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Click Your Poison #4
Pathogens: Who Will Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?
Soldier, High Schooler, Martial Arts Instructor, Convict, Bank Teller, Mechanic. What do these six people have in common? When you step into their shoes, they're going to survive the zombie apocalypse. Pick from six characters and play 100 possible endings in this choose your own path style adventure.
Here's how it works: You, Dear Reader, play as the main characters of this story. Last time you checked, you had less than half a full magazine for your M4, and the armory might be a good spot for a refill. Then again, a bird in the hand gets the worm, and a helicopter ride to front lines would be significantly faster than a Humvee ride through clogged streets.
I think I'll stick with Air Power and take that last seat on the helicopter. Go to page 247
Strength in both people and bullets. Humvee it up! Go to page 64
Zombocalypse, you say? That's right. Science has finally cracked the code on eternal life with the wonderdrug Gligazyme, but that advance came with a terrible price--the immortal living dead are coming to feed on human flesh. And that's not all you'll have to contend with...As civilization's fire goes out, the darkness creeps back in.
The story takes place simultaneously with the bestselling Click Your Poison book, INFECTED, making it neither a prequel nor a sequel (let's call it an "equel"). As an updated and upgraded spinoff, PATHOGENS is the ultimate Zombie Apocalypse gamebook!
Who will survive the zombie apocalypse? YOU decide in PATHOGENS!
Here's how it works: You, Dear Reader, play as the main characters of this story. Last time you checked, you had less than half a full magazine for your M4, and the armory might be a good spot for a refill. Then again, a bird in the hand gets the worm, and a helicopter ride to front lines would be significantly faster than a Humvee ride through clogged streets.
I think I'll stick with Air Power and take that last seat on the helicopter. Go to page 247
Strength in both people and bullets. Humvee it up! Go to page 64
Zombocalypse, you say? That's right. Science has finally cracked the code on eternal life with the wonderdrug Gligazyme, but that advance came with a terrible price--the immortal living dead are coming to feed on human flesh. And that's not all you'll have to contend with...As civilization's fire goes out, the darkness creeps back in.
The story takes place simultaneously with the bestselling Click Your Poison book, INFECTED, making it neither a prequel nor a sequel (let's call it an "equel"). As an updated and upgraded spinoff, PATHOGENS is the ultimate Zombie Apocalypse gamebook!
Who will survive the zombie apocalypse? YOU decide in PATHOGENS!
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 9, 2016
86 people are currently reading
366 people want to read
About the author
James Schannep
12 books154 followersJames Schannep has no tragic backstory.
Having grown up in a fairly ordinary suburban household, with a family who loved him, he was forced to dream up far flung adventures on strange new worlds where the hero can save the day and make a difference through strength of character alone.
Schannep attended the United States Air Force Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in English Literature with a minor in General Engineering. After serving honorably as a Nuclear Missile Command and Control Officer, he returned to trying to make a difference through story.
As a screenwriter, game designer, and novelist, he is probably best known for his Click Your Poison series of interactive gamebooks.
Social Vampire is his first novel.
When not dreaming up strange new worlds, James lives in the one inhabited by his wife, who faithfully remains the patroness of his art, and with his children, who don’t quite grasp what they’ve inherited yet with such an eccentric father.
Having grown up in a fairly ordinary suburban household, with a family who loved him, he was forced to dream up far flung adventures on strange new worlds where the hero can save the day and make a difference through strength of character alone.
Schannep attended the United States Air Force Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in English Literature with a minor in General Engineering. After serving honorably as a Nuclear Missile Command and Control Officer, he returned to trying to make a difference through story.
As a screenwriter, game designer, and novelist, he is probably best known for his Click Your Poison series of interactive gamebooks.
Social Vampire is his first novel.
When not dreaming up strange new worlds, James lives in the one inhabited by his wife, who faithfully remains the patroness of his art, and with his children, who don’t quite grasp what they’ve inherited yet with such an eccentric father.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
June 1, 2017
I didn't realize this going in, but I learned of it immediately after starting - this isn't like the normal 'you' choose your own adventure book. Instead of entering and darting around an adventure book starring yourself, here you enter and choose one of six characters to become.
And then still see 'you' being used. Thus negating some of the advantages that might have been inherent in having named characters to 'play' rather than 'just be yourself'.
