Xombies-Walter Greatshell

[Donny of the Dead]

Hey all, just picked up a new book today that looks good - Xombies by Walter Greatshell. The front says "28 Days Later meets Lord of the Flies." OK, yeah, I liked it the first time when it was called Blood Crazy by Simon Clark. Anyway, Xombies sounds promising. I'll report once I've read it. I found it at Borders today, and I see that Amazon will start carrying it on August 3.

[hatefuldisplay]

Sounds cool. I can't wait to hear more about it.

[Rickimaru]

I read Blood Crazy that was pretty good. Even though they weren't exactly zombies.

[ummyea]

everyone must read that book Xombies!! and they must write what they think...the author is awesome! it is definately worth buying. everyone must read that book Xombies!! and they must write what they think...the author is awesome!

[Francesco Dellamorte]

everyone must read that book Xombies!! and they must write what they think...the author is awesome! it is definately worth buying. everyone must read that book Xombies!! and they must write what they think...the author is awesome!

I'm gonna do this just because you asked nicely.

-FD

[ummyea]

well, i really want to know what people think of it...so read away and then write away...please. haha

[Francesco Dellamorte]

well, i really want to know what people think of it...so read away and then write away...please. haha

I'll pick it up tomorrow. I promise.

-FD

[Donny of the Dead]

OK, well I just finished reading it. My apologies to the author if he sees this, but I really didn't like it at all. I won't give anything away in case folks want to give it a try, but I'll say this: I found it very promising to begin with, with some very interesting twists on the usual "zombie" story. But it reached a point where it lost my interest, and then just got worse and worse. It got to a point that I felt it was getting silly. The cover said "28 Days Later meets Lord of the Flies," and it really resembles neither. I'll mention only two other things that don't give away the story: a xombie-killing baboon and a Beatles tribute band made up of Pakistanis. Anyway, I don't recommend this book unless you just like to read everything in the genre. Otherwise, re-read Keene's The Rising.

[The_Lord_Humungus]

I bought it on Sunday, and just finished reading it. I really enjoyed this novel. The cause of the zombie outbreak was well thought out, and the plot had me interested from page one. I recommend it.

[daemonfondler]

The book was ok, it didn't really blow me away, i found the book "the rising" to be much more intense. this one has a few suspenceful situations, that if it were done well, would have made the book much more enjoyable. oh hum, just ma .02cents worth.

[StompinCharlie]

Xombie is also a flash cartoon on Newgrounds about a Zombie who gains his memory and starts fighting back against the undead along with a little girl he finds and a zombie dog..and the way he heals himself is embalming fluid and shat. lol, it's pretty good.

[Donny of the Dead]

Definitely, the Xombie flash cartoon is a lot of fun and very well-done. No relation to this book, Xombies. In the book it's "Agent X" which causes the turning, thus Xombies instead of Zombies. And hey, Stompin, nice to see a fellow Granite Stater talkin' zombie here.

[StompinCharlie]

Aye, what part of NH you from ? Feal free to PM me if you want.

[Ravenheart]

I picked it up today and hopefully I'll get started on it this weekend.

[Monkey Mech X]

I bought it last night. Hopefully start soon.

[zombiekilling101]

i bought it 2 dasy ago and i like it so far.

[evilzombie20]

I actually haven't even finished this one yet! I just keep getting confused so I gave up, now I'm re-reading Reign of the Dead by Len Barnhart. That's a pretty good one, I got it off amazon.com I think...no wait Waldenbooks, they ordered it for me. But it's on amazon.com, I got the sequel off of amazon.com.

[2fttaxi]

Just got my copy. Review to follow...

[Francesco Dellamorte]

****spoilers*********spoilers*********spoilers**** **spoilers*******


I just finished this book. It was pretty good. I liked the authors writing style. Very descriptive and he did a good job of illustrating the scenery with words. I have to say it got kinda weird when they got to the MOGUL base and got all the implants and shit. I was kinda thrown off by all that but it came out okay. The ice crabs part was way cool.


