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Z-Day #3
A Place For War
The thrilling conclusion to the acclaimed Z-Day trilogy!
"We stand on the brink, ready to reclaim this continent. Our fight today is not for resources or supplies. We’re coming home."
The future is now. Equipped with a mix of primitive and bleeding-edge technologies, the US military is bringing everything we have left to bear against the zombie horde. The evolution of the infected into vicious alpha predators has made old tactics dangerous and obsolete.
It's time to break out the big guns.
Meanwhile, Miles Matthews leads a small team on a last-ditch mission deep into infected territory. Miles and his team will be on their own, surrounded, and outnumbered. Succeed, and they end the alphas' reign of terror. Fail, and they join the horde.
Will this be our last stand, or the final victory in a decade-long nightmare?
"We stand on the brink, ready to reclaim this continent. Our fight today is not for resources or supplies. We’re coming home."
The future is now. Equipped with a mix of primitive and bleeding-edge technologies, the US military is bringing everything we have left to bear against the zombie horde. The evolution of the infected into vicious alpha predators has made old tactics dangerous and obsolete.
It's time to break out the big guns.
Meanwhile, Miles Matthews leads a small team on a last-ditch mission deep into infected territory. Miles and his team will be on their own, surrounded, and outnumbered. Succeed, and they end the alphas' reign of terror. Fail, and they join the horde.
Will this be our last stand, or the final victory in a decade-long nightmare?
350 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 30, 2018
43 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Humphreys
19 books512 followersDaniel Humphreys is the author of the Z-Day series of post-apocalyptic sci-fi thrillers and the Paxton Locke urban fantasy series. His first novel, "A Place Outside the Wild", was a 2017 Dragon Award finalist for Best Apocalyptic novel.
Dan loves sci-fi movies, target shooting, and tinkering with computers. He has spent his entire career in corporate IT and suffers from elevated blood pressure due to a lifelong love of the Arizona Cardinals. Daniel lives in Indiana with his wife and family.
He Tweets @NerdKing52 and blogs @ www.daniel-humphreys.net.
Dan loves sci-fi movies, target shooting, and tinkering with computers. He has spent his entire career in corporate IT and suffers from elevated blood pressure due to a lifelong love of the Arizona Cardinals. Daniel lives in Indiana with his wife and family.
He Tweets @NerdKing52 and blogs @ www.daniel-humphreys.net.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 24, 2021
Oh, man... what a great series! The writing, the many great characters, all that action, and, yes... even the scary AF zulus. I loved it.
September 15, 2020
What a great series. I cannot believe the author ever considered keeping this as a stand-alone. This absolutely needed to be a series and honestly I would read another ten books about this particular end of the world. I spent the last week devouring the books at all hours of the day, snatching a few pages on smoke breaks and reading far past my bedtime. I just could not put them down.
I loved that while there is a fixed cast of characters that leads us through the series the author keeps bringing new perspectives and characters in different timelines on the apocalypse axis into the mix. After book two I knew that at some point the timelines in this book would probably converge too and that is what kept me on the edge of my seat.
Running through this series at the speed that I did definitely did the parts that dragged some favours. I didn't really mind the technical details in the first book - to me it just spoke of the huge effort that must have gone into the research and I am a worldbuildng nerd. This time there were a few more parts I skimread past but when the action picked up again it did so at full volume and the resolution to the zombie plague was great.
All the painstaking work of setting up the world paid off in spades.
Absolutely recommended for anyone who loves a good Zombie read.
I loved that while there is a fixed cast of characters that leads us through the series the author keeps bringing new perspectives and characters in different timelines on the apocalypse axis into the mix. After book two I knew that at some point the timelines in this book would probably converge too and that is what kept me on the edge of my seat.
Running through this series at the speed that I did definitely did the parts that dragged some favours. I didn't really mind the technical details in the first book - to me it just spoke of the huge effort that must have gone into the research and I am a worldbuildng nerd. This time there were a few more parts I skimread past but when the action picked up again it did so at full volume and the resolution to the zombie plague was great.
All the painstaking work of setting up the world paid off in spades.
Absolutely recommended for anyone who loves a good Zombie read.
November 9, 2018
A spectacular conclusion to a series that puts the Zombie Apocalypse trope on its head.
Caveat: I received an advance copy of this novel to beta read for free.
A Place Outside The Wild & A Place Called Hope were great ZA books about making the best of the worst of situations and scratching to find a way to live.
A Place for War pushes past the survivor aspect straight to the in-your-face, take-back-what's-ours, kick-those-zombies-in-their-teeth action of a mil-sf novel. Plot points are resolved, secrets are revealed, and the struggle reaches its climax. You won't be able to put this one down, trust me.
