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Hollowland (The Hollows #1)

by Amanda Hocking (Goodreads Author)

4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 · rating details · 10,159 ratings · 1,276 reviews

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."

Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

Paperback, 312 pages

Published October 6th 2010 by Amanda Hocking

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Oct 24, 2012 JennyJen rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: David Copperfield

Shelves: zombies, abandoned, and-it-all-falls-down, audiobook, ayfkm, blah, books-i-want-to-drop-kick, booooring, braaaaiiins, cuckoolandia, dafuq-did-i-just-read, disappointing, dnf, expected-so-much-more, eye-strain-from-copious-rolling, facepalm, hero-doesnt-do-it-for-me, i-m-over-it, laughable, meh, no-soup-for-you, not-what-i-expected, reviewed, stoopit, too-far-fetched-contrived, wtf, young-adult, read-2012

I've made an important decision:

I have better things to do than to read STUPID books.

It started with a bang, but pretty quickly I realized that things were heading into the ridiculous. It's like the author brainstormed plot ideas and every trite cliché in her subconscious fell onto the page. Seriously. My eyeballs are sore from the rolling.

(view spoiler)...more

20 likes · like · see review

Nov 29, 2011 Lucy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombies-by-any-other-name, wasn-t-for-me, self-published-project, make-room-for-that-sequel, disappearing-parent-syndrome, coming-of-age, blah-world-building

I can't decide what was worse: the writing quality or the plot of the book? The writing was rough but mostly functional. Amanda Hocking will never be accused of having pretty prose... or character development, but more on that later. The writing is utterly devoid of any emotion. Things happen and the character reacts -- period. There's no tears, no wibbling, no real internal thoughts. In the aftermath of any event the main character, Remy, shrugs off what went down as necessary and that's all. H...more I can't decide what was worse: the writing quality or the plot of the book? The writing was rough but mostly functional. Amanda Hocking will never be accused of having pretty prose... or character development, but more on that later. The writing is utterly devoid of any emotion. Things happen and the character reacts -- period. There's no tears, no wibbling, no real internal thoughts. In the aftermath of any event the main character, Remy, shrugs off what went down as necessary and that's all. Hm I guess writing style and character development went hand in hand there. Hocking doesn't have the writing range to make her characters vivid or real.

The book starts at a gallop and never really slows down, which usually means a relatively good reads if not for how steadily ridiculous the book got. Zombies invading a government facility sheltering people? Awesome. It removes the character from safety and serves as a nice starting point. Remy ditches one of her two friends in the desert after because that friend has been bitten... okay. I guess the purpose of that scenes was to show us Remy can do what needs to be done, but it didn't really do much for me since she had a bare bones emotional reaction to it. Next Remy rescues a circus lion that might eat her... so if the other scene was meant to show me Remy can do what is necessary this scene is to show me... that Remy huffed a lot of glue before the end of the world and has some sort of brain damage? How do we go from practical, no nonsense to whim of save the animal? I know! Because the author thought a lion pet would be ROCKING.

Sadly, it only gets worse and more cliche from there. The desert Remy is in turns out to be Las Vegas... big eye roll there. This has been done before. Anyway, Remy fights some zombies in a kitchen in a Vegas hotel by lighting them on fire, which does nothing but make the zombies that are trying to eat her flaming zombies that are trying to eat her. It's stupid and it's a novice move. Remy is not supposed to be a novice. I think the author was visualizing this like a movie, which is fine. I have no problem with that technique because I know it makes for vivid scenes for the reader, but I wish she'd spend a little more time working on it so that perhaps the fire was an accident because she makes Remy look like an even bigger idiot than necessary and undermines all the superhero bullshit she's working on setting up.

After the flaming zombies of doom we end up with a cult leader with dozens of underage wives. He spends his time raping a belief in the good lord into them... Oh and somewhere along the way Remy and her friend, Harlow, meet a med-student and a rock star named Lazlo. Yeah. It's all ridiculous. It's like someone on huge prescription uppers and lots of caffeine wrote this book -- someone who had no idea how to develop a freaking character because Remy's got all the emotional resonance of a sock puppet.

Dull, lifeless writing and ridiculous plots make this book a skip. I don't even think it's worth the dollar the self-published author was selling it for. Save yourself some time and pop a zombie movie into your dvd player, watch it at 5x speed so you don't have a chance to care for any of the characters, you'll get the gist of this experience.(less)

46 likes · like · see review

Oct 27, 2011 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars

FREE RIGHT NOW ON AMAZON!!! http://www.amazon.com/Hollowland-The-...