As mentioned, six characters. 4 men, 2 women because . . . inequality is fun. I hadn't really planned to do it this way, but I ended up playing one of the women first then playing the last woman as my last character to play.
There are:
Men:
Sims - an older man who is a Sergeant in the Air Force national guard, though before the reader gets the idea that they'll be a rambo type - Sims has spent his career being a 'desk jockey'. When the zombification occurs, Sims is on a plane over the ocean. And before 'you' the reader get any choices, you land in a foreign land for some adventure there before, possibly, returning to the States.
Hefty - a very thin convict who has spent the last few years learning how to survive in prison. When the outbreak occurs, Hefty is in prison and must attempt to escape.
Ty - is a man working two jobs to try to get ahead in life and support his mother. Ty is the black man in this book. When the outbreak occurs, Ty is attempting to make his way to his bank teller job - though he'd overslept because of being tired from his call center job.
Lucas - is the trained martial arts expert, though one who also one who has never seen real combat. When the outbreak occurs, Lucas is in the middle of teaching his morning class - filled will youngsters, the oldest of which is 17. He, and the sister you see briefly, were born in Japan.
Women:
Cooper - is an auto mechanic who is tired of people being distracted by how beautiful she is, and rather wished she could have had better success in the motorcycle racing world that she is still somewhat trying to continue in. When the outbreak occurs she is at her job in the garage working on cars.
Rosie - the 17 year old daughter of a gun range owner. Her father has constantly tried to prepare her for something like the outbreak occurring. She has a brother and father to contend with.
---
Personally - Lucas has the must interesting 'story up to outbreak', though his is a frustrating story to play once the outbreak does occur. Because you know he could do well out there, but he is reluctant to believe and . . . other stuff. Sims was the easiest to play, though that might be because I had played Cooper first and Sims second - and had meet Sims during my time with Cooper and 'knew' what to do with Sims to get him to his best outcome. That pre-knowledge eventually occurred again when I played Ty after playing Hefty, but very late in Ty's 'game'.
I mention because one of my status updates indicated the idea that maybe one of the problems of naming characters is that I'd run into them and see how they operate through someone else's eyes and what the 'best' things to do with that character might be. Though I came to realize that that only really worked with Sims.
In general I had two major problems with the book - even though you play a named character, it is still 'you' doing stuff. You as the character, but still using 'you' as the pronouns. That has always been my major problem with these kinds of books, the you part, because 'you' always does crazy stupid shit I'd never do and it's frustrating that I can't 'control' that, since I'm apparently 'you'. Going to all the trouble of creating six characters - it might have been better if their sections used their names instead of you. So I'd be controlling the characters.
I forgot what that other major problem was that I was going to mention, though I will note that I was frustrated by how 'everyone' (not really) seemed damned determined to 'get to town'. I don't bloody care what the emergency is - hurricane, flood, earthquake, volcanic eruption, space alien invasion, human alien invasion, giant frog invasion, zombie outbreak, vampire outbreak . . . ., which emergency occurs that triggers a 'must get to center of massive numbers of humans' response? Now there is protection that comes with being 'together', the 'circling the wagons' type of protection - but the equilivent of that in this book would have been to bunker down with others in a protected spot and aim your guns outward - not to travel long distances elsewhere.
Right. What else do I wish to note. Rosie is a horrible weak little girl sexist cliche. No matter which choices you choose. *shrugs* Unfortunate. Ty was a mama's boy, but strong determined efficient capable, good. In a way I'm surprised one of the paths for Rosie didn't consist of her tripping over her untied shoes and shooting herself while crying and blinded. I mean . . . shesh.
Rating: 3.44
June 1 2017
And then still see 'you' being used. Thus negating some of the advantages that might have been inherent in having named characters to 'play' rather than 'just be yourself'.
As mentioned, six characters. 4 men, 2 women because . . . inequality is fun. I hadn't really planned to do it this way, but I ended up playing one of the women first then playing the last woman as my last character to play.
There are:
Men:
Sims - an older man who is a Sergeant in the Air Force national guard, though before the reader gets the idea that they'll be a rambo type - Sims has spent his career being a 'desk jockey'. When the zombification occurs, Sims is on a plane over the ocean. And before 'you' the reader get any choices, you land in a foreign land for some adventure there before, possibly, returning to the States.