I highly recommend this book, and the entire series to anyone who likes apocalyptic fiction, science fiction or just some good ole zombie fights!
Caveat: I received an advance copy of this novel to beta read for free.
A Place Outside The Wild & A Place Called Hope were great ZA books about making the best of the worst of situations and scratching to find a way to live.
A Place for War pushes past the survivor aspect straight to the in-your-face, take-back-what's-ours, kick-those-zombies-in-their-teeth action of a mil-sf novel. Plot points are resolved, secrets are revealed, and the struggle reaches its climax. You won't be able to put this one down, trust me.
I highly recommend this book, and the entire series to anyone who likes apocalyptic fiction, science fiction or just some good ole zombie fights!
August 30, 2019
3.5 stars for the book, 4 stars for the series. If I had to rank them, I'd put #2 well ahead of #3 with both being more entertaining than Book 1!
Well, I've spent most of the past 5 days or so doing not much of anything other than reading through the Z-Day trilogy. Again, I have to say its not the best zombie book and/or series I've ever read but it is in the top enchelon. Very entertaining and quick to read, all three of these books provide if nothing else a good time to lovers of the genre like me. There's enough original content in terms of the how's, why's and so on of 'The Plague' to keep you reading and certainly Humphreys' strength lies in his ability to create characters you can believe are extremely real to the point of feeling their loss or losses as they happen.
Having said that, in my mind, "Z-Day #3" could have been a LOT better if Humphreys' had played all the good scenarios he'd created out to their full potential. I found he was just a little too impatient at the end to really knock it out of the park if that makes sense. There are some bits of the plot that are just left hanging - the 'zombie boy' (is he cured at the end?) and the Alphas are just two of them that immediately spring to mind. Also, no one ever seems to mind that Sandy is carrying around an anti-dote all this time? I know he doesn't 'reveal' it until the end but the approach he takes just seemed unrealistic to me.
It's unfortunate, but it will stick with me for a while that I felt the ending was too rushed and unsatisfying. This for a trilogy that quite frankly could have been EPIC if the development had gone like it had from the first book through the second. For my tastes, the action scenes in Book #3 were noticeably inferior to the 2nd book and too much of the action takes place from 'long distance'. Sure, the entire plan and execution of carpet bombing (more or less) hundreds of thousands of zulus is an interesting tour de force, but it never rachets up to the same level of excitement and drama as that rooftop battle in California in 'Hope'.
Speaking of 'Hope' - the city this time - there's really no significant mention of it in this book nor I guess does there need to be. Instead, Humphreys is content to follow the same formula he uses in book 2 - to great success I will add - with a main 'current day' plot intersecting ultimately the 'past events just after Z-day' sub-plot he has going throughout. I found myself missing many of the previous main players that are either in the background here or who were lost in previous books.
Still, that leaves us then with a trilogy that works more like a 1-book stand-alone - the first is just that much different imho - combined with a couple of heavy-into-the-military-action tomes that are fine ... if that's your thing. It's not Correia's 'MHI' level in that regard but again, it works here and Humphreys pulls it off well. Key point is that if you enjoy a good dose of the last dregs of mankind vs. overwhelming undead hordes, well, go for it!
Well, I've spent most of the past 5 days or so doing not much of anything other than reading through the Z-Day trilogy. Again, I have to say its not the best zombie book and/or series I've ever read but it is in the top enchelon. Very entertaining and quick to read, all three of these books provide if nothing else a good time to lovers of the genre like me. There's enough original content in terms of the how's, why's and so on of 'The Plague' to keep you reading and certainly Humphreys' strength lies in his ability to create characters you can believe are extremely real to the point of feeling their loss or losses as they happen.
Having said that, in my mind, "Z-Day #3" could have been a LOT better if Humphreys' had played all the good scenarios he'd created out to their full potential. I found he was just a little too impatient at the end to really knock it out of the park if that makes sense. There are some bits of the plot that are just left hanging - the 'zombie boy' (is he cured at the end?) and the Alphas are just two of them that immediately spring to mind. Also, no one ever seems to mind that Sandy is carrying around an anti-dote all this time? I know he doesn't 'reveal' it until the end but the approach he takes just seemed unrealistic to me.
