Meanwhile, in Spain...

Most zombie apocalypse stories I've read were set in the USA. Apocalypse Z takes place in Galicia, a rainy region in Northwestern Spain best known for the historic area of Santiago de Compostela. It's a refreshing change that makes for an exciting zombie yarn.

A widowed lawyer and his cat, Lucullus, watch nervously as things go bad in Russia, then the EU, then everywhere. The lawyer blogs his struggles at first, and then is forced to change to paper when the Internet finally dies. He and Lucullus leave home and bravely traverse Galicia, taking out "those THINGS," as he calls them, searching desperately for any kind of safety.

All the regular zombie tropes are present here, but the story is made exciting by the fact that our hero is just some guy--sometimes brave, other times terrified, but able to use the knowledge he has to get by and survive. If you're at all familiar with Spanish culture, another dimension is added: the lawyer is a definite Spanish "type," so the story becomes more of a question of what would this average guy, the guy you see every morning on the train going into the city, what would he do if there were an apocalypse?

Some sections of the story didn't go fast enough for me--our hero was a little waffly at times, agonizing too much over decisions. But he is a lawyer, so maybe the overanalysis is a kind of professional hangover from normal times. Mostly, I was hooked--I had to find out what was going to happen next. And as an animal lover, not listening all the way through wasn't an option: would Lucullus make it? There was no way I could skip the answer to that question!

I can't say enough about the narration, beautifully done by Nick Podehl who did such a fantastic job on The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. Podehl makes the fear, disgust, and sadness really come through. His Spanish pronunciation is pretty good, too.

If you're looking for a zombie story that's a little different, this one is a great choice: a little less John Wayne and a lot more guy-next-door, Apocalypse Z will keep you listening through to the end. I can't wait for the next volume in this saga!

30 people found this helpful

Good, but.... really bad

Any additional comments?
Fun, a lot of fun, pure story! Very fast paced. It's also bad but in a not so bad way. Have you ever watched Land of the Lost? (1970's television) Chaka is just so cute, you want to pat him on the back and can imagine feeling the costume zipper as you do. Then you wonder if the slesstacks were grumpy by nature or if it was simply the combination of those rubber suits and the hot stage lights.

The show is horrible! But we love it right? Yes sir, every bit. Technical problems and everything, we love it. (Well, at least I did.)

This book felt the same. I think the technical problems were huge. My friends have chided and reminded me that the book is TRANSLATED. Well, sorry but translation does not stop me from cringing when I hear about setting the safety on a Glock. (Maybe in Spain Glocks have an external safety????? Uh, no.)

I got the feeling this guy was writing about things he really did not know about. (Guns, sail boats, scuba diving, car parts.) The biggest whammy went something like, "The SUV's battery was completely dead. Good thing I had an extra in the bottom of my backpack. We picked it up in the..." WAIT WHAT?!! Was the battery lost between your chapstick and your gum? Did you know that a car batter is a wee bit larger than say a flashlight battery? For those that don't know: Car batteries are large, very heavy and full of lead and acid. It would take both a large backpack and a small car battery just to get one to fit inside the other. But, don't tip it or it might spill acid all over. Carrying one of these for an average guy means grunting and groaning. Don't tell me you just happen to have an extra in the bottom of your backpack! That would be as logical as suddenly remembering that you had an extra skunk in your back pocket.

Am I being mean? I hope not too mean because I was able to get past all this and enjoy the book despite the problems. I will read the next if comes out here on Audible and in English.

I bought this because I had long drive I had to get up very early for. It kept me engaged and on the edge of my seat. Lots of fun. Zombyriffic!

26 people found this helpful

Just For Pleasure

I have to confess that I secretly love last person on Earth books. This book was no exception. It was told from the first person and that was one of the things that made it good. From beginning to end the book was just plain good.

Nick Podehl complimented the book better than any one else I can think of. His voice brought the book alive and you felt what the main character felt. In one place the main character was talking about the loss of his family, and I swear you could hear his voice crack and see the tears rolling. Apocalypse Z was written well and the narration made it even better.

50 people found this helpful

My Second Favorite Zombie Book Behind WWZ.

Would you listen to The Beginning of the End again? Why?

YES! I will listen to it again. This story captured me from the first 10 minutes. The story is one of the better of the genre. Next to WWZ it's going to be difficult to find a better zombie book and I love zombie stories.

The performer was excellent. He has a very distinct voice that works for the listener. He captures you with his performance and makes you feel as though you are there.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Luculus the Cat! That poor little guy.

Which scene was your favorite?

I actually loved the beginning of the book when things were falling apart.

Any additional comments?

It's my second favorite Zombie book behind the master classic World War Z.

6 people found this helpful

Wonder cat saves the day... again...

I enjoyed the first half of the book quite a bit: a story about how a well-prepared man faces the development/existence of a zombie horde. Sure, the main character was a bit too prepared for a guy with his background and job, but still, it was believable. And the way information on the initial sickness was shared (or not) felt very realistic. (Oh, I am pretty sure the technical aspects of, say, diving, guns, or solar panels, etc, were creatively interpreted, but I didn't mind, since I don't really care what size bullet goes into what type of gun anyway.)

