.

I’ve read many different zombie books, and a lot of them even start out with the main characters not knowing what was going on. Some of them have unsuspecting survivors, while others have brute force military men. This book sort of had both. The passengers were not prepared for this, but one man was… sort of.

I don’t like when I can’t put my finger on why a book falls slightly flat to me. I think in Zombie Maelstrom the issue was just my confusion with the characters. In this confusion I don’t feel like I learned enough back story about some of them I understand that doing backstory makes the book longer and some people just want to jump into the action, but I think a little more could have been done.

The turn towards the end of the story (not trying to give anything away) was probably the best and most thought out part of this book. They could have spent slightly less time trying to figure out what to do, and more time in and around the camp.

The camp’s leader felt like the most explained character in the book, but maybe because he was easily hated. But not as easily hated as the main antagonist, Leamans, who is with the survivors the whole time (seriously I haven’t hated a character in a book that much in a long time). Writing a character who is that much of an a-hole couldn’t have been easy.

Overall, the book felt like it had some new and different aspects to add to the zombie fiction/post-apocalyptic genre. And it had some other aspects that felt very “been there, done that.” I don’t regret listening to this book, just wish it had slightly more uniqueness to it.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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