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64th out of 800 books
—
2,539 voters
Thunder and Ashes (Morningstar Strain #2)
by
Z.A. Recht
A lot can change in three months: wars can be decided, nations can be forged... or entire species can be brought to the brink of annihilation. The Morningstar Virus, an incredibly virulent disease, has swept the face of the planet, infecting billions. Its hosts rampage, attacking anything that remains uninfected. Even death can't stop the virus-its victims as cannibalistic...more
Paperback, 312 pages
Published
April 21st 2008
by Permuted Press
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The good times started by the Morningstar virus in Plague of the Dead just keep on coming. Society has almost completely crumbled worldwide. Francis Sherman is leading the ragtag remnants of a group of soldiers and refugees across the U.S. from the west coast to hopefully meet up with friend and Morningstar expert, Anna Demilio, in Omaha at a research facility where they hope to develop a vaccine.
Sherman has new problems not limited to zombies. Supplies are low and hard to come by, and gangs of...more
Sherman has new problems not limited to zombies. Supplies are low and hard to come by, and gangs of...more
What I learned: that in Recht's books, people are more terrifying than zombies. Not an original idea, but well executed here. This book does not suffer from the "middle book" syndrome that book-two-out-of-three-in-a-trilogy entries do. The fast pace and constant action of the first book is present here as well. Now the wait for #3 begins!
Aug 13, 2008
Thee_ron_clark
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of zombies and horror in general.
Shelves:
zombies
After reading the first book of this series, I felt compelled to find out what happened with the plot and the characters. I expected the sequel to be about the same or possibly worse than the first, but I really enjoyed the concept of 28 Days Later style infected who turn into shambling zombies after being killed. I was pleasantly shocked to find the sequel to be a great improvement from the first in the writing style and in the story. If you've read the first, you need to read this. If you have...more
Mar 21, 2013
Dawn Peers
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
amazon-reviewed,
zombies
I downloaded the Audible audio book for this hot on the heels of finishing "Plague of the Dead", Recht's first book in the Morningstar Strain series.
Finished it today at the gym (Recht's audio books seem queerly good to work out to) and on the whole I wasn't disappointed.
Firstly, don't get me wrong - I wasn't looking for epic literature listening to these books, and if that's what you're hoping for, well, why are you listening to or reading a zombie novel? "Thunder and Ashes", as with "Plague of...more
Finished it today at the gym (Recht's audio books seem queerly good to work out to) and on the whole I wasn't disappointed.
Firstly, don't get me wrong - I wasn't looking for epic literature listening to these books, and if that's what you're hoping for, well, why are you listening to or reading a zombie novel? "Thunder and Ashes", as with "Plague of...more
This book is the sequel to the first book I did. The story follows the same idea of shadowing the different groups trying to survive. The main objective both groups is to get to Omaha, Nebraska, to find a cure for the ravid virus. Each group going through life threatning issues. At the end of the book the groups finally meet up, but the book quickly ends. The suspenseful ending leaves you hanging for the last final book in the seris.
I gave this book five stars because I love it. It has a story...more
I gave this book five stars because I love it. It has a story...more
I really enjoyed Plague of the Dead. While not particularly original, Recht demonstrated a genuine talent for action and suspense, and created a vivid zombie scorched earth that made his characters' fear seem real.
Unfortunately I didn't feel the same about Thunder and Ashes. Firstly, Recht's prose came across like a fan-boy describing his Call-of-Duty gameplay. Where Plague had skilful plainspeak, Thunder and Ashes, came across as an early draft of a good manuscript with lots of lazy 'tell' expo...more
Unfortunately I didn't feel the same about Thunder and Ashes. Firstly, Recht's prose came across like a fan-boy describing his Call-of-Duty gameplay. Where Plague had skilful plainspeak, Thunder and Ashes, came across as an early draft of a good manuscript with lots of lazy 'tell' expo...more
Thunder and Ashes starts out where the first book left off in this trilogy. We have the split story, one of General Sherman and his team of army men and civilians making their way from the west coast towards Omaha, hoping to meet up with Anna Demilio and her much smaller group coming in from the east coast. They are racing towards a facility where they hope to hatch a vacine for the Morningstar virus, the plague that has swept over the world creating two forms of plague victims, one still alive,...more
The Morningstar Strain has left just a handful of people unaffected by the strain. The few people that are still living are trying to survive. Two of those people are Francis Sherman and Anna Demilio. Francis and Anna hope to find a cure. In order to do so they will have to survive long enough to find one. It won’t be easy in this zombie infested waste land.
