David AchordRessenyes

I learned about Mount Weather (the place) from the TV series The 400 and hoped David Achord's "Mount Weather" was post-apocalyptic. Better yet--it was a zombie book!

My first viewing zombie series was ZNation, and Zombie Rules is my zombie reading series.

Although Mount Weather is the fifth in the series, it works as a stand-alone book. There are a lot of characters to remember, but eventually, I caught on.

I couldn't stop listening. I put aside what I planned to do to listen to this book. It was a satisfying read.

I look forward to the next book in the series.

"Fever!" was just as good as "Mount Weather." I enjoyed it more because I already knew who the people were.

I enjoy post-apocalyptic because the focus of existence is less. Zach writes about civilization-building and problems that come with prosperity, mainly greed.

Deuteronomy 15 talks about how every seven years, the Jews were supposed to cancel all debts, among other things, because "there will always be poor people."

Maintaining a healthy civilization is about balance.

I loved "Fever!" and hope to read more of the series soon.

I like this kind of zombie action, because the hero is proactive instead of reactive. He's planning things out. I see a lot of reviews complaining about misogynistic writing. I won't dispute that. I even enjoyed it. :)

For me, to use the old cliche, the pages turned themselves. I've already picked up and started the second book in the series.

Another winner for me. Easy to read and I enjoyed it, and rarely put the book down. What more could I ask for? Zach continues to be a proactive person, planning things out.

On to book 3...

Once again, I was engrossed by the book and the pages practically turned themselves. Luckily, my Kindle battery wore out just as I finished the book...

What a roller coaster ride this book was.

Still loving this series. The ending of the last book was a big surprise, so I wasn't sure how the story would continue, but it managed fine. Although I was hoping some characters would reappear. I'm just starting the 5th book and a little anxious that it's the last one out there. I like the zombie aspects of this series. It brings it up just a notch.

Overall, this short collection of dinosaur monster tales was OKAY. To be perfectly honest, they were mostly carbon-copy military action types with a subtitle that says "competence porn" ... at least until the competence runs out.

It's what you might expect if you're expecting monstrous baddies eating our protagonists regularly. :)

There ARE a few stories that are worth mentioning that are much better than the rest. In fact, I really got into them.

Geoff Jones. The First Man on Earth.

I don't know what it was about this one, but the whole time-travel thing and the background tension and the foreground tension did EVERYTHING for me. A real delight.

Alan Baxter. Jeremiah's Puzzle.

I laughed and had a wonderful time with this one, too. It's a great mashup of Hellraiser and T-Rex on an unsuspecting English town. :)

And then there was Rick Chesler, with Mantle. It was a totally a Journey to the Center of the Earth homage but I don't care. At least it updated some of the tech and it was amusing. :)


I won't say that the rest were bad. It's just mil-porn and there's a market for it. It's just not precisely me. :)

Zfinity is like enjoying a ride through the Disney World Haunted House - you see some things that scare you, others make you laugh. Suddenly, the floor drops out from under you, leaving you screaming while dropping through the darkness, then wondering if this is really happening.That's exactly how I felt reading this series. Survival during an apocalypse such as this changes people over time; best friends will betray you for something as simple as food and ammunition, loved ones will lie, cheat and steal from you, rapists don't suddenly stop their perverse behavior, and all human bullies want to be king of the hill.

The zombies are changing, regenerating themselves, seem to be communicating among themselves, motor skills are enhanced - they are now able to open doors and do other things previously incapable of doing. Oh, and they now have a zombie leader who can plan and execute ambushes and raids.

A contingency of Marines visit the homestead, but everything is not what it seems. They have an agenda in mind which includes Zach, Fred, Andie, Julie and the rest of the homestead, but not in the way you may think! Readers soon learn that Zach's blood is immune to the zombie virus and may be the key to ending the apocalypse - it doesn't happen in this story, but a thought for a future installment. This is where the floor suddenly falls away in the story...I was taken aback, saddened and somewhat depressed when finishing the book! Where is Janet? Where are Zach's kids? What happened to Bo and Penny? There has to be a part four in the works...too many questions unanswered to end this series.

John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel

"Z14: Zombie Rules" by David Achord is much improved from the 1st book in the series. There is a lot more action taking place - mostly interaction with living survivors vs.battles with zombies. The book takes on more of a survivalist format and concentrates too much on preparing for the future and rebuilding society. It seems like every group Zach comes in contact with wants to rule the world. Zach also discovers something very special about these zombies in the last few months - his hypothesis is not proven within this story and will, perhaps, be one of the topics in the next installment.

