Nicholas Ryan (1)

Gideon, OMG, is evil personified. What is his motive for the havoc he is wreaking? He is brutal. Is it because of what happened to him? Does he blame the world and is going to take out is revenge of it? Whoa, it’s like someone opened the doors of the insane asylum and the inmates are running wild.

And the author…how deep did he dig to come up with these savage scenarios? I am only at 10%. I can see why the world is on the Brink of Extinction if these are the kind of people holding the power, running wild in the streets.

It has been thirty years since they faced off against the zombies. The apocalypse brought them to the Brink of Extinction. Now…to survive the human danger. Man’s true colors are exposed when their lives are on the line. Will they sacrifice for others? Are they out for all they can get for themselves, killing for sport? What happens when the Army can’t hold the line?

Nicholas Ryan has taken a great angle with Brink of Extinction. This is not your usual zombie story. An original, refreshing, down right frightening take on zombie apocalypse and what comes after. It’s hard to not give away some of the elements I feel would be best you find out for yourself.

You need eyes in the back of your head and your head on a swivel, because every step you take could lead towards capture for the slave auction or death.

A man and a boy on a journey that will bring them both to where they are meant to be by the end of the story. The journey is eye opening, brutal, dangerous and live affirming and I loved walking every step with them.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Brink of Extinction by Nicholas Ryan.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com… (mais)

If you're after a fast paced read that offers more than your usual zombie novel does, then Nicholas Ryan’s book, Brink of Extinction, might be just the thing you are looking for. Brink of Extinction is set in America post the zombie apocalypse and aspects of it reminded me of the films Mad Max mixed with The Road.

Ryan’s opening scene will grab your attention. It is not just a fast paced action sequence, it is also brutally violent and it serves to introduce the novel’s arch villain, Gideon Silver. I don’t object to violence in literature, in fact I love a good action novel, however I felt that the length of this scene could have been shortened by a third or half and still have had the same effect. I could predict where this scene was heading, so I was not shocked. However, what served to show Gideon’s depravity ended up becoming gratuitous and the only reason I can think for the length of this scene was to create shock value in some readers. Fortunately, this is the only scene where I felt this way.

The other main characters in the novel are “The Man” and his son, “The Boy”. The choice of leaving these two characters unnamed is an interesting one. For some writers this choice would run the risk of alienating the reader from the characters; often we need a name to help us relate to the character in more depth. Ryan manages to avoid this and the reader becomes quite involved in the lives of these two characters. The choice would seem to reflect the fact that both the man and the boy are in essence lost souls, like so many after this war, or for that matter any war. The father is forcing the boy on a journey, a kind of pilgrimage, with him in the hope that the destination will restore their relationship. It does far more than that. By the end of the book you will understand and fully appreciate the significance of leaving “The Man” unnamed - I thought it was a very nice touch - though maybe I’m sentimental about these things. All I will say is that the man represents so many soldiers. I think that leaving them unnamed adds to the cyclical nature of certain aspects of the story.

The characterisation of Gideon Silver is a shallow one - he is a caricature. We never see beyond the scarred, depraved, violent, uber villain. However, he serves his purpose well within the narrative as he is. The reader’s main focus should be, and is, on the father-son relationship and all that is revealed about them and the society in which they live.

Their journey takes them to the Museum of the Apocalypse. This segment really makes up the guts of the novel. Each section of the museum documents the zombie apocalypse and the war against them. I was worried that these sections would become as overindulgent in gore and gruesome detail as I had felt opening scene did. However, the timing of the shift from one exhibit to the other was well done and Ryan struck a delicate balance here between recounting brutal action in some sections and poignancy in others. Only once did the cynic in me rear its head and cry, "Oh the pathos!"

Zombies aside, aspects of this museum and the emotions it invoked in the characters reminded me of my visits to various war memorials — in particular sections of the Australian War Memorial. So despite its setting, this felt very real.

Of course, the man and the boy's journey has brought them to the attention of Gideon Silver and they have become entangled in his schemes. The novel’s climactic scene is action packed and the conclusion is very satisfying.

There were technical aspects of the writing that I felt needed improving, mainly in the initial sections of the novel and at this point I was doubtful that I would give the book more than a three star rating. However as the story gained momentum these issues dropped by the wayside and I enjoyed some sections so much that that I changed my opinion.

This is a zombie novel so my expectation was that this would be action packed, which it was, but not necessarily much more. Yet, there are many themes touched upon in this novel: the plight of refugees, the physical and emotional cost of war, the nature of sacrifice, duty and honour. In the end I heartily enjoyed this book on levels far deeper than I expected to. If you want a zombie novel that is just that bit more than a shallow action adventure novel then I that I strongly recommend that you read Brink of Extinction.

Four Stars!… (mais)

I have not read World War Z and therefore can not compare it with Zombie War. I've read Mr. Ryan's other zombie series and enjoyed those books, Zombie War is completely different from that earlier series. The first chapters introduces us to the Iranian leaders and their Russian scientists who finally perfect a man-made zombie virus that they plan to let loose in the U.S.. It is spread from person to person within minutes and without an antidote should destroy the entire country within weeks. Thus, the battle began!

Zombie War follows a reporter, John Culver, as he interviews members of the military and government - including the President himself, to record their responses to the virus, and the way our Armed Forces went to war to defend our nation. Many of the combatants - especially higher ranked officers, compared this zombie war to the trench fighting of WWI. As a result, the military had drawn a box on the ground from the Atlantic shoreline of South Carolina to the Gulf shores of Louisiana and designated it the final defensive trench line - hoping to contain the virus and limit the exposure to only the few south eastern states.

The zombie advance had been stopped at the trench line. It's a year later, the interviews telling the story of this war from the viewpoints of military men and women as they fought for their lives to stop the spread and then push it back into Florida where it all began. Mr. Carver pushes the envelope during many of his interviews, sometimes angering the interviewees, to learn the truths of this year-long war. The author shows some redundancy when interviewing others about the same battles, but the different perspectives sometimes uncover truths that were missed earlier.

The war was unique and a first for the U.S. military. Soldiers did not have to dodge artillery rounds, strafing jets, or fire fire from the advancing enemy. Their jobs were simple: destroy an unarmed enemy - former human beings - intent on killing them in hand to hand combat. Artillery and bombs were not effective...killing them required a bullet to the head. Unlike all wars since the beginning of time, this enemy did not stop to regroup, re-arm, retreat, remove bodies from the battlefield, plan their attack, call a truce or surrender - this enemy was relentless and continued their attacks until a bullet stopped them. The Civil War brings to mind a line of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder out in the open - exhibiting a disciplined rate of fire to stop the advancing enemy.

America was extremely vulnerable during this war - Russia and China were sniffing at our heels and ready to take over the country when the time was right. There were no U.S. military assets stationed around the globe - all were pulled back to fight these battles in their own backyards, so it was a free-for-all, and the aggressive countries in Europe, Asia and Middle East expanded their borders without interferrence . As the interviews continue up the ranks, the view of the war and global overviews are seen from a much higher perspective - giving readers a better look at the overall picture and how our military and government reacted.

Highly recommend Zombie War! Great job Mr. Ryan!

John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel… (mais)