^REMY^ is one badass zombie killer! Nineteen year old Remy and her eight year old brother Max have been living at a quarantine. When the quarantine goes under attack by zombies, Remy escapes with another girl named Harlow but her brother was already evacuated. Remy will stop at nothing to find him. Heading north to where she was told her brother was taken, she picks up a lion, a doctor named Blue, and a rock star named Lazlo. R...more

36 likes · like · see review

Nov 19, 2010 Samantha Young rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, ebooks-i-own, covers-i-love, indie, books-i-own

Holy Hell! This is a short read but it packs a lot of punch. Not since the Alien films have I come across such a strong and incredible Heroine as Remy. Between her and the aptly named lioness, Ripley, whom Remy kind of picks up along her across state venture to find her brother, there is an abundance of totally brutal feminine power. It is no wonder Ripley has such an affinity for Remy...she recognises another with the heart of a lioness.

This is a fast-paced, action-packed, tense, gory thrill ri...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Jack Grim rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I downloaded the kindle version of this book when it was free. I was robbed. Amanda Hocking does a lazy, somewhat passable job of crafting a post-apocalyptic zombie story with not-quite likable characters and a somewhat interesting plot. The protagonist is Remy, a teenage girl facing humanity's doom at the hands (and gnarly teeth) of flesh-eating zombies. In the chaos of a zombie attack she is separated from her little brother and the story is essentially her harrowing quest to find him. Along...more I downloaded the kindle version of this book when it was free. I was robbed. Amanda Hocking does a lazy, somewhat passable job of crafting a post-apocalyptic zombie story with not-quite likable characters and a somewhat interesting plot. The protagonist is Remy, a teenage girl facing humanity's doom at the hands (and gnarly teeth) of flesh-eating zombies. In the chaos of a zombie attack she is separated from her little brother and the story is essentially her harrowing quest to find him. Along the way she meets other survivors who join her in her dangerous quest. Remy is a strong character who, for reasons that aren't really made clear, inspires intense devotion and loyalty from pretty much everyone who joins her ragtag group. This includes a full-grown zombie-killing female lion. Yes, a lion. She befriends an actual full-grown lion. It even rides in cars with her and her friends. They at one point encounter another group who has several tigers. I swear I'm not making this up. This isn't the only thing about Hollowland that made me roll my eyes. I was sorely tempted to delete this book from my reader at this point but morbid curiousity got the better of me. Just how silly could this story get? The answer, as I soon learned, was VERY silly indeed.
Initially I thought this was, overall, a decent enough book and I wanted to like it but it is plagued by annoyances such as hordes of comma splices, typographical errors, missing, misused and misspelled words and implausible and cliched plot devices. Much of this is simply due to the fact that, as a self-published work, it did not have the benefit of an editor's touch. This is the bane of indie publishing. But then a WRITER should know the difference between "lulled" and "lolled", "except" and "accept", "idea" and "ideal". Ms. Hocking does not. She's like a painter who just gets tripped up by paint or a sculptor who can't think in three dimensions. She's a writer who isn't very good with words. This is evident in Ms. Hocking's broad-strokes writing style. With the exception of the main character, there isn't much in the way of character development. Every person in the story is a two-dimensional cutout, a device to move the story along and so I just couldn't really CARE about any of them. Even Remy's love interest wasn't interesting even during a darn-near pornographic description of the consummation of their love for each other (which begs the question- Is this a YOUNG adult book or a young ADULT book?). The environment they are in and the things in that environment are pretty generic. Guns are simply "guns" or "shotguns". Cars are simply "cars" or "SUV's" or "station wagons". I don't know how much of this is due to Ms Hocking's lack of writing skill and how much is due to the fact that she just doesn't have any practical knowledge to draw from. The fact that she laughably describes a soldier's handgun as a "service revolver" that uses "ammo clips" and later says a "shotgun" uses "bullets" gives me reason to believe there's a heavy dose of the latter at work here. Hers is a cartoon version of the world which at times seems to come from an elementary school kid's perspective. Whatever the case, there isn't any texture or realism to the landscape and so there's little to grasp tight enough to get pulled along for the ride. Couple this with absurdities such as pet lions and an Army PRIVATE who wields influence and pull at a military-run compound (which houses the only hope for humanity but has the CRAPPIEST security in the history of mankind) and you have some serious problems suspending disbelief enough to buy into this story. And that's not the worst of it. Some of the situations are laugh-out-loud absurd. For example: If you were looking for food in a strange place where you KNOW flesh-eating undead are about, would you REALLY pass up restaurants and grocery stores and choose to split up and rummage through a pitch-dark, windowless CASINO full of DEAD BODIES? Remy's group does so without hesitation. Why? Because they were in (snicker) Las Vegas. Where do you go when in Las Vegas? Why, a casino of course. Once again Ms. Hocking's cartoon world comes through. I swear, at this point if their lion companion began to talk and help our heroes escape through a magic wardrobe, I wouldn't even have batted an eye.

