Heart of the Machine

I’ve been reading a HUGE amount of zombie fiction over the last six months. I go through genre phases every now and then. Just to give a quick overview I thought I would list what I have read so far and rate it on a 1 (worst) to 5 (best) scale with small amounts of commentary here and there.

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Brian Keene
The Rising (3)
and
City of the Dead (4)

Serious downer of an ending. Fun read though with a different spin on the zombies

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Joe McKinney
Dead City (4)

If 24 had zombies it would be this book.

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David Wellington
Monster Nation (4)
and
Monster Island (5)

Monster Island is the one of the best zombie novels I’ve read so far, hands down.

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Bowie Ibarra and Travis Adkins
Down the Road (3)
and
Down the Road: On the Last Day (3)

Eh, it was something to read.

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J.L. Bourne
Day by Day Armageddon (3)

Written journal style. The guy had obviously read World War Z.

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Max Brooks
The Zombie Survival Guide [4)
World War Z (5)

World War Z is a must read for anybody who has enjoyed a zombie movie in their life ever. If you haven’t read it go buy it now.

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Len Burnheart
Reign of the Dead (1)

Avoid this book at all costs.

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David Moody

Autumn (3)
Autumn: The City (4)
Autumn: Purification (3)
Autumn: The Human Condition (4)

The Autumn series is a mixed bag. Atypical zombies in a plaugue style world with a UK twist. They are well written for the most part and focus on the characters more then the zombies. The Human Condition is a fun collection of short stories set in the world of the first three books.

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