Ravage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel (Ravaged World Trilogy Book 2)

This is a book about a zombie apocalypse, but it is also about how humans can't help being humans, even in the face of the end of the world.The story starts with a teaser and you're not quite sure how it plays into the overall novel because it isn't mentioned again until the very end of the book.Then the normal sickness and dying start, people don't believe zombies are real, and the virus spreads out-of-control. A small group of survivors makes its way to an amusement park/zoo at the top of a hill, where they find some semblance of safety and another small group of survivors. That's when the real problems start. Even in the face of overwhelming catastrophe and the end of the world, these survivors just can't seem to figure out how to live together. There are power struggles, as they would occur in the normal world, but in the apocalyptic world, they truly are senseless. Will humans ever figure out how to live together in peace or is the urge for dominance built into genes?The book comes full circle as we find out how and why the virus started, which is truly disturbing.Some of the characters are very well-written, but there are others I couldn't distinguish from one another. There were several times a female character was mentioned, and I had to think, "Now, who is she again?" The zombie attack scenes are also well-written. At first, I thought they were confusing, but then I realized, how else could a zombie attack be? People are fighting for their lives, but the zombies just keep coming, and all it takes is one bite. And the zombies never get tired.This is an good story, but the lack of female character development was distracting and there were also too many coincidences. Then, when I finished the book, I saw it was the first book of a series. Maybe I should have known that beforehand, but I didn't, so I was annoyed. I don't mind the serial nature of books, but I do mind the cost. Yes, Kindle books are inexpensive, but that changes when it turns out you have to buy book after book. I don't know how many books are in this series, but I know I won't be buying them.This is a fairly good book, though.

The world is plunged into chaos by the release of a virus that enrages people and leaves them hungry for flesh. The infection is spread by biting others. After an infected person dies, they reanimate as a zombie. In the first stage, the infected are quick and strong like in 28 days later. After reanimating, they are the slow, traditional zombies like in The Walking Dead.In a short time, almost everyone is infected, but of course there some survivors. (Otherwise, it would be a pretty dull book!) They take shelter at an old café near an amusement park. However, they trigger the burglar alarm while breaking in. By the morning, the zombies have found them. They are about to be overrun, when Anna, a vet taking care of animals at the Ripley Heights zoo, turns on the cable cars and they escape up the mountain.Zombie books are a dime a dozen, but this book is particularly well written, and a very enjoyable read. As with most good stories of this type, the surviving humans are far worse than the zombies. This begins to manifest in disagreements, power struggles and treachery among the survivors.There are a number of typos, which I found annoying.

There's not really much to say as a summary for this story. Nick, a good-natured, regular salesman living in England, finds his life turned upside down when his wife and son are infected and turned into zombies. Naturally, the rest of the country, and, it is implied, the world, is also suffering from the zombie plague, and Nick has to figure out a way to survive--as well as decide who to trust in a world gone zombie-mad.So yeah, as you might be able to surmise from that, not very different from stuff like Dawn of the Dead or most other zombie books and movies. I'll try not to spoil anything, but suffice it to say it's fairly 'by the numbers.' There's the expected moral dillemas about leaving survivors behind and killing those who have been infected, and of course the whole "remaining humans are just as savage as the zombies when civilization collapses!" theme running through the latter half of the book. At the very end we see the true nature of the virus and the evil purpose behind its dispersal, which I presume will play more heavily into the sequel, "Savage."Still, even if it doesn't get stars for originality, I can give a few for competency. The protagonist and the other important characters are well drawn and likable, and there's some tension among the group when they have to take some badass criminals along with them as they try to escape the zombie horde. The action and the gory deaths are all vividly written. There are a handful of grammatical errors in the Kindle edition, which was mildly disappointing given the book's price, but nothing too egregious, like a period missing from the end of "turn violent like everybody else" on page 20. So, overall I'd rate this a satisfactory purchase. Not really something that will stay with you for a long time, but something that certainly can give a few hours of gory fun for the price.