Zombie Lake

Still Alive Series, Book One

By: Javan Bonds

Narrated by: S.W. Salzman, Kevin Pierce

Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Mo Collins, the reluctant hero, has sailed around the country on board the replica pirate ship, the Viva Ancora, and now he finds himself only miles from his childhood home. But now the world has gone to hell. Hordes of naked, blue, biting zombies have flooded the now dead Alabama lake town. Mo and his only surviving shipmate, Crow, are surviving. They fish and watch the monsters roam the night; seeking untainted flesh and leaving a disgusting mess in their wake. But when a lone survivor stumbles upon Mo and Crow they gain a new crew member but also find much needed direction. The new comer, Smokes, will change Mo's view of this zombie infested world forever.

As reality mimics fiction, an ever growing cast of crazy characters play out their role carving out an island sanctuary in a plague ridden world. The Expert, The Tech, The Oracle, The Sacrifice, The Old Friend, plus many more... Join us on this wild ride where the fish bite, the Zombies bite…sometimes life bites.

Welcome aboard, friend, to Zombie Lake.

©2016, 2017 Javan Bonds (P)2018 Javan Bonds

I didn't hate it, but I can't recommend it either

Look, based on the foreward I'm certainly amazed to find out that someone who lost much of their sight and a good amount of their hearing can write these books, but the story just isn't really much of a story. Yeah, there's a zombie apocalypse, yes they collect a bunch of people together for survival, yes there's the whole plot that everyone in the book is actually part of a storyline, like they're following a script, but it's too convoluted and unintelligent of a story for me. I read the reviews, so I knew ahead of time generally what I was getting. I took it on because I just wanted something mindless for a week during the election to take my mind off of everything and it looked like it could be a fun distraction.

I'm no book snob, and I don't disavow the originality of some of the story, but basically this book is "Scream" but with zombies instead of a psycho-killer. The book ends like this is the pilot for a series, and perhaps that's how it was designed to be, but it didn't even have a cliffhanger at the end. It just ends in a nondescript and uneventful situation and that's it. Regarding the narrator, either he has the best fake hick/hillbilly accent this side of Tennessee or he was just a poor choice to keep you from wanting to kill the protagonist. His accents for one of the other characters (Smokes) definitely was more enjoyable, but nobody else really stood out beyond that and overall it wasn't helping much to keep me engaged in the story. Did I hate the book? No. Did I say to myself multiple times, "This really isn't that good and doesn't look like it's going to get much better" and consider just returning it a number of times? Yes to both. In the end, I didn't, but I'm still torn as to whether I should have. I've only returned two other books in the last 5-6 years of listening, so it doesn't happen often. This one was only microscopically on the side of not returning it, and I still think perhaps I should have. Wouldn't really recommend this book unless you want to listen to cooter and his stereotypical cast of random characters trudge through a post-zombie apocalypse world and try to follow a pre-destined script they don't even understand.

Can’t wait to see where the series goes from here!

Interesting take on zombies, very funny at times! Doesn’t pick up until the end of the book though.

A very different zombie story

Kirkman on the happypill and a perfect perfect narrator. It plays on the the stereotypical zombie tropes in a delightful way, without diving into macho badassery.

A MUST for any ZA fan!

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

So, I love the zombie apocalypse genre. I especially love when someone has a fresh take on it. This was just one of those gems. It is really funny, yet takes itself serious enough to tell a good story. The characters are dynamic and the narrator does a great job of bringing them to life in your imagination. I really hope the next books get released soon so I can follow these characters as they survive the ZA. Highly recommend if you like this genre.

Great listen

the author took a funny lights pin to this usual Story. The characters were memorable and the book was enjoyable from start to finish.

so funny!!!

this was so enjoyable and a very easy listen from the very beginning!!! not over crazy zombies. really really funny I laughed through the whole thing!!!!

a good addition to the zombie genre

this book give a humorous twist to the zombie genre. it has plenty of action and depth but has underlying comedy to tie the story and charectors together. I highly recommend giving it a listen you won't be disappointed.

Very good listen!

I'm a huge fan of all things zombie, and this is my first title from Javan Bonds. I really liked how this tale was told as if scripted in a movie it definitely added a new twist. The narrative was good even though it seemed a bit robotic. I will definitely be keeping up with Javan's work. Starting book 2 as we speak.

absolutely loved it

excellent post-apocalyptic Tale. the characters just seem to come alive. the exceptional writing makes you want to come back for more and more I highly recommend this series.

funny but gets old

I am glad I listened to this book, I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of it but then found it hard to stay focused on the book. I feel like I just had enough. one of the most enjoyable zombie stories - I am not a fan. the narration was perfect for the story but part of what seemed repetitive and tedious after a while. I encourage you to give it a try as it is something different.