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135th out of 430 books
—
946 voters
A Chemical Fire
by
Brian Martinez (Goodreads Author)
In just one night, the world is taken by fire.
The story unfolds through the eyes of John Cotard, a science teacher who drugs his life away after a car accident turns him onto prescription painkillers. He allows first his job then his marriage to crumble, lost in a haze of chemicals.
When a mysterious fire sweeps over the Earth, wiping out human-kind and leaving behind zombi...more
The story unfolds through the eyes of John Cotard, a science teacher who drugs his life away after a car accident turns him onto prescription painkillers. He allows first his job then his marriage to crumble, lost in a haze of chemicals.
When a mysterious fire sweeps over the Earth, wiping out human-kind and leaving behind zombi...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
July 22nd 2010
by Createspace
(first published May 2nd 2010)
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Dec 11, 2011
Brian Martinez
added it
· (Review from the author)
Recommends it for:
fans of apocalyptic fiction
Shelves:
wrote-it
I'm fairly partial to this book against my better judgment.
I was hoping this novel would be really good, and it was. The story is fast-paced and the plot is unique, the perfect combination for an interesting read. The characters were hard for me to identify with (I am a teenager, not a junkie, drug dealer, anorexic/bulimic, or survivalist), but the purpose of having four low characters comes clear at the end and makes putting up with them well worth it. By about the middle of the book, I was getting tired of the continual journey through post-apocalypti...more
Mar 06, 2011
Kathryn
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
apocalyptic,
zombies,
drugs,
gruesome-horror,
literary-horror,
religion-myth,
weird-trippy,
urban-fantasy,
favorites
Please do not read past 'then, one night, the world ends' from the book blurb, if you plan on reading this book, ever. The less you know, the more you will enjoy.
Now, I plan to spout off about my feelings, since there will be no spoilers in this review. Nothing even close. Hell, I'm not mentioning anything about the plot or even using the nifty spoiler formatting because I do not want to tempt anyone. I gather a person can uncover enough about the book by seeing which shelves I've stuck it on,...more
Now, I plan to spout off about my feelings, since there will be no spoilers in this review. Nothing even close. Hell, I'm not mentioning anything about the plot or even using the nifty spoiler formatting because I do not want to tempt anyone. I gather a person can uncover enough about the book by seeing which shelves I've stuck it on,...more
7 likes · like · see review
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Wow, this was really good. Really good. It's about John, a former high school science teacher and husband turned junkie, living in a world that somehow burned up. At least all the people did, except for John and three others and these survivors turn out to all be linked to each other. They make their way across the country, searching out food and drugs and weapons. They also have to deal with the zombie-like Victims of whatever happened to turn all people to piles of ash. The story is told in th...more
I've read a lot of zombie/apocalyptic/dystopian fiction and I have to say this one was right up there with 'Day by Day Armageddon' by J.L. Bourne, one of my favorites. The story follows John, a character who you love to hate, and his quick fall into addiction and his waking up in a world destroyed by fire. Along the way, he meets three other people who have been spared by the fire and the novel follows them as they struggle to survive. The book comes with quite a surprising twist at the end whic...more
This is a very strange post-apocalypse novel. It really isn't a zombie novel although zombie-like creatures are abundant. I say that because it is not the zombies that drive the tale but the event that destroys the world and the relationship of the four survivors to it...and each other. Anything else would be a spoiler so let's just say this weird horror tale doesn't always go where you think it will go. At first I was a bit annoyed at the unlikable characters that inhabit the plot. However it t...more
I read this book in about a day and a half, a ripping good read. The story of a misfit junky after an Apocalyptic event, and the people he is linked to before and after the fire. I didn't know whether to love or hate them, rooting for them to the end in their zombie drug filled violent neurotic world! A grear story of hope and salvation as well, for even the lowliest of the people on Earth.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Truly a phenomenal book for the apocalyptic enthusiast. I was blown away by where this story went and needed to sit there for an hour and just think about what just happened to me. The book is top quality and I highly recommend it.
Wow. This book has everything. And now I know what it's like to be a junkie without ever taking any drugs. Great stuff.
Feb 02, 2011
Cheryl/Aradanryl
marked it as interesting-possibilities
Recommended to Cheryl/Aradanryl by:
First Reads
Shelves:
broken-worldcat-link
Fiction-apocalypse, sounds like an interesting and entertaining read.
This is a very thought provoking book. I can't give it the review it deserves without spoiling the entire book. I will say that it has a completely different take on zombies, if you can call the Victims zombies. However, the idea that hell is other people is tested with the corollary that sometimes it is what you know about other people.
I would read this again, and probably will so I can give a better review on my own blog
I would read this again, and probably will so I can give a better review on my own blog
Excellent book. Very fucked up. Very surreal. I don't usually go for surreal but this was a good ride.
Mar 24, 2013
Georgina Taylor
marked it as to-read
Mar 17, 2013
Aleviuss
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Mar 07, 2013
Laylan
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Jan 31, 2013
Rusty
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Jan 28, 2013
Federico
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Jan 05, 2013
Jason
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Dec 17, 2012
Elizabeth
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Dec 14, 2012
Ryan Oberg
marked it as to-read
Dec 13, 2012
Angel
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Dec 08, 2012
Cara Carriero
marked it as wishlist
Dec 01, 2012
Lily
marked it as to-read
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Brian Martinez is a writer of Science Fiction, Horror, Crime, or what some call more generally Dark Fiction. He was born and raised on Long Island, New York where he met and married his high school sweetheart, Natalia. Brian attended Long Island University where he earned his degree in Film by writing a bunch of strange films in which people died.
Upon leaving school, Brian attempted to have his w...more
More about Brian Martinez...
Upon leaving school, Brian attempted to have his w...more
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