Zed's World Book Three: No Way Out

By: Rich Baker

Narrated by: Andrew B. Wehrlen

For Kyle Puckett, Earth has become a savage place. As the world continues to decay, the survivors of the viral plague have started choosing sides. With each encounter the stakes - and the body count - continue to rise. With the skies growing darker and the dead pressing in, both sides may soon find out that there is No Way Out.

©2017 Richard M Baker Jr (P)2018 Richard M Baker Jr

Interesting Zombie Story

Jumping into the middle of the series left me lost for a few and I settled in just in time to change points of view. That said, if you don't mind stories that rotate through several points of view, this is an excellent story with a talented narrator.

Strong new entrance to the genre

Book 3 has more depth than 1 or 2, but still stays very true to the zombie apocalypse genre. As with almost all zombie apocalypse stories, the zombie dynamic ends up becoming more of an interesting setting rather than a driving antagonist. As other bad guys emerge, the setting remains interesting, but becomes more of a tactical obstacle than a dominant story driver. As with the previous books in this series, if you are a fan of the genre and don't need some new and fresh twist...this book is a lot of fun!
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Fantastic!

I loved this book. It was provided to me as a free copy but I was not Obligated to leave a review.

The saga continues.

No Way Out is the 3rd book in the Zed's World series, and this book assumes you are familiar with the story because it doesn't really start with a recap of the previous adventures or even really introduce the characters, it just throws you into the action. I'm okay with that. It had been a while since I listened to the previous books but I more or less remembered the story. The book features a pretty good cast and has plenty of fast paced action. There were a few issues however, as it's hard to say who is the 'main characters' of this one because we jump between 3 or 4 groups of characters, with the characters we spent the first 2 hours with not being seen again until near the end. We also happen to witness a certain incident multiple times, each time from a different group's point of view. I don't have a major issue with that per se, but as I said it was hard to say who the main characters were meant to be, who you were supposed to be rooting for, but then I suppose in a way you were probably supposed to be rooting for almost all of them, except for a couple who were clearly 'bad guys'. I don't want to make it sound like this is a deal breaker or anything, all in all these are minor complaints and No Way Out tells a fun story of survival and is a nice addition to the series. I'm interested to see where Mr. Baker takes the story from here.
I received a copy of this audio title in exchange for an unbiased review

Crazy is the new normal, man.

The Zed's World series started well - and just keeps getting better.The characters met in the earlier books, at least those who have survived, continue to grow: real people, all of them, reacting to their fears, hopes and slights the way that normal folks caught in a far from normal situation might well respond. The vast numbers of the undead (an early news bulletin from the government had requested they not be referred to as zombies) vary from fast runners who do not tire to those still mindlessly growling in cars, held by seat belts they don't know how to open, and everything in between. The food is running out for those who managed to stay out of their attention and now survivors have to forage for supplies, risking detection. There might be greater safety in numbers, but there are tensions, too, threatening to upset even the well prepared. And there is real hostility existing from the very beginning between some families.

Well written with excellent characterisation and seen from several points of view, this zombie story is unusual in it's feel of total plausibility. Plenty of action and very visual, there is a fair amount of gore being extracted both from humans and the Zed's.

The narration is by Andrew Wehrlen, reading with just the right amount of flippancy to keep the story both grounded and flowing well. He maintains a fast pace, never becoming over emotional in presentation, allowing the story to tell itself. Each character, too, is individually and appropriately voiced, whether male or female (and there are many). A very good performance.

My thanks to the rights holder for freely gifting me a complimentary copy of No Way Out after I had requested it, via Audiobook Boom. Not usually overly impressed by zombie stories, Zed World has had me gripped since book I. The tensions continue to climb: book four is hugely anticipated by this reader.
Recommended highly for all with a fondness for the zombie genre or any apocalyptic fans. It excels.