Hefty - a very thin convict who has spent the last few years learning how to survive in prison. When the outbreak occurs, Hefty is in prison and must attempt to escape.
Ty - is a man working two jobs to try to get ahead in life and support his mother. Ty is the black man in this book. When the outbreak occurs, Ty is attempting to make his way to his bank teller job - though he'd overslept because of being tired from his call center job.
Lucas - is the trained martial arts expert, though one who also one who has never seen real combat. When the outbreak occurs, Lucas is in the middle of teaching his morning class - filled will youngsters, the oldest of which is 17. He, and the sister you see briefly, were born in Japan.
Women:
Cooper - is an auto mechanic who is tired of people being distracted by how beautiful she is, and rather wished she could have had better success in the motorcycle racing world that she is still somewhat trying to continue in. When the outbreak occurs she is at her job in the garage working on cars.
Rosie - the 17 year old daughter of a gun range owner. Her father has constantly tried to prepare her for something like the outbreak occurring. She has a brother and father to contend with.
---
Personally - Lucas has the must interesting 'story up to outbreak', though his is a frustrating story to play once the outbreak does occur. Because you know he could do well out there, but he is reluctant to believe and . . . other stuff. Sims was the easiest to play, though that might be because I had played Cooper first and Sims second - and had meet Sims during my time with Cooper and 'knew' what to do with Sims to get him to his best outcome. That pre-knowledge eventually occurred again when I played Ty after playing Hefty, but very late in Ty's 'game'.
I mention because one of my status updates indicated the idea that maybe one of the problems of naming characters is that I'd run into them and see how they operate through someone else's eyes and what the 'best' things to do with that character might be. Though I came to realize that that only really worked with Sims.
In general I had two major problems with the book - even though you play a named character, it is still 'you' doing stuff. You as the character, but still using 'you' as the pronouns. That has always been my major problem with these kinds of books, the you part, because 'you' always does crazy stupid shit I'd never do and it's frustrating that I can't 'control' that, since I'm apparently 'you'. Going to all the trouble of creating six characters - it might have been better if their sections used their names instead of you. So I'd be controlling the characters.
I forgot what that other major problem was that I was going to mention, though I will note that I was frustrated by how 'everyone' (not really) seemed damned determined to 'get to town'. I don't bloody care what the emergency is - hurricane, flood, earthquake, volcanic eruption, space alien invasion, human alien invasion, giant frog invasion, zombie outbreak, vampire outbreak . . . ., which emergency occurs that triggers a 'must get to center of massive numbers of humans' response? Now there is protection that comes with being 'together', the 'circling the wagons' type of protection - but the equilivent of that in this book would have been to bunker down with others in a protected spot and aim your guns outward - not to travel long distances elsewhere.
Right. What else do I wish to note. Rosie is a horrible weak little girl sexist cliche. No matter which choices you choose. *shrugs* Unfortunate. Ty was a mama's boy, but strong determined efficient capable, good. In a way I'm surprised one of the paths for Rosie didn't consist of her tripping over her untied shoes and shooting herself while crying and blinded. I mean . . . shesh.
Rating: 3.44
June 1 2017
December 14, 2016
My second book by this author. I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid, and this is once again a fun return to my youth and those fun books.
This book has the same characters as his other Zombie book, but you definitely don't need to read the first one to read this - and trust me, I never say that! LOL I honestly couldn't remember a thing about the first book, including character names, so you'll be fine if you just start with this one. I read this one through about five times & hubby read it once (and on it a second time) so it's definitely a good book to read multiple times, with a slightly different story each time. Though I admit, by the time I read it through a few times, I found it harder to pick different choices to get a different story and it was starting to be a bit repetitious.
The author does a fantastic job of making sure the choices actually fit with the current storyline- you remember those old Choose Your Own books? There was always, always something that didn't quite fit because it was written so generic. These are written much better.
And plus, zombies! Nothing too gross, too bloody, too gorey, I promise...
This book has the same characters as his other Zombie book, but you definitely don't need to read the first one to read this - and trust me, I never say that! LOL I honestly couldn't remember a thing about the first book, including character names, so you'll be fine if you just start with this one. I read this one through about five times & hubby read it once (and on it a second time) so it's definitely a good book to read multiple times, with a slightly different story each time. Though I admit, by the time I read it through a few times, I found it harder to pick different choices to get a different story and it was starting to be a bit repetitious.
