Day by Day Armageddon (A Zombie Novel) by J.L. Bourne - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

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Zombies!: Looking for a Good Zombie Book	23	147	02/09/2009 08:36AM

10/15/08

Brett Botbyl rated it:

(review of isbn 1411608313)

Read in May, 2008

Ok. Zombie come and zombies go. But as raw as it is...I LOVED this book! It's a diary format tale of a military guy stuck in the burbs of the living dead. What a guilty pleasure. Or maybe it's the voyeuristic me dancing behind the overturned car with a high-powered rifle and only enough SPAM to last me another two days!

DIE ZOMBIE BASTARDS!

;-)

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02/27/09

James rated it:

bookshelves: fiksi, zombielit

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Again, caution, this review contains SPOILERS.
Wow, Raptorman rocks!
First of all, some reviewers bitch about how the book contains relatively many spelling mistakes, an untidy plot, etc., and hence come to the conclusion that it is poorly written. Yet I think we can only make such conclusion after we get to read much more material from the same author, especially those not in a diary format. Which we have none, AFAIK. So for the time being I'll take the author's word that those spell...more Again, caution, this review contains SPOILERS.
Wow, Raptorman rocks!
First of all, some reviewers bitch about how the book contains relatively many spelling mistakes, an untidy plot, etc., and hence come to the conclusion that it is poorly written. Yet I think we can only make such conclusion after we get to read much more material from the same author, especially those not in a diary format. Which we have none, AFAIK. So for the time being I'll take the author's word that those spelling mistakes are part of verisimilitude. "Real-life" diaries, I believe, don't get edited by professional editors and proofreaders.
Second, the diary format pressuposes one thing, that as long as the story continues, the narrator-protagonist will always stay alive (except the implied reader introduces a second narrator, which then things would get quite interesting in another direction). It seems that the implied author focuses much of the narrative to what happened to the narrator-protagonist (well, it is a diary), while I find myself instead frequently piqued by and drawn to what happened to the other characters, especially John, but also Annabelle the dog, Tara, and William and his family. Since none of these characters die yet, I can only hope that things will get very interesting in the second book.
Third, this book touches upon one facet of the zombie anatomy I've never thought of: What would radiation do to the ghouls: The world created in this text assumes that zombies do not stop decomposing, that their bodies still contains lots of bacteria, which advances the putrefaction and leaving the ghouls wet with pus and other disgusting liquids, quite unlike those sterile zombies you'd read about in WWZ. But radiation from a nuclear blast kills those bacteria, rendering the zombies a bit stronger and even able to walk faster than you're usual shambling, foot-dragging bunch. In a zombie universe, that's quite plausible and really scary.
Fourth, sometimes the reader within me screams in protests a couple of times that the protagonists are too lucky. But, in second thought, that's part of being survivors is all about, getting more luck than most people (that don't survive). They managed to elude the horde many times, found and flown and landed abandoned airplanes in airports they've never visited before (except perhaps for Corpus Christi Naval Station) like two or three times, wondered into perfect havens after arriving just several hours in new places such as a deserted marina, and Hotel 23, a code name for an ICBM underground lauch site, now that's a place you won't find anywhere else in the world, and not to mention getting NVG's! But not only that, the narrator-protagonist has more in him than the average people to face such a post-apocalyptic hell. Besides the fact the the narrator-protagonist tells that he is a combat flyer, I mean who do you know buys used diesel submarines batteries and have them installed at home just for the sake of preparing for an unforeseen disaster, zombies or no zombies. So, there aren't many scenes in which I, as an average reader, can imagine myself surviving a similar situation. Such thrills is what usually I get from reading other zombie stories. In this one, I simply accepts that should such PAW hell breaks loose upon my own world, the road to survival won't even be close to what the narrator-protagonist narrates. But oh boy what fun it is to read how the narrator-protagonist always calculate ammo and food supplies from time to time, plan for everything, approach a suspected building systematically, etc. It's like getting rare glimpses behind the well-crafted and fast-paced stories that usually are most zombie novels.
So, for these reasons, plus the fact I really am a sucker for almost any zombie stories, I'm giving this book five stars. Thank you Raptorman.(less)