-FD

[FatherJack]

I'm reading it now, so far I am not that impressed. There are some good ideas there but a bit more flesh to the story couldn't hurt.
Spoilers:

Spoilers:


Spoilers:

Spoilers:
The combination of 28 days later style zombies, mixed with the indestructible zombies from ROTLD all thrown at plot elements of Virus (Fukkatsu no hi), Ice station zebra, Logan’s Run, and from the way it seems to be heading, Clockwork orange. All sound good but it seems sort of flawed and rushed, like another draft and polish were needed.

And what is with all the Beatles references? :loon:

[Prah]

I'll look into getting this as soon as I've bought and read The Rising and a load of other novels that have sat on my bookcase for a year waiting to be read :doh:

[zombiekilling101]

im beggining to loose steam on this book. I only read like 2 pages a day if that now.. it just got bland to me at about the 15th chapter.

[2fttaxi]

There are some good ideas there but a bit more flesh to the story couldn't hurt.....All sound good but it seems sort of flawed and rushed, like another draft and polish were needed.

I just finished Xombies. FatherJack here hit it right on. Seems like the writer started off with the best intentions and maybe, possibly, got bored with the book halfway through.

The Author is very good at creating suspense and writing dialouge. I felt as if the book where getting a bit silly. The story, at least, has a beginning, middle and end. It starts off great; plenty of zombie action. But, are they really 'zombies'? hmmm. The characters and plot are predictable. I did, however, really like Mr Cowper. He is a retired Navy Officer from Rhode Island. The accent on his voice is great (retahded; bastids), I assume the writer is from New England or spent time there -- he knows too many nuances of our unusual speech patterns (go Sahx! Yaa. Nomahs not hea to roon my summah!)

If you are a hardcore zombie fan and need a zombie fix (and you've read all other zombie novels), you may enjoy this book. I've read other, better zombie novels (ie: The Rising), but hey, if the author creates a sequel I would definately buy it.

'28 days later' meets 'Lord of the flies'? nah. LOTF was a masterpiece in literature. and '28 days' ripped off its entire plot from 'The Day of the Triffids' by John Wyndham.

[Monkey Mech X]

Yep... SEX CRAZED SOLDIERSSS... Without the hungry plants and blind people.

Xombies was just weird. Some of it I liked, like the Submarine and Earl... But the rest was just weird.

This story really reminds me of Ender's Game, except instead of a child genius it's just a genius with a child's body.

[FatherJack]

double post :x

[FatherJack]

I did, however, really like Mr Cowper. He is a retired Navy Officer from Rhode Island. The accent on his voice is great (retahded; bastids), I assume the writer is from New England or spent time there -- he knows too many nuances of our unusual speech patterns (go Sahx! Yaa. Nomahs not hea to roon my summah!)


He was the best character in the book. For some sick reason I kept seeing him as looking like the grandfather from Rug Rats. http://members.aol.com/sallongodds/rugrats.jpg
I don't know why... :loon:

Finished reading it last night....
SPOILERS




I finished it last night, by the time we got to the BIG revelation I was sick of the whole thing. Sick of the pervy rich guys, sick of the ever shifting explination of the damn company, sick of the inconsistant nature of the virus, or whatever the hell it ended up being. I may be crazy, and I may have been loopy from fighting sleep but didn't Lulu EAT a chunk of Hector? Wouldn't that infect her?
And why the hell didn't the stupid bad guys just search her and check the damn necklace? As many times as they tore her damn clothes off or had her "held" you would think one of those morons would have said "Hey lets check this out..." I figured the damn necklace was the key to finding the stupid serum so long before Lulu did it was maddening, to think that none of the super secret guys who make their living off of being sneaky couldn't. It made all those stupid attempts at interrogation seem retarded. The attempted rape, the goofy head implants, the killing of her friends, why not just hook a car battery up to her nipples (Would have fit in with all the other lame ass rape, underage sex innuendo) and torture it out of her?
Speaking of morons how the hell can you live a few miles from town, and NOT know the world has gone crazy? They go to Mr. Cowper's house, then Lulu walks to the party trailer she says she has heard said parties from her cottage. So this is not that far from her or her mother. SO HOW is it she can hear parties but not screams, gunshots etc.?
"Agent-X" went off globally setting packs of crazy women loose all at the same time, How did the agent-x spread to all of them so quickly? How is it this means of mass infection overlooks two women? :x

Sorry to go on such a rant here, but sheesh! :doh:

[zombiekilling101]

Yep... SEX CRAZED SOLDIERSSS... Without the hungry plants and blind people.