Thunder and Ashes is the follow up book to Plague of the Dead. You don’t need to read book one in order to figure out what is going on.
Whi...more
Thunder and Ashes is the follow up book to Plague of the Dead. You don’t need to read book one in order to figure out what is going on.
Whi...more
Jan 10, 2011
Meg Day
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Someone who loves Zombie novels and doesnt care about plot
Well as i Reviewed the First book "Plague of the Dead" i felt like that book was lacking and it didn't keep my interest as i thought it might..but i read the second one anyway; "Thunder and ashes". I have to say i definitely enjoyed this book much better than the first i thought that the first book was a lot of explaining and people fighting other people and little Z action, However the second book has a really great mix of both People and Zombie action. I enjoyed how they ran into other people...more
Nov 26, 2010
Julie Smith (Knitting and Sundries)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reviewed
Three bands of survivors, all working their way to the same place - a research facility in Omaha, Nebraska where a vaccine for the Morningstar virus can possibly be developed.
The first group are former soldiers from the U.S.S. Ramage: Krueger, Keaton, Thomas, Wilson, Brewster and former General Sherman. Also with them are Mbutu, Ron, Katie, Rebecca (a nurse), Jack and Mitsui (both former general contractors with the latter speaking Japanese only), and Denton, a photographer.
The second group cons...more
The first group are former soldiers from the U.S.S. Ramage: Krueger, Keaton, Thomas, Wilson, Brewster and former General Sherman. Also with them are Mbutu, Ron, Katie, Rebecca (a nurse), Jack and Mitsui (both former general contractors with the latter speaking Japanese only), and Denton, a photographer.
The second group cons...more
It was so good, that I read it in a day, but kept procrastinating to put this book on Goodreads... I really loved the first book of the series, because it involved two things that are very action packed: the army and zombies. I actually had a date planned out on my calender for when the next book would be released and I went to a bookstore, ran right to the shelf where it was and checked out. This book did not let me down. It had three different stories going on at the same time and each story w...more
Thunder and Ashes is a good zombie novel. Set several months after the outbreak of the Morningstar Virus and the first novel Plague of the Dead, Thunder and Ashes follows several groups of survivors as they make their way to Omaha where they expect to find a research facility. On the way they encounter the infected "sprinters" (crazed cannibals like in 28 Days Later), and "shamblers" (the undead version of the aforementioned sprinters), and the bandits that would predictably flourish in such a p...more
Jul 26, 2011
Daniel Black
added it
Succinctly, Z. A. Recht loves the zombie genre, with a military edge. He has developed some interesting twists on the standard elements.
The execution is sophomoric. The characters are almost strictly stereotypes, the tension vehicles are overplayed, and there is no worry that the good guys will win out. No sense that this couldn't be a Hollywood script.
Still, I found it easier to finish than Brian Keene's _The Rising_, which reads as the work of a man who wants to hurt women and make money with...more
The execution is sophomoric. The characters are almost strictly stereotypes, the tension vehicles are overplayed, and there is no worry that the good guys will win out. No sense that this couldn't be a Hollywood script.
Still, I found it easier to finish than Brian Keene's _The Rising_, which reads as the work of a man who wants to hurt women and make money with...more
This book reads like a video game. The battles seem like Left 4 Dead in story form. Granted I haven't actually played Left 4 Dead only watched it played so I could be a bit off. Regardless, there's a lot of action.
In a different book the pacing might have seemed too frantic, but in this book the frenetic pace is perfect. The world is devastated, and the groups of survivors we are following have what's left of the world to lose so the hurrying fits beautifully to keep the reader on edge.