The author does a fantastic job of making sure the choices actually fit with the current storyline- you remember those old Choose Your Own books? There was always, always something that didn't quite fit because it was written so generic. These are written much better.
And plus, zombies! Nothing too gross, too bloody, too gorey, I promise...
August 15, 2016
You can read my review here
https://www.amazon.com/review/R2PEGX7...
https://www.amazon.com/review/R2PEGX7...
November 24, 2025
I love these Click your Poison books! This also let's you pick a character to play and then there are different paths for that character so you truly can reread this book a ton of times. i read through Rosie's story and enjoyed it a lot. Died a few times which is always the fun part. Loved it!
February 12, 2023
Awesome Indies Book Awards is pleased to include PATHOGENS (Click Your Poison #4) by JAMES SCHANNEP in the library of Awesome Indies'
Badge of Approval
recipients.
AIBA Book of the Week: 12 February, 2023: 292/42801
Original Awesome Indies' Assessment (5 stars):
I Chewed Through This In No Time
5 stars
In the last week, I've been drowned, I've been stabbed. Sprayed with bear repellent (hyper mace). Torn apart. Chewed on. Shot. God, I've been shot so many times. Nearly had my arm ripped off.
And I also survived. I saved some lives. I wriggled and fought to escape. I rewired things. Plus, I found the Easter egg.
What I survived was PATHOGENS, a choose-your-own-adventure book at the dawn of the zombie apocalypse, in which a live-forever cure really works! Only you turn into a flesh-craving ghoul within a handful of hours. It is not, strictly speaking, a novel, but rather a half-dozen long choose-your-own style short stories. Short as in longish.
The pacing of the short, intense chapters is sometimes frantic, sometimes wonderfully slow, as with the old man's tales of ancient Japan. Of the tone of each one, often it's terrified and dark, but just as often it's varied (peaceful calm for Tesshu or pissed at the world, for Cooper) which is the second best feature of the book.
The best, clearly, is your app's ability to rewind: pick your bloody infected chewed-apart bullet-riddled corpse off the floor by pressing the back button several times, and choose the course that helps you live longer. Clicking is far superior to flipping through pages to find out what happens next.
Now for the bad: not too much here, actually. AIA reviews are based mainly on grammatical and typographical errors, and while I can speak to probably 90% of the book (one typo found) it wasn't possible to read through every mini-chapter perfectly. The book did sport a few clichéd bunions: (the way the cookie crumbled, turn a blind eye,) but not enough to snub out a star.
Overall, if you're into zombies, this one is good. If you're all about choosing your own adventure, this one is great. Just don't worry about getting blinded by super mace, or cutting yourself to the bone and bleeding out. These things can un-happen.
PS- this book contains references to sexual assault… you know, the grizzled, unwashed guys with the guns herding the womenfolk into pens for breeding. If you're not cool with that, you may want to give this book a pass, or just don't read Cooper's storyline.
AIBA Book of the Week: 12 February, 2023: 292/42801
Original Awesome Indies' Assessment (5 stars):
I Chewed Through This In No Time
5 stars
In the last week, I've been drowned, I've been stabbed. Sprayed with bear repellent (hyper mace). Torn apart. Chewed on. Shot. God, I've been shot so many times. Nearly had my arm ripped off.
And I also survived. I saved some lives. I wriggled and fought to escape. I rewired things. Plus, I found the Easter egg.
What I survived was PATHOGENS, a choose-your-own-adventure book at the dawn of the zombie apocalypse, in which a live-forever cure really works! Only you turn into a flesh-craving ghoul within a handful of hours. It is not, strictly speaking, a novel, but rather a half-dozen long choose-your-own style short stories. Short as in longish.
The pacing of the short, intense chapters is sometimes frantic, sometimes wonderfully slow, as with the old man's tales of ancient Japan. Of the tone of each one, often it's terrified and dark, but just as often it's varied (peaceful calm for Tesshu or pissed at the world, for Cooper) which is the second best feature of the book.
The best, clearly, is your app's ability to rewind: pick your bloody infected chewed-apart bullet-riddled corpse off the floor by pressing the back button several times, and choose the course that helps you live longer. Clicking is far superior to flipping through pages to find out what happens next.
