Trudge (Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse Book 1) Kindle Edition

Trudge is the first book in the "Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse" series. I bought it for my iPhone Kindle app after reading the intro in the "Look inside" tab, just to fill the gap in the boring evenings after work.Wow! I read it in three evenings and a few bathroom breaks in work, on all three evenings I didn't put it down before midnight.I enjoyed it so much that I bought the kindle version of "Soldier On" minutes after finishing book one on a toilet break and yes, I did buy it in the toilet :0)Our author introduces us to our hero in a friendly way, he's easy to like, the man next door. He's taking his wife and daughter to the airport to visit her parents on the other side of the country while he remains at home, to catch up on his "to-do" list. Unfortunately for Cade, society starts it's downward spiral between him dropping the family at the airport and his trip home. He realises that things are only going to get worse and prepares to go and rescue his family.Along the way he meets other survivors, both good and bad and I think it's this angle which piqued my interest. Most Zombie books focus on the "Everyone pull together and save humanity" ideal, however, Shawn reminds us of the reality that some people are just plain evil and would see this as just another opportunity to exploit their fellow survivors for their own gain. He gives us people we can identify with and kills some of them in interesting ways.I gave it 5 stars because I think it's a gripping story with characters I came to like and mourn and others I can't wait to see killed.Great work Shawn, I'm eagerly looking forward to the next instalment."Kenny"

The first thing I'll say is that I've read a LOT of Zombie fiction. It's my favourite sub-genre of Horror. I've seen all the movies and I'd say I've made a fair crack at reading most of the fiction that's out there at the moment.I am not kidding when I say I love it. Something about Zombies just interests me and they go so naturally hand-in-hand with my second favourite subject matter; a post-apocalyptic world.With that in mind I would say, fairly, that I am pre-disposed to like most Zombie fiction I come across.I started reading this first book (and indeed I've read his second book in this series) and everything was fine. Until very early on we, the reader, gets a very strong impression that Shawn Chesser was at some point in the Services. And that's fine obviously, (Thank you for your service) and in fact it adds a healthy bit of realism. But then it piles on, and on, and on and on until you start feeling like that cursory bit of chocolate fudge at the bottom of a tall Sundae glass with all the cream, ice cream, sprinkles and the cherry on top. It is overwhelming and in some parts of the story it actually over-powers the story, like he is trying to prove that he knows what he's talking about.I like to know little titbits of survival tactics in books like this, but there is absolutely no way I'm going to care about the inner workings of a plethora of weapons, machinery and vehicles. I'm sorry but I just don't care. It was totally distracting. I don't buy books like this to get a lesson in arms and it just felt like the author was just trying to push the point that his main character, Cade, was a billy-big-boots `operator'.But do you know what, I could forgive the above enthusiasm for guns, helicopters and folding knives, but what really frustrated me was the completely apparent disillusionment with the United States Government. And I'm not talking about Cade's opinion. I really do mean Mr.Chesser's opinion, because anything that is written with such obvious tongue-in-cheek venom and allusions to current affairs/recent actions taken by the White House and Congress is not written by an ambivalent mind, it is written by someone with an axe to grind and this manifests in the book and is as bitter as chewing coffee grinds.It was difficult to overlook and actually made me dislike the character a little bit. I don't especially care about USA politics (at least not while I'm reading fiction) but I am aware of the various movements like any other person who watches/reads the global news so the references made by Chesser are not wholly fictional and while it's OK that he have these opinions I find it tacky that he use his book as a stadium to fling mud. However non-deliberately done it was, it was present and it was obvious.As my title says, I really wanted to like this book, it was a bit different from other books in the genre, but because the author couldn't put aside his politics and spent too-long describing the muzzles of various guns to me, it gets 2 stars; 1 for plot, 2 for good structure. Points deducted for show-boating and soap-boxing.

always been a fan of zombie fiction, loved this and can,t wait to download the next book in the series, BUT, and this has to be said. at one point in the book, it seems as if the author has switched off his brain, because something happens that beggers belief. there is one scene, namely a flashback, showing how a bunch of school kids and their teachers became zombies. the female teacher is the first one to go, but, instead of running away, the school kids just stand there whimpering, while she kills and eats them one by one!!!! one or two being frozen in fear i can accept, but all of them? highly unlikely. and considering that she was eating them, how was there enough of them left to reanimate? even more bizarre was how the male teacher behaved. a simple sprain was apparantly enough to prevent him from getting away, so instead, he decides to just lie there, and let the zombie kids eat him from the legs up!!!! its never explained why they stop at his legs. yes, its zombie fiction, and you are supposed to suspend disbelief, but seriously? despite these gripes, it is an enjoyable book and i look forward to book 2

I enjoyed this book for what it is, a fast paced action filled story about the spread of a Zombie creating plague in the U.S.A, starting at day 1 and developing from there. Originally I thought it was heading along a 'one man's quest'path but as the story unfolds more themes sprout and they interweave to a greater or lesser extent to paint a more comprehensive picture of unfolding events. The former military specialist main character is by no means new to the Zombie genre of books and is probably my only major reservation in not giving it 5 stars, as there is a feeling of 'here we go again' in parts of it.I am intrigued by the way the story line is developing with rather large hints of a Chinese involvement and the fact that although POTUS and his command staff have become Zombie fodder, the U.S of A is still trying to re-establish a government and a chain of command. All in all a very enjoyable and not at all expensive read, I have acquired the second book in the series and look forward to reading it later today - Kindle is great for that!