There are...more
In a different book the pacing might have seemed too frantic, but in this book the frenetic pace is perfect. The world is devastated, and the groups of survivors we are following have what's left of the world to lose so the hurrying fits beautifully to keep the reader on edge.
There are...more
This book is awesome! Z.A. continues the Morningstar Strain series where Plague of the Dead left off and progresses the story even further and better. I can't say enough good things about this book.
The only unfortunate thing about it is that Z.A. Recht died before he could finish the 3rd and final book so the story is kinda left in limbo. There has been some talk about other authors that were friends of his finishing it, but as of yet that has not happened.
Even though I loved and would definit...more
The only unfortunate thing about it is that Z.A. Recht died before he could finish the 3rd and final book so the story is kinda left in limbo. There has been some talk about other authors that were friends of his finishing it, but as of yet that has not happened.
Even though I loved and would definit...more
I think? I did not read the first book in the series Plague of the Dead but that is ok .
I think I would have enjoyed it a little more if I had. Thunder and Ashes seems to jump write into the storyline, If I would have read Plague of the Dead I would have known more about the characters.
But I think all book are more enjoyable when you read them in order.
Thunder And Ashes is a zombie book with a good story line.
It has some gore and action but the plot is good and the characters are interesting....more
I think I would have enjoyed it a little more if I had. Thunder and Ashes seems to jump write into the storyline, If I would have read Plague of the Dead I would have known more about the characters.
But I think all book are more enjoyable when you read them in order.
Thunder And Ashes is a zombie book with a good story line.
It has some gore and action but the plot is good and the characters are interesting....more
Wow, in the first one society was starting to go downhill because it was on the brink of a zombie apocalypse. Now that brink is gone and the apocalypse is here. In this sequel, the story picks up RIGHT where the first one stopped. Sawyer is still after Mason and he has even broken off from the government and created a group to "fix" the current state of the U.S. Sherman and his group are still working their way towards Omaha and Krueger is pretty much the M.V.P. of all the soldiers. The action...more
So I finished this one about a week ago. Thunder and Ashes is incredibly engaging, but a little predictable. What the book lacks in its predictability, it certainly makes up for in plain good story telling.
I am saddened to hear that Z.A. Recht passed away in 2009. This is an author whose intrinsic sense of story telling was spot on. Thunder and Ashes picks up right where Plague of the Dead left off. A small group of survivors continue their pilgrimage to a secret government facility which may h...more
I am saddened to hear that Z.A. Recht passed away in 2009. This is an author whose intrinsic sense of story telling was spot on. Thunder and Ashes picks up right where Plague of the Dead left off. A small group of survivors continue their pilgrimage to a secret government facility which may h...more
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Why I read it: Received review copy from Gallery Pocket Books
The Plot: This is the second book in the Morningstar Strain trilogy. I haven't read the first one, but I didn't feel lost at all. This book follows a couple different groups of people as they're making their way to a research facility to hopefully find a vaccine for the zombie virus that is taking over the world. The story is very fast-paced with tons of action and fighting scenes. It seems like the author knew his stuff when it comes...more
The Plot: This is the second book in the Morningstar Strain trilogy. I haven't read the first one, but I didn't feel lost at all. This book follows a couple different groups of people as they're making their way to a research facility to hopefully find a vaccine for the zombie virus that is taking over the world. The story is very fast-paced with tons of action and fighting scenes. It seems like the author knew his stuff when it comes...more
Oct 29, 2012
Julie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
2012,
audio,
author_male,
pub_post-1945,
scifi,
scifi-military,
series,
thriller,
type_fiction,
zombies
This second book of the Morningstar trilogy suffered from middle-itis. The investment I felt in the characters from Book 1 carried me through, but I thought this book was just treading zombies . . . Very military, lots of shooting and blowing things up. Even the conflicts between the surviving non-infected humans were solved with guns. Just once I was hoping someone would try to talk their way out of a bad situation instead of shooting first, asking questions later. What saved the book from bein...more
I really enjoyed Plague of the Dead and was looking forward to the follow up. I was glad when this book didn't let down at all. This was a great story with many diverse and fun characters. At the finish I was immediatly interested to know when the third part would come out. I googled it and learned some really sad news. almost a year ago to this day the auther of these books passed away at the age of 26. I'm sorry to learn this as I really enjoyed his stories. Z.A. Recht will be missed.
