Comments on: The Zombie Chronicles: Escape

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:01:18 +0000

Wow, the comments. Lazy writing? I guess they didn’t get the part about that this was the “character” talking, and not the author. It seems like a few people have issues on how the character came across.

I came across your book, on my way to reading The Infection / The Road. I figured, i’d listen to a few chapters of your book, then quickly jump to those guys. That didn’t happen, well atleast not prior to me finishing your book first. I literally could not pull myself from it. I’ve read a ton of zombie books, and i was impressed the direction you went with this. The characters were well thought out, and they were flawed in many ways themselves. But i loved the Children of the Dead. I threw you a few bucks, not much but if everybody read it and did what I did, you’d have some good money.

In the end, i love your work here…

By: alan

alan — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:49:17 +0000

I have to say while I enjoyed the book
overall, I think the twist made me face palm.
SPOILERS****** I’m fine with it being alien in
origin, though that took some getting used to*****
I mean the fact they kept the main character in
the dark, just because they thought he wouldn’t
believe them… I mean He’s fighting zombies, why
would it be a stretch for him to buy what
they were hiding from him? That’s the thing
that drove me nuts, because it seemed like lazy writing
just to have the character go through a guessing game on
loyalty. Other than that, I liked it as a fun fast-food style
zombie book… hope to read more!

By: charlessmallpawkins

charlessmallpawkins — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 23:15:33 +0000

Your use of analogies becomes wearisome.

The zombie looked at me like a puppy looks at a bone you gave it trying to decide if its real or plastic

I felt like a bag shit set on fire waiting to be stomped on.

There were so many. You definitely said ‘more faster’ at one point too.

By: New2audiobooks

New2audiobooks — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:52:16 +0000

The story has a lot of potential but there are some serious things that I would consider “issues” with this podiobook.
Breezing through some of the author’s comments, he does seem to be classy and accept criticism in it’s context, so props for that. With that said, though, the writing is, as a few people have said, high school level at best. The dialog is redundant and stillted. The characters are a whirlwind of emotion and often their colorful descriptions aren’t reinforced by their actions, or perhaps simply from their lack of development.
The main character, though allegedly a proud American loses something with Canadian accent. This brings me to one of my biggest issues with the story and that is the voices and narration. To put it simply, the Mexican often sounded like an Indian, and the rest of the voices would get muddled if they were speaking in sequence and, what I found most annoying was everyone’s Canadian accent. There were so many “OOuts” and “abOOuts” that I can’t even count. Maybe most people don’t mind but, especially when different voices were used, again in sequence, I found it distracting. But then again, I’m a simple minded American, used to “American talk.”
To you James, for what my meager opinion counts for, potentially a very good storyline. I would say that your cadence and dialog could use some work as well as the gratuitous use of comparisons, just to give them some variation. Thanks for your hard work.

By: Sim

Sim — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 07:52:22 +0000

Enjoyable book, but horrible music between chapters.

By: Th3velourfog

Th3velourfog — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:33:01 +0000

I tried to get into this but could not. The story has way to many plot holes, there is zero character build up and the interaction between them is horrible.at one point it goes from the main character not knowing anything too being the leader of the resistance and being the savior of the world all within a couple of sentences with no build up.the writting. Reads like a junior high fan fic piece.If you want a good zombie story check out were alive podcast, just google were alive you’ll find it, way better then this crap.

By: xXAzraelXx

xXAzraelXx — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:35:59 +0000

Wow. this is awesome. I’ve been looking for some half decent zombie related audiobooks and I found something far better: “The Zombie chronicles: Escape”. It has been a really well balanced listen so far (I’m about half way through). Perhaps the most impressive quality is how the author manages to get away with such far fetched ideas by depicting a protagonist who seems just as skeptical as the listener often is. I can’t believe this is free.

By: RomsZone

RomsZone — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:11:48 +0000

New listener here and up to episode 6, I think it is a great book so far. Luckily I found it today, now I can listen to the whole book right away (sorry for those suckers that had to wait, jk).

I know good and bad comments are needed (and I’m sure welcome), but remember the book is free. So if you don’t like it, don’t listen. The whole internet is out there. Also I thought the “Bite your dick off like an Oscar Meyer Wiener” line was quite comical and fitting for the character.

By: James Melzer

James Melzer — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 10:14:51 +0000

Thanks for the kind words, Angela. I’m glad you’re having fun and enjoying the book.

By: Angela

Angela — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:12:52 +0000

I’m having so much fun with this book! It’s definitely something that keeps me entertained on my breaks at work and when I’m riding the bus around town. I love James’ voice as well, and find it easy to visualise the events, the characters and the flesh-eaters.
After Nameless has his “dream” when he’s attacked by the zombie in his apartment, I wonder if it’s actually a psychic skill he has. I only wonder this after the “viewer” skill is mentioned in passing a couple of times.
Very interesting….Nameless sure seems to have some coveted blood.
I want more of the Apocalypse, now!

