Thursday, 22 October 2020

The Best Zombie Books #2


ZOMBIES! You can never have too many in your life unless they are chasing you for your brains of course...Anyway, here is my updated list of great zombie books I've read and series that I've started. 

 1) Keith RA DeCandido-Resident Evil Genesis
This is the novel based on the brilliant first film in the series and it kept true to the story once the SWAT team arrive at the mansion, which I liked. But I loved the fact that it also added in what we also see as brief flashbacks-Alice plotting with Lisa to bring down the company, the relationship between Alice and Spence, and also the fact that it was Matt who had the idea to put Lisa inside. It gave good back story to our characters and I liked that their story was fleshed out a bit. Good zombie action. 4 stars.
2) Keith C Blackmore-Mountain Man
Gus in the anti-hero-overweight, alcoholic, talks to bottle of spirits, but he is funny and the zombie action is constant and exciting as he goes on frequent supply runs back into town. If you want to try Gus free, grab the prequel story The Hospital, which I got free on Amazon.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

3) JT Sawyer-First Wave
Special Forces veteran Travis is on a nice relaxing canyon rafting trip when his group suddenly find themselves in a zombie outbreak. Sticking together, they must evade zombies, hostile humans and dangerous criminals swarming over the border. I like these group survival books but the story is much more complex and exciting than just hiding from zombies.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

4) Jason Kristopher-The Dying Of The Light Jason Kristopher
Teams of specially trained zombie hunters wait on military bases to be sent to mini outbreaks to stop them spreading. But as the outbreaks increase in size and frequency, it becomes clear that the big apocalypse could be coming and they might not be able to stop it. It was great to get the POV of those fighting the zombies. Tension, action and great characters!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

5) Shannon Mayer-Sundered
The miracle cure for weight loss, infertility etc is here and everyone wants it-but those who take it become cannibal monsters who target the uninfected. Mara and Seb must fortify their home and find a way to survive. This one was more about the characters and less about the zombie like creatures ripping people apart. Those who like 'lighter' zombie fiction will like this.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

 6) Steven Jenkins-Burn the Dead
Rob burns zombies in a morgue for a living but his world turns upside down when his wife is one of them. Now he faces breaking into a quarantine zone to find his missing son Sammy. I like that Rob is a normal guy who gets tired and makes mistakes as you can really relate to him. This was an enjoyable read!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

7) Dirk Patton-Voodoo Plague
John is in Atlanta when terrorists attack USA with nerve gas that turns people into zombies. Now he has a dangerous journey back to Arizona to find his wife. This was a great zombie road movie style book with zombies, rednecks, human filth and military men to encounter. It was a fast paced zombie thriller.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

8) Eva Gordon-Apocalyptic Moon
A witch and a werewolf are trapped in a mad scientists lab while a zombie apocalypse occurs and they must work together to escape. This was a bit different, having the elements of an untrained novice witch, an alpha wolf and the zombies. It was a decent read. Part zombie thriller part paranormal romance.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

9) Carrie Ryan-The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Mary is safe behind fences that keep the dead out but she can't help wondering if there is something more out there other than zombies. When the fence is breached she and her friends have to take their chances in a world they know nothing about. So excited that they have confirmed the film for this book at last! I'm planning a reread to refresh my memory so my rating may change as it might be too slow for me now. 3 stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

10) MR Carey-The Girl with all the Gifts
Melanie is very special and her class is not just in the classroom to learn-they are to be studied. But when the zombies hordes outside the fence of the army base break through, those who were enemies have to work together to survive. This was a totally different and fascinating look at zombies and what scientists have to do to find a cure.
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The Best Vampire Books #1


Vampires have been a huge part of horror for years and here are a list of books with vampires of all kinds! Please note, these are stand-alone or first in a series. I liked all of them when I read them, giving them 3 stars and above. please note I may not have finished the series or DNFed it for several reasons. This list is to give you a look at some of the vampire options out there and a link to multiple reviews of them so you can choose for yourself.