Xombies was just weird. Some of it I liked, like the Submarine and Earl... But the rest was just weird.

This story really reminds me of Ender's Game, except instead of a child genius it's just a genius with a child's body.

Enders Games has to be one of my favorite novels. But i dont see the relationship between ender and lulu.. but (shrugg) Ender kicked way more ass than she did anyway.

[Monkey Mech X]

It was really due to bad writing and characters, but Lulu thought a lot like Ender, without a reason, as in she figured things out and knew stuff I don't think a sheltered girl would know...

[zombiekilling101]

hmmm the book has caught my interest once again when they got to the boat.. and its still high.. now i have to go take a dump.. so i will continue reading it.:)

[Donny of the Dead]

MILD SPOILERS
I was the one that started this thread, so I'd like to offer a revised opinion. I didn't care for the book much when I read it, and I skimmed it tonight to refresh myself. I really must conclude that it was pretty bad, and my negative opinion has grown stronger upon further review. Starts off as a pseudo-zombie novel but hops and jumps all over the place. The whole submarine thing got tired very quickly, and once they got to the "base" it got completely silly. Planes, implants, Moguls . . . it turned into a bad 70s sci fi feature. Looking forward to the Rising sequel and Reign of the Dead prequel.

[Dead Man Walking]

I don't know - it seems to me that Xombies kind of announced its bizarro intentions right from the prologue. I thought it was a satirical black comedy, what with the references to Monty Python, Simpsons, etc. Did it work as a strict zombie novel? Maybe not, but I don't think it insults the reader's intelligence.
By the way, the zombification mechanism in the book isn't triggered by eating zombie sushi, it's by suffocation. And the sounds Lulu and her mother heard from the party house were amplified music - presumably a lot louder than screams.

[Roger_Lives]

From what im hearing about this book, I might as well trip on acid and get the same effect

[ummyea]

The accent on his voice is great (retahded; bastids), I assume the writer is from New England or spent time there -- he knows too many nuances of our unusual speech patterns (go Sahx! Yaa. Nomahs not hea to roon my summah!)

he actually is from new england, he lives in rhode island...but he has lived all over the world too

[FatherJack]

The book still fails to hold up.
In the month that they sat alone in their vacation cottage, with little food, no radio or TV they never once went for a walk? Stopped in on the neighbors to try and scam some food or anything? And if the party place was close enough for amplified music to be heard then it was close enough to question why this massive pack of xombies ( :roll: ) never came near them? Never were drawn by any sounds they made or movement around their cottage? Surley they would have been drawn by the lights in the wondows at night? So we are to believe that Lulu and her mom sat alone, with no outside stimulus in the dark, without food, or contact with the outside world? An entire world goes to shit and these two can sit on the side lines of a town overrun with xombies and not notice? :loon:

There seems to be this fad in the Zombie genre of "drop the unsuspecting character(s) into a world already dominated by zombies" trick. 28 days later did it quite well, The walking dead did the same thing but it can be forgiven because that begining triggered some major plot developments later on. Xombies tries the same thing but with lackluster results.

Personally I like to see (or read) about societies fall from the earliest outbreaks to the band of survivors in the blasted out cities.

[MaxKemosabe]

Awful book

5% Xombie (zombie) related
60% tale of a submarine
30% lackluster attempt on social commentary in the Artic
5% Non-logical suddenly appearing character dialouges

If I cared for submarines I would have read damn 2000 leagues under the sea. Post sub-action, plot that was trivial at best. Anyone else notice how often the author seemed to think, "Oy!, I'm really fantastic with different accents (british, boston), and I'm going to prove it to me audiance!," and decided to go with that instead of, hmm, lets say, story or plot.

Your seven dollars would be better spent paying a midget to piss in your face

[Dead Man Walking]

Obviously the book wasn't written for the hardcore zombie fetishist. It IS more a submarine adventure story than the umpteenth rehash of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. The book plays with a lot of genres - not to mention accents. Wasn't that the whole point? God forbid the author should take a chance by not pandering to the genre. It reminded me of the best anime: a Goldilocks-like girl wandering through a procession of weirder and weirder situations, all building to an insane, existential climax.

