Infected by Scott Sigler

Greeting my shambling, shuffling friends.

I dont mean to seem preoccupied looking out my windows, but I am sure the cops will be coming any minute to kick in my door and haul me away. Now I know what your thinking and you are wrong, this is not a marijuana induced paranoia. This paranoia comes from the morgellons like infection that is crawling through the novel, INFECTED by Scott Sigler.

Infected is not a typical zombie novel,  there are no undead creatures dying to force large chunks of warm flesh down their little rotting throats, but the unlucky souls who happen to have become   Infected, do loose control over themselves, and begin killing people in a paranoid adrenalin fueled rage.

Most of the book is divided between people trying to hunt down, quarantine and study the infected, and Perry, an infected giant of a man,  who fights to remain in control through the whole novel.

Reading the thoughts that were running through Perry's mind, was like having a chance to listen to the thoughts in the mind of someone suffering split personality disorder, with a strong sense of paranoia. As the paranoia increased, so did the action, making Infected harder to put down everytime I would pick it up.

Time for the G.R.E.A.T. score.

Gore- Very satisfying, as the main character fights the infection he has to practice self mutilation, with each act of it becoming worst then the last, and the well written details will built a sadstic image of pain in your mind. 10

Realism- This infection mimicked margellons, which is considered by the CDC as being mass paranoia and a hallucination, so this novel worked well with modern themes in reality. 9

Entertainment- Very much so, switching between the virus, the authorities and Perry prevents dull moments during your read. 8

Action- OH YES! The actions of the characters were right on que with the escalation of the infection. 8.5

Thrills- more than one evening I would lay in bed imagining the itch and crawling feelings of the infection while trying to drift off to sleep. Infected will not leave your mind once you put it down for the night.8.0

The final G.R.E.A.T. score is: 8.7 !

Infected by Scott Sigler is available through Amazon.com, or your local bookstore.

It is time for me to go again but before I do, let me ask you this question.

Is there a limit to the amount of pain and damage you would go through to save yourself from an infection, or is there just a certain point where you lay there and let it happen? You will have to read  Infected by Scott Sigler to truly answer that question.

Thanks for reading, and until next time, I will be shuffling along with the lost.


Jimmy blue eyes
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Down the Road by Bowie Ibarra

Greetings my shambling, shuffling friends.

Sorry I have not posted for a while, but I took a trip Down The Road with Bowie Ibarra, its not like we had a choice though, the city was being over run by zombies and it was time to get out of dodge.

Alright, I admit I didnt actually go anywhere, but this book sure took me places.

As an author of one of the coolest zombie novels on store shelves, Bowie Ibarra was able to hit on some important aspects that other novels never even consider, because they are too busy just being a horror story. 

As soon as the novel began, Ibarra made the story personal by having the main character, George Zarragosa, look around his apartment and take into account the things he did not need to help him survive escaping the city, and yet days before could not live without, like his The Big Lebowski dvd, or his music c.d. collection. This forced me to look around and consider all the things I own and consider important right now, but would happily do without for my own survival.

George as the main character has a healthy distrust of intrusive big goverment, and this theme continues to resurface constantly through out the novel, and even takes open jabs at Fema doing more harm then good for protecting citizen in fema camps, and how those in control will always end up abusing their power. It doesnt matter if your a gang leader surviving in a city, or a fema camp guard who rejoices in stirring up racial conflict for personal enjoyment over the people who depend on you for protection. This Libertarian theme reappears throughout Down The Road, making a good point that individuals who are responsible can do better than organized groups who rule through the threat of force, like our own goverment, and the images Bowie Ibarra was able to paint in my mind showed that without freedom and free will, there really is no difference between armed gangs and goverment.

This reminds me of one of my favorite Libertarian quotes:

"A society that robs people of the fruits of their hard labor with the threat of violence and calls it income and property taxes, is not really a society.....it is a mob that is held together by institutional gang violence."


Time for the G.R.E.A.T. score!

G ore: the descriptions of shambling corpses was spot on and and well written, as was the attacks on living people. 8.0

R ealism: very realistic, Bowie Ibarra was able to show the break down of society and the abuse of power and more than once made me think to the fema disaster we all remember as Hurricane Katrina. 8.5

E ntertainment:  Once I started reading, I had no choice but to finish the story, and I am looking forward to reading the sequels. 8.75

A ction: The pace of the story was great and kept me in suspence, like the scene where he broke into the local school, I could not put the novel down. 8.0

T hrills: the zombies were always a constant threat, even when they thought they were safe, the zombies remained a background antagonist adding a sense of dread the entire time. 8.0

The total G.R.E.A.T. score is: 8.25 out of 10 !

I definatley recommend adding this to your growing zombie library. Those of you who are survivalist minded, will get plenty of ideas to help you navigate a societal collapse scenario.

Well, it is time for me to sling my pack over my back and head on Down The Road, but before I go let me ask you this:

Will George make it to his final destination safe and sound, or is there a final surprise waiting on his door step. You will have to read Down the Road by Bowie Ibarra to find out.

Thanks for reading and until my next post, I will be shuffling along with the lost.

Jimmy Blue Eyes
www.jimmyszombieblog.com
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