By: Jack B

Jack B — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:28:41 +0000

I powered through the first few chapters, but to be frank, the incessant swearing(not that it offended me) and low production values were just too distracting in the end. The script/story did have some points that seemed worthwhile and interesting, but the writing was cliche and stuttering. “Bite your dick off like an oscar meyer weiner” stands as a shining example of the way the writing leaves a sour taste in your mouth, not because the phrase makes you shudder in horror, but because it seems so lacking in style, subtlety, or taste. Perhaps this line(and others like it) is supposed to be in keeping with the main character’s personality, but it comes off less edgy and more childish, no towards the author intended. Perhaps a very thorough round of editing, a second and third draft, and a professional voice-actor could save this audiobook, but as it stands I must recommend that the average reader take a pass. Come back later, when there is some polish, and some dignity to this work.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 07:42:53 +0000

This book was terrible. I could hardly finish it. It was either written for a 13 year old boy, or by a 13 year old boy. The drama was contrived, the character interactions were childish, and absolutely no suspense or horror. Awful.

By: Rosanna

Rosanna — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:34:51 +0000

I’m not that keen on the whole zombie craze…kinda tired for me..
But I just started this one and am really liking it.
Great narrative and an interesting plot premise..at least so far..I’m really liking it a lot.
The first person narrative is unique for the podiobook and it works well here. It’s not the same old tread over zombie tale either..
It has some teeth of it’s own..
Some people get a little critical on pivotal plot points…but most books have their little holes..
and even real life is not always so logical to me. If you think it is…live a little while longer.

By: mister adam

mister adam — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:13:59 +0000

The line about eating your dick off like an oscar meyer weiner made me chuckle and want to check out the next chapter. That’s my kind of humor!

By: JClark

JClark — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:51:17 +0000

I’ll be really interested to see the print book. Self publishing has its place, but so do editors. You’ve got some great ideas and an interesting narrative going (and after checking out your web site, I’, even more interested to see where things are going). Knowing that it’s a first draft explains pretty much everything I was commenting about above (and it’s better than any of my first drafts). Excellent!

By: James Melzer

James Melzer — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:18:56 +0000

JClark – Thanks for the comment and yes, I am classy about this stuff. I appreciate your honesty and I wanted to be the first to respond before anyone does attack you.

First, you should know that (much to my dismay) When I began this podiobook, I began it by podcasting the first draft of the novel while I was writing it. I broke the rule that states you should finish a book before podcasting it and yes, that is something that if I could go back and do over, I would. Too late.

Second, there are lines in the book that are there to purposely make you cringe, so if the one you speak of made you do that, good.

Third, in case you haven’t heard, all three books in the trilogy have been bought by Permuted Press with the first one, Escape, coming to print later this year. It has already gotten three good passes and a professional edit, so rest assured that by the time it hits the shelves, it will have been through some changes that make the story better and fix any plot holes that may have happened while I was writing it.

Feel free to drop by my website any time and leave a comment there as well if you have something on your mind. I welcome them and am very good about constructive criticism, which you have provided here. You obviously took some time to form your thoughts rather than just saying, “Man, this book sucks,” and I can respect that.

Cheers!

By: JClark

JClark — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:39:12 +0000

So far this is an interesting story, but like a lot of the books here, the writing drags it down a bit. Honestly “they still just wanted one thing: to fucking eat your dick off like an Oscar Mayer wiener.” Really? How does a line like that not make you cringe? Like I said, the story is interesting, but it reads like something a teenager would write, all the while thinking he’s terribly clever.

Also, there’s a decided lack of logic to certain story points. For example, the guy gets a recording of someone saying, essentially “they’re using your blood to destroy the human race, trust me, now go do something reckless before it’s too late.” Why, exactly, does he take this at face value? There’s no evidence given, not even the slightest hint of what the voice is talking about, but he immediately sets out to do something reckless. I guess it kind of works if you accept that he’s paranoid already and just looking for an excuse, but I didn’t get that vibe. He’s not paranoid, he’s cynical, and people like that don’t set out to screw with the system.

I know I’m going to get attacked mercilessly for this, for whatever reason negative comments don’t seem to be welcomed in these reviews (except by the authors, oddly enough, who are usually very classy about it). I’m offering this up because I think that with another pass and a good editor this story could be something really great. Without that, it’s most likely destined to receive the inevitable glowing praise from the podiobooks.com audience, and that’s where it will end. That would be a real shame.

By: Kate Sherrod

Kate Sherrod — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:50:58 +0000

This is a cracking good story in its own right, but Melzer’s gleeful narration makes it extraordinary. His obvious enthusiasm for his material comes through in every word. The story is very vivid and original (hard to pull off with a tried-and-true trope like zombies) and the narrator sympathetic has all hell when he pauses to ponder his responsibility within the larger mess. I’m only about halfway through as I type this; clearing my schedule on my days off to catch up because I’ve JOINED THE INVASION!!!

By: rabarts

rabarts — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:55:50 +0000

Read my Review of the Zombie Chronicles here:

http://freshly-ground.blogspot.com/2009/05/podcast-novel-review-zombie-chronicles.html

“Melzer has single-handedly reinvented the zombie genre, while never abandoning everything we love about zombie stories – decaying flesh, the lust for human meat, brains exploding under well-aimed headshots.”

Click the link to read the full review.

By: Louise

Louise — Sun, 10 May 2009 17:09:07 +0000

…About the ‘obscenities’
Each character in, any good novel must have their own style based on their education, how and where they grew up. Hence, some only know how to communicate with ‘curse’ words.

If you have problems with the ‘bad words’ you might read the printed novel of ‘Zombie Chronicles’, that way you can skip over the curse words. This novel is too bloody good to pass up because of the language of some of the characters.