With Spring Comes the Fall (Living with the Dead #1)

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With Spring Comes the Fall (Living with the Dead #1)

by Joshua Guess (Goodreads Author)

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 105 ratings · 22 reviews

Living With the Dead is a story told in real time that chronicles a small group of survivors before and during the zombie apocalypse. Told in the voice of primarily one man, with occasional offerings from a few of the other survivors, this collection is a thrilling look into the mind of a regular guy who is forced by circumstance to make impossible choices.

When the dead w...more

Kindle Edition, 293 pages

Published October 29th 2010 by Joshua Guess

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Jul 08, 2011 Cambria rated it 3 of 5 stars

Title: Living with the Dead: With Spring Comes Fall
Author: Joshua Guess
Published by Josh Guess 2010
Format: Ebook
Genre: Horror, Zombies
ISBN: 0012707570

When the dead walk the earth, the only option left for the survivors is to learn how to truly live.
Josh is a regular guy, a self-proclaimed “nerd”, and he also is obsessed with zombies. So when a series of alarming events begin to happen across the country, Josh knows immediately what is happening. Zombies are taking over the country…one bite at a...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

The worst scenario in a zombie apocalypse: a.zombie's incessantly pounding at every entrance trying to eat your vital organs b.unending fear of your inevitable death or c.having to slice into the brain of the walking undead? Your answer would be wrong. Don't answer that question. Although all of those fears are truly horrific, nothing could be worse than having to fight, maim and kill your fellow human survivors for the right to live.

Josh is a die hard (sorry pun intended) zombie fanatic. He has...more The worst scenario in a zombie apocalypse: a.zombie's incessantly pounding at every entrance trying to eat your vital organs b.unending fear of your inevitable death or c.having to slice into the brain of the walking undead? Your answer would be wrong. Don't answer that question. Although all of those fears are truly horrific, nothing could be worse than having to fight, maim and kill your fellow human survivors for the right to live.

Josh is a die hard (sorry pun intended) zombie fanatic. He has read all the survival guides and watched every zombie movie made. When the epidemic started in Cincinnati, he was one of the only ones who saw it for what it was. Hell on here had arrived. For many people it ended quickly. For others, the term quickly was no longer applicable to them; they had been transformed into mindless zombies. Josh and his wife Jess had fortified their home and laid in wait for what they new was coming.

Scavenging, farming, killing, and back breaking labor is all josh and the collection of apocalypse survivors had to look forward to. When they thought they had moved forward at all, they ran into murderers, thieves, rapists, and cannibals. Then came the smarties, and we are not talking about a group of tasty treats....

This book wasn't all I was hoping for. I had read some great reviews and it came highly recommended, but parts of this book just stretched on and on. I loved the blog style writing to the book, and I know that the author tried to make it as authentic as possible, but I really think the repeating of certain things was, by definition, redundant. It made it hard in spots to continue to read.

The parts of the book that made me want to keep reading were often times glossed over because the blogger, Josh, was too worked up, stressed out, or distraught by the happenings. Zombies existed in this book that is titled "Living with the Dead", but the book itself really glosses over the zombie parts quite a bit until you learn of what becomes of these zombies. It captures your attention at the end, but for some, they may not have made it that far. So practice your patience, get out your zombie survival guide and prepare for the apocalypse... (less)

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Jan 16, 2011 Annetta Ribken rated it 5 of 5 stars

Having just started this book, normally I would hesitate to rate it or say anything about it. However, I am HOOKED. I had my doubts, but it came highly recommended by a good friend, and I figured I'd give it a shot. Boy, am I glad I did. Since the new season of "Walking Dead" won't be out for months yet, I was feeling a zombie apocalypse hole in my life. No more! This, so far, is more than an accounting of the apocalypse we all know is coming someday -- there are actually helpful and excellent t...more Having just started this book, normally I would hesitate to rate it or say anything about it. However, I am HOOKED. I had my doubts, but it came highly recommended by a good friend, and I figured I'd give it a shot. Boy, am I glad I did. Since the new season of "Walking Dead" won't be out for months yet, I was feeling a zombie apocalypse hole in my life. No more! This, so far, is more than an accounting of the apocalypse we all know is coming someday -- there are actually helpful and excellent tips on how to survive. I'm taking notes.

So far, entertaining and mesmerizing. I'll be back with a full review.

