The Dying Days universe has quite an expanse to it, so I'm going to focus on the story line that follows Darlene Bobich.
After much contemplation, I decided to do Dying Days 3 through 5 in one go because there is so much that happens.
Picking up after Dying Days 2, we meet a zombie who has started to move into the next stage. That's right, they're not dying off, they're evolving. They're starting to realize there's more to life (puns!) than shambling around going "braaaains"
Going back to Darlene's group, they're dealing with the aftermath of what happened in St. Augustine. There's only so much that can be done in order to make themselves safe from the impending zombie hoard, but they also have to deal with some of the survivors not dealing or dealing in the extreme. With Darlene and John doing the romantic tension tango.
Back to the evolving zombie, he finds people. He decides to hell with people.
Cutting back to Darlene, she and another survivor take on the zombie house and win. Evolving zombie continues to win in his mission of to hell with people.
The group continues to survive, the evolving zombie branches out from murder into arson and the tango comes to an end.
Evolved zombie finds his way to Darlene's camp and manages to commit more murder and arson....until Darlene introduces herself.....
Soon we meet another evolved zombie, but he's slightly craftier. He is the Lich King.
Zombie men with machine guns (bonus points if you get it!)
Time has moved on, Darlene is pregnant, the undead are still evolving, they want Darlene's baby and the Lich King is creating civilization (running on the Feed Me Seymour platform).
The arson incident from the last story has Darlene and company wandering around and eventually trapped by zombies in an apartment. Rescue comes at the hand of someone Darlene thought she escaped, but they have enough sense to back off and leave Darlene to her devices.
Back in Lich Land, the basics of government is being laid out (breeders have to stick with breeders, everyone else can go ahead and hump the couch) and naturally there are ass hats about. But the rules are simple- don't touch what isn't yours, go forth and prosper, have faith and kill Darlene Bobich.
Speaking of Darlene, she's trying to stay one step ahead of everything. In the midst of everything, she gives birth to the baby the Lich Lord has deemed as the anti-christ, but he wants it just the same. However, everyone wants the baby, but shortly after birth someone from the old camp takes the baby to keep it safe.
In the aftermath of giving birth, getting revenge and losing her child, a giant insult is handed to Darlene when she's carted off to see the Lich Lord.
But the Lich Lord is busy, off wandering around and gathering the lost. Some to be made into food, the others to possibly live in his new society. Want in? Great! Don't want in? Zombie nom!
The Lich Lord is trying to find the solution, but doesn't quite know the problem. John is doing what he can to get to Darlene. Darlene is doing what she can to get her freedom. Everyone inside the new colony are doing what they can to survive. Murder, mayhem, apple pie! Be careful when opening doors though. Always be careful when you open the door.
What does it all come down to? Society is working in it's own way. Evolving zombies are making things interesting for everyone, but human nature is rearing it's ugly head in so many many ways.
Poor Darlene. On the road again. No touchy. For the love of all that is holy, no touchy!
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
The Revenge of the Pumpkins
Lacey Lane provides us with a little nugget of horror about a wholesome activity gone horribly wrong.
It's Halloween and the Smith family is enjoying their usual tradition of carving jack o lanterns. Everyone happily makes their pumpkins, lights them and sets them out on the porch for everyone to enjoy.
And then the whimsical nature of a child's imagination comes to life. Within the hour, murder and arson.
A fun scary read perfect for sharing at your next scary story gathering!
It's Halloween and the Smith family is enjoying their usual tradition of carving jack o lanterns. Everyone happily makes their pumpkins, lights them and sets them out on the porch for everyone to enjoy.
And then the whimsical nature of a child's imagination comes to life. Within the hour, murder and arson.
A fun scary read perfect for sharing at your next scary story gathering!
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Scared Silly
Scared Silly is a collection of short stories from Frank J. Elder that live up to the name- they're scary, but they're also very silly. Horror comedy is truly a lovely thing.
Old Scrote- Zombies can be a very scary thing, but up the horror a bit by having a zombified clown running around. Meet Old Scrote (or Dildo Baggins, depending on who you ask), your walking dick munching nightmare.
Splat- When you're on a deserted road zipping along, you're liable to hit something (get it? no? then google onomatopoeia). The horror in this case does not involve summoning an insurance agent, but you almost wish it did.
GROSSeries- Imagine the zombie apocalypse starting. Now, substitute the zombies with foodstuffs. It might not sound scary, but have you seen some of the stuff that's come into existence lately that's called food?
Death Gets A Life- Imagine for a second that Death took up residence in Florida and managed to finagle a day off. That's right- How Death Got His Groove Back or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Watch Out for Cruise Ships.
Wolfberries- No, not Captain Crunch's take on Fruit Brute (bonus points if you get the reference!). More like organic fruit gone wild. Awooo!
This collection of short stories was some great fun to read. The only real question I was left with at the end of the collection was "Did the artist who made the cover see Killer Klowns from Outer Space?"
