Plagued - The Midamerica Zombie Half-Breed Experiment

Plagued States of America, Book 1

By: Better Hero Army

Narrated by: Andrew B. Wehrlen

When Tom, the son of a powerful senator, becomes stranded in the Plagued States while searching for his lost sister, his only hope of survival rests in the hands of a few grizzled veteran zombie hunters and a mysterious half-breed zombie woman he thinks may know where to find his sister....

In the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, the humans won by creating a moat surrounding the Plagued States of America. Now zombies roam freely, and only the most fearless of hunters venture in, but they don't hunt to kill. Zombie labor is too valuable a commodity. That's why Tom has come to one of only three sanctioned outposts along the Moaning Coast to check their sales records in the hopes of finding his lost sister. What he finds instead is a mysterious half-breed zombie woman who may know where she is. When the township is overrun by zombies, Tom, the half-breed, and a group of grizzled zombie hunters must fend for themselves in order to survive not only the zombie horde, but the military gunships trying to wipe out the infection.

This debut book by Better Hero Army stands to become the start of one of the best new zombie series with its action-packed story, great characters, and twists that keep you on your toes and breathless to the very end.

©2013 Evan Ramspott (P)2016 Evan Ramspott

Wish it were longer, excited for book 2

I love zombie books. I mean I LOVE them. I also love it when i’m given something different, something new. Don't get me wrong I love traditional zombies too but I need a break for the usual at times. This is it! I got it! So glad I was given the opportunity to review this book. I really want more information about Penelope. I want to know what happens next for her. I could even visualize the Duck! I think I need or should I say want a vehicle like that!
If you also love zombies, and love something fresh and new you should give this one a try. You will not regret it.


I was voluntarily provided this review copy at no charge by the author, publisher and or narrative.

Decent Listen

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.

Andrew B. Wehrlen is a talented narrator. It was his performance more than anything else that kept this story interesting.

The story itself has a solid premise. A young man strives to find his sister, who was turned into a zombie a decade earlier. He wants to recover her in the hopes that she can be cured at some later date. From that perspective the story is fine.

What this story lacks is compelling drive. The main character, Tom, certainly has motivation. He also begins to care for a half-breed zombie girl, though whether the interest is romantic or protective is a bit muddled. Hopefully it is the latter, but there is evidence enough to argue for the former.

It is difficult to pin down, but the chief issue is that I couldn’t ever find myself caring what happened. People died, meh. Tom has daddy issues, oh well. What’s going on between Tom and the half-breed? Disturbingly interesting, but not compelling.

Overall the story was entertaining to a fair degree, it just didn’t “grab me.”

Interesting and Different!

This is a pretty quick listen. I listened to it while I burned brush, and I'm not sure that was the best idea I ever had haha. It's not exactly a scary or tension filled book, but when it's dark out, there's no moon and only the fire for light, which then lights up random critter's eyes who have come to see what you're doing, it becomes so! LOL just a word of warning!

I really enjoyed it! I liked the characters, and how the brothers interacted with each other. It felt natural in an unnatural setting. The various cast of characters were interesting, and stayed with the personality they were first given. The flow was good, and the different kinds of zombies was really interesting to read. Too often, zombie books will follow one of a few set formulas, and it was refreshing to find something different.

The narrator was really good, too. A pleasant voice and pace, nice tone, and it seemed like he knew the story, which is always a sticking point for me. Very well done.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, and hope to listen to the next.

Bob says:4 Platypires!

*I requested and was granted a promotional code for this audible book to be honestly reviewed*

Plagued States of America Debut Series

"This debut book by Better Hero Army stands to become the start of one of the best new zombie series with its action-packed story, great characters, and twists that keep you on your toes and breathless to the very end."

In Plagued, there was a lot of story for a fairly short audiobook. Tom was a good protagonist trying to find his sister Larissa. I liked the concept and the title and with this being book one in a new series I have hope that it will only get better.

I liked Andrew B. Wehrlen's voice. He has a nice tone and I know he's a skilled voice actor. He has good voice inflections but for some reason, this book seemed overdone. There were too many highs and lows. I would like to hear him continue the series as I think it's always best for the same narrator to stay with the story.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review."

Plagued

An interesting concept in the huge world of zombies. Tom is a young man forced to go with his brother, Gary, to try to find his younger sister, Larissa. Tom blames himself (as does his father) for allowing Larissa to be turned into a zombie 10 years before. While Tom and Gary are in the zombie trading area, havoc breaks loose as the zombies become free.

The idea that the government would "cure" zombies in order for them to be used as slave labor is unique. What better way to get free workers than to use zombies? Of course, when you have slaves, you also have slave traders, who also seem to function as zombie hunters.

Tom meets a young woman who is a half-breed zombie and decides to use her to find his sister. Questions arise: can he trust Penelope to not hurt him? Can he find Larissa? And, most importantly, can Penelope be cured?

The story was entertaining, but left me with a lot of unanswered questions about what made half-breed zombies. I don't know if there are more books in this series that explain things better, but I would like to know more. All in all, an interesting book if you love zombies.

The narration was a little bland. I would have enjoyed it more with more inflection in the narrator's voice. It was basically just reading the book aloud. I was given a copy of this Audible book by the author/narrator/publisher and chose to review it.

Great Action

Was very full of action all characters were great in the parts they played and all came together

A short zombie story

I had a very hard time enjoying this audiobook due to the narrator's attempt at the slaver's voice. I probably would have enjoyed reading the book more. The story line is promising. Good zombie short story. I received this for free for an honest review.

Great Story Looking Forward To More

I thought this was a fantastic start to what is sure to be a thrilling series! The story flowed with a steady pace and the twist of the half-breeds really peaked my interest. My only negative is I wish it were longer. Andrew Wehrlen was a good narrator, easy to understand with identifiably different character voices. I am eager to read/listen to more in this series especially to learn more about Penelope. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Different

Any additional comments?

The book started out slow. The story really picks up when the zombies get loose. I found the half-breed zombies interesting. I would like to know more about them. I've listened to this narrator before. I think his performance showed a greater range than some of his other works. I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.

An interesting tale if you can stick with it!

An interesting tale, but one seemingly long-winded in the telling. In this story we encounter zombie slave traders and zombie half-breeds for a new twist in the general genre. The main character Tom, son of a powerful Senator, goes looking for his turned sister after ten years of her disappearance. In so doing he comes across the zombie trader Pesky and the half-breed Penelope. The first book is mostly background and setup for the next two books of the trilogy. As I said, an interesting tale if you can stick with it. Three.point.five This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.