Bad Day For The Apocalypse

Bad Day Zombie Series #1

by Jason Offutt

Watching the world die sucks. Waitress Nikki Holleran is having a bad summer. Dying father, college struggles, people calling in sick from work. But when a restaurant patron vomits blood and collapses at her feet, she realizes this bad summer might get worse. A revolutionary antidepressant, Ophiocordon, gives its users an immediate euphoria that sails with them until their next hit. The pharmaceutical industry says Ophiocordon is perfectly safe, but is it? A mystery illness people call The Piper linked to Ophiocordon has appeared across the globe. The Piper kills its users, but that doesn’t stop them from walking. While Nikki, mechanics Doug Titus and Terry Jenkins, and spoiled college girl Jenna Mullins drive north to find a safe place to ride out the apocalypse, unhinged Maryanne Davies and her collection of psychopaths are on their way north too, toward a deadly rendezvous none of them suspect.

Genres: Zombies

222 pages, Paperback

Published September 29, 2017

Reviews

[Ellen Magruder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not A Book I Would Normally Read

I am not into Zombies, THE LIVING DEAD, or sci fi books, but I could not put these books down. Read both books in this series within three day's time. Highly recommend.
I have always enjoyed Jason's newspaper articles and now his books.

[Zé Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a gem in a genre grown stale from overuse. An original perspective on a story we know so well. Jason Offutt gives us a zombie apocalypse with no real zombies. Instead we follow half a dozen interweaving storylines as disaster strikes Middle America.

As we travel along with these different characters, some we love, some we hate, some we love to hate, we experience this world with utter realism. The reader experiences no suspension of disbelief, as if this could actually happen, as if it is happening. Offutt achieves this through succinct, vivid details. When he describes an auto repair shop in the beginning of the book, I felt I knew that place.

I am not a usual reader of apocalyptic fiction, but Offutt’s book captivated me. It is very readable, pulling you in and not letting you go. The first sixty or so pages are slower than the rest of the book as we are introduced to the many characters, but as soon as we are familiar with the denizens of this broken world, the story takes off. I read for six hours straight, unable to put the book down.

The book is full of two- and three-dimensional characters. No real stereotypes or flat development, with the exception of the lesser villains who almost humorously speak and act in clichés (“We-hell, what do we have here?”). Loveable characters like Jenna and Arnold provide humor, putting a smile on your face even when the world is at its bleakest.

My complaints are few. There were occasional clunks in the prose, areas where I stumbled and had to re-read. The second chapter is a speed bump in the momentum of the story, which resumes when it ends. A major pet peeve, maybe not a complaint, is that EVERYONE is ALWAYS drinking beer—constantly. Yes, I get it. You’re rednecks. It seems very unidimensional to force that trope ad nauseum.

Yes, you should read this book if you want a well-constructed, addictive adventure. If that doesn’t attract you, realize it wouldn’t normally attract me either, yet I found this novel rousingly enjoyable.

[Sean Maples · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice story, can't wait to get the next book.

[Scott Shjefte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dnf, temp set aside from being Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, read with the Alexa audio assist application. Got to chapter 22, 3 hours left in book.