Old Scrote- Zombies can be a very scary thing, but up the horror a bit by having a zombified clown running around. Meet Old Scrote (or Dildo Baggins, depending on who you ask), your walking dick munching nightmare.
Splat- When you're on a deserted road zipping along, you're liable to hit something (get it? no? then google onomatopoeia). The horror in this case does not involve summoning an insurance agent, but you almost wish it did.
GROSSeries- Imagine the zombie apocalypse starting. Now, substitute the zombies with foodstuffs. It might not sound scary, but have you seen some of the stuff that's come into existence lately that's called food?
Death Gets A Life- Imagine for a second that Death took up residence in Florida and managed to finagle a day off. That's right- How Death Got His Groove Back or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Watch Out for Cruise Ships.
Wolfberries- No, not Captain Crunch's take on Fruit Brute (bonus points if you get the reference!). More like organic fruit gone wild. Awooo!
This collection of short stories was some great fun to read. The only real question I was left with at the end of the collection was "Did the artist who made the cover see Killer Klowns from Outer Space?"
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Dying Days: Darlene Bobich Part III
The Dying Days universe has quite an expanse to it, so I'm going to focus on the story line that follows Darlene Bobich.
Dying Days 2 finds Darlene and the other survivors she lives with facing down a giant horde of the undead, but the bigger concern is the possibility that it might rain.
In the long run, the rain proves to be a minor issue as the undead have found a way to breach the defenses and work to reach Darlene and her friends. This is when we learn just how much the zombies in this universe differ from all the others- they're evolving.
After the fight, the people Darlene dissuaded make an appearance, floating by their camp. It upsets Darlene, but once she's past it, it's time to alert the nearest settlement on the approaching trouble.
Life inside the settlement is about as expected- some people have slipped into living the new normal, some haven't given up their prior lives and some are surviving as best they can. The warning comes, but in the end means nothing.
Going back to Darlene, she has decided to shut some people up and returns to the shelter she took over in Dying Days. In a classic bad idea move, Darlene attempts to clear the house near her old shelter to see if there is anything of value.
We leave Darlene this time with the settlement under attack, but she's made it there, brought some help and won't be going down without a fight.
Dying Days 2 finds Darlene and the other survivors she lives with facing down a giant horde of the undead, but the bigger concern is the possibility that it might rain.
In the long run, the rain proves to be a minor issue as the undead have found a way to breach the defenses and work to reach Darlene and her friends. This is when we learn just how much the zombies in this universe differ from all the others- they're evolving.
After the fight, the people Darlene dissuaded make an appearance, floating by their camp. It upsets Darlene, but once she's past it, it's time to alert the nearest settlement on the approaching trouble.
Life inside the settlement is about as expected- some people have slipped into living the new normal, some haven't given up their prior lives and some are surviving as best they can. The warning comes, but in the end means nothing.
Going back to Darlene, she has decided to shut some people up and returns to the shelter she took over in Dying Days. In a classic bad idea move, Darlene attempts to clear the house near her old shelter to see if there is anything of value.
We leave Darlene this time with the settlement under attack, but she's made it there, brought some help and won't be going down without a fight.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Dying Days: Darlene Bobich Part II
The Dying Days universe has quite an expanse to it, so I'm going to focus on the story line that follows Darlene Bobich.
We pick things with Darlene in Dying Days, although we open on Darlene's usual bad luck with the surviving members of the human race. As we've grown accustom to seeing, Darlene ditches her bad luck and is soon back on her trek to find survivors in Florida.
Darlene manages to find shelter, stages a mini coup and takes over. She also finds a house nearby, but it's not a good idea. Yet. Darlene does manage to settle into a routine for a little while and finds herself missing the days when the zombies were just something on TV and not the current nightmare she's being subjected to.
In the midst of being normal, Darlene hears a plane and decides to abandon her shelter for the chance of being around normal people. She loses sight of the plane, finds some zombie friends and loses consciousness.
When she comes to, she finds herself in a bed. After some initial confusion, she learns that she is in a human settlement, currently zombie free. They're surviving better than others using stilt homes for shelter and making supply trades with a neighboring safe haven. Darlene decides it's better than the alternative and elects to stay. This time she decides to try living with other people, rather than staging a mini coup.
In getting to know the others, Darlene learns there are areas around the country that are fighting back against the undead and are winning, but this is all based on the information they receive from the settlement they trade with.
Time passes and Darlene is learning other ways to kill zombies and survive with the living, meeting plenty of interesting characters along the way.
Soon some people from the past appear and that's where we leave Darlene for now.
We pick things with Darlene in Dying Days, although we open on Darlene's usual bad luck with the surviving members of the human race. As we've grown accustom to seeing, Darlene ditches her bad luck and is soon back on her trek to find survivors in Florida.