1) Helen Harper-Dire Straits (Bo Blackman #1)
Bo may be a rookie P.I but even she senses something wrong when she finds herself in a room with a seriously injured demon she was sent to arrest and armed police about to arrive. Getting her target to safety is one thing, working out who tried to kill him and who wanted to frame her for murder is another. Is it someone she worked with at the agency? Or someone connected to her grandfather's past? And why are the Vampire houses suddenly so keen to recruit her?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22787410-dire-straits 

2) Rachel Caine-Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires #1)
Claire makes the mistake of getting on the wrong side of superbitch Monica and her friends but even she doesn't expect to be almost killed by them. Desperate, she applies to live off campus in the Glass House, owned by Michael and lodging his friends Eve and Shane. Now she learns the truth about Morganville, run by vampires and those who serve them and once you enter town you cannot leave. If you are not protected by a vampire or their personal property, you are on the dinner menu as the sun goes down. Claire is going to discover that Monica is the least of her problems...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6667618-glass-houses 

3) Jennifer Armintrout-The Turning (Blood Ties #1)
Carrie is a doctor who is attacked by a vampire in the morgue. When she starts to suspect her condition, her research leads her to an occult book shop run by a vampire called Nathan who offers to be her guide and help her adjust. Carrie however finds herself drawn to her evil sire Cyrus for answers but once they make contact he is not willing to let her go and Nathan must risk his life to save her.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/504698.The_Turning 

4) DD Barant-Dying Bites (Bloodhound Files #1)
Jace Valchek is an FBI profiler with a proven track record for hunting psychopaths. When a possible mentally ill human starts killing supernatural beings in their world, vampire NSA head David Cassius takes Jace from her world to come to his and solve the case. If she fails, she may never see her own world again. But the human she seeks offers to be her ally instead-does she ally with a fellow human to overthrow the government who brought her here by force and cause humans to live in fear, or does she betray her rebelling species instead?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6295913-dying-bites 

5) Skyla Dawn Cameron-Bloodlines (Demons Of Oblivion #1)
Zara is a kickass vampire who is making a living as a thief and assassin. Her best friend hires her to kill a warlock and his son during a party at their house but when it goes pear shaped, Zara realises she is in the middle of something bigger where magical people are being killed and vampires kidnapped.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11364186-bloodlines 

6) Blake Crouch/Jack Kilborn/Jeff Strand/F Paul Wilson-Draculas
Mortimor is a rich man who is dying of cancer and has an extreme idea to cure it. He purchases a vampire skull with horrific fangs and stabs himself in the neck with it, infecting himself. His collapse is immediate and his nurse Jenny and assistant Shanna have to get him to the hospital where he swiftly dies. But Mortimor is going to come back very quickly and is very hungry and eager to infect as many people as he can. Chaos and death are about to reign in the hospital as the uninfected try to escape or hide and the vampire hordes hunt them down.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9378084-draculas 

7) Sierra Dean-Something Secret This Way Comes (Secret McQueen #1)
Secret McQueen is half vampire half werewolf and is a rogue vampire bounty hunter, given her targets by the Vampire Council. Secret saves a woman from a vampire attacks and is shocked by the knowledge that the vampire's sire is the one who nearly killed her-master vampire Peyton. A spate of 'animal attacks' shows that Peyton is starting to turn an army of vampires but Secret is told to bring him in alive. 
 
8) LD Goffigan-The Beast Of London (Mina Murray #1)
Mina Murray once lived an adventurous life, but after a tragedy in the forests of Transylvania, she left it all behind. Now she has settled into a quiet routine as a schoolteacher in London, engaged to the respectable solicitor Jonathan Harker, attempting to fit into the stuffy upper class London society to which he belongs. Her dark past comes careening into her present when Jonathan is abducted by a group of vampires from a society ball. Determined to rescue him, she teams up with her former paramour Abraham Van Helsing and his colleague, Scotland Yard Inspector John Seward. As they pursue Jonathan’s abductors from England to the Low Countries and beyond, Mina realizes that Jonathan’s abduction is tied to a larger threat against humanity…
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34615862-the-beast-of-london 

9) Seth Grahame-Smith-Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years. Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7108001-abraham-lincoln 

10) Laurell K Hamilton-Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter #1)
Anita Blake is small, dark, and dangerous. Her turf is the city of St. Louis. Her job: re-animating the dead and killing the undead who take things too far. But when the city’s most powerful vampire asks her to solve a series of vicious slayings, Anita must confront her greatest fear—her undeniable attraction to master vampire Jean-Claude, one of the creatures she is sworn to destroy... 
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Wednesday, 21 October 2020

Tackling The TBR

 

 
In December 2018 I launched Tackling The TBR, a challenge to reduce the ever extending TBR pile and 2019 was pretty successful in that regard. In 2020 I intended to make a big effort to reduce my TBR by buying less, getting stuff read and getting rid of the things that I just don't want to read from my bookshelves and my ereaders Maurice and Myrnin! However the darn Coronavirus Pandemic has put the skids under all my plans and I had to suspend the challenge. I've now decided to bring it back in a bid to kickstart my TBR reduction as nothing else has been working.
 