It's unfortunate, but it will stick with me for a while that I felt the ending was too rushed and unsatisfying. This for a trilogy that quite frankly could have been EPIC if the development had gone like it had from the first book through the second. For my tastes, the action scenes in Book #3 were noticeably inferior to the 2nd book and too much of the action takes place from 'long distance'. Sure, the entire plan and execution of carpet bombing (more or less) hundreds of thousands of zulus is an interesting tour de force, but it never rachets up to the same level of excitement and drama as that rooftop battle in California in 'Hope'.
Speaking of 'Hope' - the city this time - there's really no significant mention of it in this book nor I guess does there need to be. Instead, Humphreys is content to follow the same formula he uses in book 2 - to great success I will add - with a main 'current day' plot intersecting ultimately the 'past events just after Z-day' sub-plot he has going throughout. I found myself missing many of the previous main players that are either in the background here or who were lost in previous books.
Still, that leaves us then with a trilogy that works more like a 1-book stand-alone - the first is just that much different imho - combined with a couple of heavy-into-the-military-action tomes that are fine ... if that's your thing. It's not Correia's 'MHI' level in that regard but again, it works here and Humphreys pulls it off well. Key point is that if you enjoy a good dose of the last dregs of mankind vs. overwhelming undead hordes, well, go for it!
September 30, 2021
Good book, lackluster ending
I was a little disappointed by this final chapter for the Z-day Trilogy. The first books were very strong and this book started out similar. The introduction of Molly and Hatcher, in similar flashback perspectives like Dr. Sandy in book 2, added a new wrinkle into the world that I thought would be better utilized. You also continued with Miles and Pete, along with the army and their pursuit of taking the fight to the zombies.
I was very interested in build up of the plans for the military and how they were not going to handle the Alpha threat. The development of Kelly’s Island adding a new area and allowed us to continued to see Miles’ character arc. The army’s development of new weapons and plans were interesting as well.
Once the plan went into action, the development of new tactics and use of weaponry that had been found and developed added to the excitement and tension of the ending. I couldn’t put it down, wanting to see how everyone would finish.
And then, everything fell flat. The ending just let me feeling unfulfilled and the promise of what the three books had sparked left wanting. I realize the author wanted to wrap up the series and maybe a different ending would have left too many open questions or not given the closure to readers but I just felt that the ending was the weakest part of all three books.
After finishing the series, it was a fun read and one that kept my interest and built tension throughout. It was an easy book to pick up and get into but hard to put down. The author did a good job of creating tension throughout all three books and not letting you every feel really safe or relaxed. I would still recommend it for a good zombie apocalypse read, especially with the novel idea of zombie evaluation that is commonly missing in these novels. Hopefully the ending leaves you with a better taste in your mouth, it just left me feeling unsatisfied.
I was a little disappointed by this final chapter for the Z-day Trilogy. The first books were very strong and this book started out similar. The introduction of Molly and Hatcher, in similar flashback perspectives like Dr. Sandy in book 2, added a new wrinkle into the world that I thought would be better utilized. You also continued with Miles and Pete, along with the army and their pursuit of taking the fight to the zombies.
I was very interested in build up of the plans for the military and how they were not going to handle the Alpha threat. The development of Kelly’s Island adding a new area and allowed us to continued to see Miles’ character arc. The army’s development of new weapons and plans were interesting as well.
Once the plan went into action, the development of new tactics and use of weaponry that had been found and developed added to the excitement and tension of the ending. I couldn’t put it down, wanting to see how everyone would finish.
And then, everything fell flat. The ending just let me feeling unfulfilled and the promise of what the three books had sparked left wanting. I realize the author wanted to wrap up the series and maybe a different ending would have left too many open questions or not given the closure to readers but I just felt that the ending was the weakest part of all three books.
After finishing the series, it was a fun read and one that kept my interest and built tension throughout. It was an easy book to pick up and get into but hard to put down. The author did a good job of creating tension throughout all three books and not letting you every feel really safe or relaxed. I would still recommend it for a good zombie apocalypse read, especially with the novel idea of zombie evaluation that is commonly missing in these novels. Hopefully the ending leaves you with a better taste in your mouth, it just left me feeling unsatisfied.
November 17, 2018
Daniel Humphrey’s Z-Day now-complete trilogy is awesome. I would say it is my favorite all-time zombie series, but I haven’t read all that many zombie series. Buy, yes, it is my favorite all-time zombie series. And I don’t have to tell you it’s awesome if you’ve read the first two books. If you haven’t, go read book 1. Now.
Like book 2, book 3 is as much military SF as it is a post-apocalyptic book. Miles returns after being largely absent from book 2, but the action remains far away from the rechristened Hope.
Spoilers (mild spoilers?) for the first two books follow.