OK. Maybe some slack-cutting is in order here because this is a self-published work for a young adult audience. As such, one can't expect subtle, high-brow literature. It is what it is- It's fun escapism for a young audience that taps into just the right character archetypes and story motifs to make the young, inexperienced, casual reader think he or she is reading something compelling if not original. As YA escapism it isn't really required to be a perfectly executed work. If you are a young female reader or just willing to suspend disbelief enough and ignore the terribly naive writing style (and I see that many young fans of Ms. Hocking are), you'll probably find yourself hooked enough to buy the next book to see what happens. But I'm one of those crazies who prefer books with proper spelling and interesting characters so I will pass on the rest of this series. (less)

7 likes · like · see review

Nov 05, 2012 Claire Elise rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, kick-ass-heroines, post-apocalyptic, favorites, nook-reads, zombies

Currently, as I write this review, my cat is trying to lay across my keyboard. So tif there are any misspellings...blame on the fat cat of mine who's desperate for ~~my loving attention~~ me to feed him.

I did, surprisingly enjoy this book. It was free, and since I have a nook I downloaded it off of smashwords. Barnes and noble has it for like 1.99 or something. It's free for kindles too.

I loved Remy. She was a strong kick-ass woman and her personality was so unique. At one point, her stubbornness...more

6 likes · like · see review

Mar 26, 2011 Kim Bowen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

One thing I've learned about owning a Kindle is you get a chance to read free or really cheap books from authors you might never have discovered on your own. This is one of those books. I read it in two days...two really busy days and I had to try hard to squeeze in the time so it definitely held my interest.

Zombies aren't usually my thing. But I enjoyed this fast-paced read. Here is what I liked: Some good character development. Lots of action. The dialogue was believable once you suspended the...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult, 4-stars, kickass-heroines, ebooks, series-completed, zombies, cliffhangers, dystopian-futuristic

Bought for free on Amazon Kindle on January 4, 2012 and read for the Why Buy the Cow Reading Challenge.

My first zombie book and definitely will not be my last! The heroine, Remy, is strong and willing to do anything to save her brother. Most of the side characters were intriguing and helped move the plot along. I want a lioness named Ripley now! Loved the constant action and the mystery behind the disease. The only thing that bothered me was the lack of chemistry between Remy and Lazlo. I liked...more

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May 28, 2012 Carl J. rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was surprised to actually find this book in my public library. I've heard about the A. Hocking phenomenon and thought, "What the hey. I'll give her another try." I'd tried to read her Trille trilogy and had to give up. Ridiculous. Liking zombies better, I figured time for a second shot.

I hated it. OK, maybe hate is too strong. I finished this book at least, so two points to Hocking for that. But, really, a lion? I mean, a lion?!! I was so distracted by that that I couldn't even concentrate on...more

3 likes · like · see review

Thomas I actually enjoyed Ripley and her presence in the story. What I couldn't understand why everyone was willing to help Remy in her quest to find Max.. e...more
Jun 20, 2012 10:29am

Carl J. Thomas wrote: "I actually enjoyed Ripley and her presence in the story. What I couldn't understand why everyone was willing to help Remy in her quest...more
Jun 21, 2012 06:03pm

Brad It's very simple. Everyone willing to go out of their way and risk their lives to help Remy is an easy, cheap plot device. Hocking, as a writer, is as...more
23 hours, 40 min ago

Oct 31, 2011 Amazon80 rated it 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars
Nineteen year-old Remy King is traveling across zombie infested lands to find her little brother, Max King. They were separated when the last quarantine compound they were residing in was over run by zombies. Along the way Remy meets a few other survivors and together they try to reach Max at another quarantine facility up north.

The Zombies are cool but scary. They are not the slow moving, “I want brains” zombies but more of the “28 Days Later” adrenaline jacked kind of zombies. I don’...more 2.5 stars
Nineteen year-old Remy King is traveling across zombie infested lands to find her little brother, Max King. They were separated when the last quarantine compound they were residing in was over run by zombies. Along the way Remy meets a few other survivors and together they try to reach Max at another quarantine facility up north.

The Zombies are cool but scary. They are not the slow moving, “I want brains” zombies but more of the “28 Days Later” adrenaline jacked kind of zombies. I don’t think they are truly the living dead so they are a little easier to kill but still strong. And they are also evolving which always keeps things interesting. A+ for the zombies.