Now for the bad: not too much here, actually. AIA reviews are based mainly on grammatical and typographical errors, and while I can speak to probably 90% of the book (one typo found) it wasn't possible to read through every mini-chapter perfectly. The book did sport a few clichéd bunions: (the way the cookie crumbled, turn a blind eye,) but not enough to snub out a star.
Overall, if you're into zombies, this one is good. If you're all about choosing your own adventure, this one is great. Just don't worry about getting blinded by super mace, or cutting yourself to the bone and bleeding out. These things can un-happen.
PS- this book contains references to sexual assault… you know, the grizzled, unwashed guys with the guns herding the womenfolk into pens for breeding. If you're not cool with that, you may want to give this book a pass, or just don't read Cooper's storyline.
August 24, 2016
I gave this book 5 stars because I had so much fun. It isn't easy to think like someone else and I am sure my personality got in the way at times and I clicked a path I would take here and there. You get to chose your character 1 of 6 . 1) Sims, 2)Rosie, 3)Lucas, 4)Hefty, 5)Tyerius or 6) Cooper.
I chose Cooper,(Kaeden Cooper) Her friends call her Kay a child of a NASCAR driver, Kay liked to race her motorbike when she could. She worked at the local garage. Her boss wanted to put her behind the counter to be "eye candy" for the grouchy customers, but she was more comfortable under the hood covered in oil. She was the shift managers and gave the other guys their days assignments. She didn't mind being a enigma in the boys club not even on the Racing cricket. She couldn't get sponsor for the Big boys racing, because they all just wanted her to pose by her bike in a bikini and be sexy, she refused. If she was going to race it would be on her terms or she would just race when she could.
My first time through ,Cooper made a rookie mistake when she tried to help people that were in a car accident and she was bitten therefore doomed, yet the story continued which as a nice surprise.
It is stated in the book description that there are 100 possible endings.
So you can read and re-read the story and make choices as a different character if you want to. Did I tell you how much I enjoyed this book? I had so much fun. You are given a choice between two directions you click on one and it
propels the story forward. The second time I read this book my character lived. There were a few times I thought I was a goner. That is the beauty of this book you really don’t know what is going to happen. Pick up your copy to day and check out his other click it books. I am looking forward to reading the fist book “Infected.” This book is pure genius! Well done James.
I chose Cooper,(Kaeden Cooper) Her friends call her Kay a child of a NASCAR driver, Kay liked to race her motorbike when she could. She worked at the local garage. Her boss wanted to put her behind the counter to be "eye candy" for the grouchy customers, but she was more comfortable under the hood covered in oil. She was the shift managers and gave the other guys their days assignments. She didn't mind being a enigma in the boys club not even on the Racing cricket. She couldn't get sponsor for the Big boys racing, because they all just wanted her to pose by her bike in a bikini and be sexy, she refused. If she was going to race it would be on her terms or she would just race when she could.
My first time through ,Cooper made a rookie mistake when she tried to help people that were in a car accident and she was bitten therefore doomed, yet the story continued which as a nice surprise.
It is stated in the book description that there are 100 possible endings.
So you can read and re-read the story and make choices as a different character if you want to. Did I tell you how much I enjoyed this book? I had so much fun. You are given a choice between two directions you click on one and it
propels the story forward. The second time I read this book my character lived. There were a few times I thought I was a goner. That is the beauty of this book you really don’t know what is going to happen. Pick up your copy to day and check out his other click it books. I am looking forward to reading the fist book “Infected.” This book is pure genius! Well done James.
May 9, 2018
Ebook is the choose your adventure books should be read.
Had a good time reading it was frustrating in some of the parts because I kept screwing up and getting killed. A fun adventure.
Had a good time reading it was frustrating in some of the parts because I kept screwing up and getting killed. A fun adventure.
August 22, 2016
This book is very different in that not only do you experience the storyline from a characters point of view, but you can also choose the character. There are so many scenarios and adventures to be had, some very short (frustrating when that happens when you realise you made the wrong choice!!) and some longer. It means that you have a chance to explore every facet of the plot and be characters that you would normally never imagine yourself to be.
I wont say any spoilers about the plot or characters, but if you like the idea of controlling your own destiny and playing a game where your choices matter and dictate the direction you go in, then you are in for a treat! A real page turner!