[zombiekilling101]

finished it last night while i was taking my 4 seperate craps in an hour and a half. damn mcdonalds.

the book killed my favorite character don. Come on don was just doing his job of killing xombies. Stupid lulu breakin his neck.

And the crabs at the end **** man this book blew. The only cool aspect as teh president shooting himself (dont worry i like our government).

started blood crazy.

[UndeadAnthology]

started blood crazy.

Let us know what you think when you're done. I haven't read Xombies but I really liked Blood Crazy. If you like Blood Crazy be sure to read Stranger (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0843950765/permutedpress-20) (also by Simon Clark). Not quite as good but still a great read.

Jacob
http://www.undeadanthology.com

[zombiekilling101]

alright i will prob do that.

[Quinn]

I have to agree,I just got done reading it and found it to be painfully boring and sub par for all of the genres it was supposed to fit. For the length of the book you would hope for some sort of chracter development of which there is none. Everyone who is English, from Boston or Broklyn will hate the horrible attempt at accents. The narrator while not necessarily supposed to likable should not be boring or unitresting. Of which Lulu is all three: unlikable, not very intresting, and is the most plodding verbose character in the book. Speaking of characters, everyone of them is a one dimensonal interchangable caraciture with a small trait that makes them quasi identifiable. The boys are more prominent but still you can just say Shawn likes raves, Hector loves fur and people in it, and Jake is a dork. But even now the only way I remeber them is by flipping back through the book. The adults are even worse and are forgetable. Keene's Rising introduces alot of characters but you still can remeber them and they even if in the book for a chapter or two still make some development and go from point A in who they are to point B (mostly through their actions and dialogue). As far as Blood Crazy and Stranger goes I prefer Blood Crazy a little more but you cant beat zoned out axe killings.
Have a good day

[Quinn]

Sorry about the poor grammar in the last post, trying to finsih 3 grad school papers and am slowly losing ability to write or speak correctly.

[zombiekilling101]

yeah i liked blood crazy alot. tell me more about this stranger.

[UndeadAnthology]

tell me more about this stranger.

From Booklist:
In this nasty little romp through a post-apocalyptic, plague-ridden country, the mere survival of the human species is highly unlikely. The Gantose plague, at first carried by South Americans, makes people terrified of illness and, eventually, insanely violent. Some pockets of the immune and merely isolated remain, fighting the killer "hornets"--those infected with the plague--to survive. Executioner Greg Valdiva, tolerated by the town of Sullivan because he can sense the presence of the disease in visiting strangers, sees lights across the lake in Lewis and leaves Sullivan to investigate. When he returns, the town no longer wants an executioner and, therefore, no longer wants him. With another Sullivan resident and a band of survivors from New York, Valdiva then has to fight tooth-and-nail to survive. These "heroes" are tough and certainly not perfect, but their fight is engrossing. The ending leaves many questions unanswered, but well crafted stories will do that.

Jacob
http://www.undeadanthology.com

[zombiekilling101]

so people go crazy and fight other sane people? is it good? sounds good.

[UndeadAnthology]

so people go crazy and fight other sane people? is it good? sounds good.

Yes, it's good. Not quite as good as Blood Crazy but still good.

Jacob
http://www.undeadanthology.com

[zombiekilling101]

alright good enough for me. i ordered it and should get it in 7 days or its free!

[DEAD-KNIGHT]

I just picked it up myself, sounds sweet, my wife is going to be mad cause i'm going to end up putting aside the book her mom bought me... :roll:

[zombiekilling101]

what book was that?

[DEAD-KNIGHT]

The Black Death, it's about the bubonic plague infesting New York, it's pretty cool.

[zombiekilling101]

is it pretty badass? is it the traditional plauge like in the old days or did the writed put a spin on it?

[DEAD-KNIGHT]

No not really. It's about a rat infestation taking over the greater part of new york, people start killing over by the hundreds, thats as far as I've gotten so far, but i'll get more into and let you know how it is.