The story was also action packed. The author really knows how to build the tension and get your heart racing during the fight scenes. These moments really make you want to keep reading. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much of anything else to keep my interest. Remy is not likable. Sure she can kick ass (is anyone going to explain her Buffy like abilities?) but aside from that her character just comes off as cold and heartless. I’m not sure how anyone liked her. Lazlo is cute but aside from that unexciting (and kinda stupid). Blue? Right…you forget he’s even there yet somehow he becomes the person Remy trusts the most. I really didn’t get it. Harlow is probably the most likeable character but her role seems small. I really did not care for Remy or whether she found her brother or not. Harsh but true.

Aside from the characterization, my biggest problem with the book is the absurdity of some of the plot elements. For those of you who don’t want to read the spoilers just know Hockings line of reasoning is a bit off. Some of the things she wants us to believe just do not make sense; like battle cats, stupid government protocols (and I mean dumber than normal) and deductions that anyone who has taken a science can make.

(view spoiler)[Absurdity #1
Having a zombie eating pet lion is cool and all but am I actually supposed to believe you rescued your battle cat in the middle of the desert and she just happily followed you through wastelands, gun fights and car crashes? A lioness would have tried to eat your face the moment she got the chance; Vegas show cat or not. And how does Remy know so much about lions having never left Iowa? Was she a zoo keeper? Although I must admit, Ripley is a cool name for a battle cat.

Absurdity #2
I know we all have our complaints about the US government but even the toughest critic would have to admit that the government is not that stupid. When soldiers found Remy and her brother, Max had a zombie bite several days old and still had no symptoms of the virus. Max became the government’s top priority because he appeared to be immune to zombie bites and possibly held secrets for a cure in his DNA. This is all good except….why wouldn’t they test Remy as well? They found them together and they share DNA. What scientist/government would just disregard that Remy may be immune as well?

Absurdity #3
When Remy and friends finally make it to the quarantine zone its US soldiers that rescue them from a death battle with zombies and take them back to the compound. This government believes the most efficient way to see if a young girl, who they just pulled out of zombie mosh pit, is infected or not is to leave her in a cleansing house for 3 days. If she emerges from that house symptom free she can then enter the safest and most secure quarantine compound in the country. Remy emerges from the hut symptom free and waltzes into an infection free zone with a huge infected zombie bite on her hip. No strip search necessary to enter the quarantine zone. WTF? Why wouldn’t checking for bites be the first step in the “Are You a Zombie?” protocol?

Absurdity #4
It turns out Remy is immune to the zombie virus but she is totally shocked by that fact. WHY? It never occurred to you since your brother can’t be a zombie neither can you? And PS Remy, just because you have no symptoms does not mean you’re not still a carrier of the virus. You may want to think about that before you exchange bodily fluids with anyone. Oh wait…too late. (hide spoiler)]

This is not a terrible book but you really have to abandon logic and just accept a lot of what Hocking is telling you. If you can get past that you’ll be fine. I however, don’t think book 2 will make my TBR list.
(less)

12 likes · like · see review

Dec 18, 2011 Joy (joyous reads) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: in-my-kindle

I am thoroughly convinced that this is how the world will end: Zombies. I have this strange fear and fascination about them so I try to procure as much books as I can about these rabid, virus-infested creatures. I've been lucky to have enjoyed what I've read so far. Unfortunately, I encountered so many problems with this book.

I'm finding it hard to write about the cracks in the plot without spoiling one of the major conflicts in the book. Suffice it to say, whatever inconsistencies I found, were...more I am thoroughly convinced that this is how the world will end: Zombies. I have this strange fear and fascination about them so I try to procure as much books as I can about these rabid, virus-infested creatures. I've been lucky to have enjoyed what I've read so far. Unfortunately, I encountered so many problems with this book.

I'm finding it hard to write about the cracks in the plot without spoiling one of the major conflicts in the book. Suffice it to say, whatever inconsistencies I found, were chocked up to perhaps, an oversight. It's major. It had something to do with Remy and Max's DNAs. The lion, though pretty, freaking awesome, was a bit of a stretch. The world building was close to non-existent. Ms. Hocking doesn't really give much. You'd have to fend for yourself - dictate your own emotions and picture the world better than what she has described. I do appreciate a minimalist style of writing, but sometimes, what you consider white noise is music to my ears. That once you eliminate them, the product is just deafening silence. Does that make sense?

This is not my first Amanda Hocking book. I read Switched a while back and couldn't continue on with the rest of the Trylle Trilogy. The thing about Ms. Hocking's characters is that they feel cold - emotionless. Remy could be swathed in zombie matter, fighting for her life, yet the emotions she was going through could be compared to say, as if she was gardening. She was almost mechanical about the whole deal with little to no range of emotions. Don't get me wrong, I love that she kicks ass without batting an eyelash, but heck, you have to make me feel like you're ACTUALLY scared. It's weird because I never once felt a certain anxiety about what was going to happen next - no trepidation whatsoever. The same goes with the relationship between her and Laz. To be honest, I thought that Blue was the better love interest here. Laz started off comedic, kind of like a side kick, and aside from being a former rock star, he really didn't have much going for him. I thought that Ms. Hocking's almost methodical writing made for some characters lacking in emotional depths. I came. I saw. I did. Those three sentences could probably sum up her story telling. It literally felt like someone was watching a zombie movie and giving me a play-by-play at the same time.

