Wednesday Reading Meme
What I Just Finished Reading: Since last Wednesday I read Plague of the Undead by Joe McKinney, Element Zero by James Knapp, and Apple Strudel Alibi by HY Hanna. (Reviews below)
What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm currently reading The Magdalen Girls by V.S. Alexander. It's an easy read so far for such a grim subject matter.
What I'm Planning To Read Next: I have the last book in the Chet & Bernie Mysteries on transfer at the library, so I'm hoping that will arrive in the next couple of days. *fingers crossed*
97. Plague of the Undead by Joe McKinney
30+ years after the zombie apocalypse, the community of Arbella has grown from 1000 survivors to 10,000 inhabitants and is outgrowing its boundaries, so a small group gets permission to scout the outlying areas in advance of expansion. I thought this sounded like a pretty unique take on the genre. So much could be done with sending “innocents” out into a changed world with the knowledge of what had happened but no real experience. Unfortunately, the expedition aspect quickly gets squashed by the ol’ marauding band of bad guys. And then there’s this whole weird subplot involving an advanced civilization, which makes absolutely zero sense in this universe. None of the characters are particularly interesting, and an abrupt ending leaves a lot of dangling plot points, presumably so the author could write a sequel (which I won’t be picking up.) The book includes four unconnected short stories at the end to pad out the volume.
Dates Read: October 10 to 13, 2022
Page Count: 295 (including short stories)
3 out of 5 stars
Prompt-A-Month October - “Hallowe’en”
Read The Quote 2022 - U - Undead
Lost Challenges Clean It Out October 03 - read one book you bought or borrowed but have not read
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 16 - read 16 books from your favourite genre (01/16)
98. Element Zero by James Knapp
The final book of the Revivors trilogy wraps things up with a fast-paced conclusion. We finally get to see what Zoe’s visions have meant, whether Fawkes and his army of the undead will be defeated, and what part badass Calliope Flax plays in it all. There was much more action in this one which kept me turning the pages, even though it was hard to root for anyone because both sides in the fight were just nasty and did horrible things, so there just wasn’t a satisfactory conclusion. That made it feel real, though. And I was happy to finally see some more traditional zombie action. So much more could have been done with that, but I’ll take what I can get.
Dates Read: October 13 to 16, 2022
Page Count: 368
4 out of 5 stars
Four Moon Challenge 11 - Third book in trilogy
Lost Challenges Read The Quote 2022 - H - Helicopter
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 15 - read 15 books in a series (02/15)
99. Apple Strudel Alibi by HY Hanna
This time around, Gemma and the Old Biddies end up in Vienna (don’t ask) and the Old Biddies insist that a suicide in their hotel is actually murder. And wow, they're right! Who’d have guessed? Despite a bunch of things realllly stretching the limits of credulity on this one (taking Muesli to Vienna, the suicide note) and the clunkiness of some of the dialogue as Hanna struggles to describe the city and its history as effortlessly as she does with Oxford, there are also a lot of really cute and amusing moments - I loved Gemma’s outdoor misadventure - and Muesli gets to have a starring role in this one. I got what I came for!
Dates Read: October 17 to 18, 2022
Page Count: 316
4 out of 5 stars
Challenge Factory Finish What You Started - October pick
Lost Challenges Read The Quote 2022 - U - UK Flag
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 15 - read 15 books in a series (03/15)
.
What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm currently reading The Magdalen Girls by V.S. Alexander. It's an easy read so far for such a grim subject matter.
What I'm Planning To Read Next: I have the last book in the Chet & Bernie Mysteries on transfer at the library, so I'm hoping that will arrive in the next couple of days. *fingers crossed*
97. Plague of the Undead by Joe McKinney
30+ years after the zombie apocalypse, the community of Arbella has grown from 1000 survivors to 10,000 inhabitants and is outgrowing its boundaries, so a small group gets permission to scout the outlying areas in advance of expansion. I thought this sounded like a pretty unique take on the genre. So much could be done with sending “innocents” out into a changed world with the knowledge of what had happened but no real experience. Unfortunately, the expedition aspect quickly gets squashed by the ol’ marauding band of bad guys. And then there’s this whole weird subplot involving an advanced civilization, which makes absolutely zero sense in this universe. None of the characters are particularly interesting, and an abrupt ending leaves a lot of dangling plot points, presumably so the author could write a sequel (which I won’t be picking up.) The book includes four unconnected short stories at the end to pad out the volume.
Dates Read: October 10 to 13, 2022
Page Count: 295 (including short stories)
3 out of 5 stars
Prompt-A-Month October - “Hallowe’en”
Read The Quote 2022 - U - Undead
Lost Challenges Clean It Out October 03 - read one book you bought or borrowed but have not read
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 16 - read 16 books from your favourite genre (01/16)
98. Element Zero by James Knapp
The final book of the Revivors trilogy wraps things up with a fast-paced conclusion. We finally get to see what Zoe’s visions have meant, whether Fawkes and his army of the undead will be defeated, and what part badass Calliope Flax plays in it all. There was much more action in this one which kept me turning the pages, even though it was hard to root for anyone because both sides in the fight were just nasty and did horrible things, so there just wasn’t a satisfactory conclusion. That made it feel real, though. And I was happy to finally see some more traditional zombie action. So much more could have been done with that, but I’ll take what I can get.
Dates Read: October 13 to 16, 2022
Page Count: 368
4 out of 5 stars
Four Moon Challenge 11 - Third book in trilogy
Lost Challenges Read The Quote 2022 - H - Helicopter
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 15 - read 15 books in a series (02/15)
99. Apple Strudel Alibi by HY Hanna
This time around, Gemma and the Old Biddies end up in Vienna (don’t ask) and the Old Biddies insist that a suicide in their hotel is actually murder. And wow, they're right! Who’d have guessed? Despite a bunch of things realllly stretching the limits of credulity on this one (taking Muesli to Vienna, the suicide note) and the clunkiness of some of the dialogue as Hanna struggles to describe the city and its history as effortlessly as she does with Oxford, there are also a lot of really cute and amusing moments - I loved Gemma’s outdoor misadventure - and Muesli gets to have a starring role in this one. I got what I came for!
Dates Read: October 17 to 18, 2022
Page Count: 316
4 out of 5 stars
Challenge Factory Finish What You Started - October pick
Lost Challenges Read The Quote 2022 - U - UK Flag
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 15 - read 15 books in a series (03/15)
.