Dana Fredsti

I came across this book while perusing the shelves at my local library. It was the title that caught my attention; the word "time" on any book shelved in the science fiction section will always attract my interest. After giving it a quick scan, I decided to give it a try.

Two hours later, I find myself wondering what better use I might have made of that time.

To be fair, Dana Fredsti and David Fitzgerald's book isn't the worst book that I've ever read. It is, however, incredibly derivative, tossing together elements from two or three different (and better) sci-fi novels and rushing the reader through with nonstop action in the hope that if the pacing is fast enough said reader won't ask too many questions. Given the dual authors, this is probably the first book I have ever read with a Mary Sue and a Gary Stu in it, the latter of which isn't well disguised by the clumsy red herring thrown into the narrative. The whole thing ends up feeling like a treatment for a movie made for the SyFy channel, with every plot point hitting its sadly predictable beat. The closer I got to the end, the more I found myself thinking, "Please don't be the first book in a series. Please don't be the first book in a series. please don't be the first book in a series."

Then I got to the end and, sure enough, it's the first book in a series.

Oh, well, at least it proved a quick read.… (lisätietoja)

Immune to the zombie virus that’s been plaguing Redwood Grove, Ashley Parker has been dubbed a ‘wild card’ along with her fellow immune team mates. However, when things go awry and containment seems futile as the contaminant spreads throughout the nation, Ashley and her team have to get to San Francisco in order to try and put an end to the outbreak. With hidden agendas and secrets piling on, death becomes inevitable. The question remains though, will they be able to get there in one piece and come up with a cure or will they be devoured by hungry zombies eagerly awaiting them?

Plague Nation is the long-awaited sequel to Plague Town by Dana Fredsti, and boy was it worth the wait! Starting off slower than anticipated, the book quickly picks up pace halfway through and a nail-biting experience begins as Ashley Parker kicks some major zombie ass. Sexy, flirty, fun and gory all blend together to make for a fantastic joyride that brings to mind a whole new genre, which I’ll cleverly call “Chick-Gore”. Yes, zombie-mayhem and undead fun can be girly, if you know how to blend these elements together and fortunately Dana Fredsti has a keen grasp on the subject.

I hounded the poor woman for months trying to find out when the next book will come out – straight after I finished Plague Town – which probably left Dana Fredsti frustrated. Then, when the release date finally came, I had to wait – because things take their sweet time to arrive on this side of the world – and when I finally got the book yesterday I was so excited I literally did a happy dance. Screw the rest of my review pile (not really), Plague Nation was a long-awaited book which I have been patiently waiting on for too long. So I delved straight into reading it and to my dismay, finished it too soon. However, when you find a trilogy that’s worthy of the pouting and a solemn “when’s the next book coming out?”, I think it says a lot about whether it’s a good read or not. To make myself perfectly clear though, Plague Nation was a good read and it set up the plot for the third (hopefully not final) book, Plague World. If you don’t believe me though, just think about a smart-ass Buffy The Vampire Slayer taking out zombies instead of vampires, with huge ass guns and sheer survival tactics, whilst under the orders of a super-secret government organisation that specialises in keeping the undead kind-of-deader-than-usual.

I found a few editing oopsies, a spelling mistake or two (nothing to write home about really), but all in all I can’t complain. Plague Nation was a pretty awesome sequel and I personally can’t wait for the third book. Titan Books have a real winner with these books and if they know what’s good for them, they’ll run this series à la Trueblood series or The Vampire Diaries, because it will totally sell.

(Originally posted on www.killeraphrodite.com )… (lisätietoja)