Perhaps it's because this is a free book, but man, there were so many typos here. I know, I know, I shouldn't complain because it's free. Let's get real here, Amanda Hocking has hit the big time. Free or not, there's still no excuse for editing errors.

I did like Ms. Hocking's innate talent for writing violence and gore. They were vivid and acerbic. But some of her fight scenes - especially ones which involved a melee of zombies - tend to be a bit over the top and convoluted. I had a hard time imagining that Remy single-handedly fought off rabid zombies with almost no weapons. This girl was a super woman. I appreciate her tenacity but it wasn't at all convincing.

To summarize, I can understand why people would take a shining to Ms. Hocking's writing and stories. But I need to be emotionally vested in the story and characters for me to actually enjoy it. This is my second Hocking book, and prognosis is not looking all that good.(less)

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Jan 23, 2012 Angela rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian-utopian-apocalyptic, ebooks, read-2012, ya-children-s, zombies

What can I possibly say about this book other than “meh”? I’ll give it a go but “meh” basically sums this up.

I downloaded this to read because a) it has zombies in it and I have a particular penchant for these undead and cannibalistic creatures, and b) it was free.

This is a very easy read but that is down to the rather wafer thin plot and extremely coarse use of language and writing style. The lack of a solid plot only serves the (lack of) quality in the writing to an advantage.

Now don’t get m...more What can I possibly say about this book other than “meh”? I’ll give it a go but “meh” basically sums this up.

I downloaded this to read because a) it has zombies in it and I have a particular penchant for these undead and cannibalistic creatures, and b) it was free.

This is a very easy read but that is down to the rather wafer thin plot and extremely coarse use of language and writing style. The lack of a solid plot only serves the (lack of) quality in the writing to an advantage.

Now don’t get me wrong, although not particularly well written, the book is action packed, starting off with zombies overrunning a military safe house where our protagonist is based. From there our plucky protagonist Remy rescues a lion that immediately starts following her round the desert of Nevada and helping to kill all those pesky zombies. Btw, as a side note I LOVE the idea of having a big cat as a pet in a post-apocalyptic world, it’s a shame Hocking doesn’t really expand on this relationship.

We encounter a rapist/paedophilic cult leader and when I first started reading this section of the book I was immediately reminded of an extremely watered down version of the cannibalistic elements of the captured humans in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road but not as creepy and intimidating, and certainly not as well written.

We pick up a doctor companion along the way, as well as someone who used to be famous and obviously becomes the love interest. We come across more survivors who are not only fighting the undead but also marauders, an element that Hocking totally took for granted – this could have been expanded so much but she just leaves it hanging and it’s not mentioned again. Finally we come to the main military quarantine where Remy and co were aiming for in the first place.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the reason for this little road trip in the first place is so Remy can find her younger brother who is sick and was transported away from the first military safe house before the zombies attacked. Yes, it is pretty obvious why the military would transport a sick child out of the compound but leave all those healthy soldiers and civilian survivors to their doom but it served as a basis for the structure of the novel.

So yes, lots of action but Hocking does not take advantage of some of the scenarios our characters find themselves in and the lack of detail and character development makes it very difficult to emphasise with any of them. Also, the end of the book is just ridiculous and so superficial. I was kind of hoping that our protagonist would meet some sticky end or even turn into a zombie herself and the sequel could be told from her point of view, in keeping with low budget zombie films such as ‘Colin’ and ‘Wasting Away’, but alas, it’s not to be it seems.

So, wafer thin plot, clichéd and underdeveloped characters, awkward prose and a terrible ending (but setting it up neatly for a sequel). Basically, it all equals “meh?”
(less)

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May 06, 2012 Thomas Zhang rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is about a girl named Remy and she lives with her brother Max in a quarantine. At the time of the book, zombies were everywhere and Max got bitten by one. The doctors soon found out that he was immune to zombie bites so they took him to another quarantine for experiments. Remy went to find her brother with a girl called Harlow and on her way there, two boys joined her search for Max. They are Blue the doctor and Lazlo the rock star. On their way to the quarantine, they found a lion tha...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 13, 2011 Novels On The Run rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fave-books

MICHELLE'S REVIEW:

RATING: 5 Tatum and Lazlo stars!!!

