The Savage Dead

By: Joe McKinney

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

It starts in a laboratory. A man-made strain of flesh-eating virus. Created by a power-hungry cartel. Capable of turning victims into brain-dead carnivores. Smuggled aboard a cruise ship that's about to set sail . . .

One by one, the passengers are exposed. A U.S. senator. A young couple. An undercover agent. A beautiful assassin. Some will be infected. Others will survive. But no one will be spared if the outbreak isn't contained and the dead outnumber the living.

Enter Delta Force operative Juan Perez. He's fought the deadliest killers in the darkest hellholes on earth. But he's never seen anything like this-an apocalyptic cargo of pure zombie mayhem heading for the coast. If Perez and his SEAL team can't stop it, America, and quickly the entire population of the world, are finished. The plague years will begin . . .

©2013 Joe Mckinney (P)2013 Tantor

Excellent

I love how the characters had depth! The plot was involved enough that I forgot it was a zombie novel at times. Narration was exceptional!

Very Impressive

I've read Joe McKinney's earlier novels but this is the first I've experienced on Audible and, wow, am I glad I did.

Without going too deep into things, I'll let my review stand on this:

I was 40 minutes into this book when I suddenly realized I hadn't heard either hint or a word about "zombies" but, rather, I seemed to be listening to a book that was more Brad Thor/political action-thriller than anything else. I began to worry that there was a technical glitch and that, while the cover-art within my Audible app said "Savage Dead" perhaps the audio-file I'd downloaded got "switched" with another book on Audible's servers (which, I should state for the record, has never, ever happened). While I'd decided to investigate this once I'd gotten to a computer, I'd also determined that I was enjoying whatever book that I was listening to so much that, despite it possibly being the wrong book, I was going to finish it after I'd gotten the "correct" Savage Dead. I'm partial to those political action books and this one was turning out to be great: great characters, good espionage setup, great action, cranky but likable politician...all the ingredients were there and I was really liking it. Well, long story short: I was wrong. I was, in fact, listening to the correct "Savage Dead" and it was fantastic.

Part political action-thriller and part zombie tale, this one hit all the marks for me. In addition to the story itself, Michael Kramer's performance was great and had me thoroughly engaged.

Joe McKinney continues to impress and if this book is any indication of where his already considerable talents are headed then the future is bright for both him and his fans.

Very good

I can't wait for the next book. Stayed up all night. This audio book was amazing. Keep up the good work.

takes a bit of time to get going

What made the experience of listening to The Savage Dead the most enjoyable?

compelling story, though somewhat cardboard, not-very-well-fleshed-out characters. once onboard the ship, though, things really take off

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Savage Dead?

imagining the mall onboard a state-of-the-art cruise ship flooded with hungry zombies makes you stop and think for a second. yikes.

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

i did. work was very boring that day.

Any additional comments?

the ending felt somewhat rushed, and not wrapped up terribly well. i know i was left with questions.

Please tell me there is a sequel

I wasn't sure that I would like this book. But we all know the author is a solid writer. so I read it and now I cannot wait to see if there's a sequel.

Dr. A

Poor Man’s Zombie or just a poor story

This author showed a lot of potential early in his career, but since he got picked up by a publisher, his books have cratered. The overall plot is generic. The characters are one dimensional stock characters. Narration can’t save this pile of zombie excrement.

I just hope that if this author keeps writing, he will tackle other subjects. His one-trick zombie pony needs to start booking birthday parties. Or put out to pasture.

Man, I really thought he had potential, but his writing is getting worse.

Really slow build-up to a mediocre story

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Die hard fans of the genre.

Would you ever listen to anything by Joe McKinney again?

Only after allot of reviews.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The premise of this story is it's biggest weakness. Who really cares about a US Senator being chased by Zombies?
Allot of the dialog between characters is in Spanish. OK, I get it. The characters are bilingual., but I'm not. (Some day I'll get off my ass and learn a second language.) I found this really annoying after a while.