The TBR total shown is the total number of books I own but have not read yet-wishlist books are NOT in my TBR! Sometimes there will be a difference between the books read and new total-if I read a book not on the TBR it counts for books read for the week but not for this challenge.

BOOKS IN
-Books in refers to bought, downloaded or gifted books being added to the TBR list. 

BOOKS OUT
-Books read refers to books read that were ON the TBR and DNFed is obvious. 
-Deleted from the TBR are books I lost interest in reading, or sequels to DNFed books I no longer want to read and have been removed without starting to read them. These three categories added together are my books 'out'.

I'm posting my progress on the 7th, 14th, 21st and final day of the month as before, even if there is no progress to report and anyone else is welcome to join in. No rules, set up your posts how you want and when you want, just reduce the pile! And each week I'll add my new week to the end of the post so I can track how the whole month went.

October 1st-7th   
TBR Start Total: 1538

BOOKS IN:
New Books In: 1

BOOKS OUT:
Books Read: 0
Books DNF: 0
Others Deleted From TBR: 0

Target Total: 1500

New Total: 1539

Sorry I'm a couple of days late with this one. My brain has been all over the place this week! One new addition but it's a 29 page prequel and I intend to read it tonight. No more excuses, I need to start reading this week and get back in my groove no matter how tired I am.
********************
October 8th-14th
TBR Start Total: 1539
 
BOOKS IN:
New Books In: 8
 
Books Out:
Books Read: 2
Books DNF: 0
Others Deleted From TBR: 0
 
Target Total: 1500
 
New Total: 1545
 
I found MORE that I hadn't put on Goodreads. It's depressing. On the bright side I did read a couple of books which is better than nothing I guess. Still haven't read any horror and half the month is gone. Grr. Well, maybe next week!
******************** 
October 15th-21st
TBR Start Total: 1545
 
BOOKS IN:
New Books In: 0
 
Books Out:
Books Read: 3
Books DNF: 0
Others Deleted From TBR: 0
 
Target Total: 1500
 
New Total: 1542
Going down slowly but three big non fiction books is a pretty good week!

 

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Tuesday, 20 October 2020

The Best Zombie Books #1


ZOMBIES! You can never have too many in your life unless they are chasing you for your brains of course...Anyway, here is my updated list of great zombie books I've read and series that I've started. All books are 3 stars and above, and I liked them.
 
1) ZA Recht-Plague of the Dead
This was one of the best zombie or horror books that I ever picked up. We are following a couple of groups of survivors right through the zombie apocalypse-people that you actually care about. The tension is high at all times, You never know what to expect as our people go from one crisis to another. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and I gave it 5 stars.

2) VM Zito-The Return Man
Henry is one of the only people alive in the zombie wasteland, hired to find people and lay them to rest. Now the government are forcing him to look for a doctor in an overrun prison, a suicide mission. This had a ton of tension and zombie action and a human story of Henry looking to put his wife to rest if he finds her during the mission. Great read! 5 stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13038001-return-man

3) Melanie Karsak-The Harvesting
A zombie outbreak in her old hometown forces Layla to lead people into saving the town from the undead. Sound familiar? Oh but this book is totally different with a plot twist that will take the reader by surprise. We have the paranormal zombie element, a mystical spirit side story, Layla confronting her ex lover who broke her heart and a bone chilling surprise that I didn't expect. Really enjoyed this! 4 stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22020894-the-harvesting

4) JL Bourne-Day by Day Armageddon
A military man goes AWOL with a neighbour to escape the zombies, picking up other survivors en route. This was written in diary form which I don't normally like but I enjoyed this. I liked the characters, it was fast paced and there were encounters with zombies and human psychos to enjoy! And there is a cute greyhound...What more can you ask for? This was another 5 star read.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6667772-day-by-day-armageddon