I wont say any spoilers about the plot or characters, but if you like the idea of controlling your own destiny and playing a game where your choices matter and dictate the direction you go in, then you are in for a treat! A real page turner!
April 6, 2018
I received this book free from a goodreads giveaway.
It has been a long time since I have read a choose your own story type book. It was a fun refreshing encounter. It was made even better by the beginning choice of six different characters all with their own adventure. There are many different roads to take and I suppose it would take a long time to find them all. For now I am happy with this book and will be reading it off and on to discover the different choices.
It has been a long time since I have read a choose your own story type book. It was a fun refreshing encounter. It was made even better by the beginning choice of six different characters all with their own adventure. There are many different roads to take and I suppose it would take a long time to find them all. For now I am happy with this book and will be reading it off and on to discover the different choices.
April 11, 2018
I received this ebook as a Goodreads giveaway.
I was a kid during the 80s, when the original Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books came out, and I read all I could get my hands on. I was thrilled to come across this book, which is a sort of CYOA for grownups.
But instead of playing as yourself, you choose among six diverse characters. Most of my choices led to death and destruction. Still good fun, in my opinion. And ebook is a great format for this.
I was a kid during the 80s, when the original Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books came out, and I read all I could get my hands on. I was thrilled to come across this book, which is a sort of CYOA for grownups.
But instead of playing as yourself, you choose among six diverse characters. Most of my choices led to death and destruction. Still good fun, in my opinion. And ebook is a great format for this.
September 6, 2016
Won for free off freebie mom on Facebook.. first time reading a book like this... I am really liking that you can choose the character and choose how you are going to react with the situations... 5 stars
September 4, 2016
This was a fun read which brought back such nostalgia to the days of choose your own story books. I did enjoy this book the first time I have read it but there are so many more possibilities to come.
December 4, 2016
Choose your own story books I liked to browse when I was a kid. Now, this book was a fun return to those days, but I honestly should have chosen something else, because I am not really into zombie stories. If you like them, and if you like these games, you'll probably like this book.
April 30, 2018
Even my ten year old daughter got into this one. A lot of fun! Loved it!
August 23, 2016
Lots of fun.
I died more than once on every character. Morales aren't always a good thing in the zombie apocalypse. Lots of fun trying to survive.
I died more than once on every character. Morales aren't always a good thing in the zombie apocalypse. Lots of fun trying to survive.
November 7, 2016
This was a fun interactive zombie novel.
March 4, 2018
I’m a big fan of interactive fiction and have read all of the Click Your Poison books, but I would have to say this is the weakest one. I love the idea of choosing the starting protagonist, though it gets partially negated by reverting to the second-person “you” POV anyway.
Infected was my first CYP book, and I loved it enough to immediately buy Murdered, which is still my favorite. Pathogens seems like an unnecessary addition to the Infected storyline, and I think it could have been a lot better if it followed brand new characters elsewhere in the country. (Like what Fear the Walking Dead did.)
Since these characters need to survive to get to Infected’s storyline, there are a lot of Game Over scenarios. Missing from this book is the branching paths and multiple real endings that I loved from the others (though admittedly, I have yet to fully 100% this book). As it is, there was a lot of backtracking in order to find the one “good” decision.
Overall, it’s not a bad book, and it’s great for another CYP fix, but if you’ve yet to read the others, I would go for those first. And if you’re debating whether to start here or with Infected first, I feel that Infected is a lot more fun.
If I were to recommend the books, they would be in this order:
Murdered
Superpowered
Infected
Pathogens
Infected was my first CYP book, and I loved it enough to immediately buy Murdered, which is still my favorite. Pathogens seems like an unnecessary addition to the Infected storyline, and I think it could have been a lot better if it followed brand new characters elsewhere in the country. (Like what Fear the Walking Dead did.)
Since these characters need to survive to get to Infected’s storyline, there are a lot of Game Over scenarios. Missing from this book is the branching paths and multiple real endings that I loved from the others (though admittedly, I have yet to fully 100% this book). As it is, there was a lot of backtracking in order to find the one “good” decision.
Overall, it’s not a bad book, and it’s great for another CYP fix, but if you’ve yet to read the others, I would go for those first. And if you’re debating whether to start here or with Infected first, I feel that Infected is a lot more fun.