About halfway through, the story took a little turn from a survivalist story to a "spy-thriller" wannabe. Which might have been okay - if this aspect had been more than a "let's have the main character get caught up in some spy-ops in order to show him facing zombies". This entire thread is sorta wrapped up, but the reader is never given any information as to the point behind these events. Perhaps it is a thread intended to be brought up in the next book in the series, but, as it is here, it is just a huge red herring put into the story for no purpose other than to have an excuse for the main character to meet a sidekick and venture into zombieland.

There were some other weak points that became more noticeable as the story progressed: especially in regards to the main character's cat. Even if you assume that the main character would risk his own life to save that of his cat... why would he take it out of its cage and tie it to a string with the plan that it would walk beside him during a thunderstorm/zombie attack... hey, I can suspend disbelief and accept zombies, and even that silly spy-ops thread, but a) what cat would walk beside you as if it were on a leash and b) what cat would walk beside you in a thunderstorm, leash or not c) and why would anyone think a cat would come to them when they called it (regardless that it is during a thunderstorm/abandoned building/zombie attack)?

The ending left even more to be desired. I think it is intended to set up the next installment of the series, but the way the main character "found" other survivors was just a smidge beyond believable (another installment of wonder-cat adventures here). And I really hope that the "love interest" hinted at in the next book is not the same one hinted at in this one because I am really tired of male authors assuming that 17 year old girls would be as interested in 30 year old men as these men are in teenage girls.

It isn't overly gory, there is no sex, and I don't recall any excessive swearing. The narration is good and I think the translation to English was accurate enough. Overall it is a reasonable/average entry in the zombie genre. I won't, however, be reading the next in the series since the best part of this book was how the virus/information spread, and how the world initially dealt with this spread.

41 people found this helpful

I didn't care...You might

I have to start by saying that I'm not a fan of the first person "Journal" type of book. I just think that it takes a special story and a special author to pull it off and this story isn't special.

I don't want to put anything on the author because this book is a translation, it was originally written in spanish so the mistakes I spotted could be a result of the translation. In the end, it's just an average zombie book with nothing that really sets itself apart for all the rest.

A few people have complained about Nick Podehi's narration. I can see what they may not have liked, but I kind of liked it...he tries to put life into the story. It doesn't always work and Nick does "over act" it a few times...but over all I enjoyed his performance.

4 people found this helpful

Overly dramatic

What would have made The Beginning of the End better?

The narrator is reads every sentence as if it is the end of the world. Please pardon the cliche and pun. The problem is that the narrator doesn't give the listener a chance to rest. Everything is "gripping" or "shocking" or "unforgettable". I know that you can blame it on the author, however, I am reading the book along with the narration via Whispersync and reading the book is much more enjoyable and makes it easy to forgive some of the author's flaws. Halfway through the book I decided to stop listening to it and just read it. The narration made it unbearable.

16 people found this helpful

Not Bad

This was not my favorite book. There are certainly enter post apocalyptic stories out there such at Mark Tufo, After AmericaI, and Ted Dekker's The Circle Series. I did like the premise. I did like the international plot. But the main thing was too much histrionics and I had a really hard time buying a man running around fighting zombies while holding a cat carrier.

3 people found this helpful

So Bad on So Many Levels

About an hour and a half into this, I was almost laughing and thinking, "This had to have been written by a 16-year-old boy with a lively imagination."

It starts with the coincidence of the storyteller's installation of two freezers, solar panels and storage batteries in his house. The house is in a new housing development in which the streets don't even have names, but the house is - ready for this? - surrounded by a 10 foot stone wall. TEN feet. Uh huh.

The main - and only - character starts hearing about an epidemic in Russia that is either West Nile Virus or a mysterious hemorrhagic fever like Ebola ... or both. The author doesn't seem to know what either is so they are used interchangeably and as if nobody else knows the difference either.

Almost from the first few minutes of the book, with no character development at all, civilization begins to break down and what follows in the story is simplistic, childish and poorly written that nothing could persuade me to devote any more time to this.

The narration was OK. He only has one voice to do and he mostly does that breathlessly. All emotions have only one expression. But I can't blame him because the story is so thin and the characters - such as they are - have the depth of potato chips.

This is just so bad. I'm giving it back to Audible.

3 people found this helpful

Something just didn't click

What did you like best about The Beginning of the End? What did you like least?

The story was okay, a bit contrived from the start, but not bad. Every now and then, though, the author would say something that made no sense, or even contradicted something else he said. An armored car that couldn't run down zombies because the main character has "seen what bodies do to cars?" Meh.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Not the rest of this series.

Have you listened to any of Nick Podehl’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to the narrator's other performances, but he did a fine job. A little trouble with some of the Spanish place names, but no real problem.

Could you see The Beginning of the End being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.

Any additional comments?

What was in the darn case that burned up?! He spends half the book going after this case and...nothing??

3 people found this helpful