Just Another Day at the Office

The Walking Dead: Novels #1.5

by Jay Bonansinga, Robert Kirkman

Just Another Day at the Office reveals the never-before-known details of how Philip Blake (aka The Governor) took full control of Woodbury. In this exciting story that takes place between The Walking Rise of the Governor and The Walking The Road to Woodbury, Philip unleashes his full fury on the previous leaders of the small walled-off town. This one-man-army, a man on his way to becoming the fearsome Governor who will eventually go up against Rick Grimes and company, single-handedly takes on all foes, both zombie and human alike. Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga's story was originally published in issue 1 of The Walking Dead magazine and contains approximately 3,500 words, along with an extended excerpt for The Walking The Road to Woodbury.

Genres: Horror, Zombies, Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Ebooks

55 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 4, 2012

About the author

The national best-selling author of ten acclaimed books – both fiction and non-fiction -- Jay Bonansinga has been called “one of the most imaginative writers of thrillers” by the Chicago Tribune.

Jay is the holder of a master's degree in film from Columbia College Chicago, and currently resides in Evanston, Illinois, with his wife and two sons. He is also a visiting professor at Northwestern University in their Creative Writing for the Media program.

Reviews

[Chris Haught · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent little "short" story, and I do mean short. This was one of those ebooks priced at $.99, and for the first time I felt a little cheated by that price. Not that it was a bad read, but that it was so brief.

Still, rating the content (what there was of it), I enjoyed the 20 minutes or so that it took me to go through this story at a leisurely pace.

I do have one gripe, though. It bugged me when I read Rise of the Governor and this story starts out with it. Whenever the time is noted in these books, it specifially gives that time in Central Standard Time. It makes repeated notes of the time being Central Standard. Well, the thing is, these stories take place entirely in the state of Georgia. Which is on Eastern Standard time.

No character is going to fall back an hour to convert to Central time during the zombie apocalypse. It's just not going to happen. Not when said characters have lived in Georgia and Eastern Standard time for their entire lives. I was born in Central time and lived half my life there, but now that I live in Georgia, I go by what time it is here.

I figure it's because Bonansinga is from Chicago, which is on Central time. Fine. But couldn't somebody have caught that little detail and fixed it?

And now my review is as long as the story I'm reviewing.

[Reed · Rating 1 out of 5]

This short story just seems pointless to the series, nothing spectacular happens and it is the usual walker infestation: descriptive language for the innocents savagely ripped apart and one character suriving a ridiculous attempt to rid the town of biters. Should I have used a spoiler alert? No. I just saved you two bucks.

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not even going to bother with a review. This is extremely short and it took me about ten minutes. If I did a review it would be longer than the actual book. This is more for my personal records. Whatever you do do not pay for this "book".

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Philip Blake looks at him through parboiled eyes. Something reassembling a smile appears on Philip's face. "Just another day at the office."

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have read this back when I read The Walking Dead novels because it's not as fresh or in my memory as strong, but this strikes me as one of those teasers to try to get you to read the novels because the story could have been worked into or been a part of one of the longer books. It is a short and does nothing to enhance the overall Woodbury stories. In fact, once finished I felt like I paid .99 cents for this. I love the novels, but this might be worth skipping.

[Cassi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Buyer Beware: this is just a super short piece of a story. The 36 pages seems to take into account the first chapter of the next book as well, and that was also included in the first book. This portion was fine- but totally unnecessary for the story and VERY short. Such a quick read that I was feeling a little annoyed that I paid .99c for it. But then again, maybe I’m just that cheap.

[Negan88 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m not a fan of short stories, but this probably takes the crown as the worst I’ve read this year. As a follow up short to The Rise of The Governor the story just fell flat. It was pointless, didn’t have any depth, and was unnecessary to read. Yes, only about a 20 minute read, but worth the time? No. Skip this one. Not worth the time, and a bore.

