Slow start but worth it

The first 2 books were mostly character development. Things picked up in the third and took off.
It took getting used to John Lee's narration, as he seems more of the Pride and Prejudice type.
I was surprised at how much I didn't want the books to end.
Very good overall.

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Good survival novels

This book is a really good survival novels. The narrator John Lee always does a great job.

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Unexpected

I went in not expecting much. I'm glad to be proven wrong. Interesting take on the zombie shtick. Well written, and the narrator did a fantastic job.

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Not a bad story but....

Not bad however far from good. The story itself was ok however I wasn’t moved by any of the characters, not even peter. John lee however leaves me constantly wondering what is going on with the story. He doesn’t pause for cadence and lacks feeling in the characters in the story. The book might benefit from different narration but with much better offerings from other books (ex. Mountain man) and various other books, why bother.
To sum it up, read the book your self and steer clear from books narrated be John lee.

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A very British zombie thriller.

I finally listened to the series after getting used to John Lee’s narration again. I found it weird that he was voicing a zombie series when I always think of him voicing things written hundreds of years ago or written to take place hundreds of years ago with a historical weight to it. So I listened to Pillars of Earth as a palate cleanser.

I can safely say now that John Lee was the right voice for this book. It was my own mental stereotyping that got my brain locked up. John Lee is a voice for mature novels. My brain couldn’t believe that any zombie book could be mature.

They are popcorn fiction. Listen to or read the Arisen series. Best popcorn fiction zombie military romp I’ve ever had the joy to listen to RC Bray act his ass off through.

But god damn it, this is an incredibly mature zombie series. This one wears a monocle and looks disapprovingly at me while sucking on a walnut pipe through a massive moustache.

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Acceptable ZA Fiction At Best. Criminally Miscast.

This offering is less a series of six post-apocalyptic books than it is episodes in a single tale featuring scattered remnants of British military units.. including Armored Cavalry officers (TANKS VERSUS ZOMBIES, people), SAS troopers, Royal Marine snipers, and NATO Special Forces operatives.. chaperoning a handful of civilians that are simply trying to survive.

The recording starts inauspiciously - with genuinely *tedious* Books 1 & 2 and some questionable story elements:
• The plague originates as a Bacteria/Virus hybrid (no that's not biologically possible) escaping from a British Biological Weapons lab built in the middle of London for some reason
• An incredibly implausible protagonist is introduced: bullied pre-teen 'Peter' crisscrossing the landscape destroying zombies with a pitchfork and saving toddlers - you read that right: a NINE-YEAR-OLD with a PITCHFORK
• We meet a cartoonish central-to-the-story 'Sergeant-Major Johnson' who barks comedy-relief insults like Gunny Hartman in 'Full Metal Jacket'.. and insists on ABSOLUTE discipline among his charges.. but casually breaks Quarantine himself basically because he's bored. [Note: he becomes more realistic in Books 3-6, but wow.. talk about an inconsistent character]

Devon C. Ford tries his best to improve on those elements - and does indeed surpass the headshaking first installments - but falls just short of a commendable genre entry.
Some of the rag-tag survivors end up overwhelmed and chased into the abandoned countryside for a credible "reunite-with-family-that-you're-shocked-to-find-out-survived" saga.. while other military remnants realistically struggle to set up defensible outposts.. waiting for the zombies to rot away (or work on strategies to lure the undead into easily disposable conglomerations/develop biological weapons that backfire spectacularly) - yielding multiple entertaining storylines.
Unfortunately, Ford's description skills are average; the clichés outnumber the original features to the story; the tone is melodramatic, and the pacing in each tale is noticeably subpar (emotionally manipulative character interaction consumes loooong stretches of text while combat concludes far too quickly - invariably ending with gut-wrenching first-person descriptions of what it feels like to be bitten, infected, and transformed into a zombie).

Reader John Lee likewise turns in a disappointingly variable performance: providing much appreciated peerless diction/enunciation and a great baritone timbre - but exhibiting cringeworthy voice-acting (his American & French accents are terrible), an oddly irritating sing-song cadence with every second syllable emphasized (somewhat corrected by setting playback speed at 1.15X), and a flat matter-of-fact tone that is glaringly incongruous to emotionally-charged Horror fare like this. The narration is professional but totally unsuitable (Tantor Audio simply should not have enlisted Lee on the project).

I'm admittedly pretty picky with my Zombie Fiction - expecting gore, action, tension, and *some* pathos.. but above all: fun (The 'Mountain Man' series finds that balance flawlessly, imo).
Taken in toto, this Zombie series takes itself too seriously.. *eventually* rating an "adequate" 5.5 stars out of 10 (sticking with the audiobook despite the execrable first couple of installments is rewarding, I assure you. I promise that it gets better).
I furthermore applaud Audible for making the entire collection of six entries available as a single download.. because the individual "books" - even with a genius narrator - wouldn't be strong enough to stand on their own. The inclusion of the compendium as a 'Plus' selection is likewise merited - asking member listeners for a Credit for this stuff would be hard to defend.

["..and don't forget the Joker!!.."
Yes, happily Motörhead makes an appearance]

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