If I were to recommend the books, they would be in this order:
Murdered
Superpowered
Infected
Pathogens
August 25, 2018
It has been AGES since I read a pick your own ending book. I was obsessed with them back when Goosebumps releases the choose your scare books. This was pretty good. A really quick read. And re-read. I read it a couple times through as Sims. I'll get back to Rosie another day. But this was good. I "died" a bunch of times before I made it to a "happy" outcome. But what fun would it be if you made all the right choices the first time though.
This is a good choice for anyone looking for a quick read, especially if you're into zombies.
*I won a copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway. The review is my own, honest and unsolicited.
This is a good choice for anyone looking for a quick read, especially if you're into zombies.
*I won a copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway. The review is my own, honest and unsolicited.
January 18, 2019
It was interesting to be able to pick your way through the book to different scenarios and endings. There are so many choices, some of them short and some longer. But, you can keep making different choices and change how the book ends. It really makes you involved in the story line!!
May 23, 2024
DNF at 5%
ok so let me preface i LOVED cyoa stories, and was so excited to pick this up!!
i got 5 endings with cooper, who is one of two female choices, (with 6 total characters) the other female protag being described as basically a ditzy highschooler 🤨 and oh boy! aren’t we surprised to see cooper, the tough mechanic .
SPOILERS FOR COOPER !
cooper is giving i’m not like other girls, and is still mean to everyone. not a girls girl. she’s so arrogant. literally a wattpad protag in a bad way. the jump from the garage (where i actually wasn’t having an abysmal time), was a MASSIVE jump to the stables. it is gross . and ?? like ?? what??? the interaction between characters are so jarring bc they’ll be terrible to each other upon meeting, and then call eachother a nickname ? literally 2 mins aft???? and dont even get me started on “jose,” the hispanic cook who can’t speak english. the only good character, and theyd don’t even call him his name. oh its so ignorant and arrogant.
i wanted to try reading another pov or smth like lucas. but its so… not worth from the writing alone. maybe that pov isnt as bad but considering how coopers was written?? bruh. not worth 4 dollars from the book sale i got it from, and and will be literally donating asap. i should’ve wondered why its in good condition
tldr: with 1/6 characters and 5 endings read -> unsurprisingly misogynistic, disappointing, racist, and stereotypically cliche (derogatory) for characters. an incorrigible plot with nonsensical character relationships/interactions.
ok so let me preface i LOVED cyoa stories, and was so excited to pick this up!!
i got 5 endings with cooper, who is one of two female choices, (with 6 total characters) the other female protag being described as basically a ditzy highschooler 🤨 and oh boy! aren’t we surprised to see cooper, the tough mechanic .
SPOILERS FOR COOPER !
cooper is giving i’m not like other girls, and is still mean to everyone. not a girls girl. she’s so arrogant. literally a wattpad protag in a bad way. the jump from the garage (where i actually wasn’t having an abysmal time), was a MASSIVE jump to the stables. it is gross . and ?? like ?? what??? the interaction between characters are so jarring bc they’ll be terrible to each other upon meeting, and then call eachother a nickname ? literally 2 mins aft???? and dont even get me started on “jose,” the hispanic cook who can’t speak english. the only good character, and theyd don’t even call him his name. oh its so ignorant and arrogant.
i wanted to try reading another pov or smth like lucas. but its so… not worth from the writing alone. maybe that pov isnt as bad but considering how coopers was written?? bruh. not worth 4 dollars from the book sale i got it from, and and will be literally donating asap. i should’ve wondered why its in good condition
tldr: with 1/6 characters and 5 endings read -> unsurprisingly misogynistic, disappointing, racist, and stereotypically cliche (derogatory) for characters. an incorrigible plot with nonsensical character relationships/interactions.
June 21, 2024
Hmm. I think I read too many of these choose your own adventure books a few years ago. They all seem to follow a formula and the characters in this one are mostly unpleasant so I wasn't upset if I/they were eaten but I kept surviving.....most upsetting.
July 16, 2018
Goodreads giveaway
October 7, 2018
This was a fun read. I used to love game book adventures when I was a kid. This are more for adults but still enjoyable.
Currently reading
April 29, 2018Great read
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September 14, 2018I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads Giveaway!
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