EX-HEROES – by Peter Clines

When I read the blurb for this book and saw it was super heroes vs zombies, I have to admit that I didn’t expect much in terms of quality. I thought I would read the sample chapter and then forget about it. Never have I been happier to be proven wrong. Not only did I buy the full copy and devour it, I have read again since and it is one of my favourite books.

Most zombie novels tend to dwell on the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse and with the day to day life of those who survived, but the author cleverly uses flashback chapters to illustrate the extent of upheaval of society, without letting it bog down the main story. It also fleshes out the characters, so instead of two dimensional comic book heroes you get a real sense of personality and of strengths and flaws.

While the heroes do echo some of the more famous ones you would have been brought up on they are not just fascimiles slightly modified to avoid copyright infringement. They are cleverly constructed and would be worth a comic book of their own.

There is definitely no shortage of action, and not just fights with standard zombies, it is more than just a splatter fest. You really get a sense of their rising despair as the heroes fought to stop the zombie plague and save the world, their regrets at failing, the cost to them as heroes and as people. But, you also will end filled with what super heroes are all about, hope.

I will be going into this further in a future post, but there is one speech which really shows that the author understands what a hero is, and what they symbolise.

The book features some clever twists in the plot, the origin of the virus for one, and some bits that will make you laugh and some that nearly made me cry.

If you love super heroes and zombie novels and well written books…buy this book. I really want to read more set in this world, so hopefully there will be a sequel soon forthcoming.

The author, Peter Clines, also has an excellent blog on writing that is well worth checking out.