Firstly I would like to show you Amanda's original cover for this awesome zombie book. I really do like her new one up above. Gives me a face to Remy's character.

If you don't know of Amanda Hocking, never read any of her work, well have a nose around this blog and you will see that I am a huge fan. Go on....this review can wait....but make sure you come back to this exact spot!!

I must admit I am not a zombie fan..you know, blood, gore, fugly, g...more

7 likes · like · see review

Dec 27, 2010 Mindy/fangedmom rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: author-sent-autographed

I won this book in a contest at Vamps, Were's & Cassay blog. It was sent to me SIGNED by Amanda Hocking herSelf (love it)!

I am not a zombie fan. Well, I was not until I read this book. Oh my gosh I loved this book. I could not put it down. I really honestly could not. I loved this book so much.

I fell in love with the characters, RIPLEY & even the zombies (well, not love but they are critical to the story)!

I highly recommend this book. If you are a zombie lover, you will LOVE this book....more

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Nov 20, 2012 AH rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-freebies, bump-it-up, dark, fantasy, first-in-series, free-downloads, own, post-apocalyptic, read-nov-2012, survival, zombies

Kindle freebie 10/26/11.

Loved this! Take a look at the opening line for Hollowland:

This is the way the world ends - not with a whimper but with zombies breaking down the backdoor.

And break the doors they do. Hollowland is the story of a world overrun by zombies. When zombies attack Remy's home and refuge, she and two other girls manage to escape to the relative safety of the outside world. There, one girl succumbs to the zombie virus and Remy and Harlow begin a journey seeking out a new refuge...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 15, 2013 Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, on-my-kindle, zombies, free-books, addicting-as-crack, young-adult, this-is-it-the-apocalypse, futuristic, sci-fi, romance, self-published

Actual rating: 2.5 Stars

“This is the way the world ends––not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door.”

Thus begins Hollowland, a post-apocalyptic zombie novel centered around a 19-year-old girl named Remy. At the start of the story, Remy is at a government facility that shelters people from zombies. The bad news: the zombies have gotten in. Remy's young brother has been evacuated before everyone else (for "medical reasons" ... although it turns out to not be as simp...more

9 likes · like · see review

May 11, 2013 Shanan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-on-blog

In A Nutshell:
I loved this book, which surprised me because I do not usually like zombie books. However, it ranks as one of the best zombie books I have ever read. From the moment I started it, I couldn’t put it down. I read it voraciously. At the end, I wanted to go back and read it again, this time to savor it.

Review:
Zombies have overtaken the United States. The government cannot stop them. Instead, the government has set up quarantines in the hopes that the remaining uninfected people will b...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 22, 2011 Myvampfiction rated it 5 of 5 stars

review by Megsly

*Warning: possible spoilers ahead.*

So, previously, I’ve reviewed Amanda Hocking’s My Blood Approves series, which she has self published on Amazon.com, for very reasonable prices. As a result, and the avid user of Amazon’s low priced Kindle book store, I went on a hunt for other books she had written and found myself purchasing Hollowland.
I have to be honest, even if I hadn’t previously read some of Hocking’s work, I would have been intrigued by the description of Hollowland. Ama...more

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Jan 29, 2011 Carrie (Care) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, read-in-2011

4.5 stars

I loved this book. It had everything I love, relatable characters, great action sequences, and a sweet love story.

I didn't give it 5 stars for a couple reasons. One was because there were quite a few errors in my ebook. Nothing big or really bad, but it did take me out of the story for a second. Also, I did find Remey a bit too harsh at times, but I could understand her reasons behind her behaviour.

All in all I really enjoyed Hollowland and would recommend it to those that like YA dyst...more

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Dec 07, 2011 Devlin Scott rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked this story. It was clever, well thought out and kept me entertained. It deserves a solid four star rating. However...

The Kindle version was filled with typo's. Not the usual kind with spelling and punctuation errors but the extraneous kind with extra (or even missing) words scattered here and there. I stopped counting them when I hit thirty. It caused me several times to stop reading and backtrack through previous pages and chapters to try to make sense of these new alien words that just...more

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Aug 15, 2011 Kat rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: zombies

Okay, I really loved this book. I found it very refreshing and was hooked right away. Remy is a great protagonist and I found myself rooting for her from the beginning. The story itself is great, unique - rather reminiscent for me of "The Hunger Games", in the sense that it had that great sense of desperation and kill-or-be-killed mentality. I enjoyed that Amanda Hocking was not afraid to be a bit dark and for me this was really more of an adult series than young adult. Very nice surprise and I...more

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Jun 17, 2013 Brad rated it 1 of 5 stars