5) Rhiannon Frater-The First Days
Two women are thrown together as the zombie outbreak begins and have to rely on each other to survive a scary roadtrip as they seek sanctuary. There are exciting zombie moments, well developed characters and we also explore how being in a small confined survivor community affects a range of different people. The book is well written and I liked it in spite of a whiny MC! I gave this 4 stars and the rest of the trilogy is even better!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9648068-the-first-days  

6) Bobby Adair-Slow Burn
What happens to you when you are infected by a zombie bite but haven't turned yet and don't know when or if you will? You are of less interest to the zombies which might improve your chances but the other survivors don't trust you and the government want to either kill you or use you for experiements...This was a great twist on the usual zombie apocalypse story and the anti-heroes are interesting characters. This is 4/5 stars too.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18243819-slow-burn

7) Madeleine Roux-Allison Hewitt is Trapped
Allison and her friends are trapped at work when the outbreak begins and the only thing that keeps her sane is planning her escape and blogging her experience to other survivors online. I was surprised that I liked this one but there was action, zombies, great characters and a few different things like a women's religious cult that are just as dangerous as the zombies. I actually liked the blog entries which includes the comments from other survivors. It was well written and an enjoyable zombie romp! 3.5/4 stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11254148-allison-hewitt-is-trapped 

8) David P Forsyth-Voyage of the Dead
This was a bit more of a fun zombie romp. A lotto winner with a huge cruise ship full of food, weapons and fun toys like speedboats, becomes a haven for survivors as the zombies attack. Launching missions onshore to save friends and family are their priority which leads to some interesting zombie action. I found it to be a fun read if you put aside the convenience of Scott having every toy needed to do what he wants. Another 5 star read!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13450189-voyage-of-the-dead 
 
9) Rachel Aukes-100 Days In Deadland
In one day, the world succumbed to a pestilence that decimated the living. In its place rose a new species: vicious, gruesome, wandering monsters with an insatiable hunger for the living. There is no government, no shelter. Still in her twenties, Cash has watched her friends die, only to walk again. An office worker with few survival skills, she joins up with Clutch, a grizzled Army veteran with PTSD. Together, they flee the city and struggle through the nine circles of hell, with nothing but Clutch’s military experience and Cash’s determination to live. As they fight to survive in the zombie inferno, they quickly discover that nowhere is safe from the undead… or the living. 
 
10) Robert Barnard-Hour 23
In the suburb of East Violet, New York, something horrible has happened. A virus is on the loose, leaving nothing but death and destruction in its wake. Those who are infected transform into bloodthirsty monsters. Those who are spared are left to fend for their lives in a nightmarish hellscape. For the residents of East Violet, survival may be possible, should they be able to endure until HOUR 23.  
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Top Ten Tuesday-Ten Horror Books With Dangerous Trips #3

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  http://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/

NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account. 

Since it's October, I'll go with a horror theme and ten books I want to read that feature dangerous trips, part 3!

1) Mark Lukens-Ancient Enemy
Seven hundred years ago the Anasazi people built massive cities in what is now the southwestern United States ... and then they vanished. Stella, an archaeologist specializing in Anasazi culture, and David, a mysterious Navajo boy, are on the run from something terrifying. As they flee up into the snowy mountains of Colorado they are carjacked by criminals escaping a botched bank robbery. Caught in a blizzard, they must take refuge in what they believe is an abandoned cabin. It's at this cabin that they will face horrors beyond their imagination.
 
2) Ronald Malfi-Snow
Todd Curry wants nothing more than to spend Christmas with his son. But when a brutal snowstorm cancels his flight from Chicago to Des Moines, Todd and a few other stranded passengers decide to rent a Jeep and make the trip on their own. During the drive, they pick up a man wandering through the snow, who claims to be searching for his lost daughter. He is disoriented and his story seems peculiar. Strangest of all are the mysterious slashes cut into the back of the man’s coat, straight down to the flesh…When they arrive at the nearest town, it appears deserted. Windows dark, car abandoned, fired burning unattended. But Todd and the rest of the travelers soon learn the town is far from deserted, and that they are being watched…
 