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12/19/08

T.j. rated it:

(review of isbn 1411608313)

Read in November, 2008

Ok to start off this book is freaking amazing. I have my reasons why i think this book is amazing. (1.) It has zombies, how is that not cool?(unless you don't like zombie) (2.) It is done in a diary format, in military time, in first person perspective. (3.) and finally this book is probably the most intense and scary book I have read for a long time, but don't take my word for it here is an example from “Day by Day Armageddon”

“I shut the door again. My instincts told me, &...more Ok to start off this book is freaking amazing. I have my reasons why i think this book is amazing. (1.) It has zombies, how is that not cool?(unless you don't like zombie) (2.) It is done in a diary format, in military time, in first person perspective. (3.) and finally this book is probably the most intense and scary book I have read for a long time, but don't take my word for it here is an example from “Day by Day Armageddon”

“I shut the door again. My instincts told me, &#@* the plane cover; it's not that important. For some reason, I ignored that. I took out my LED light and tightened it on the light mount of my rifle, I switched the light on and opened the door again. Put the muzzle of my weapon in so that I could light up the dark garage. The smell was almost unbearable.
The source of the noise became immediately apparent. A dead mechanic, crushed by a hydraulic lift was lying there on his back, re-animated, and banging a torque wrench on the ground. A low grunt came from his badly mutilated body as he tried to look up at me. He was reaching for me. It was then, in the span of a second, that the following happened:
I saw the bite marks of the flesh that had been torn away from his face and neck. I knew that he didn't do it himself, and deduced that there was another dead @*&# in the room. Last, but not least, the door flew open and I was tackled by one of them (Best guess, the same one that had the mechanic for lunch).
The only thing that was keeping this stick ridden $#!& ball from biting my nose off was the fact that I had my weapon wedged between us. I pushed it off, and it (couldn't tell male of female) grabbed my wrist. I gave it a nice rifle but to the head and it fell back. I immediately got to my feet and popped a round in it's head. I wanted to @#^&ing mow it in half, but the reasonable half of me said, don't waste ammunition.
The door to the garage was shut, it and was going to %&*#ing stay that way. I could hear the sound of fists on the door, and I knew that there were more inside. I went back on the side of the garage where I saw some oil drums and rolled one of them back around to the front, to put it in the doorway and prevent whatever was behind that door from opening it and ruining my day.”

So intense huh? Now there are a few reasons that I decided to read this book. One it has fecking zombies, how are zombies not cool, especially when there are lots of them. Two it involves the military. Third and finally it is done in a diary format, books like that only heighten the mood. If I could recommend this to anyone, it would probably be people who are into fantasy and/or horror. This was not a difficult book to read, the large print helped. I would love to read more books in the series, hopefully he will right more.(less)

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11/21/08

Michael rated it:

(review of isbn 1411608313)

bookshelves: 2008, zombie-stuff

Read in June, 2008

recommends it for: Zombie Lovers

Day by Day Armageddon is a zombie survival story written from the point of view of one character, through the writing in his journal. Each section is dated just like a diary would be and then a description of the days events. Through his journal the story of the world coming to an end is related while the writer tries to survive.

The format is a nice change of pace in a subgenre that is so loaded with similar stories in similar formats that after reading one book you may have just re...more Day by Day Armageddon is a zombie survival story written from the point of view of one character, through the writing in his journal. Each section is dated just like a diary would be and then a description of the days events. Through his journal the story of the world coming to an end is related while the writer tries to survive.

The format is a nice change of pace in a subgenre that is so loaded with similar stories in similar formats that after reading one book you may have just read them all. The diary style of DBDA is both an asset and a hindrance. The style is refreshing because it gives you a look at survival horror from a different angle and it also allows you to feel more connected to the main character because you are reading his direct thoughts as he wrote them. I think that the style also lends to more creepy and suspenseful feeling in that each new section brings all new possibilities due to the fact that you are not sure how far in the future the next entry may be.