****

I didn't intend on reading this book next -- I have a lot on my "to read" list that are a lot older, and I'm committed to the ABC Indie Reading Challenge. For that challenge, I promised myself I'd step outside my comfortable reading box and open my horizons, but when perusing my Kindle to choose the next reading experience, I saw this book and just couldn't resist a peek.

A "peek" that lasted an entire day and most of the night! Once I started reading I just couldn't stop. It's in a blog format, which made for an immediate feeling of the events transpiring. The author really makes you care about what's going on and the people involved, and although you may think you know what's coming up, you have no idea.

This book reminds me of a cross between "Walking Dead" and a show I saw on one of the cable channels about a group of people in a social experiment trying to survive a "staged" Armageddon. The first thing you think of is the survival aspect -- water, food, ammunition, security, medical solutions...but what you might not think of right away are the social implications, the big picture, or how people cope emotionally and spiritually with such a total and drastic change of life as you currently know it.

You think you know. You have no idea. The difficult decisions, the turnabout of everything you've believed in, the changes in you and the people around you...

It's a fascinating journey, and this first book is a compilation of the first six months after the Zombie Apocalypse. A second volume of the second year is due out in March. Joshua Guess also posts daily on the blog, "Living With the Dead" and you can keep up that way, although I prefer the compilation so I can read it all at once. Either way, it is an absolutely fabulous read, but be prepared once you dive in, you may not come out for a while.

I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a new read so much, unless it was Peter V. Brett's "The Warded Man" or JPH's collection, "Ten With a Flag and Other Playthings". Highly recommended.(less)

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Nov 02, 2011 Hunter rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who likes zombies or horror

This book offers a really different look at what happens when there's a zombie attack. The main character is just an average guy who, because of the unusual circumstances, finds that he has become the leader of a group of survivors. At first its just him and his family, but other survivors come along and the community grows. The book is written as a blog, so the reader is exposed to many different aspects of life with zombies. Really basic issues about survival are discussed, such a food and cle...more

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May 03, 2013 Saturnfx rated it 2 of 5 stars

2 stars, because 1 seemed inappropriate. On the plus side, there are some good survival ideas in here.
Now for the negatives.
It is a book without much of a story. mostly just nuts and bolts of a prepper whom maxes out his credit card the second a rumor of something bad going on, then starts hardening the whole neighborhood in some sort of secessionist daydream. I was unable to finish the book due to such a weak storyline...felt like I was reading more of a DIY book for half of it. I think the au...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Chad Beaudin rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is not a review. This is a synopsis to remind me what happened if I read the next books in the series.

This is a series of journal entries made by Josh Guess from Frankfort KY. His wife Jess. The Z outbreak stars in Cincinnati. Josh prepares by buying supplies and fortifying his house. Z's reach him a few days later. His buddy Pattrick from AK moves in with him. Josh's mom lives down the street. His buddy David calls to tell Josh that he and his family is coming to live with Josh.

All the hou...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Cassie McCown rated it 4 of 5 stars

Living with the Dead: With Spring Comes the Fall
Written by: Joshua Guess
Published October 29, 2010
AISN: B004A14V7S
Available Format: ebook, blog

My Rating: ★★★★☆

,i>Living with the Dead is basically a collection of fictional blog posts that chronicle the day-to-day life of a group of Kentucky zombie apocalypse survivors as they band together and work to create a new, safe environment for themselves. After the zombie bacteria takes over the world and Josh comes to terms with reality, he quickly...more

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Apr 22, 2011 Felicia A rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalypse-of-some-sort, teotwawki, zombies

3.5 actually.

This book is pretty well written, and needs only minor editing, which is great given the state of a lot self-pubbed stuff. It's in blog format which, similar to the journal thing, has been done to death. The author is, however, able to tell the story surprisingly well given that there are barely any other "voices" in this story. Not directly, anyway. But it takes away from the story that he publishes the blog in his own real name.

He never explains why the zombies show up, fine. He...more 3.5 actually.

This book is pretty well written, and needs only minor editing, which is great given the state of a lot self-pubbed stuff. It's in blog format which, similar to the journal thing, has been done to death. The author is, however, able to tell the story surprisingly well given that there are barely any other "voices" in this story. Not directly, anyway. But it takes away from the story that he publishes the blog in his own real name.