[gettowitch]

I read that Black Death book. If it is the one I am thinking of you might not care for it, or you will. As I recall only about a dozen people die as a team of doctors and fbi agents try to find a cure. Humans vs Virus...Humans 1 Virus 0. I also just ordered Xombies off of amazon and now I feel like a chump. Any other recommendations? I like me some end of the world shit. Not as lofty as War Day but not as lame as those
Outlander series. A nice warm Christmas with the family, some egg nog, and the morose obsession with all of it getting blown to shit is what I need this month.

[zombiekilling101]

blood crazy is a good end of the world book. its about everyone above 18 going crazy and killing everyone younger. kids make forts and try to hold them off. pretty cool read.

[DEAD-KNIGHT]

I read that Black Death book. If it is the one I am thinking of you might not care for it, or you will. As I recall only about a dozen people die as a team of doctors and fbi agents try to find a cure. Humans vs Virus...Humans 1 Virus 0. I also just ordered Xombies off of amazon and now I feel like a chump. Any other recommendations? I like me some end of the world shit. Not as lofty as War Day but not as lame as those
Outlander series. A nice warm Christmas with the family, some egg nog, and the morose obsession with all of it getting blown to shit is what I need this month.


I suggest Weave World by CLIVE BARKER, that book will deffinantly quench your thirst.

[zombiekilling101]

whats the scoop on that book dk?

[DEAD-KNIGHT]

whats the scoop on that book dk?


Haven't picked it up again yet... sorry bro, been too busy playing RE4 Demo over and over again... sorry, TO GOOD TO PUT DOWN!

[gettowitch]

I suggest Weave World by CLIVE BARKER, that book will deffinantly quench your thirst.


Yeah read WeaveWorld. And just about anything Barker.

[gettowitch]

blood crazy is a good end of the world book. its about everyone above 18 going crazy and killing everyone younger. kids make forts and try to hold them off. pretty cool read.


sounds good, i'll go amazon it right now.

[zombiekilling101]

whats the barker book about gettowitch?

[gettowitch]

This guy inherits a rug that actually has a whole world weaved into it. They did it because the world was in danger from this creature that was destroying it. Mayhem ensues. Very very very good book.

[DEAD-KNIGHT]

:pray: ghettowitch you are my new best friend you know of BARKER books your making tears coming to my eyes :cry:

[gettowitch]

And I can DANCE!!!

(Starts playing that trippy tune from the Six Flagg's commerical with the creepy old dancing guy)

[gettowitch]

Okay, read ''Xombies'' this last weekend....sigh...don't waste your time.

[zombiekilling101]

Okay, read ''Xombies'' this last weekend....sigh...don't waste your time.

too late:x

[JohnDRobinson]

I just ordered it from Barnes and Noble....I don't know if I should pick it up now.

[zombiekilling101]

I just ordered it from Barnes and Noble....I don't know if I should pick it up now.

well i guess its a good read if you want to read alot of zombie/zombieesque stuff. If it was 6.99 go for it. Anything over that its not worth it.

[Divided Soul]

Yeah I agree.. I have bought crap b4 just because of a zombie reference, now I am a little more descerning

[Divided Soul]

So has any one?

[zombiekilling101]

So has any one?

yes and its a majority decision that it BLOWS!!!!!!!!! there used to be another large thread about this but i guess it was deleted.

anyway, yeah ive read it and its complety retarted to me. So many plot holes and annoyances.

heres some of them that others share with me..

1) ok this outbreak has been going on for awhile, complete anarchy and these two characters dont know anytying about it! come on now, even backwater towns with no tv's no what goes on in the world.. especially big events

2) This book has so many attempts at trying to be somehting its not, what is it a sci-fi novel or a horror!

ok theres 2 probelms.

[skellingtonjr]

I haven't read it either but, every review I have ever read said it was a crap sandwhich. No thanks I'll pass.

[daemonfondler]

I read it as well, don't really have much good to say about it.

There was one part at the end, maybe for about 5 pages, that i thought was really well done, and was quite cool, (i can't say the parts, don't want too ruine the story for anyone willing to give it a shot).

all in all though, the book was :poo:

it's sad to see someone do a bad job with a zombie book, the guy had a unique take zombies, but, it didn't ring well with me, and from what i read here, many other zombie fan's here.

