Man oh man... this series takes a nose dive here

I enjoyed the first book in this series a lot. I called out the only fault being the sappy teenage romance. Not really a romance but the imaginings of a teenage writer thats never experienced romance.

Z14 has almost NO zombie action. and the strife between survivors is weak. Its really just a sappy romance. Sappy bad romance written by someone that knows nothing. So this is bad.

7 people found this helpful

Had trouble staying awake

Would you try another book from David Achord and/or Graham Halstead?

Absolutely not

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He had no apparent enthusiasm for the book. Very little feeling put into the characters and they pretty much all sounded the same.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was disappointed by this book to the point that I couldn't finish listening to it. I thought this book had potential but as I got into it I got the impression that it seemed to be written by a teenager for a teenager.

7 people found this helpful

Teenaged boys fantasy

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Better story. It wasn't for me.

What could David Achord have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Mr. A chord wrote it for guys. I'm not a guy. It wasn't made for everyone. I love zombie genre but I imagine as a 40-something woman I'm not the target audience for most of them.

Which character – as performed by Graham Halstead – was your favorite?

Zach

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

There was a dog.

Any additional comments?

I feel like the author was channeling a teenaged boys fantasy. It really turned me off, as a non-teenaged boy. The first story was good. I'm about halfway through this one & I literally don't care what happens. I'm not going to read/listen anymore.

10 people found this helpful

Horrible!

What would have made Z14 better?

Most of the characters are 1 dimensional. Everyone is obsessed with sex. The book reads like it was written by a 13 year old.

What could David Achord have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Develop the characters more as complete human beings. Everyone is an archetype, especially the female characters.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The voices for the characters made the dialog sound trite.

3 people found this helpful

Excellent second entry and strong story

I enjoyed this audio book very much. It seems the author And narrator keep growing on me. I look forward to future entries.

3 people found this helpful

Excellent follow up!

I listened straight through and still want more! One of the best Z / Post apocalyptic books I've ever read (including the first book).

3 people found this helpful

Is Zach the Messiah or just a very naughty boy?

Normally when I finish listening to a title I write the review straight away. But this time I thought I would take a couple of days and think a bit more carefully about this one. I am glad I did as I was able to actually discover the reason why I had liked it so much.

That reason is simple, it makes feel young. There is no doubt the age of the main character and his ‘girlfriends’ help this, some of the story line regarding the relationships around Zach makes it feel like every teenage boys dream.

Once again a lot of detail is left out of some of the more graphic story line... another indicator of the target market.

Ok with all of that said and with me being middle aged bloke who does read/listen a lot and not just in the zombie genre. I also have two teenage children, which enables me to really understand why some species eat their own young. I like to think I am a bit more mature than the average teenager. Despite all of this I still enjoyed this series! I don’t think I could listen to a lot of this type one after another but it is good to bring out that young teenage person hidden within.

I notice some have commented about the narrator’s lack of emotion. But I did not find it a problem; in fact it just reinforced the type of characters within the story. Once again the speed of the narration was best increased to 1.25x again this only shortened the total listening time a little. This might be important if you are like me; in that you like your credit dollars to give you a reasonable length in enjoyment factor.

I did enjoy the ending in this one and will be looking for the third in the series. However, I suspect the third will be the last time I listen to the series… unless the author does something different. But for me this one deserves two thumbs up!

17 people found this helpful

One of the better one's

What made the experience of listening to Z14 the most enjoyable?

I really liked the book and the narrator was great. I can't wait until the the next. Good books with a good narrator are pretty hard to find in this genre.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Zack...he kicks butt when he needs to

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I could have I would have

Any additional comments?

Get it you'll like it. Has a quite a few references to sex, he's a horny teenager after all, but not graphic.

4 people found this helpful

Started well. Really likes the first book....

THEN. The view on women in this book is really sad. Soooo not for me. I had to Stop mid book. Book one Zack starts of great. Snart, empatic. Though a little imature. But the sad part, he is getting less so in this book.

Does anyone got an idea for another read than Achord? Smart, zombie post ap. books, with smart, nuanced people of both/all sexes?

1 person found this helpful

So So

The book was okay. Not much about zombie interaction. The author definitely has no clue about women. Mainly male fantasy of how he wishes women would be/act. Very chauvinistic. Women in the kitchen. What man nowadays isn't in the room when their wife is having their baby? That is way old school.

1 person found this helpful