The style has its merits but it has its warts as well. First it seemed that the author had issues keeping to the style, in places it seemed like it was someone writing a journal and in other parts it looked like the prose was like writing a novel. If the book was supposed to written in journal form from someone we assume is not a writer, the prose should reflect that and be consistent throughout. Another problem, not so much the style or authors fault, is that people seem to have trouble grasping the concept of the style. Reading other reviews and talking people has revealed to me that some people believe that the book is poorly written do to week writing and spelling/grammar errors. It is often forgotten that his book is written from an everyday Joe point of view, someone who may not have the best spelling or grammar and is often journaling in haste. This makes it terribly hard to tell whether the errors and sub par writing, in spots, are the characters or the authors and many people seem to have issues determining which it is. I'm inclined to think that the errors for the most part are that of the character, not the author and were left in to help validate the journal like style the author used.

The main character seems to be a real tough guy and was pretty well ready and geared up for a zombie invasion. He's ex-military and would probably qualify as the most resourceful person in any of the books readers have ever heard of. I'm not one to point at a zombie novel and complain about realism but James Bond would be envious of his resourcefulness. However, I would not have it any other way: after all butt-kicking heroes make for much more interesting stories.

J.L. Bourne did a great job with pacing and DBDA should keep reader interested and engaged. You have mad scrambles, shootouts, planes, boats, exploration, and seemingly hair brained ideas all within the pages of this book. When the last page left me hanging I definitely wanted to read more.

I give DBDA for being what it is: an experimental novel written in a sub-genre that has little room for anything new. I believe the author's intent was to take a zombie survival story and give it a different spin via its style. In that Bourne succeeded while delivering an enjoyable, well paced story. (less)

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04/13/09

Dreadlocksmile rated it:

(review of isbn 1411608313)

Read in February, 2006

Originally started as an online fiction journal, ‘Day by Day Armageddon’ is written in a diary form from the perspective of a lone survivor in a post-apocalyptic world that is overrun by the living dead. The author, John Bourne has been writing this ongoing zombie saga in between serving as a U.S. Naval officer. His knowledge of tactical survival and weaponry is reflected perfectly within the pages of the novel. Sometimes quite clumsily written, the book gives off a realistic viewpoint of th...more Originally started as an online fiction journal, ‘Day by Day Armageddon’ is written in a diary form from the perspective of a lone survivor in a post-apocalyptic world that is overrun by the living dead. The author, John Bourne has been writing this ongoing zombie saga in between serving as a U.S. Naval officer. His knowledge of tactical survival and weaponry is reflected perfectly within the pages of the novel. Sometimes quite clumsily written, the book gives off a realistic viewpoint of this harrowing and desperate situation.
The tale starts out with the epidemic first impacting on the world, as humanity quickly begins to crumble around the writer. With massive similarities at the start, to that of the cult online diary ‘Alpha_dog’, we see the panic and uncertainty of the situation slowly taking over. From the start, the reader finds out that the diary is being written by a lone military man who falls upon his training and knowledge to ensure his own survival. Soon we meet a few other survivors, as the diary takes the reader on a desperate trip from one location to another.

The small band of survivors end up hiding away, only to find that they have to defend themselves against more than just the decaying hordes of the undead. Drawing heavily from the ideas from within George A. Romero’s cult classic film ‘Dawn Of The Dead’, Bourne ends this first volume with a dramatic turn of events for the survivors. Unfortunetly, the ending does seem to come about all too quickly, but this leaves open the start of the next instalment perfectly.

Bourne opening admits that he is no ‘real’ writer, but his obvious passion for the subject brings out a flare of energy that is often clouded in other similar work. The novel is no masterpiece, but one hell of an adventure into the dangerous and uncertain post-apocalyptic world of the undead.