[Divided Soul]

Well thanks guys I guess I will buy something else... I usually like to make up my mind on these matters but when there is such visceral outpouring from ATZ I find its better to move on to the next.... Once again thank you ATZ

[nyteKrawlerr]

/shrug

i picked the book up over the weekend and read it...hadnt seen any of the reviews on it before reading the book. so...

i really did enjoy the book. it wasnt as good as "the rising" but it was a good read imo none the less. i found that there were a few things that could have been better....


---spoiler---


first was mr cowper's accent, i dont mind reading dialogue with accent but his was so thick that it made it annoying to read for the first few chapters...afterwards when he took over the ship and was the cmder for the time being his accent died off and was abit more enjoyable to read.

second, i do agree that its funny that they hadnt heard anything was going on for about a month before venturing to go see mr. cowper or the party trailer.

there was sexual innuendo's but you have to think...with a sub full of guys. its pretty hard to imagine a girl in her situation would not have gotten raped soon.

the who thule/mogul base thing was wierd as hell i agree...but it was interesting. not really so much sci fi as some people say...it seemed more wierd, but i could see with girls too young and women too old that they would use the boys as replacement, look at history...specifically greek/roman times.

and it possible that lulu and her mom would be able to survive the plague. if it was their mensturle that cost them to pick up the disease i could see why not every woman turned at the same exsact time. it seemed that there were the women that turned when they had their mensturle, and women that got it from being suffocated by other xombies.

the part where lulu grabs a piece of hector and suckles it down like a tasty treat was one of the parts that surprised the hell outta me. it was a very unexpected move that it made my jaw drop. as far as believablity i dont know what to think.

i think that after all that lulu had been put through its not imaginable that she accepted the rules of survival and did whatever to stay alive...even if it cost the lives of her friends, not totally intitionally but not accidental or unwillingly. in some of the situations you would think she would have done more to save her boys or mourn more like when hector died.

someone said something about the locket and no one having thought of that, i could understand lulu's predicterment in which she didnt think clearly about the anwser to the puzzle was in her locket. i know if i were in the artic freezing my arse off, the last thing i would be thinking of is some locket..i'd probably forget what my name was! and the intensity of whats going around her at the time might be a factor to consider. since sometimes it easy to overlook the obvious...im not sure about genisus...or whiz kids, but i know i sometimes to do same mistake of overlooking simple answers to questions because i overlooked the obvious and was too busy over analyzing it.

now im not try to defend the arthur or any mistakes in his work, but im just giving the story its fair chance and looking at both sides of the fence to come up with a fair review.

i agree, it could have been better and more thought out...but over all it was worth the 7dollars i spent on it for a good read.

nytekrawlerr

[ptmulder]

I just recently finished reading this book. Im still not sure if i liked it or not yet. The beginning was pretty good, but then i started to get kind of confused and totally lost at the end. Did anyone else read the book, and what did you think of it?

[Devon]

I might go buy it when i go to st. louis

[big john h]

i defended it on the last thread and i'll defend it here. it had the heart in the right place. like bowie ibarra's first book, it had some grammar and spelling errors but the theme and plot were decent. like many have said - it wasn't as good as The Rising - but it's not bad at all.

[welbysr]

I just finished reading it. I was pretty excited at first, but the book did drag down after awhile.

Maybe I'm just a zombie purist, but I get the impression that zombie novel authors feel that they have to make their zombie novel different. That ususally ends up ruining the story. You end up with over the top ideas and the story ends up being plain silly, or just so far removed from zombies that its not really zombie fiction.

I'm sure there are people who prefer this type of story, and that's ok. I didn't like the rising series either (I can't get past the driving and talking zombies), but other do. The difference is, the rising boks were at least well written, Xombies wasn't. To each his own I guess.

[Divided Soul]

Well like many zombie movies (many are bad) but most are good entertainment

[jessidusen]

A good read in my opinion. Still carries a sociologic undertone and has a decent bit of gore. Certainly some of this is highly different from standard zombie fiction but a twist is always welcome. Plus the whole viral outbreak via sub government gone awry is a plausable thing and being that the xombies arent entirely dead it adds a bit more feasabilty to the idea. It certainly isn't the rising but the author is new to zombie writing as this is the only book out right now. I also happen to know there is a sequal in the works. I found it entertaining.