There's not much I can say about this book that hasn't been said already. So I'll keep it simple. Hollowland is a is a turd in the punchbowl of self-published literature. There's some good stuff out there, but when you bump up against this stinker, it ruins the whole thing. That's a shame because there's some real talent out there and some good books to experience. So I resent not only the author wasting my time with this drivel, I resent the fact that it's wasting the time of impressionable yo...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Noreen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian-and-postapocalyptic, y-a-books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Hollowland was quite literally one of the worst novels I've read. From the first few pages, I knew this was a hate-read for me and I only finished it because someone told me there was sex towards the end (I'll explain). Here are my issues:

1. The Writing:

Dear Amanda Hocking,
There are other adjectives besides "weird."
Sincerely, The English Language

Seriously, the writing was brutal. The exposition, although much needed in dystopian novels, was nonexistent. Characters were, at best, underdeveloped...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Tiffany rated it 3 of 5 stars

So I really liked the Trylle series also by Hocking. I wasn't sure what to rate this book after I read it. On the one had I really liked it so maybe 4 stars, then on the other there was a lot that left me confused or I didn't like so 3 stars.

Start of with what I did like.

The opening scene is awesome and pulled me right in. Although, there is not a whole lot of info on Beck (I thought maybe I will get more info later in the book, nope). Remy is introduced as a tough girl who does what she needs...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book I've read by Amanda Hocking, and I found out why she was so successful as an "indie" author - because she knows how to tell a story!! Whenever I had to put the story down, I found myself just counting time till I could get back to it. That, for me, is the mark of really good storytelling.

Yes, there were some editing faux pas, but not enough of them to pull me out of the story. There were some parts that, for me, lent themselves to skimming, but not that many of those eithe...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Madison Dee rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love this book, it is truly amazing. It is so well written with a style that appeals to many readers. It has many twists and turns that make it incredibly attractive to a lot of people, myslef included. It keeps you on your toes. At first, when Beck is introduced, I thought that he was going to leave with Remy, Sommer and Harley, but then it is revealed that he was bitten trying to protect them and the other girls. When Harley and Remy, with their new "Pet" lion Riley, bump into two new charac...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Isalina rated it 3 of 5 stars

I've read about Amanda Hocking before I ever read one of her books. This is the first of her books I have read and the first zombie book I've ever read. I'm not a huge zombie fan and hardly ever talk about them, however, I was interested in this one because 1.) the author's story 2.) how the humans turn into zombies because of a virus (similar to "I am Legend").

Amanda Hocking first set out to write books that would be considered high-brow literature, but her best friend knew it wasn't her, it d...more I've read about Amanda Hocking before I ever read one of her books. This is the first of her books I have read and the first zombie book I've ever read. I'm not a huge zombie fan and hardly ever talk about them, however, I was interested in this one because 1.) the author's story 2.) how the humans turn into zombies because of a virus (similar to "I am Legend").

Amanda Hocking first set out to write books that would be considered high-brow literature, but her best friend knew it wasn't her, it didn't feel right, and it was forced. He told her to just be herself and write what she was really into - zombies and vampires and trolls. She's become an e-book selling success because she writes what she wants to write! And I am slightly jealous of her life.

This book was difficult to put down right from the beginning because we meet the protagonist, Remy, after the outbreak of zombies, in quarantine, and scheming to get herself and her little brother out to safety. The journey to find the little brother is her whole premise in this book, but we don't really understand why until close to the end of the book.

The review I read on Kindle/Amazon for the book was pretty cheesy and almost turned me off. But I could read it for free so there was little risk and I felt more inclined to try it out.

It read like an action packed tv series or movie that only focused on one character (Remy) and her journey and what she knew and those around her. It was full of intense fighting scenes, scary scenes, gory, disgusting parts (Hocking's description of zombies in varying stages of decay is wonderfully disgusting), and some believable emotions.

I would have given it one more star except I found at least three typos around the middle and end of the book. It was distracting and made me scoff when I should have been inside the story believing what Remy was telling me. But I think I'll still read the rest of the books in the series because I want to know what happens to Remy. The ending was really fun and left me wanting to know what happens next. (less)

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Jan 06, 2013 Jennifer Dunn rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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Dec 11, 2012 Svenja rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-sterne

Ein Zombie-Virus ist dabei die Menschheit auszurotten. Es gibt nur noch wenige Überlebende.

Nach einem Angriff der Zombies auf die vermeintlich sichere Quarantäne, flüchten die Menschen, die das Massaker überleben in andere Quarantänen. Remy muss ihren Bruder finden, der von den Soldaten mitgenommen wurde, denn ihr Bruder ist wervoll.