Like in David Moody’s fantastic ‘Autumn’ series, ‘Day by Day Armageddon’ turns more towards the harrowing mental stress of the survivors, rather than the simple blood & guts angle that could easily be followed with a zombie novel. The writing quickly submerges the reader into this sudden decaying world of our main survivor, allowing you to feel that you are also part of the events that take place within the unfolding tale.

This first volume ends with such a dramatic turn of events that you will be crying out for the release of the next volume. At the end of the book, you are treated to a seven page preview of Bourne’s next written project entitled “Dead Land” which looks to be written from a third person viewpoint.

The book runs for a total of 258 pages (including the “Dead Land” preview) and was published off the authors own back.(less)

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09/01/08

William Curb rated it:

(review of isbn 1411608313)

This book presents itself as a zombie story presented in journal entry form. The problem, however, was that the journal entries didn't always feel like journal entries, but rather the author just pushing the plot forward. And while the book was definately interesting it never pushed very hard to be anything more than interesting. I know I shouldn't really be asking too much of a zombie novel, but plot progession seemed rather convient and predictable.

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01/11/09

Thee_ron_clark rated it:

bookshelves: zombies

Read in January, 2009

After knowing about this book for some time, I finally got a copy and got around to reading it. Thankfully, another publishing company picked it up because the original copies were going for a hefty price.

As for the novel itself, what can be said? It's a terrific read. The writing style is easy to follow, the actions of the characters are basically believable in the situations presented, and the research was incredible.

One gripe I have is that the lead character seemed a...more

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12/31/07

Trevor rated it:

bookshelves: zombies

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: Zombies! Group Members

This is a terse, tense journal of a military man surviving through the first several months after the "reanimation". I found myself absorbed in the details of the equipment, weapons, and tactical maneuvers used by the characters trying to survive in a world of zombies! Glad to see there's a sequel, since this one felt kind of short.

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03/22/09

Schnaucl rated it:

bookshelves: fiction, horror, last_in_currently_following_series, library, march, post-apocalyptic, read_2009, series, to_purchase, zombies

Read in March, 2009

recommends it for: people who like zombie fiction

It's not World War Z, but it's still a very good zombie novel.

The book is written as the nearly daily journal of a nameless man who survives the dead rising. He's a military pilot who suspects early on that there's a serious problem and starts to prepare to survive in his house. The author is also in the military so he's able to put in lots of details that make the world he built feel very real.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the world and the zombies continue to ...more

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05/26/09

David Becker rated it:

(review of isbn 1411608313)

Read in January, 2008

I really enjoyed this book. It bookends very well with World War Z because of how different it is. A man is surviving the Holocaust, and saving people as he goes. Sounds very stock, but the author has military experience, and that lends credibility to the story and the implements that he uses as he goes.

It's not perfect, mainly due to voice. It didn't bother me terribly that the author chooses to make mistakes as he purposely tries to create the voice of a scared soldier trying to st...more

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04/25/09

Kristy rated it:

bookshelves: paranormal

Read in April, 2009

I ended up reading this whole book over two days, out loud to my husband as we drove home from my in-laws house (about 1000 miles). We couldn't have picked a better book- it was engrossing, a great page turner, and wonderful at distracting us from the traffic and broken AC.
A few of the zombie novels I've read have focused on the gore, but this one doesn't, which makes it feel more human, more like the events in the book actually happened. The marks found written on the pages add to the ef...more

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04/08/09

Melissa Travis rated it:

Read in April, 2009

WOW! My Husband's friend loaned this to us and it was just amazing. Definitely purchasing a copy to have on our shelves. We could not put this down- the writing style is fabulous, story line is awesome, and characters are very compelling.

I've read some things online supposedly written by the author which makes me think he's pretty much an a$$hole. But, his book was amazing and I'll definitely pick up the second book once he gets it done. (He's currently serving our country, so who ca...more

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04/01/09

Josh rated it:

bookshelves: fiction

Read in June, 2009

This is an intense and very addictive book. Like Max Brooks' "World War Z", it depicts a worldwide outbreak of the walking dead. Unlike WWZ, it is only from the perspective of one man's journal entries as he survives the ordeal, "day by day" as it were. You might think that compared to Brooks' epic of dozens of accounts, this point of view would be limiting, but to the contrary I find it a much more engrossing and realistic experience.

