Review: Swarm by Alex South

Swarm (A Zombie Apocalypse Series #1) by Alex South 3.5/5

Blurb: John has a dead-end job, doesn’t see enough of his friends, and struggles to find meaning in his life. These everyday concerns vanish on the night he’s jerked awake by screams.

Frenzied figures roam the streets. A helpless onlooker, John tells himself that this isn’t like the films. This is real life, with real people.

He and his neighbours band together over a small supply of food. Tensions brew, and a difficult choice arises. Risk starvation, or attempt escape? Conflicted over the cause and scope of the apocalypse, the group struggles to work together.

At first John clings to logic. The zombies do not drink or eat. Organic matter cannot sustain itself under these conditions, but things grow more complicated as the behaviour of the infected makes a drastic and inexplicable change.

Review:

I’m a sucker for all things Zombie. I saw this book for FREE on Amazon Kindle, and just had to download it. Is it like every other Zombie book? Yes and no. Yes- as far as there are zombies, survivors, and the unknown. No- as far as the book isn’t action packed per se. The narrative focusses on John’s personal journey in dealing with an apocalyptic situation, and not the zombie outbreak itself.

I’m a scaredy cat, but I was never scared. Was I supposed to be? Maybe? Did I want to be? Yes! I read zombie books for the horror, however I did like that this book added a different level to the situation, and a more indepth look at survival thought processes. A little more character development wouldn’t go a miss, but I liked John; average joe, getting on with life, and then one day- BAM… zombie apocalypse. He is relatable to the masses.

I always take zombie novels with a pinch of salt, or tongue in cheek. I don’t read them to be awed, I read them for light-hearted, gruesome fun. This book offered that, and I was pleasantly surprised with the narrative.

The opinions expressed here are those of K.J.Chapman and no other parties.

All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman.

K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review.