I do understand that this is a story within the dystopian genre and slanted more toward a younger audience, but the sex - visual descriptions and the many suggestive thoughts was a little too much - even for me!. At the end, I thought the author painted Zach as more ruthless and cold blooded compared to the 1st installment...he's still a know it all who has suddenly evolved into a highly skilled planner, strategist and killer within a year. Thank goodness he understood a few Swahili phrases or he and Terry would have been easily killed by one of the groups they confronted! Wow!

What happened to just living for the day...battling zombies and trying to outrun and survive the enemy's relentless pursuit? How is it that the area where Zach's farm is located is zombie-free without somebody standing watch 24 hours a day? Not here!

Readers also get an opportunity to learn more about how the apocalypse has affected other parts of the U.S., particularly, the feedback from soldiers at Ft. Campbell, KY and via Fred's journey to L.A. "Z14: Zombie Rules" is still a real page turner, engaging, emotional and takes readers on a roller coaster ride through the apocalypse. All the open-ending questions I had after completing the first book were answered here, the ending is also cut and dry and doesn't leave readers hanging from the edge of a cliff to see what happens next. I have started the 3rd book in the series and see it as a continuation - I wonder if I'll learn more about Ft. Campbell, Major Sarah and Capt. Steen?

I do recommend this book, but suggest you read book 1 first and then immediately follow with this one. There is food for thought, times for laughter, and times for sorrow. I'm hoping that book 3 is as good as this one.

John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel

When I first purchased "Zombie Rules" by David Achord, I did so after reading the description posted on a book marketing website and did not know it was part of a series. I very seldom read reviews before downloading a book because I am normally drawn in by the book cover and the story description.

I enjoyed reading this book, for the most part, as the story showed more interaction between the characters and their struggles for survival during the zombie apocalypse - very similar to the television "Walking Dead Series". Our main protagonist, Zack, is only 16 years old but comes across much older and wiser for his age. Sure, they ran into zombies and living thieves on occasion, fighting to protect themselves and what they had - at times, it appeared like there was no way out and characters were going to die. Some do!

Zombie Rules is entertaining, engaging and a roller coaster ride for readers once you get started. I do have some criticism about the author, David Achord's writing style. There aren't many typos, but extra words exist throughout the book - as if an editor forgot to delete them after making corrections. Also, I found myself stopping on occasion because something the author wrote raised a flag, kind of like, 'wait a minute, didn't he say something different earlier'? I love the old beekeeper - reminds me of Yoda in the Star Wars series.

The ending left me deflated when it suddenly stopped! And the two chapter preview sample afterwards had nothing to do with the story I just finished - not offering any hints as to how the story continues. I would have guessed that any author who leaves readers hanging like that SHOULD have included something to satisfy readers and not move them to an entirety different story that he published.

Now after reading the reviews I find there are two more books on Amazon for this continuing story. You have me hooked David, and I did purchase the next two Kindle books to see how the story progresses. I hope I am not disappointed!

John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel

The post-apocalyptic zombie genre seems to be a favorite of mine as of late. I started out have some mixed feelings about this one GSP (grammar, spelling, punctuation) was fine, but I felt a little lost. There were things going on that became apparent the author assumed you knew about. I was curious though and the sample provided some entertainment. I found that this was the second novel in a series and although I am concerned the novels might turn out to have no conclusion and simply being put out as more books to earn more money, I purchased the first novel, Zombie Rules.

I continue to be amazed at Mr. Achord and this story. It was even better than the first. I disagree with a previous review about all of the women fawning over Zach.

*SPOILER*
I think Andie felt that way about Zach due to the fact that all of the men in the Captain's group were older, and she was claimed by him anyway. Zach not only was her age, but was probably the only male to show her any kindness since the disaster hit.
As for the other "women" I feel it is the same thing with the age, as well as his kindness. Plus all women know that they, subconsciously or not, gravitate toward the Alpha male, and Zach is undoubtedly an Alpha, someone who will shelter and protect them, even if they do not need it.

Other than Mr. Achord using peaked instead of peeked, I loved this book! I hope there is another one in the works.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Given that it was written by a former military man, I figured it would have more tech speak than it did, which I am glad of. Don't get me wrong, I like those too, but it was a nice change of pace. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good read without all of the gore. Flowed very smoothly, too!