The book begins with one...more This is an intense and very addictive book. Like Max Brooks' "World War Z", it depicts a worldwide outbreak of the walking dead. Unlike WWZ, it is only from the perspective of one man's journal entries as he survives the ordeal, "day by day" as it were. You might think that compared to Brooks' epic of dozens of accounts, this point of view would be limiting, but to the contrary I find it a much more engrossing and realistic experience.

The book begins with one man on on military leave (the reader never gets to learn his name, which makes sense since it's his own journal) and writing how the world is going to hell one day at a time. This hell begins with reports on the news of plague in China and escalates to undead walking outside his very home. The "author" describes each day how he takes measures to avoid detection, contact other survivors, find food, find transportation and everything else to stay alive. And even though this type of writing doesn't allow for a lot of character build-up, I became emotionally involved with the main character and the other survivors he meets.

Being a military man, you could call the main POV a bit convenient, as there were few skills he didn't have that helped him in his tasks. One thought I had as I was reading the book was what it might be like from the perspective of someone less experienced in arms and survival (someone like myself perhaps?) Perhaps it would be a bit more terrifying, but in this book, probably a lot shorter as well. The undead world here is harsh and realistic. Lack of food, water and shelter are as big of enemies as the undead themselves. It's the human experience of it that makes the book so addicting. While I love a good zombie story, the subject matter could have been any number of things and this format of human survival would've been just as intense and addicing.

Don't let this deter zombie fans however. Although the word zombie isn't used in the book, it IS a zombie book and as far as zombie fiction goes, this is probably my favorite. If the movies were made like this the genre would be much more entertaining. Why only four stars? It's not a full book. It ends is a pretty reasonable cliffhanger and I'll have to aquire the second book (as yet unreleased) to figure out what happens. I don't mind this so much, but that's the only thing keeping "Day by Day Armageddon" from 5 stars.

In any case, if you're a fan of Max Brooks or of zombies in general, treat yourself to this book.(less)

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10/09/08

Gene rated it:

Read in September, 2008

recommended to Gene by: It was mentioned on a forum posting at fark.com
recommends it for: Anyone with free time or an open mind.

Please forgive me ahead of time for this long winded review. I am no scholar and please keep in mind that these are just opinions. Take what I have to say with a grain of saccharin.

I found this book by chance in an online forum and headed to Google Books to check out the preview there. The first 50 pages were great! After buying the book and reading the rest I was disappointed, but fortunately not enough to regret buying it. I did like this book, but I'm rating it as "OK"...more

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06/10/08

Gabrielle rated it:

(review of isbn 1411608313)

Where Kim Paffenroth's recent release Dying to Live was to be considered the philosopher's guide to existence after a zombie invasion, J. L. Bourne's novel Day by Day Armageddon is everyday man's field guide to survival. With the gritty, no-nonsense voice of a young Naval officer, Bourne details the evolution of an outbreak of a virus that spreads rapidly from China to America, turning everyone in its path into hordes of mindless, hungry undead. Trapped in his home in San Antonio, Texas the m...more

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05/04/08

Brian rated it:

bookshelves: own, zombies

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: zombie fans.

An entertaining, quick read.

The author presents a solid zombie story that moves along quickly. The pace is sometimes slower, sometimes outright frenetic--which is to be expected in a zombie tale.

That being said, it has some serious faults. The author lacks significant writing ability. This is not to say that he cannot craft a sentence, or that it was a tough read, simply that the overall story mapping just wasn't there. The last significant events in the book seem to ...more

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02/26/08

Rob rated it:

(review of isbn 1411608313)

recommends it for: Zombie fans

This was a pretty good zombie/apocalyptic read and somewhat innovative in that it was written in the style of a journal (hence 'day by day')however, it really did come across as an amateur read in places.

