Today, we're going to the horror genre, with a short novella about zombies. Here's what you need to know…

Indeadpendence Day

July 4^th: The infection begins Rachel and her family end up in a small town when it is over run by zombies. The infection spreads quickly and Rachel fights to keep herself and her little cousin alive. Teaming up with two soldiers, Gabe and Adam, they must try and escape the town before it is blown off the map. But will it be enough to stop the zombies?

My Review: 3.5 stars

I was hoping for something out of the ordinary with this zombie book, something to set it apart from all the others out there. The only thing I can say is "unique" from all the zombie books I've read is that it is set at the ONSET of the zombie plague, rather than deep into it when the world is overrun. The writing is fine, if a bit amateur-ish at parts (lots of "telling" instead of "showing", too much passive, etc.). There is a lot of punctuation missing (commas, mainly). I don't give it high marks on the narrative and overall construction, but the dialogue was good. The characters were a bit two-dimensional, though perhaps that has more to do with the length of the book (not enough time to delve into the characters). Either way, I felt nothing toward the various characters when they lived, died, or suffered. The ending disappointed me in a way, and made me say "Oh well done" in another way. The disappointment was the very anticlimactic climax (it barely stood out as being the climax of the book). I can't tell you what I liked, as that would spoil the book. All in all, not a bad read, but not the awesome zombie book I was hoping for.

Here's a Taste:

I scrambled over Cady to get a better look at the garage below. A black Impala had collided with the far wall. The driver’s door lay open and smoke was escaping from under the hood. Some idiot was probably drink driving, I thought. He didn't seem to have hit anything vital just a workbench. I got back into my own seat and rolled down the window again, "Hey, can we get down now?" There was no answer. "Hello? Lower the car!" Eerie silence greeted me. Where were Mom and Dad? The mechanic? I would just have to climb down and lower it myself. I glanced at Cady. "Cady, I'm just going to see what happened. I'll be right back." Cady stared blankly at me as she sucked on her fist. I opened the door and began to climb down. Once Cady realized she was being abandoned she began howling. I hesitated, "No, Cady. It's okay. I'll be right back." This made her howl louder. Damn it. "Hey, Cady. Why don't we sing a song? Huh? What song do you want?" Cady paused in her wailing to open and close her fists. I recognized it as the action for Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Rolling my eyes, I started to sing and Cady joined in with her own version of the words. As I climbed down I kept singing loudly, feeling like an idiot but at least she had stopped the crying. When I reached the floor, the garage appeared to be deserted. I found the controls and lowered the car. It was about three feet off the ground when something clattered behind me. I whirled around looking for the source. "Hello?" I called. I stepped around a sports car and found the mechanic. He lay on his back on the ground. "Hey are you okay?" I rushed forward then stopped when I saw the blood. His throat had been ripped open. Blood covered his overalls and his eyes were frozen open in horror. "Oh my God," I whispered, backing away. What the hell happened? "Mom? Dad?" I called. I ran past a small office to find a man in a suit hunched over another man. I recognized my dad's watch; it was his body on the ground. Did he collapse? Or was he attacked? "What happened to him?" I cried. The other man's head whipped round. His mouth was smeared with blood and in his hand he held what looked like part of someone's intestines. When he moved back I saw my dad. He had been ripped open from his chest to his stomach. There was blood everywhere. I doubled over, gagging, "Dad! No!" I screamed.

About the Author:

Samantha Gregory grew up in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. She has been writing since she was a child. She writes primarily in the horror/fantasy genre. Daemon Persuasion is the first book in the Daemon series, published by Mockingbird Lane Press. The sequel Daemon Madness is due for release soon. After is the first book in the After zombie series from J. Ellington Ashton Press. The sequel Before will be released this year. In her spare time, Samantha enjoys watching horror movies, reading and archery. She also posts reviews on her blog for other writers. Find the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Indeadpendence-Day-S-K-Gregory-ebook/dp/B010W97AQ0/ Read Sam's thoughts on her website: Www.storyteller-skgregory.weebly.com Tweet at her: Www.twitter.com/sam_skgregory