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The Zombie Generation

by Drake Vaughn (Goodreads Author)

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 16 ratings · 13 reviews

Warner is the sole survivor of a deathscape dominated by hordes of the undead. Years of isolation and lack of any human contact has driven him to the brink of insanity. Plagued with vivid hallucinations and shocking nightmares, he scours the deadlands for any signs of life. While discovering a temporary cure for his creeping mental illness, Warner is attacked and infected...more

Paperback, 238 pages

Published April 7th 2012 by Dead Orb Press

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Nov 02, 2012 Allizabeth Collins rated it 5 of 5 stars

Review:

After typing-up my last zombie book review, I was in no mood to read further into the genre, but with Halloween around the bend, I knew that readers would be in search of the next undead thriller. I had three choices, all looked interesting cover-wise, but the only one whose blurb spoke to me was Drake Vaughn's The Zombie Generation - a genre-bending psychological, post-apocalyptic horror novel where you never know the difference between reality and hallucination. The plot-line is anythin...more Review:

After typing-up my last zombie book review, I was in no mood to read further into the genre, but with Halloween around the bend, I knew that readers would be in search of the next undead thriller. I had three choices, all looked interesting cover-wise, but the only one whose blurb spoke to me was Drake Vaughn's The Zombie Generation - a genre-bending psychological, post-apocalyptic horror novel where you never know the difference between reality and hallucination. The plot-line is anything but stale, Warner's mental state paired with his worsening living situation, (no spoilers!), intrigue and shock readers from the beginning. His vivid hallucinations and chaotic inner dialogue are gritty and unnerving, often blurring the fine line between sanity and lunacy - for both Warner and the readers. I never knew what to believe about Warner's current Earth; was there a true "bugger" (zombie) situation? Or was the entire scenario within his mind? Was he truly the last man on Earth? I found it fascinating that Drake Vaughn managed to craft Warner's character so meticulously - he has a very well-developed and multi-layered personality that is unusual and unique. I enjoyed getting to know his character, even though it was difficult to relate to him at some points. He felt very "real", and I was genuinely invested in his well-being throughout the novel. I can attribute this to the author's ability to create a story for the character, a difficult task to be sure. Drake Vaughn's writing style is very descriptive, his characters, (buggers included), play their role well and are as integral to the story as brains are to zombies. The action scenes definitely had my heart racing, but some of them were slightly over-done; more superhero-esque than believable. When the action was full-throttle the pace was excellent, but there were a few instances, during the bugger attacks and some of the calmer moments, where the events were repetitive and the flow seemed to stumble. The buggers also took some getting used to - forget zombies of the past, these undead hordes are comprised of trash-eating, obese, alcoholic nymphomaniacs who sleep in huge rotting piles of the undead. They also speak... well, sort of; another reason why I could not really associate these buggers with zombies until much later in the book, but I thoroughly enjoyed the comedic inferences and haunting mental pictures that the text brought to mind. Overall, I loved Vaughn's unconventional take on the "zombie" apocalypse, and was left craving more! If current zombie novels were this "out-of-the-box" I wouldn't be so bored with them! Recommended to readers interested in a psychological thrill-ride complete with blood, gore, action, drama, kick ass character(s), and a biting wit.

Rating: On the Run (4.5/5)

*** I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.(less)

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Oct 31, 2012 Kevin Walsh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombie-novels

I am a bit torn at whether or not to call this a zombie novel. I don't think it really is a zombie novel because the infected don't quite resemble zombies except for the fact that they want to kill you. But it was a pretty enjoyable story nonetheless.

This novel is a psychological horror novel that focuses on a man named Warner. The tone and plot is a bit humorous but the situations and environment are horror down to the bones. The main character's narrative can be funny at times and you can feel...more I am a bit torn at whether or not to call this a zombie novel. I don't think it really is a zombie novel because the infected don't quite resemble zombies except for the fact that they want to kill you. But it was a pretty enjoyable story nonetheless.

This novel is a psychological horror novel that focuses on a man named Warner. The tone and plot is a bit humorous but the situations and environment are horror down to the bones. The main character's narrative can be funny at times and you can feel a great connection with Warner as he wades his way through the deadlands while trying to make sense of it all.

Plot: I am not so sure how I feel about the plot. The situations and the backdrop for the story were pretty good, but the story itself --to me-- wasn't as quick paced as I was expecting it to be. Sometimes the novel can seem to drag on a little, and this is mainly due to the main character's narrative jumping in at some points. I felt that the beginning of the novel required a bit of slogging, but once you get into the story it really is engrossing. The psychological elements to this story are very interesting and make for a unique reading experience.The narratives can often slow down the pace of the story, but without those narratives, this novel wouldn't be the psychological thriller that it is, so I guess I can't harp too much on the pace.

