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Title: Down the Road: A Zombie Horror Story (Special Edition) |
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Review of Down the Road: A Zombie Horror Story (Special Edition)
- A bizarre plague of the walking dead. A nation desperate for survival. It could be the end of the world. Around the globe, the dead are rising to devour the living. Hospitals are overrun, and martial law has been declared. The streets are in chaos. Society is disintegrating. George Zaragosa is a young school teacher living in the shadow of his fiancée's unsolved murder. Now he just wants to go home to his family. He's made the journey before, traveling from Austin to San Uvalde. It's usually a short drive. But he knows this time it's going to be different. Along the way, George must negotiate military roadblocks, FEMA camps, and street thugs, not to mention hordes of the living dead. He is determined to make it home, but only one thing is certain: his trip down the road will be a journey like no other.
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Comments for Down the Road: A Zombie Horror Story (Special Edition)
- Posted on 2008-05-26
not that great
Didn't really care for this book, felt short and low class. This book will sell at any trailer park gift shop.
Score: 1
- Posted on 2008-02-08
A fun zombie tale to read on vacation.
Down the Road is the tale of one man's attempt at surviving a plague of zombies overtaking the nation. George Zaragosa, like many Americans, did not believe the news reports of the dead rising until it was nearly too late. He finally decides to flee his apartment in Austin and head "home" to San Uvalde. This is the tale of that trip. I like how the author works in the book's title more than once throughout the text, the addition is clever and not forced.
As George makes his way through a city torn up by zombies, looters, police and other survivors the reader learns bits and pieces of his past. These story elements are inter-mixed with the ongoing "current" plot as flashbacks and memories. The author handles this rather well, blending something from the survival plot with character development.
Down the Road is a relatively short read, wrapping up in 168 pages or so. I read it in one day while traveling across the state of Wisconsin. The adventure George has throughout the book is a fun and scary read for anyone who enjoys zombie fiction. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the sequel.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2008-01-06
Not bad for a first time author
I liked this book. Its not nearly as good as some other zombie books I've read, such as Dying to Live or World War Z, but still has the guts (pun intended) of a decent zombie story to satisfy your undead apetite (pun intended, again). It starts off like most books, where the infection is starting and people are getting misinformation, no one really knows what's going on, and our protagonist decides to head out and find his family. Cue chaos.
This book has a lot of anti government rhetoric (you can tell he does not trust FEMA), so if you're sensitive about that sort of thing, you will definitely get offended at his take on government 'help'. Sometimes I felt this was more a book about how the government falls short, under the guise of zombie-lore. But then again, isn't that what most zombie books are? Use of zombies to get across a bigger point? Perhaps this author is a Romero in the making, hmm?
The only reason I gave this book 3 stars versus 4 (would have done 3.5 stars if given the option) is that a lot of sex was thrown in needlessly, I felt. I get that different people respond to stress in different fashions, but the author had the main character having sex just one day into the infestation. Seemed a bit much. I could have bought it if his character were a couple of weeks into it and needed some sort of emotional release, but I would think that just a single day into seeing the undead tearing people apart would leave one wanting to just basically survive instead of having carnal relations! But that's just my opinion. Just sort of seemed like the author threw that in because he thought he could get away with it, not that it actually had anything to do with the plot or the emotional development of the protagonist.
I will say that the ending was what secured that I would read more from the author. I don't want to give it away and ruin it for would-be readers, but I'll say that its a little different than most zombie books, so I will definitely go read any other books from Ibarra.
Summary: political commentary, undead chomping on mankind, sex thrown in unecessarily, but in all, a good book and worth the time to check it out.
Score: 3
- Posted on 2007-11-30
A Most Excellent Adenture
Down the Road: A Zombie Horror story is as good as it gets with the idea of a "Hero's Journey." In a time when most zombie stories are concentrated more on the Zombies themselves, Ibarra's story is focussed on this ordinary drama teacher trying to make it back to his ordinary world, under such extraordinary circumstances. The writing is visceral, and he makes you feel like you are a part of the story. For all of you who are familiar with Texas (especially Central Texas) this will be an even bigger thrill. Still, this story is much more about humanity, and how evil people can be, but at the same time how the determination of one man, and the love he has for his wife, can help all of us get... down the road, to the place we call home! An excellent, excellent read!
Score: 5
- Posted on 2007-11-06
Kind of dissapointing
This book wasn't what I expected,its more about the residents of the town than the zombies.I had high expectations for it because I saw a lot of advertisements for it,but when it came down to it it fell short.
Score: 3