For instance, the writer goes into vast detail on certain guns and ammo types unnecessarily, which to me betrays the fact that he is probably a gun enthusiast that wants to show off his knowledge. Again, it comes off as kind of pointless and amateur to talk to the reader about diffe...more

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02/16/08

Tracey rated it:

bookshelves: zombies

Read in February, 2008

My husband is a zombie fan, so he got me started on this, first by sending me the URL http://www.tacticalunderground.us/portal... - which has about the first quarter of the book posted as a blog. He ordered & read the book, and then I gave it a whirl.

While not nearly as large a story as World War Z, this novel fits well into the general zombie canon. It felt pretty realistic, as the main character writes of his daily experiences as the world goes mad. Not much for fancy language, ...more

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10/23/07

A"serious"reviewer rated it:

(review of isbn 1411608313)

I have read this book not only when it first was released through Lulu, (a self publishing company and not an actual publisher), but also when it could be found online beyond just the first chapter. The story in and of itself is not bad. Its fast paced and contains all of the elements of George Romero's classic zombies. The military details are interesting, and to be expected being that John Bourne has a naval background.

The main thing that bothers me is even after obtaining a copy ...more I have read this book not only when it first was released through Lulu, (a self publishing company and not an actual publisher), but also when it could be found online beyond just the first chapter. The story in and of itself is not bad. Its fast paced and contains all of the elements of George Romero's classic zombies. The military details are interesting, and to be expected being that John Bourne has a naval background.

The main thing that bothers me is even after obtaining a copy of the soon to be released Permuted edition, Bourne still insists that the grammatical/spelling mistakes are intentional. That he wrote the book in a journal format and anyone who is writing in a journal (supposedly under stressful conditions) can make spelling mistakes. I find this very hard to believe especially after the very same excuse was given after the fact by a member of his own horror forum, Hotel 23.

It is my belief that the author simply doesn't have the skills to write, and he was happy to fall back onto any plausible explanation. This doesn't detract from the story in and of itself. I just find it interesting that the author refuses to own up to his lack of writing ability. A point I'd like to bring out, the author spells ordnance as "ordinance". As a Naval Officer, the author (both actual and fictional) ought to know how to spell ordnance. I can let other mistakes slide, but a word that is in very common use in the author's field of practice would not make that mistake in a journal. I feel he is using a cop out by relying on the whole "its a journal" excuse for his bad spelling. Perhaps his pride is getting in the way.

The original is amateurish at best, although obviously the book has a large following. (I guess if you pass this around amongst our military who for the most part will get into anything that has to do with military life in general, you are bound to create a following.) Especially when so many are deployed and run out of reading material quickly! And of course they are willing to overlook the errors, if the reader even has the capacity to notice the errors!

The Permuted Press reissue on the other hand has done a great job on the edits. The story is much more cohesive and they've added many more details artistically to make this book feel much more like a journal. As you read through you find passages circled or underlined as if by the author himself. Also some of the font has been changed to appear handwritten, and stuff added in almost as an afterthought. These are all very good details and make the book feel "real". I also like that the Permuted version actually ends at a better spot in the story. The original felt like John Bourne just chopped his book in two, and didn't give any regard as to where he left off. I suspect that DBDA2 will follow within the coming year, as most of it was already completed a few years ago. (I am comparing my copies to what I have downloaded from before John Bourne took it all down from his forum, the page count is about right.)

So, the book is recommended, but I'd wait for the reissue!(less)

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06/30/09

Catherine rated it:

(review of isbn 1411608313)

Read in June, 2009

From the look of this book, it was produced and printed in someone's basement without the luxury of an edit or proofread. Still, it was an interesting and quick read. If you like zombies (by which I mean, if you love to hate zombies), you could do worse. Seriously, though, be ready for frequent and ridiculous typos. (I would have given it three stars, but it lost one star for horrible production values.)

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