[Alexis · Rating 1 out of 5]

This short SHORT story was not what I expected. It was very disappointing that it was only a few pages long and the rest was the beginning of "The road to Woodbury". The story was not That good. The two novels were great, hope they write another.

[Mia Michalek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really just a very short story that shows a little bit of background of the governor. I wouldn't waste your money buying it on Nook or any other ereader. The cost isn't worth the story and this is coming from a die hard TWD fan.

[Raquel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought the file from Amazon thinking that it was a short story of 56 pages but it turned out to be a much, much smaller story: it's only 26% of the file. The rest of it is a copy of the beginning of the second book The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury. I felt kind of cheated.

[Gina Fugate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short novella to fill in the blanks between the 1st & 2nd books. Well written (as always), fast paced, and filled with the brilliance and gore I've come to expect from Mr Kirkman & Mr Bonansinga

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This as an important interlude between Rise of the Governor and Road to Woodbury. The exclusive content is only 33% of the total book--misleading and the source of many gripes.

[Mkittysamom · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a waste, couldn't they have just attached this 5 pg story to one of the books? Wow the governor killed a shit ton of zombies and everyone loves him.....

[Badseedgirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short story? This was barely a story at all. At 14 pages this story added nothing to the cannon of these novel. Thankfully I only wasted about 5 minutes reading this waste of time.

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC <3

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just Another day at the Office is a short story taking place between The Rise of the Governor and The Road to Woodbury. Calling it a short story, however, is doing a bit of disservice to short stories in general. This is a snippet, nearly a piece of flash-fiction that handles the immediate aftermath of the final chapter of book 1 and ties up that minor loose-end. The book does a bit more by containing a hefty excerpt from the beginning of book 2, but... again....

I can understand the appeal of reading this in a magazine, which itself would carry more. As a short story, however, it's just a small, minimal sort of thing. You'd better serve yourself just jumping into the next book than taking the time to read this. You'll likely get the same answers in it, anyway.

My rating, rather than for the content in general, is more just for how short this short story is. It would require a bit more length to it to truly carry any weight or meaning.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, the reviews were right - short story is short. lol It's not bad, but reading it right after Rise Of The Governor (as that's when it takes place) is kind of jarring, because at the end of ROTG (***RISE OF THE GOVERNOR SPOILERS HERE, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED***), Brian had just started "transitioning" into Philip (which was a mindf*ck in itself, frankly) and is still sort of unsure of himself. Just Another Day At The Office picks up right where ROTG left off, but suddenly Brian is officially Philip and is all brazen and crazy and whatnot. There's like, one moment of uncertainty/Brian-ness, and that's it. It's odd.

On top of that, most the ebook (which I think is the only way it was released?) is a LONG excerpt from The Road To Woodbury, which... I'm gonna have to buy that book separately, so what's the point? The short story takes up about 28% of the book, and the rest is all chapters from the next book (I think - I'm not about to scroll through 72% of the book to find out). Kind of a rip off, really. They should have just put this story in ROTG.

[Becca shybookstagramer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed the novels in this series so I was interested in reading this short story to get a little more insight into the governor and his take over but I was deeply disappointed. It was very very short. Shorter than I expected since This ebook is said to be 55 pages when in reality it’s only like 12 with the rest being a preview of the road to Woodbury. The story itself was so short which I get because it’s a short story but it was very short and what was there was mainly descriptive words. I felt it was way too descriptive and I didn’t really get anything out of the story. I don’t even really understand what happened because I was so overwhelmed with the descriptions. If you want to read this series and/or have enjoyed the novels already, I suggest skipping over this short story. In my opinion it’s not worth it and doesn’t add much to the overall story.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn't provide the flavor of the graphic novels or the television series, something you come to look for in books based on a series, but seemed to branch out on its own, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but is disappointing. And while I know this is billed as a short story, it only takes up 25% of the book. The balance of the book is a sneak peak at The Road to Woodbury. I never read these advance previews, so this was another disappointment. It takes a while to get into the narrative of this one, and by the time you do, it's over. I wouldn't waste the 15 minutes out of your day with this because it doesn't really add anything to your appreciation of the series -- graphic novel or TV.

