By Matthew J. Barbour
Speed reading is all the rage right now. Novellas are the adult equivalent of comics in a way. You can read one on a flight, while swimming in the pool, or during a week off. It doesn’t take a ton of time. It’s a breath of fresh air in a world where epic stories from the likes of George RR Martin and Stephen King seem never-ending.
Plague: Rock Island Zombie Contact ExperimentCreated by Better Hero Army, Plaguelands Series. Who or what is Better Hero Army? Their website claims that they are a collection of writers, editors, artists, and other multimedia experts who specialize in short stories between 150 and 200 pages in length.
Plague: Rock Island Zombie Contact Experimenthereinafter referred to as Plague IIIt tells the story of Lieutenant Mason Jones. Jones has recently been relieved of his duty in Egypt for killing one of his soldiers. He is transferred to the Rock Island Prison Defense Facility in the Plague State of the United States. The prison is part holding center, part fortification, part research facility, and part slave camp.
Jones isn’t sure why he’s there. Most people think he’s a spy, and maybe he is. He’s been sent to contact Dr. Kennedy, but he doesn’t know how to find her. Meanwhile, Jones is assigned the lowest of tasks: clearing out a cell of zombies. Before he can even think about going to the doctor, he has to make sure he doesn’t get bit.
Zombie stories abound. Who hasn’t heard the story of a group of survivors traversing a post-apocalyptic landscape to battle hordes of mindless zombies? Plague II. The end of the world has come, but the epidemic is raging in the United States and people’s lives go on.
America has been divided into infected and safe zones. The zombie threat has been contained. They are being rounded up. Surgery can remove the glands that cause the infection. Zombies can be trained as “slabbers,” so the slave market is thriving. There are even rumors of a cure.
The construction of the world view is limited by the length of the novella, but Plague II Part of a series of novels. While it contains a standalone story, it takes place in a much larger context. The story itself is quite fascinating. However, it reads more like an adventure novel than a horror novel.
To many horror fans, the emphasis on tame zombies and action scenes can be a negative. However, for those who like zombies and want something a little different, Plague II The effect is powerful. It can be read alone or as a Plague State of America Seriesalong with Plague: An Experiment in Zombie Hybridization in Middle America （Plague I) and Plague: Ironville Zombie Quarantine Withdrawal Experiment （Plague IIIreleased on October 10).
Order yours here.
score: 3/5