Writing: The writing was sharp and crisp. The author has a real voice and the way he describes action scenes are top notch. What makes the novel interesting to read is not only the fact that it is well written, but because the author can say things in a different voice than everybody else and he delivers a very different style of storytelling.

Characters: The only real character that the reader can associate with on any level is Warner. Warner is a great character because of how natural all his actions appear to be. All of his choices and thoughts are realistic and often I felt as though I could relate with Warner on a personal level, great reader-to-character connection. The character is an average guy with thoughts and real emotions. Warner is a character that people can give a damn about and that scored the author huge points in my books.

Overall: Good read. I wouldn't necessarily call this a zombie book but I guess that could also depend on who's reading it, to each their own. At times, it felt like I had to wade through thick narratives to get to the meat of the story but the time investment was worth it. This is a great psychological thriller that I think people would like if they gave it a chance. I'd highly recommend it to those who are looking for a very unconventional--in a good way--apocalyptic tale with a main character worth taking the journey with.(less)

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Jul 26, 2012 Matt Posner rated it 5 of 5 stars

Disclosure: the author gave me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and I have hosted him on my goodreads blog.

In the classic early sci-fi novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, one man is alone in a world of vampires, followed by a classic twist. Is he insane? How can he survive?

Drake Vaughn's The Zombie Generation offers another take on this scenario. Warner, the protagonist, takes advantage of boldness and skills at salvage and repair to exist alone in a world of _buggers_, a...more Disclosure: the author gave me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and I have hosted him on my goodreads blog.

In the classic early sci-fi novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, one man is alone in a world of vampires, followed by a classic twist. Is he insane? How can he survive?

Drake Vaughn's The Zombie Generation offers another take on this scenario. Warner, the protagonist, takes advantage of boldness and skills at salvage and repair to exist alone in a world of _buggers_, as the book calls the "infected with mysterious disease" form of zombie. At the same time he faces this problem, Warner also suffers from hallucinations, called figs (for _figments_ of his imagination) which get increasingly worse. On top of that, he is wounded by a bugger early on, and begins a long, slow transformation into a creature of the same type.

Drake Vaughn has written not only a detailed action yarn, but also a complex psycho-sexual study of a man in decline, all his weaknesses laid bare in isolation. Fundamentally, this is a work of tragedy, in which the dramatic irony intensifies as the reader gradually gains the clues to unravel the truth behind Warner's psychological deterioration.

Stories filled with hallucinatory flashbacks often strike me as contrived or clumsy, but not this one. The flashbacks are brief, pertinent, and relevant to the action. And there is plenty of that: Warner is constantly on the move, in deadly peril, forced to be resourceful to survive.

I appreciate the inventiveness of the background detail in Drake's story. The biology and behavior of the buggers is as fascinating as a nature documentary. A few passages of faux history make for clever commentary on 21st-century America. Finally, the title _Zombie Generation_ means a lot more than it at first appears.

These are all very cool aspects of a book that is way better than a standard zombie yarn. Drake Vaughn shows us sophistication and talent beyond the typical first-time author, both in the complexity of his story and in the writing style. I strongly recommend this book.

I would recommend that Drake get a new cover, because a gas mask is not a significant element of his story. (less)

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Jul 19, 2012 Frank Errington rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found myself having a love/hate relationship with The Zombie Generation. On the one hand, I like my Zombies to be of the George Romero/The Walking Dead variety. Able to be killed with a shot to the head, the bashing in of the head, or fire, as well as not being very conversant, other than the occasional groan or moan. These are not those Zombies.

Actually in this novel, the undead are not referred to as Zombies at all. In The Zombie Generation they're called "Buggers". The "Buggers" tend to be...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Beth rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's always cool when you discover a new genre of books or movies that you never in a million years expected to like. For me, it turned out to be zombies. I got sucked in by The Walking Dead which eventually led me to Drake Vaughn's The Zombie Generation - and it did not disappoint.

What I like most about zombie stories is how each author has their own take on how zombies act and what caused them to become that way. Drake Vaughn has created a fascinating world where zombies sleep in towering pil...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Warner is trying to survive in a world filled with "buggers". Hey, in this book they are called buggers, get over it. It is not easy. You can lose your mind...literally. This is what is happening to Warner. He can not tell fiction from reality. He keeps having "figs" short for figments. Things get worse when Warner is attacked by a bugger and is infected. It is only a matter of time before Warner turns into a bugger. Warner comes upon a group of survivors. Now Warner must decide to take the high...more Warner is trying to survive in a world filled with "buggers". Hey, in this book they are called buggers, get over it. It is not easy. You can lose your mind...literally. This is what is happening to Warner. He can not tell fiction from reality. He keeps having "figs" short for figments. Things get worse when Warner is attacked by a bugger and is infected. It is only a matter of time before Warner turns into a bugger. Warner comes upon a group of survivors. Now Warner must decide to take the high road alone or the low road and protect the survivors.

I was middle of the road with this book. On one hand I liked Warner. The way that he described his transformation was great. I have read many zombie books and the author usually spends their time focusing on the zombies then the living. Mr. Vaughn's profile states that he likes to focus on offbeat thrillers and horror with a psychological bent. This is exactly what Mr. Vaughn did with this book. He kept me pondering if the people around Warner were real or just "figs".

On the opposite hand, I felt that the book was slow in the beginning and it took me a while to get into it. This is because the beginning felt like I had picked up this book and started reading it at chapter four. The buggers were a cross between your new age zombies and your old age zombies. They still walked around with gazed looks in their eyes and they could not really form words but these buggers did have a great sense of smell. They could instantly pick up the smell of alcohol. Which is a bummer if you are one of the last people living and you wanted to drink as you better find a safe place to drink and hope that when you slept it off that you woke up from your hangover. Also, you better have a gun handy as these buggers are hard to kill. Just one shot in the head will not always take them down. The last half of the book is where my interest peaked. I could see this book being turned into a Quentin Tarantino movie as Mr. Vaughn has that offbeat humor about him. (less)

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Jul 07, 2012 Matthew rated it 2 of 5 stars

I will put it out there from the get go that zombie lore is not my forte. I know some of the general stuff: they are dead, there is no cure, they eat brains and flesh, they really are not sentient, shooting them in the head is practically the only way to kill them, etc. I have read only a handful of novels covering this genre, with Ex-Heroes and Ex-Patriots being great reads, but others like TORMENT - A Novel of Dark Horror being, well, a torment to read. Enter The Zombie Generation, which seems...more I will put it out there from the get go that zombie lore is not my forte. I know some of the general stuff: they are dead, there is no cure, they eat brains and flesh, they really are not sentient, shooting them in the head is practically the only way to kill them, etc. I have read only a handful of novels covering this genre, with Ex-Heroes and Ex-Patriots being great reads, but others like TORMENT - A Novel of Dark Horror being, well, a torment to read. Enter The Zombie Generation, which seems to neglect most of these in an attempt at something new or fresh, but I cannot say they were for the better. There are some minor spoilers, so read at your own risk.

Warner has survived alone for years and has been experiencing frequently vivid hallucinations, what he calls figs (short for figments of his imagination). After becoming infected and switching between man and beast, Warner must decide if he is willing to risk his life to rescue a group of stranded survivors who may not exist.

The zombies in are a bit baffling. They sleep and do so in large piles, with some alcohol are able to communicate like Grimlock in the original Transformers cartoon, can sometimes remember who they were before being infected, genuinely fear water, sometimes have sex, and are apparently pyromaniacs. Again, I want to point out that my zombie experience is limited, but it was hard to think of them as zombies when they seemed to exhibit no common zombie characteristics. To be fair, I do not recall the book or Warner ever calling them zombies specifically, so that may be kicker to why. They were called buggers, but generally speaking, referring to the undead typically infers zombies.

Zombie issues aside, the story starts off pretty slow, gets more interesting the further you get into it, but suffers from being confusing to follow near the end. Reading the history of a child's toy and government scandals regarding food packs provided far more detail than necessary. Both items are of great import to Warner's continued survival, but who cares about the toy's legal issues before the world went away? The twist concerning the infection was a big let down for me because it was too open for an argument, and a strong one at that. I would elaborate, but I would be revealing too much.

The Zombie Generation follows one guy and his slow mental breakdown, with a few scenes of human interaction sprinkled in, but really it is all about Warner. Perhaps with some editing, this could have been a more enjoyable read. However, with a less than stellar story and personal grievances with the writing style, I find it difficult to talk up whatever positive aspects it had. For me, the bad far outweighs the good and if I am to be honest, then I could not rate this book any higher. Drake Vaughn provided me this book for free in exchange for a review, and I thank him for the opportunity.(less)

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Jul 13, 2012 Randy rated it 5 of 5 stars

The zombies in this one are not your typical type. They don't even use the word, instead calling them buggers. They are actually not dead, but infected with a virus. Oh, they do zombie things like eat brains, flesh. But they will eat anything and grow to enormous size. They sleep in piles at night, are attracted to loud noises and fire, and water is almost like an acid to them causing great pain.

Warner has lived among them for years and his sanity seems to be finally slipping. He suffers what he...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Lily rated it 2 of 5 stars

I came to understand, fairly early in this novel, that this was not a typical zombie story. In fact, the scary monsters in this story can't really be described as conventional zombies, or zombies at all. At least not the typical image that the word 'zombie' brings to mind. I even felt a little cheated to have had the impression going into this story with a different perception of which this novel did not deliver. But there was much about this novel that was original and interesting.