Hilfe erhält sie bei ihrer Suche von Harlow, einem 13-jährigen Mädchen, die in Remy soetwas wie eine Freundin sieht. Auf ihrer Reise durch dem zerstörten Las Vegas...more Ein Zombie-Virus ist dabei die Menschheit auszurotten. Es gibt nur noch wenige Überlebende.

Nach einem Angriff der Zombies auf die vermeintlich sichere Quarantäne, flüchten die Menschen, die das Massaker überleben in andere Quarantänen. Remy muss ihren Bruder finden, der von den Soldaten mitgenommen wurde, denn ihr Bruder ist wervoll.

Hilfe erhält sie bei ihrer Suche von Harlow, einem 13-jährigen Mädchen, die in Remy soetwas wie eine Freundin sieht. Auf ihrer Reise durch dem zerstörten Las Vegas stoßen Blue und Lazlo auf die beiden. Lazlo, der vor der Zombie-Ära ein gefeierter Rockstar war, ist zunächst mehr eine Last, als Hilfe.
Blue hingegen war Medizinstudent und erweist sich als äußerst guter Schütze.

Die kleine Gruppe muss auf ihrer Suche nach Remys Bruder viele Rückschläge, Kämpfe und Streitigkeiten überstehen. Werden sie es schaffen den Bruder von Remy zu finden, oder ist auch aus ihm schon ein Zombie geworden.

Erst war ich mir nicht sicher, ob "The Hollows" wirklich etwas für mich ist. Wie schon oben beschrieben dreht sich das Buch um Zombies und ich mag Zombies nicht. Weder im Film, noch im Buch...dachte ich. Fakt ist, dass ich bisher nur ein einziges Buch besitze, in dem Zombies vorkommen ("Die Enklave"). Aber "The Hollows" hat mich wirklich überrascht. Natürlich sind die Zombies auch hier keine gutriechenden rosa Plüschteddybären (leider), aber ich konnte mich damit abfinden.

Remy ist in dem Buch die Hauptperson. Ich würde sie ein wenig mit Rose von "Vampire Academy" vergleichen. Beide sind sehr starke Persönlichkeiten, die keinen Kampf meiden und auch sehr gut alleine zurecht kommen.

Interessant fand ich die Beziehung zwischen Remy und Lazlo. Denn Lazlo kommt nicht so gut damit zu recht, dass Remy immer alles alleine durchstehen will. Denn Lazlo will als vollwertiger Mann angesehen werden. Ich glaube, dass habe ich so auch noch nicht gelesen.

Zu der kleinen Gruppe gehören auch noch Blue und Harlow. Blue konnte ich nicht ganz einschätzen. Ich weiß noch nicht, ob ich ihn mag oder eher nicht. Ich bin mir sicher, dass mir der zweite Teil da weiterhelfen wird. Harlow ist für ein 13-jähriges Mädchen sehr tough. Manchmal zwar auch ein wenig naiv, aber gerade noch so, dass man es nachvollziehen kann.

Das Ende ist wirklich fies. Wieder ein totaler Cliffhanger. Aber wie gut, dass ich mit wenigen Klicks den zweiten Teil auf meinen Kindle laden kann. Es hat wirklich so seine Vorteile so ein e-reader ;)

"Hollowland" ist wirklich ein Buch, dass ich total gut verstehen konnte. Ich hatte keinerlei Schwierigkeiten der Geschichte zu folgen. Ich glaube ich habe noch nie ein Buch auf englisch so schnell verschlungen. Und damit hätte ich wirklich nicht gerechnet.

Vielleicht werde ich auch langsam ein geübter Englischleser ;)

Der erste Teil von "The Hollows" ist im Stil von "28 Days later". Ich fand den Text verständlich und leicht zu lesen. Die Geschichte ist spannend und hat mich sehr gefesselt. Am Anfang war die Story allerdings ein wenig holprig und so ganz innovativ fand ich das Buch auch nicht.(less)

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hollowland or hollowmen	12	91	May 04, 2013 12:54am
Can I be satisfied with only 2 books? Hmmm I think not.	9	64	Mar 16, 2013 08:11am
YA Paranormal Inn...: You can run from REAL LIFE ZOMBIES!	1	11	Oct 31, 2012 09:30am
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About Amanda Hocking

I live in Minnesota, and I write young adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy mostly. The My Blood Approves series is about vampires in Minneapolis, and its available now. I also wrote the Trylle Trilogy, which is a paranormal romance without vampires, shifters, mermaids, fae, angels, dragons, ghosts, or ninjas.

My latest book is Hollowland - a zombie urban fantasy set in the dystopian near fu...more

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“This is the way the world ends; not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door.” — 111 people liked it

“While it did smash, breaking a bottle over someone’s head requires a lot more force than movies had led me to believe.” — 36 people liked it

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