3) Robert Masello-The Night Crossing
It begins among the Carpathian peaks, when an intrepid explorer discovers a mysterious golden box. She brings it back with her to the foggy streets of Victorian London, unaware of its dangerous power…or that an evil beyond imagining has already taken root in the city. Stoker, a successful theater manager but frustrated writer, is drawn into a deadly web spun by the wealthy founders of a mission house for the poor. Far from a safe haven, the mission harbors a dark and terrifying secret. To save the souls of thousands, Stoker—aided by the explorer and a match girl grieving the loss of her child—must pursue an enemy as ancient as the Saharan sands where it originated. Their journey will take them through the city’s overgrown graveyards and rat-infested tunnels and even onto the maiden voyage of the world’s first “unsinkable” ship…
 
4) Michael McBride-Burial Ground
When the body of Hunter Gearhardt washes up on the banks of a seasonal river outside of Pomacochas, Peru, with only samples of vegetation, a handful of feathers, two black- and gray-streaked rocks, and a golden headdress of indeterminate origin in his possession, his grieving father launches an expedition to determine how his son died. The party uses these clues to divine Hunter’s route into the jungle, where they find a surviving offshoot of a primitive tribe, long thought to be extinct, and something far more sinister, something that’s been able to avoid discovery for eons for one simple reason: No one leaves the rainforest alive.
 
5) Sean McDonough-The Terror At Turtleshell Mountain
Turtleshell Mountain is supposed to be the Most Joyous Place on Earth. That’s what Tess Cameron is counting on when she invites all of her friends there for the weekend. Tess has a secret, a good secret, and she can’t think of any better place to share it with the people she loves most. But Turtleshell Mountain has its own secrets. Something has awakened inside of the park. Something scarier than any ride. It won’t be long before Tess and her friends are the only people left alive in Turtleshell Mountain…And that’s when the nightmare will really begin.
 
6) Edward J McFadden III-Primeval Valley
Reserve is a secluded enclave high in the Rocky Mountains where folks do their best to live quiet lives away from the chaos of civilization. The town’s peace is shattered when a young boy is taken by a strange creature, and a distraught father goes on a desperate hunt only to uncover a valley that shouldn’t exist. A world where dinosaurs roam hunting prey. A world better left hidden.
 
7) Chris McInally-The Valley Of Tooth And Claw
A team of scientists, with a squad of battle-hardened mercenaries as security, travel deep into the Amazon Rainforest on a perilous expedition. In the remotest parts of the jungle it doesn’t take long for events to spiral out of control and when the expedition is ambushed they find themselves trapped in the heart of an inhospitable lost valley. To survive, the team will have to battle not only the harsh environment but some of prehistory’s greatest and deadliest predators. Welcome to the Valley of Tooth & Claw.
 
8) William Meikle-Operation Amazon (S-Squad #4)
The members of S-Squad are looking for a break from their run of cold climate travails. So when a seemingly simple mission in Amazonia comes their way, they are looking forward to some welcome warmth. What they get is oppresive heat, biting insects, and a dredging operation on the river with a snake problem. A big snake problem. Soon they are in a fight for survival. The old snake gods of the river know the waterways much better than our Scottish squaddies. Are their wits, and bonds of comradeship enough to see them through?
 
9) James Melzer-Crazy Eights
As one of the nation’s leading cryptozoologists, Emily Nite is used to investigating the strange and unusual. An expert in all things extraordinary, she’s approached to lead the formation of a new team into the West Virginia wilderness to evaluate reports of a giant spider, but her quest for answers leads her to the discovery of an eight-legged monstrosity no one could have prepared for. Existing for eons beneath our earth, these aren’t your garden variety spiders. They’re bloodthirsty monsters that will rip apart anything—and anyone—in their path, and while a town fights to survive Emily and her team will have to do everything they can to beat back the terror before there’s a new species at the top of the food chain!
 
10) Jeff Menapace-Bad Games
The Lambert Family is heading to Crescent Lake, a rural cabin community in western Pennsylvania, for an idyllic weekend getaway. Some fishing, some barbecue, some games...The Fannelli brothers are heading to Crescent Lake too. Some stalking, some kidnapping, some murder, definitely some games...though not necessarily the type of games the Lamberts had in mind. But it doesn't matter. The Lamberts are going to play whether they like it or not.
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