Book 2 is driven by a mission to recover experimental airships from California. But the real jackpot was when the soldiers stumbled across Sandy, a GenPharm doctor. Sandy sets in motion a series of events that may allow the remnant of the United States military to stop the zombie apocalypse once and for all (or maybe not).
A Place For War has a somewhat lackluster ending, which is my only real complaint. It isn’t that it isn’t an effective conclusion, but the climactic fight/mission doesn’t quite live up to the very high standard set by the first two books. Yeah, lackluster isn’t the right word.
A Place For War also features another flashback, similar to the one with Sandy from book 2, and this time it winds up being the highlight of the book. Humphreys neatly ties it in with the endgame, but it stands very well on its own. I would have read an entire series centered on Molly.
Disclosure: Dan sent me a review copy of A Place For War.
Like book 2, book 3 is as much military SF as it is a post-apocalyptic book. Miles returns after being largely absent from book 2, but the action remains far away from the rechristened Hope.
Spoilers (mild spoilers?) for the first two books follow.
Book 2 is driven by a mission to recover experimental airships from California. But the real jackpot was when the soldiers stumbled across Sandy, a GenPharm doctor. Sandy sets in motion a series of events that may allow the remnant of the United States military to stop the zombie apocalypse once and for all (or maybe not).
A Place For War has a somewhat lackluster ending, which is my only real complaint. It isn’t that it isn’t an effective conclusion, but the climactic fight/mission doesn’t quite live up to the very high standard set by the first two books. Yeah, lackluster isn’t the right word.
A Place For War also features another flashback, similar to the one with Sandy from book 2, and this time it winds up being the highlight of the book. Humphreys neatly ties it in with the endgame, but it stands very well on its own. I would have read an entire series centered on Molly.
Disclosure: Dan sent me a review copy of A Place For War.
February 11, 2019
A great book
Loved it! Absolutely awesome book and series. Full of action. Great characters! I really enjoyed this. The only flaw being that for a few pages Hatch's grandfather was called Paul instead of Dave for some reason. But that certainly didn't take away from the story at all! I highly recommend this book and this series!
Loved it! Absolutely awesome book and series. Full of action. Great characters! I really enjoyed this. The only flaw being that for a few pages Hatch's grandfather was called Paul instead of Dave for some reason. But that certainly didn't take away from the story at all! I highly recommend this book and this series!
May 10, 2019
Excellent read
I don't often enjoy the last book of a series this much. The author did a fantastic job of wrapping things up and even threw in a woman for old Pete. Well done.
Highly recommended. A bit of a different take on Z's. If you like the genre, you should love this series. Hope you give it a try.
I don't often enjoy the last book of a series this much. The author did a fantastic job of wrapping things up and even threw in a woman for old Pete. Well done.
Highly recommended. A bit of a different take on Z's. If you like the genre, you should love this series. Hope you give it a try.
August 30, 2019
I don't normally bother writing reviews but I've just finished the 3rd book in the series, read them back to back and loved them. Have read dozens of post apocalyptic books and this would be amongst the best.
Characters you care about, technical stuff is explained well and the dialogue is believable. Thoroughly recommend the series and will be adding Daniel Humphreys to my authors to follow.
Characters you care about, technical stuff is explained well and the dialogue is believable. Thoroughly recommend the series and will be adding Daniel Humphreys to my authors to follow.
May 15, 2020
Wonderful, full of suspense, and I must say I didn't want it to end. Just wish that the ending would of had more in the way of all the characters, what happens to them. Like Mollie and Hatcher. The series just fabulous.
February 19, 2019
An excellent zombie series.
October 28, 2019
I have really enjoyed this series, but it seemed to wrap up a bit quickly here. I got the feeling that the end game was rushed through.
November 4, 2019
Review
Very interesting story line. I couldn't put it down very long. I hope that all of the author's work are as good.
Very interesting story line. I couldn't put it down very long. I hope that all of the author's work are as good.
January 12, 2020
Z day adventure
Really enjoyed the 3 book series. So bizarre I couldn't put them down loved the Happy? Ending. Great to see the good guys survive.
Really enjoyed the 3 book series. So bizarre I couldn't put them down loved the Happy? Ending. Great to see the good guys survive.
February 18, 2020
Great series
Really enjoyed all three books - this wraps up the adventure well.
Eight more words required. Stupid. Stupid. Amazon creature.
Really enjoyed all three books - this wraps up the adventure well.
Eight more words required. Stupid. Stupid. Amazon creature.
November 3, 2025
Book 3 had lots of action and added new characters. I liked the ending but I was left with the impression that there needs to be a 4th book.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews