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Hive (No Man's Land #1)

by Griffin Hayes (Goodreads Author)

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 52 ratings · 20 reviews

Nearly two hundred years after the planet was ravaged by millions of undead Zees, the human race is still struggling to rebuild. The Zees may be long gone, but so too are centuries of scientific advancement.

A group calling themselves The Keepers of Knowledge have set out to retrieve and protect what little technology survived the fall. When four of their Prospectors go mi...more

ebook, 80 pages

Published January 19th 2012 by Trebor Books

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Aug 20, 2012 Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: zombies, horror

They are soulless killers, zombies or Zee for short in this story.
They were called "The Volgoroth"
It all began nearly two centuries ago the decline the human race began to regress. The powers that be then felt the need to start pumping a psychotropic substance into the water.
Cells. Genetics. Evolution.
The population reached a point of no return all hell broke loose they were divide across the land, some of the players and pushers were called Traders, Keepers and Prospectors. A group of mercenar...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Griffin Hayes rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

There's a fallacy floating around out there that a good enough book will appeal to everyone. Frankly, I don't buy that. I write stories that I want to read. Hive is one of those stories. It has bloodthirsty zombies, lots of action and a cast of interesting and thoroughly flawed characters.

But I took a real chance with this one. I wanted to slide the reader right into the front seat, so I wrote it in first person, present tense. This was something new I'd never done before, and I also realized t...more

5 likes · like · see review

Sep 11, 2012 Josh rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, horror, novella, own, zombie, read_2012

'Hive' is a post apocalyptic zombie novella set a couple of hundred years post the extension level event which almost wiped out mankind - well the mankind we know it as today. A small band of survivors led by the ultra kick-a$$ Azina is sent on a mission into the outer cities to bring back a lost group of people called The Keepers of Knowledge, a new world brand of scholars/historians. Azina's band of mercenaries naturally stumbles across a hive of zee's (zombies) during their search and soon th...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Dylan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Azina is a mercenary, the no-nonsense female leader of a group of misfits who earn their living as hired guns. A group of ‘prospectors’, searching for the forgotten wealth of a planet struggling to rebuild two centuries after a zombie plague, have gone missing in a sealed bunker. Azina and her team of diverse mercenaries are assigned to find the small group. Once inside the bunker they stumble upon a buried city and things quickly turn chaotic. The city isn’t as deserted as they thought, and wha...more Azina is a mercenary, the no-nonsense female leader of a group of misfits who earn their living as hired guns. A group of ‘prospectors’, searching for the forgotten wealth of a planet struggling to rebuild two centuries after a zombie plague, have gone missing in a sealed bunker. Azina and her team of diverse mercenaries are assigned to find the small group. Once inside the bunker they stumble upon a buried city and things quickly turn chaotic. The city isn’t as deserted as they thought, and what crawls from the darkness is a horror mankind thought it’d never see again.

Hive, by Griffin Hayes, is a short novella which feels shorter than it is because the outstanding prose drags you along at breakneck speed. The characters have their quirks but each one is identifiable and come alive off the page; even Bron, a larger than life man outfitted in steel plates with twin 20mm cannons built into his arms. He’s some dude you definitely want on your side. But the joy of this book’s characters is the lead, Azina: told in first person present tense, the musings of Azina are simply awesome, and immediately pull you into her skin.

“Pennies is fiddling with the cuff of his tunic. His eyes keep dropping to my breasts and I’m a second away from knocking his teeth straight into his nasal cavity.” There, right there, on page one, you know Azina is not to be messed with and you instantly admire her demeanor and bad-ass attitude.

The world Hayes creates inside the crumbling subterranean city is just as life-like as the characters thrust into this horrific situation. It’s Earth, a shopping mall with stores such as Armani, Ralph Lauren, and Chanel—only it’s two hundred years after the zombie apocalypse and the place is a collapsing hell-hole filled with the nightmares of past horrors. And these horrors lend a new, refreshing take on the genre, which only serve to increase their danger and heighten the tension of Azina and her gang, trapped in the depths with them.

Perhaps you think I’m gushing with too much praise, but like dark blood gushing from the cleaved skull of an undead Zee, this praise is worth being spilled.(less)

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Oct 06, 2012 Andrea rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: zombies

Okay, so here’s the thing. I bloody love zombies. Another thing – I seem to bloody love the writing of Griffin Hayes. Unfortunately, while there are many zombie books and films out there (both good and bad), I seem to have nearly exhausted the records of Hayes’ delightfully twisted and intriguing imagination, which distresses me, more than a little.

This story is delightfully unique; not only is it set after the fact of the zombie apocalypse, unlike most which deal with the onset or outbreak, it...more Okay, so here’s the thing. I bloody love zombies. Another thing – I seem to bloody love the writing of Griffin Hayes. Unfortunately, while there are many zombie books and films out there (both good and bad), I seem to have nearly exhausted the records of Hayes’ delightfully twisted and intriguing imagination, which distresses me, more than a little.

This story is delightfully unique; not only is it set after the fact of the zombie apocalypse, unlike most which deal with the onset or outbreak, it is written in the first person, in present tense. I think that it is futuristic is one of its main appeals for me. The idea that the consequences of a zombie apocalypse are not just survivable, but that they would impact for generations to come is a sinister one that is relatively untouched (to put this in film terms, yes, we see the infected dying off at the end of 28 Days Later. Yes, we see the infected make their resurgence into society in 28 Weeks Later. Nowhere, however, do we see the impact 28 Decades Later. Point made?). Not only that, but it is written by a man, from a woman’s perspective. Altogether, this is a brave and risky move by Hayes that has essentially paid off.

Due to the first person nature of the narrative, it’s written in quite colloquial language, but that is not to say that it is written more simplistically than any of Hayes’ other novels, just differently. Once again, his fluid writing style is shown off in it’s fullest glory of effortless grace, as the words seemingly skip across the pages, guiding the reader in their merry dance. The tale woven is a compelling one, and the painful cliffhanger of an ending has left me on tenterhooks, and unable to give in to the compulsion of reading the sequel, to find out what happens to the characters in their plight for survival.

I simultaneously rejoice for and curse the day I discovered Griffin Hayes' prowess as a horror writer - other authors just don't seem to be cutting it for me in the tension and horror stakes anymore. I'd recommend his works to anyone who doesn't mind ruining themselves for the genre in general in the future!!
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Sep 18, 2012 D. Hilliard rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Now here was an interesting concept...setting a book 200 years AFTER the zombie apocalypse.

This story is told in first person present, yet that suits this tale very well. It is told from the vantage point of the female leader of a team of mercenaries, who have been hired to rescue a group of 'prospectors' who have vanished while exploring a sealed bunker from the past. Penetrating into the bunker, they discover that the horrors of the past are still alive in deep places. Interestingly enough, t...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Liz at Fictional Candy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalypse, favorites, horror, zombie

It’s a new post apocalyptic world out there. Chemicals dumped into the water to calm us had an opposite and monsterous effect, basically turning people into Zees (zombies). The time frame for this book is a couple hundred years after the apocalypse, and Azina is a mercenary on a rescue mission to find some missing Prospectors.

In this beginning of this book it took me a few moments to catch my bearings and grasp the terminology. Mercs, Prospectors, Keepers, The Order… it is a lot to take in, but...more It’s a new post apocalyptic world out there. Chemicals dumped into the water to calm us had an opposite and monsterous effect, basically turning people into Zees (zombies). The time frame for this book is a couple hundred years after the apocalypse, and Azina is a mercenary on a rescue mission to find some missing Prospectors.

In this beginning of this book it took me a few moments to catch my bearings and grasp the terminology. Mercs, Prospectors, Keepers, The Order… it is a lot to take in, but when you get the classifications down it all makes perfect sense. This is my second book by Griffin Hayes, and I am now positive he is fantastic in the horror genre. This story was so different from Bird of Prey, but both were fantastic. In Hive its all about the zombies, and of course I love that.

“Entrails and clumps of flesh ooze from the walls like some macabre painting.”

Griffin Hayes does gross and disgusting fabulously! Sometimes I just want to read a horror story, and Hive delivers. Azina is a wonderful character, I just really enjoyed reading everything from her point of view. Her? Oh yeah, her. I am not sure why, but I am just fascinated when a male author writes a female lead character and doesn’t muck it up. Is that sexist of me? Possibly. But I don’t care, I still dig it. And in this book Azina is tough and strong, and she rocks. You gotta love a girl whose weapons of choice are a repeater rifle and a Katana!

This book was very smartly written. There is a twist to these zombies that most zombie stories don’t have, which lends itself to the title, Hive. Another thing that I thought was pretty interesting was the references to the past, which to us is current time. The views that the future civilization has of the past civilization (our current time) is not entirely favorable. It’s an interesting commentary on our current times when the very thing that tore us apart is the additive of chemicals to our water supply. Mr. Hayes very intelligently points out how we have no problem adding things like fluoride to our water supply, so what is next? What else will we be ok with, under the guise of it being better for us? One character points out how in the past we had “computing machines that do the thinking, mechanical doors that opened and closed, and all the food they (we) could eat” and that we must have weighed 850 lbs. I really thought it was quite interesting to sort of have a magic mirror to gaze into and picture how our descendants may possibly view us. Cause you see, Hive isn’t all blood and guts, and shock value. There’s quite a message in there. Well, at least, that’s how I view it.

In a story that’s roughly eighty pages long you don’t normally expect to get a lot of story. But this author definitely gives enough detail and history to not make it feel like we are reading a scene from a larger story. Do you know what I mean? Sometimes novella length stories take on the feeling that we are only getting a glimpse. Now, I’ve just looked on Goodreads and I do see that there is a Hive 2. While I am about to go buy that for myself, I could easily see how just this story could have stood alone. I think this was a great story. There are more than enough twists and a lot of action to keep you very interested. The end was terrific, but now I am even more excited to see that it’s not actually over. Halloween is coming up, so if you are in the mood for something quick and in the spirit of scariness, I think you should check this out. Especially if you are a zombie fan. Like I said, there is a whole different aspect to these zombies that I’ve not seen yet. It’s a good read, and I’m a definite fan.

And one more thing, before I close this review out. Take a moment and look at this cover. Then go to Griffin's site or on Goodreads and check out the rest of his covers. They are artistic, terrifying, and beautiful all at the same time. In all honesty, I feel this is an author who is developing a great body of work, and it would be wise of you as the reader to give him a read and see what you think.(less)

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Feb 15, 2012 Kristy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, read-in-2012, zombies

Think of this: zombies who communicate like insects. Oh yeah, you read that right!! :P This book surprised me with how well-done it was. I was looking forward to reading it because it looked interesting, but one can never tell and it wouldn't be the first zombie book to crash and burn in utter failure. Not so here. We have a crew of mercenaries attempting to rescue some lost people in a complex that has been shut off for 200 years. Well the people who got lost disturbed the "hive," which is just...more

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Jan 25, 2012 Renae McKenzie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alternative-world, fantasy, supernatural, read-in-2012

Before I say anything else, I want to say thank-you again to Griffin Hayes for my copy of Hive.

Hive is set in a post-apocalyptic world where its remaining survivors struggle to rise above the ruins left by the water-born disease that turn millions into the undead. Two-hundred years later and Sotercity is the place that man-kind now calls home.

There's something for everyone. You got yourself a big brain? Join the Keepers of Knowledge. What's that you say? You're a greedy bastard? Become a Trader...more

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Feb 20, 2012 Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, science-fiction, read-2012

I’m pretty sure that I’ve said this before, probably on one of my opinionated articles on a Harry Shannon book, but the zombie subgenre is getting old. It surprises me how it just keeps on ticking without even a sign of it slowing down. The subgenre, in itself, is like a slumbering, moaning creature that should be dead but keeps on coming. A zombie of which you cannot shoot in the head, no matter how hard you try, and put an end to the whole thing.

But saying such things makes me a hypocrite. I s...more I’m pretty sure that I’ve said this before, probably on one of my opinionated articles on a Harry Shannon book, but the zombie subgenre is getting old. It surprises me how it just keeps on ticking without even a sign of it slowing down. The subgenre, in itself, is like a slumbering, moaning creature that should be dead but keeps on coming. A zombie of which you cannot shoot in the head, no matter how hard you try, and put an end to the whole thing.

But saying such things makes me a hypocrite. I still read about zombies, even though I’m tired of them. But every once in a while, an author has an interesting idea, or something new they can offer to an over-bloated genre, and I think that Hive, by Griffin Hayes, is quite possibly that. I say possibly, because Hive is just the very beginning of a new series, and the story itself, an action packed romp through a long abandoned mall, packs some serious heat.

Taking place two-hundred years after the initial zombie apocalypse, Azina and her team are sent into said mall after a group of Prospectors have gone missing. Somehow, and I’m not sure why, the story reminded me of Aliens, and I couldn’t help but think of the character, Bron, played by Ron Perlman. Which brings me to Griffin’s strength, of which seems to have even improved since the first book I’ve read by him, Malice. His strength is in his characters. They all have their own personalities and never stray from what is at their inner core. They feel like real people. And they are fun to follow.

The only thing that bothered me about Hive was the first-person, present-tense narrative. Although it worked for the most part, there were times where it felt like the story should have been told in the past-tense. It seemed as though it might have been written the first time around in the past-tense and then was switched to the present-tense for whatever reason.

But seriously, all nitpicks aside, if you’re looking for a fun time with the ancient undead, I implore you to give Hive a try. It’s cheap, it’s short, and most implortantly, it’s terribly fun. I’m excited to see where this series is going and what Griffin will do with these characters he’s created. Come along for the ride. It’s bound to be interesting.
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Aug 30, 2012 Courtney rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love zombie fiction. When I heard about Hive, I really wanted to read it, and wasn't disappointed. Hive is set far into the future, which is far more appealing to me than zombie fic that takes place during the initial outbreak. I think it's more fun to imagine the lasting effects of the zombie apocalypse rather than read yet another version of how they come to be. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. I read those, too. I just love the world-building in apocalyptic tales.)

I don't tend to...more I love zombie fiction. When I heard about Hive, I really wanted to read it, and wasn't disappointed. Hive is set far into the future, which is far more appealing to me than zombie fic that takes place during the initial outbreak. I think it's more fun to imagine the lasting effects of the zombie apocalypse rather than read yet another version of how they come to be. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. I read those, too. I just love the world-building in apocalyptic tales.)

I don't tend to read novellas, but am glad I read Hive. For .99 it's a steal. A fair amount of the free or bargain priced books I've gotten for my kindle are painful to get through. Hive is nothing like those slushy books--it's actually pretty fantastic. The cover is just perfect, too. Creepy and graphic, and indicative of what's inside.

The story moved along at a good pace, with the action scenes clear in my mind, (which is so important for something action-heavy like this). The voice was great, very engaging. I pictured the MC almost like Frankie from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow... fierce, badass, and likeable despite (because of) her hardness.

I thought the characters were realistic and well rounded. Even with the low word count, some of the characters were more real than those in beefier books. For example, I was really drawn to the character Sneak.

That's the problem with novellas--I wanted more! (But that's just me being selfish, and not a fault of the author's .) I could easily have read this at 80-100k words and not been bored. The world Hayes built was really rich, and I loved all the hierarchy and structure, because that's what people do. It made sense. Luckily for us, this is the first in the series, because it seems a lot of the questions Hive left me with will be answered later on. Good! Because in the short time we had, I really grew to love these characters.

Which brings me to my only real critique. The ending felt pretty rushed to me. Of course, the ending was jam-packed with action, I mean... hello, zombies... and of course action moves quickly, but maybe not quite that quickly. As a reader I wanted a little bit bigger payoff at the end. But like I said, I don't tend to read novellas, so expecting a novel ending for a novella is perhaps a bit unfair. Still, I think everyone would've reacted a little differently than they did. A little introspection would go a long way here, other than just 'the world's not ready for this.' And maybe that's why it feels rushed--because the MC doesn't really think about things at the end. I think a few lines of introspection would give more of the emotional payout a reader is looking for.

And that's me nit-picking, because I wanted more, because the story was so good. Hayes created some really original zombie mythology here. The whole concept of the hive itself--being able to sense the others, their communication--it was so unique, but it made so much sense. It doesn't violate my sense of zombie cannon, but instead, I feel like it's the missing piece of zombie lore that we're gifted with.

Hive was good, I really, really, really wanted more. Post-apocalyptic zombie tale with original mythology, strong characters, engaging voice, clear action scenes, and the promise of more? Why aren't you reading it yet?(less)

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Sep 11, 2012 Dale rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Two hundred years after the planet was ravaged by millions of 'zees', humanity is struggling to rebuild. The Keepers of Knowledge seek out old world technology and when some of their prospectors go missing, they hire Azina and her band of mercenaries to search for them.

A point comes where one can only stomach the same basic ideas of zombie literature before they get tired and look for something different. "Hive" a novella by Griffin Hayes is a fresh take on an over saturated genre. From the meth...more

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Feb 10, 2013 JennyJen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: zombies, read-2013, solid-series-start

3.5 stars

Not bad. Interesting twist on the zombs, but I felt it was just starting to get good when it finished.

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Apr 17, 2013 Caridad cruz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

OMG!! WOW!! This book was OUTSTANDING!! The only bad thing was that it ended. It had zombies, blood, gore and lots more. It had me at the edge of my seat biting my nails with action and suspense!!This story was original in its genre, its not the typical zombie tale. The author came up with a wonderful original tale, zombie with a twist. I cannot wait to get the next book. You won't be able to help yourself fall in love and feel bad for Azina, one of the main characters. I won't spoil it for you,...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Kevin Walsh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: zombie-novels

To start off, I've read a lot of zombie fiction. I am a reviewer for Buy zombie dot c om and I have been sent a whack-load of zombies novels to review over the years. I have read a lot of the bad and a lot of the good parts of zombie literature and all I have to say is that not only does Hive stand in the good part of zombie-lit, but it stands-out with its unique spin on the genre.

Hive is well-written. The author has a nice fluid style of writing that keeps the story moving at a break-neck pace....more

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Oct 14, 2012 Kilgallen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads, zombies

I really liked the premis of this story. The fact that it is set well after the zombiefication of the world was a refreshing change from a lot of other zombie books I have read. I am looking forward to the next instalment of the story. I was disappointed in the ending.....it seemed very rushed to me.

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Feb 28, 2013 Wanda Panda Hartzenberg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fast, scary and with timing that is impeccable! My only complaint, a cliff hanger ending! The author is brilliant with world building!
WaAr

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Feb 14, 2012 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

Hive is a refreshingly novel take on a clichéd sub-genre. Griffin Hayes incorporates a mysterious subterranean setting whose origins leave the reader guessing almost as much as the plot itself. Add to that a ragtag group of colorful mercenaries, insect-like zombies and outstanding prose, and you get a story that’s engaging from start to finish.

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May 30, 2012 Glen Krisch rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Outstanding post-apocalyptic novella. Looking forward to reading the second in the series when it becomes available.

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Mar 17, 2012 Marc-Antoine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: zombie

Quick read, Ok story.

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Shelves: free-kindle, less-than-100-pages, zombies

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Future Survivors,...: Hive: post apocalyptic zombie novella (Now Free for the next 48 hours)	7	42	Jan 25, 2012 09:30am
Zombies!: Hive (No Man's Land Series, #1)--Now Free for the next 48 hours!	1	15	Jan 25, 2012 07:07am
Horror Aficionados : Hive (No Man's Land Series, #1)--Now Free for the next 48 hours!	2	11	Jan 21, 2012 07:15am
Apocalypse Whenever: Hive (No Man's Land Series, #1)--Now Free for the next 48 hours!	1	6	Jan 21, 2012 07:08am
♥!The Young Adult...: Hive (No Man's Land Series, #1)--Now Free for the next 48 hours!	1	5	Jan 21, 2012 07:03am

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