He never explains why the zombies show up, fine. He and his wife just immediately basically turn their house into a fortress, max out all their credit cards buying any and every thing one might need to ride out the zombpocalypse. Fine. Then they immediately start fortifying the whole neighborhood, fine. It's awfully convenient that ALL OF THE NEIGHBORS either get killed or leave, and Josh `n friends get to take over the whole neighborhood to form "The Compound".

Quite a number of Josh's talented and intelligent and cool and nerdy/geeky, but all around great, fantastic friends survive this nightmare in groups, intact. And OF COURSE, they all get rescued by Josh, who just keeps on finding all of his friends and family alive and well, even though BILLIONS of other people have perished.

And like I mentioned before, Josh and his wife maxed out their credit cards and are sitting very pretty to make it through the long haul, but within SIX DAYS of the end of the world, they are hunting and eating SQUIRREL. I mean, I know it's Kentucky, but come ON. Six days?? And there's the whole thing like another reviewer mentioned about his wife smiling benevolently nearby, silently encouraging Josh to "do" his high school crush because they have to repopulate the world.

This group is unbelievably lucky and of course manage to find every single little thing they need to withstand. They have planted farms within days, started constructing a wall, making contact with other survivor groups*, rescuing people, etc., etc., etc.

And while all this is going on, nearly the entire rest of the population that managed to survive is hell bent on wiping out Josh and his group. Except for his friends and the others they rescued EVERY ONE ELSE IN THE STATE AND SURROUNDING AREA seem to be looters/marauders/rapists/ babykillers/thieves/criminals/cannibals and are out to take what Josh and his group have.

He has the new and interesting idea of some of the zombies developing "smarts" (they call them the `smarties'), actually beginning to show limited intelligence, planning, and some sort of communication that enables them to work together to hunt human prey, and actually be cunning and smart, not just mindless flesh munchers. This is a nice new element.

Despite what it sounds like above, this is not a bad story, not at all. It's a bit self-serving and preachy because many of Josh's blog posts are about forming new governments/leadership, and accepting new moralities and how the government shouldn't control too much of our lives and they were going to do it new and better, blah blah blah. And then they proceed to set up a few rules which, even though rules are needed to make a society run smoothly and civilly, they start to muck it up.

LOTS of monologue and discourse about morality, government, and Josh's views of the world, which gets preachy and annoying.

My only real major problem (besides the whole squirrel/repopulate the world thing) is that the book just...ends. No wrap up, conclusion, finality...nothing. He gets to the end of that day's blog post, and that's it. I know there's a sequel, but I really feel like every book should stand alone, even when more are planned.

*Google ROCKS. (less)

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Mar 20, 2013 Jett Cat rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombie-favorites

Loved it, burned through series
Stumbled accross this blog style story of zombie survival and was hooked!
This account has it all! Zombies, survival, fights, questioning of morality.
I suppose what makes this series stand out is
1) the zombies evolve (so not for hard core zombie traditionalists)
2) the descriptions of the adaptations the survivors have to make to be safe and to eat
3)the personalized feel of all posters (self doubt, disagreements with eachother over structure of the compound, dea...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Lori Whitwam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombie, urban-fantasy

Re-entering... I entered the wrong version before. LOVE this book. Guess takes the journal-style zombie apocalypse tale seen in Day By Day Armageddon and takes it into a whole new realm of awesomeness. Engaging, gripping, terrifying, hopeful... and full of practical situations, preparations, plans, and challenges we'd all face should such a society-collapsing apocalypse ever come to pass. (Note to self: Get solar charger for the Kindle!)

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Feb 08, 2012 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: end-of-world, series

Loved. Loved. Loved. I loved hearing about day to day activites after the end of the world. I love that I will be able to continue to follow these people for a long time to come. (Please Josh!)
Not your typical zombie/end of the world story. This book written in journal format chronicles the day to day life of survivors of a zombie infestation. Published into a book, this is a daily blog taht I am currently devouring. Looking forward to more books.

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May 07, 2013 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this book but I just couldn't. The main character is so smarmy and self-righteous that I found myself hoping he would get eaten. No such luck. With that being said I have started the next book in the series with the hope that it will get better. Thus far I am not holding my breath...

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May 07, 2013 Nate Morse rated it 3 of 5 stars

Interesting idea. I enjoy the fact that it deals with rebuilding society, which is something I don't see very often. I continue to enjoy the blog where the story is still going on today.

