Book Review: Zompoc Survivor: Exodus by Ben S. Reader

 Zompoc Survivor: Exodus by Ben S. Reader

This look at the zombie apocalypse starts with someone who's actually prepared for the stuff to hit the fan. Dave Stewart is an office worker who's written some novels in his spare time along with getting ready for an epic disaster. His girlfriend drops him off at the cubicle-farm office where he works. A local sheriff's assistant shows up and tries to herd everyone into the basement as the undead swarm the parking lots outside. Dave knows that listening to the officer is likely to end badly and starts his emergency bug-out plan. The cute girl in the cubicle across the way helps him escape the building and the parking lot (she has a car). His first plan is to find his girlfriend and to leave town with some supplies. He has a hideaway far away from densely populated areas. Only some thing don't go according to plan.

The most interesting parts of the story are the technical details of his escape plan and his knowledge of weapons, supplies, and vehicles. The descriptions are very convincing. It's like Tom Clancy wrote a zombie novel. The appendix has links to the various resources the main character uses as well as Dave's rules of survival (reminiscent of Zombieland's rules). The action scenes are also well written--both easy to follow and exciting to read (again like Clancy).

The story suffers a little bit from its large cast (Dave has a girlfriend who has an ex; he also has an ex who has her own boyfriend; there's a sprinkling of children) who aren't very individualized other than Dave. I struggled to remember who was related to whom and how. Also, the story ends abruptly without a proper conclusion, though the author is working on a sequel.

As a first part, the book is enjoyable. I'd read the sequel.