Apocalypse of the Dead

By: Joe McKinney

Narrated by: Todd McLaren

Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

And the dead shall rise... Two hellish years. That's how long it's been since the hurricanes flooded the Gulf Coast, and the dead rose up from the ruins. The cities were quarantined; the infected, contained. Any unlucky survivors were left to fend for themselves. A feast for the dead. And the living shall gather... One boatload of refugees manages to make it out alive - but one passenger carries the virus. Within weeks, the zombie epidemic spreads across the globe.

Now, retired U.S. Marshal Ed Moore must lead a group of strangers to safety, searching for sanctuary from the dead. A last chance for the living. Let the battle begin.

In the North Dakota grasslands, bands of survivors converge upon a single outpost. Run by a self-appointed preacher of fierce conviction - and frightening beliefs - it may be humanity's only hope. But Ed Moore and the others refuse to enter a suicide pact. They'd rather stand and fight in the final battle against the zombies. An apocalypse of the dead.

©2010 Joe McKinney (P)2011 Tantor

Mildly better than Dead City

Is there anything you would change about this book?

More character development?

What do you think your next listen will be?

Not Joe McKinney

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

A much better read of the book than the voice actor for Dead City.

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

No

Good Book

Really enjoyed this book, very well narrated. The only thing that was off, but not bad, was the plot changed away from the main story line of a Zombie book.

Loved it!

Apacolypse of the Dead

Great story. Well written and the characters well developed. My favorite character is Ed Moore the retired US Marshal. Loved how he takes control, protects and leads follow survivors to safety. I was disappointed with Barnes who was a soldier and former Houston police officer. He started out strong and determined to survive but ended weak of character and conviction. I liked that several main characters began from different locations across the US and ended up converging on the grasslands of North Dakota. Plenty of interesting characters from all walks of life. I'll be recommending this book to my friends and family.

Zombie 101 Aim for their heads people!

This is an great book and zombie fans will really enjoy it. Its scary and graphic with lots of action and killing. Great characters!

This is part of a series called Dead World. I've read 3 of them and highly recommend.

Hard to Follow

Any additional comments?

As one of the other people commented this story was very hard to follow. I didn't know who was where or who was doing what. Overall it wasn't bad but I think the abridged version would have been the way to go. It skipped around so much that I didn't care about many of the characters yet all of the sudden I'm learning about the past of these people that really didn't add to the story. Overall not bad but I had to skip a few chapters to get through it.

Too little and too much.

The narration is fine but the story is lacking. like most of his books it reads like a zombie lover's dream, blood, Gore, end of world setting, decline of civilization, all that. However the story is a little harder to like and the characters less so. Some of the choices these characters make almost seem so out of character for the way McKinney sets them up. Lastly, McKinney has so many sub stories going on I got lost among the various narratives. This could be my own fault, of course, but IMO he overstretched himself. I like McKinney, lot of his stuff is good, but this one didn't read right. Too many characters, he tried to stay too busy with this and it hurt the story.

Good Zombie book

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

I would. Ed Moore and Michael Barnes are two of the strongest characters.

What did you like best about this story?

The realism and adventure.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

At the end I was upset because of the Jonestown replication. It was a good book (excluding that).

Any additional comments?

Very good book, scary as well. Had some very strong characters. I liked how the different groups (five in all) adapted and survived through all the chaos. I listened to the story and could envision events unfolding like the story. Michael Barnes was my favorite character at first, but you'll find out why that changed (it's at the end). Ed Harris added another quality and dimension to the story. Strong leader.

The book was adventurous and gripping. I liked that it didn't take place in one location or state (like Texas, from other zombie books). The landscape is throughout America and you listen as different groups of people of very different backgrounds survive in this environment.

Felt like writer rushed the ending

What did you love best about Apocalypse of the Dead?

Porn stars, LSD, Killing Zombies!

What did you like best about this story?

Porn stars, LSD, Killing Zombies!

What about Todd McLaren’s performance did you like?

Very well read

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

End seemed rushed! Built up to what should have been a big final confrontation but ending was very Blahh! Dissapointed me anyway otherwise woulda been 5stars! Just left me with a lot of questions unanswered, and felt as if writer got tired and jut said "Ok all the bad guys die, good guys live happily ever after! The end! When it seemed to be building onwards to a climax that never Came!

TOO MANY CHARACTERS AND STORYLINES

Personally, it was difficult to follow as there are many characters. The opening was good and for awhile it was easy to follow as the characters began to interact. As the story moves along, many new characters enter and old ones die. I needed to take notes to follow. I stopped at chapter 44. After a break I may try again.

If Your Familiar With Jonestown, move along.

What disappointed you about Apocalypse of the Dead?

Halfway through the story, I realized I already knew the ending, since I was very familiar with the Jonestown tragedy in Guyana. Same exact outcome, different delivery system for the sacrifice.

What was most disappointing about Joe McKinney’s story?

Lacked originality. Too similar to Jim Jones cult.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

A lot of his characters sounded the same, but at different parts of the book, so they were easy to follow.