Ground Zero: A Zombie Apocalypse

"Ground Zero: A Zombie Apocalypse" was easy to read and flowed well. Jack Cutter, a struggling artist, is rescued during the outbreak of a zombie virus and then reluctantly put in charge of a small group of survivors in the basement of a book store. He is befriended by an employee, a shipping clerk who is also a survivalist, he's planned for something like this all his life. He has a well defended fortress, a generator, guns, ammunition and enough food and water to survive for the next six months - he was leaving first thing in the morning to get back there. Unfortunately for the group, the clerk sneaks out on his own during the night and makes his escape toward home.Without a choice, those remaining must leave for the countryside without any delay. Three teams of four survivors leave their sanctuary at 30 minute intervals in a quest to escape the powerful zombies who stop at nothing to reach them. Jack's group manages to successfully reach a car , making good their escape from the downtown area, however, Jack changes his mind at the last second and doesn't leave with them. Instead, he is drawn to an apartment complex and is rescued once again, but this time by a Pastor and his daughter. Overnight, they convince him that a higher power has other plans in store for him,Mr. Ryan paints exceptional scenes and delivers edge of your seat, thrilling action during the story - at times, I felt like I was right there with Jack and company. It felt so real that often I thought I could feel the hot stinking breath of a zombie on the back of my neck. Great read! Looking forward to reading other books by this author. Great job Mr. Ryan!John Podlaski, authorCherries - A Vietnam War Novel .

I LOVE Zombie fiction.I was excited when I first heard about Ground Zero: A Zombie Apocalypse, but also nervous, as there are quite a few really bad (in my opinion) zombie books out there. I downloaded it immediately when it became available, hoping that it would be great addition to my zombie library.On the first page of the book is this:"This is exactly the kind of intelligent, action-packed zombie thriller that fans of D J Molles and Max Brooks will love - ZombieBookBlog"And I thought, Yeah? Raising my eyebrows slightly ... boy, was I in for a surprise. This book IS that good.I loved the story and I particularly liked the fact that we knew from chapter one what was happening. The who, why, and how of the story was told upfront which was a pleasant change, as I could then sit back and read without the usual questions hanging in the air.It is extremely well written and was such a pleasure to read. Good writing can have you on the edge of your seat throughout the book (no distractions), and this is what happened with Ground Zero. The author and his editor (?) did a really good job.The action was non-stop from the start right up until the incredible end. It was nerve-wracking, and each action packed scene was well thought out.The characters were all great, with good background information which made the read even more enjoyable. Some of the characters had to make some really tough choices, but when faced with the end of the world, your survival and the survival of others makes every decision you make vital, and sometimes, difficult decisions need to be made.I am not sure, but I think this is a stand-alone novel, but I sincerely hope I am wrong as I would love to read more about Jack Cutter and what happens next.This is a really great story. I loved it and highly recommend it - you won't regret it.

I picked this up due to a D.J. Molles recommendation. I thought I was in for a decent read of at least similar quality. Unfortunately, was sorely disappointed.To begin with, the character development is kind of flimsy. I liked how the story began with a couple of different characters being introduced and quickly killed off. And then they introduced the main character. Without going into details, there really isn't much going on there. I wanted to like him due to his recent loss, but considering he was comparing all the woman's breasts he ran across, I found it very difficult. Not that he was completely unlikeable. He just wasn't up to par with other post-apocalyptic protagonists.The second gripe I have is the timeframe the story takes place in. I realize that the author was trying to get across that the apocalypse would play out quickly, but some of it was completely unbelievable. It took about 1 day to get out of the main city. In that time, food was spoiling and rats had taken to devouring the corpses. The apartment of the lawyer was described as if it had been abandoned and undisturbed for weeks when less then a day had actually passed. There are a couple of other instances, but I'd say those are the most glaring inconsistencies.And finally, what is up with all the sexual tension? I get it. A boob is a boob, zombies be damned. But it is empty filler. If you're going to describe every boob as if it is the last boob on Earth, then put them into play. Don't just have the main character seem like all he does it check out boobs all the time.All said and done, the story line is salvageable. If the author were to decide to continue this storyline, then please take these comments as constructive criticism.

This book has some good ideas, some of which were executed well (who doesnt love a mad dash for safety when the hero is being pursued by zombies?). However, there were some issues with this book, first, the author tended to describe the female characters using language more suited for a romance novel (breasts jutting against t-shirts, rounded thighs etc), which was incongruous due to the nature of the book (surely the hero would be more interested in avoiding zombies than assessing the shape of a female characters thigh as she runs away from said zombies?). Second, the women in the book all seemed to feel that they needed a man in order to survive, now if the female characters had all been hopeless wimps this attitude could have worked. However, the male character they are so keen to follow is a loser, with no weapons, no plan and a bit of a death wish - at one point there are 3 girls who are in possession of a car, guns (which they know how to shoot) and a survival kit who still beg the male character to come with them rather than going off on his own, despite the fact that he has nothing other then the fact he is a bloke to offer them.... I mean really? If the bloke had been a keen survivalist with weapons galore I could have understood, but I just didnt get the whole man = survival thing when applied to this particular male character. Finally there were certain aspects fo the book which were unexplained in an annoying fashion - apparently driving at night is an issue - why? are zombies faster at night? are you worried about them seeing the headlights? how do you know its an issue as this is the first time you have tried driving at night with zombies around?..... sigh, in conclusion could have been a great book, but needed a good editor to sort out the kinks.

This was my first Zombie book and to be honest I wasn't sure if i would like it or not. But i have to say I enjoyed it and it did get me hooked! I'm not a lover of gorey stuff, bit of a wimp lol Some parts i had to scan quickly because they were a bit 'yuk' for me, but I loved the writing and the descriptions were brilliant, even if they made you go 'eww' lol. It was a good story, lots of action going on in it and some pretty intense moments.Overall I really enjoyed my first Zombie book, a lot more than I thought I would and will definitely be reading more by Nick Ryan!

I'm an avid Zombie lover, read lots of book, films and even Zombie runs.... I'm a self proclaimed expert!This is an excellent book, nice to know how the zombie out break starts.Couple of little, minor points is that after day two the zombies are said to be rotting and there was a point about rotting food in the fridge, but the time lapse wasn't long enough for that, from my point of view but that doesn't distract from the story or writing.However that said a really good Zombie Genre book. Look forward to another from Nicholas Ryan.

Really enjoyed this guys writing style and ideas. The star of the book is a normal guy who has been through a terrible recent event. he then uses the guilt he feels to help other people. Great twist on the usual star of a book of this sort, there are no weekend warriors here just regular people we can all relate to, just trying to do their best for themselves and other people. Sometimes that works out sometimes not.Even though I finished it less than 2 months ago I'll probably be reading it again when I finish my current book.

Yet another book where the baddie is an Iraqi Muslim. Is this an American thing? It made a nice change to have biological warfare rather than the usual suicide bomber though. The action was great. Loads of death and destruction, splatter and gore - what's not to like? Nicely fast-paced with just enough background to round out Jack Cutter's character without eating into the action too much. I would recommend this for any zombie fan and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.