Wow! I thought the first book was pretty good, but this one was awesome!
This book is the best zombie movie never made. This book introduces a lot more action and a faster pace than the first, but that doesn’t mean it’s just a mindless summer blockbuster of a book. The characters continue to grow on you, and old favorites as well as new friends are fleshed out and developed beyond the two-dimensional cannon fodder so common in the genre.
The Morningstar Strain continues to become one of the best a...more
This book is the best zombie movie never made. This book introduces a lot more action and a faster pace than the first, but that doesn’t mean it’s just a mindless summer blockbuster of a book. The characters continue to grow on you, and old favorites as well as new friends are fleshed out and developed beyond the two-dimensional cannon fodder so common in the genre.
The Morningstar Strain continues to become one of the best a...more
I'm not much of a review writer, but I HAD to comment on this book. This is probably the best zombie series I've read so far! Great building of characters, great action, great situations that the characters get into! You genuinely believe and care about the characters, plus the small twist on the zombie virus is original and very interesting. And I will say, without a doubt, this sequel to Plague of the Dead is better than the original! Can't wait to get into the third book!
I definitely like the Morningstar series - for zombie fiction, it's well written and well-developed. This installment had more action than the first, and after a bit of a slow first 2 chapters, was better overall than the first. Characters are further developed, and I can't wait to see what happens with the ending. Too bad I didn't know the 3rd book isn't due until summer 2012. Note: author unfortunately passed away last year, but left his draft/notes.
Continuing "The Plague of the Dead" series our cast of characters continue to fight to both stay alive and to possibly find a cure for the virus that has decimated mankind. Of course things are never easy, especially when rogue governmental agents are trying to stop you so that they can gain as much power as possible in the new world that awaits the survivors.
I look forward to the not-yet-released final installment.
I look forward to the not-yet-released final installment.
This is the second part of Recht's ongoing Morningstar Strain saga. The first book, Plague of the Dead (2006) was the intro to a slavo of imagery and situational drama and horror that any and every zombie fan will love in this series. The third and final installment, "Survivors" will be out (if not already so) and I will enjoy reading what I hope to be an excellent conclusion to this horrific story. The premises is that a filovirus dubbed, "morningstar strain" is unleashed upon the world which t...more
As ok as its predecessor! It's mediocre zombie fiction at its most mediocre. Everything you expect to be here is here, and also a random sprinkling of Tom Clancy like action as the NSA chases some of the characters. I would hazard a guess that the author has served in the military, as he seems to fixate on military things and tells them quite believably. If you liked the last one you'll like this one.
such a horrible novel - the story concept is fine, but the characters feel very one dimensional and everything that happens is predictable. Not to mention that the editing sucks - time isn't consistent. What has only been a few weeks is consistently and repeatedly referred to throughout the book as "a few months". Very annoying. Save your energy and read another zombie novel.
One of the BEST zombie novels I've ever read! Anxiously awaiting book 3!
Z.A. Recht was a brilliant author. He gave life to his characters and the story moved smoothly, even though the chapters do jump back & forth between different survivor groups. He was very adept at doing something most zombie & horror writers fail miserably at - his characters (especially his military ones) are real. They aren't just jackbooted thugs out to rape & murder & pillage the world as it dies & r...more
Z.A. Recht was a brilliant author. He gave life to his characters and the story moved smoothly, even though the chapters do jump back & forth between different survivor groups. He was very adept at doing something most zombie & horror writers fail miserably at - his characters (especially his military ones) are real. They aren't just jackbooted thugs out to rape & murder & pillage the world as it dies & r...more
Feb 21, 2012
Wt
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
zombie apocalypse enthusiasts
Recommended to Wt by:
April
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