[Amanda Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty darn good for a short book!

I love how this story picked up right where the fist one left off. There's literally no time gap, which is nice. It shows how Phillip decides to show his strength and smarts to the townspeople of Woodbury, and how 'right' he is to be their leader. It also shows how much he has stepped up and grown from the previous book! Though, obviously, he's also a little crazy.

Naturally, as with everything related to The Walking Dead, this book is vivid and details the blood and gore that comes with Zombies. So if that's not something you are into, don't pick up this book!

5 out of 5 stars! Can't wait to continue the series!

[Angieleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, the synopsis is a bit misleading, as is the page count. You learn at the end of The Rise of The Governor how he toppled the leader(s). This is just a few pages of a huge walker herd coming through, taking out part of the wall that keeps Woodbury safe (or is supposed to, rather), what happens, and then is the first chapter or two of The Road To Woodbury.

However, Bonansinga cements himself into The Walking Dead history as writing one ferocious attack on those that have risen to eat The Walking Dead.

...that is always going to be my absolute favorite line that Rick ever said.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not find this EXTREMELY short story all that essential to what makes the Governor tick or how he became the Governor in the first place. If you want to know what makes him tick then read the first book, which I did enjoy. To find out how he becomes the Governor, it stands to reason you would need to read the second book, which I plan to do. But, skip this entirely. It's nothing more than a gratuitous waste.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun short story set in the Walking Dead universe. My two complaints was that one that it was soo short that it didn't allow for much to happen, and two that the Governor in the book was a little different than the Governor in the TV show. Though I could see how they connect, it wasn't quite as he seemed in the show. Overall though, I always enjoy seeing more of the Walking Dead world, so I enjoyed the story.

[Lora · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew this was a short, but it was even shorter than expected because 75% of the Kindle file was taken up by an excerpt from "Road to Woodbury" (which I read a couple years ago and liked).

Basically this short is just a long scene about dealing with a zombie horde who crashed the gates at Woodbury. It doesn't reveal anything unexpected about the Governor. Nor does it have any interesting turns-of-phrase. The only thing I noted as use of the R-word (retarded).

[Cosmic Robots · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short, and I really do mean short, bridge between The Rise of the Governor and The Road to Woodbury, that feels more like half of a scrapped chapter from Book One than a short story.

I'd recommend reading it if you're reading the novel series since it just pads out a little of what happened after the end of Book One, but as it's own thing "Just Another Day at the Office" is an inconsequential if not harmless addition to The Walking Dead canon that can easily be skipped.

[Craig Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

VERY short--as others have said. What I got was an enjoyable zombie attack and the Governor's handling of it, but it was so short. 25% was the story and the other 75% was a preview of book 2 of the series. Can't fault the material for that but it should have been a free read not 99 cents (first world problem!) :)

[David Francesconi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short story. It's only 36 pages long. The story picks right up where The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor ends. It tells how the town of Woodbury fights off a breach in the wall security of the town. I enjoyed the story. I gave it 3 stars only because it was a short story, instead of a book.

[Leopold Birkholm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I was disappointed. Only 15 pages and just about one incident in the story. It does not anything to the genre or the book-series. You are basically paying for a pre-read of two chapters of other books in the series. No, save you money and skip this book in the series. I would not recommend anyone to buy this book.

[Tracey Alvarez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I realise this was a short story (and it was an okay short story!) but I was a little disappointed when it finished abruptly at 24% and the rest of the book was taken up with a massive excerpt from the first book in the series. Kinda would've been nice to have at least 50% of the book short story and 50% advertising for the next book...

[Ashley Cardy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, I will say that this book is super short. I was expecting it to be a little longer. I have read a couple of the Walking Dead books in this series, and I think this story will make more sense or be a bit more interesting if you have read them. That being said, it is gritty, violent and atmospheric. I enjoyed it for what it was.