Warner is a s...more I came to understand, fairly early in this novel, that this was not a typical zombie story. In fact, the scary monsters in this story can't really be described as conventional zombies, or zombies at all. At least not the typical image that the word 'zombie' brings to mind. I even felt a little cheated to have had the impression going into this story with a different perception of which this novel did not deliver. But there was much about this novel that was original and interesting.

Warner is a survivor, but early on he gets infected. But his changes are not immediate, though it appears that the infection for other afflicted humans had been different. He has constant flashbacks and hallucinations which he calls 'figs', and as relevant as they were to the story, the time line of the plot because incredibly confusing to me. I quickly lost my grasp on what was true and what was part of Warner's 'figs' (short for figments).

The monsters in this novel were not as scary as I thought they would be (on an imaginative level at least). These are terribly obese destructive monsters that chomp on garbage, and have a strange fixation to alcohol, furby like toys, and canned meat that sounds very similar to SPAM. The only resemblance to the stereotypical zombie creature is their love to consume fresh brains. Their habits, routines and fixations were really interesting.

It was a pretty action packed novel and I enjoyed that. There were many scenes where Warner was in, what appeared to be, an impossible escape situation, and my heart was just pounding out of fear for him, thinking he was going to meet his end.

Though I can honestly say that I did not really enjoy this story as much as I wanted to, it was incredibly imaginative and original. And if you are looking for something completely different I would not deter anyone from giving this one a go. Just don't think you are going to find your typical zombies in this novel.

*I received a eBook copy of this book for free to review from the author; this in no way influenced my review, all opinions are 100% honest and my own.*(less)

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Dec 22, 2012 Alexia561 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-copy, ebook, fantasy

Due to my schedule, I read this one in bits and pieces and it took me much longer to finish than it would have normally. This may have contributed to my confusion over the ending, which I had to reread. Then I went back and reread the beginning and a few other parts. The reread helped, but the story was still a little confusing. I'm sure there will be several debates about the ending, but I'm still on the fence.

Warner was an interesting character and this was an interesting premise, but I wasn't...more

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Oct 07, 2012 My Book Addiction and More MBA rated it 4 of 5 stars

The zombies from the book THE ZOMBIE GENERATION are not your usual zombies.They are alive with a virus instead of dead like we normally see. Warner the last human, as far as he knows, is locked up in a safe house hiding from buggers, his word for zombies. He is alone in the house except for his figs. Figs are Warner’s hallucinations. THE ZOMBIE GENERATION has a lot of twists and turns, and kept me very interested. Not your run of the mill zombie book. I think it is well worth reading.

Rating: 4.5...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Masquerade Crew rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, horror

MARK WOOD'S REVIEW

Warner is one of very few survivors in a post-apocalyptic vision of our future. The Undead walk the streets by day hunting for prey to feed on and humanity has all but been wiped out.

What is more, Warner is losing his grip on reality and has been for some time. He is no longer entirely sure what is real and what isn't, if he ever was....

This was a strange book that took some getting used to. The Walkers here are called Buggers, are easily distracted by cuddly toys that resembl...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Lori rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: end-of-the-world, zombies

This was a good book. It did keep my attention and I enjoyed reading. I just wasn't in love with it. At first I thought it was because the MC was male but then I realized that I am in love with male MC's in other books. Then I thought it was because the zombies are different....but there are loads of zombie books out there that are not really zombie books. The writing was good. It wasn't overly great but I have read much much worse. All around it is a good read and I am sure that some of my more...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Darcy Leerhoff marked it as to-read

Shelves: buy, k-wishlist, zombie, a-book

Mar 17, 2013 Jennifer Hampton marked it as to-read

Jan 19, 2013 Cristina marked it as to-read

Nov 02, 2012 Reeka Patel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Nov 01, 2012 A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol) marked it as to-read

Shelves: horror, dystopian

Oct 31, 2012 Brittney marked it as to-read

Oct 15, 2012 Gef marked it as to-read

Sep 16, 2012 Kristin (Blood,Sweat, and Books) marked it as to-read

Sep 13, 2012 Shannon marked it as to-read

Sep 11, 2012 Jord¥n marked it as wishlist

Jul 29, 2012 ☆∞Bella's Bookshelf∞☆ marked it as to-read

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Jul 08, 2012 Kristi (Books and Needlepoint) marked it as to-read

Jul 06, 2012 Julissa marked it as to-read

Shelves: own-but-haven-t-read

Jul 04, 2012 Ann marked it as to-read

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Jun 24, 2012 Fallon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, dystopian

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About Drake Vaughn

As a genre fiction writer, Drake focuses on offbeat thrillers and horror with a psychological bent. By bending traditional genres in unique ways, he transforms simple stories into his own crinkled vision. His tales appear deceptively simple, but turn into a wild ride into darkness. He lives in California with his wife and a black cat named Shadow.

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