Darlene manages to find shelter, stages a mini coup and takes over. She also finds a house nearby, but it's not a good idea. Yet. Darlene does manage to settle into a routine for a little while and finds herself missing the days when the zombies were just something on TV and not the current nightmare she's being subjected to.
In the midst of being normal, Darlene hears a plane and decides to abandon her shelter for the chance of being around normal people. She loses sight of the plane, finds some zombie friends and loses consciousness.
When she comes to, she finds herself in a bed. After some initial confusion, she learns that she is in a human settlement, currently zombie free. They're surviving better than others using stilt homes for shelter and making supply trades with a neighboring safe haven. Darlene decides it's better than the alternative and elects to stay. This time she decides to try living with other people, rather than staging a mini coup.
In getting to know the others, Darlene learns there are areas around the country that are fighting back against the undead and are winning, but this is all based on the information they receive from the settlement they trade with.
Time passes and Darlene is learning other ways to kill zombies and survive with the living, meeting plenty of interesting characters along the way.
Soon some people from the past appear and that's where we leave Darlene for now.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Dying Days: Darlene Bobich Part I
The Dying Days universe has quite an expanse to it, so I'm going to focus on the story line that follows Darlene Bobich.
The beginning of Darlene's journey begins in Darlene Bobich: Zombie Killer. When we meet her, she's living in Maine and she's been forced to kill her father, who had gone zombie. Sadly, she had to do the deed with the gun that her father had given her and taught her to shoot with.
Once Darlene comes to realize the world has gone to hell in a handbasket, where she lives is too far gone and she sets out to escape the town she had been living in. The neighbors prove to be no help, but only because "NOM!" has set in.
Darlene finds herself at the local mall in search of a quieter weapon, news and other supplies. She does meet with some former co-workers and manages to get a small piece of normal until zombies appear.
After a couple more duds at a stadium and a store where the employee is set on committing arson, Darlene finds herself in Buffalo, NY freezing her butt off. Soon she has more to worry about when she comes across some not so nice people set on making her stay. It takes some time, but Darlene manages to dissuade them of the notion of keeping her around and she's back on the road again.
Soon Darlene has a road companion, but it's short lived and she's stranded in Connecticut. After a side adventure with some school children, we find Darlene in a group of survivors pulling guard duty in a convoy. This too becomes short lived and Darlene is left fending for herself in a library. She does have a companion while at the library, but an accident one night finds Darlene back on the road again.
The book closes with Darlene still on the road, headed to The Sunshine State.
The beginning of Darlene's journey begins in Darlene Bobich: Zombie Killer. When we meet her, she's living in Maine and she's been forced to kill her father, who had gone zombie. Sadly, she had to do the deed with the gun that her father had given her and taught her to shoot with.
Once Darlene comes to realize the world has gone to hell in a handbasket, where she lives is too far gone and she sets out to escape the town she had been living in. The neighbors prove to be no help, but only because "NOM!" has set in.
Darlene finds herself at the local mall in search of a quieter weapon, news and other supplies. She does meet with some former co-workers and manages to get a small piece of normal until zombies appear.
After a couple more duds at a stadium and a store where the employee is set on committing arson, Darlene finds herself in Buffalo, NY freezing her butt off. Soon she has more to worry about when she comes across some not so nice people set on making her stay. It takes some time, but Darlene manages to dissuade them of the notion of keeping her around and she's back on the road again.
Soon Darlene has a road companion, but it's short lived and she's stranded in Connecticut. After a side adventure with some school children, we find Darlene in a group of survivors pulling guard duty in a convoy. This too becomes short lived and Darlene is left fending for herself in a library. She does have a companion while at the library, but an accident one night finds Darlene back on the road again.
The book closes with Darlene still on the road, headed to The Sunshine State.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Audiobooks
Ok, so I'm pretty new to the audio book thing.
I downloaded the Audible app and have listened to a few books on it, namely
State of Horror: Illinois (oh you know that was on the list)
The Ables (awesomeness upon awesomeness with a sprinkle of awesome)
The Nerdist Way (I'm still convinced that the author consumed a ton of red bull while reading the book).
So why audio books? Well it's a nice portable way to get a book fix in at work, in the car, being dragged all over the neighborhood by your pet and so on.
The only drawback I've found is if the person reading doesn't have a good pace, it gets annoying.
So I'm enjoying it so far and will see where my reading adventures take me.
I downloaded the Audible app and have listened to a few books on it, namely
State of Horror: Illinois (oh you know that was on the list)
The Ables (awesomeness upon awesomeness with a sprinkle of awesome)
The Nerdist Way (I'm still convinced that the author consumed a ton of red bull while reading the book).
So why audio books? Well it's a nice portable way to get a book fix in at work, in the car, being dragged all over the neighborhood by your pet and so on.
The only drawback I've found is if the person reading doesn't have a good pace, it gets annoying.
So I'm enjoying it so far and will see where my reading adventures take me.
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