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Mar 29, 2013 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, kindle-books-i-own

Love all the books in the series so far, i just can't get enough of it, and i can't wait for the next book. :D
It's really existing and I just love that the book was made as a blog styled.

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Oct 22, 2011 Patti Larsen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Very realistic-love how the story of the zombie apocalypse is told through the eyes of a blogger day by day. It had me looking for weapons and wishing my house was barricaded.

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Jun 17, 2012 LA rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon

I downloaded this for free. Thank goodness. There were capitalization and spelling errors in the first few pages, so I couldn't continue. Editors are a good thing.

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Mar 18, 2011 Robert rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombies

Really good BUT needs to be sent to an editor in the worst way! Took off a star because of all the typos. Story itself is fast paced and keeps the reader interested.

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Jun 21, 2011 Dylan D rated it 5 of 5 stars

excellent book! although it was the first zombie book that i read, it was great. especially for the price!

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Dec 27, 2012 Alisha rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love the format and the very real situations these characters go through. A new and thankfully long take on the zombie genre, I can't stop reading.

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Oct 06, 2012 Nate Warren rated it 5 of 5 stars

Hell Yah! what an awesome series! Must read!!!!!

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Dec 20, 2012 Jared rated it 3 of 5 stars

Okay,
Finally finished the book,
It was a struggle at times and I almost put it down more then once.
But I admit that towards the end the author thru some original ideas out & I did enjoy the later parts of the novel.
Well enough to read the next one for sure.

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Apr 03, 2013 Helena Sheibler rated it 3 of 5 stars

Strangely devoid of impact readable but slightly disconnected if not very disconnected.

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May 21, 2013 Michael Pate rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombie

May 15, 2013 Theta marked it as to-read

May 14, 2013 Amy Flowers rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombies

May 09, 2013 Heather Jackson-arsenault rated it 5 of 5 stars

May 02, 2013 Karla (Mossy Love Grotto) marked it as to-read

Shelves: ebook, kindle-freebie

Apr 28, 2013 Ahron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apr 28, 2013 Julie Fletcher rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apr 13, 2013 Allison Bogle rated it 5 of 5 stars

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About Joshua Guess

Joshua Guess (who goes by Josh most of the time, but Joshua professionally because his mom insists) is originally from southern Illinois, but moved to central Kentucky at an early age.
Always a storyteller, his interest in creating began with art. He loved to draw and come up with stories about his pictures.
Then he discovered comic books and novels, and things...took a turn.
Devouring everything...more Joshua Guess (who goes by Josh most of the time, but Joshua professionally because his mom insists) is originally from southern Illinois, but moved to central Kentucky at an early age.
Always a storyteller, his interest in creating began with art. He loved to draw and come up with stories about his pictures.
Then he discovered comic books and novels, and things...took a turn.
Devouring everything from superboy to Stephen King, Josh started to gain a greater interest in writing, making it a hobby during high school and achieving distinguished marks in his portfolio.
Then, life got in the way. College and the struggle to start a life of his own away from home took up most of his time. His love of telling stories took a back seat to the needs of daily life for many years, with the occasional foray into working on one project or another.
In late 2009, Josh buckled down and started work on an idea for a fantasy novel that had been stuck in his head since those halcyon days back in high school. Struggling to find a voice, Josh realized months later after many false starts that he needed to stretch his brain a little, strengthen his writing muscles. So he began another project that had been simmering in the back of his mind, a continuing serialized zombie story, told in the form of a daily blog.
Living With the Dead has given him a measure of success, but more important has imparted new skills at wordsmithing and the drive to complete. 'Bound to Silence', his debut novel, has been released and is available now, as are many collections and versions of Living With the Dead.
Once that tipping point was reached, there was no choice for him but to keep on writing. Much more of Josh's work will be released in the coming months.

I hate writing in the third person about myself. I live an average life and work a full time job. I have three cats, two dogs, two ferrets, and a wife that I'm so in love with it hurts. My goal is to some day have enough success to write full time, and to manage a level of long term financial security that I don't have to worry about money. It's my dream to make a good living doing what I love--telling stories. I hope you enjoy my work. That's why I do it. (less)

More about Joshua Guess...

Books by Joshua Guess

The Hungry Land (Living with the Dead #3)

The Wild Country (Living with the Dead #4)

Living With the Dead: This New Disease (Book 5)

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