Hollowland

The Hollows #1

by Amanda Hocking

This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door.

Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

Genres: Zombies, Young Adult, Dystopia, Horror, Paranormal, Fantasy, Post Apocalyptic

306 pages, ebook

First published September 28, 2010

About the author

AMANDA HOCKING is the author of over twenty young adult novels, including the New York Times bestselling Trylle Trilogy and Kanin Chronicles. Her love of pop culture and all things paranormal influence her writing. She spends her time in Minnesota, taking care of her menagerie of pets and working on her next book.

Several of her books have made the New York Times Bestsellers list. Her zombie series, The Hollows, has been adapted into a graphic novel by Dynamite. She has published over twenty novels, including The Kanin Chronicles, the Watersong quartet, My Blood Approves series, the Valkyrie duology, and Freeks .
For more info about her and her books, here are some other places to check out and ways to contact her:

Website: www.hockingbooks.com
Amazon Author Page: Amanda Hocking
Patreon: Amanda Hocking
Instagram: @amanda_hocking
BlueSky: AmandaHocking.bsky.social
Threads: @amanda_hocking
YouTube: aehocking
Facebook: Amanda Hocking Fans
Etsy: Hocking Books by Amanda
TikTok: @amanda_hocking
Goodreads: Amanda Hocking
Spotify : Amanda Hocking

Reviews

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't decide what was worse: the writing quality or the plot of the book? The writing was rough but mostly functional. Amanda Hocking will never be accused of having pretty prose... or character development, but more on that later. The writing is utterly devoid of any emotion. Things happen and the character reacts -- period. There's no tears, no wibbling, no real internal thoughts. In the aftermath of any event the main character, Remy, shrugs off what went down as necessary and that's all. Hm I guess writing style and character development went hand in hand there. Hocking doesn't have the writing range to make her characters vivid or real.

The book starts at a gallop and never really slows down, which usually means a relatively good reads if not for how steadily ridiculous the book got. Zombies invading a government facility sheltering people? Awesome. It removes the character from safety and serves as a nice starting point. Remy ditches one of her two friends in the desert after because that friend has been bitten... okay. I guess the purpose of that scenes was to show us Remy can do what needs to be done, but it didn't really do much for me since she had a bare bones emotional reaction to it. Next Remy rescues a circus lion that might eat her... so if the other scene was meant to show me Remy can do what is necessary this scene is to show me... that Remy huffed a lot of glue before the end of the world and has some sort of brain damage? How do we go from practical, no nonsense to whim of save the animal? I know! Because the author thought a lion pet would be ROCKING.

Sadly, it only gets worse and more cliche from there. The desert Remy is in turns out to be Las Vegas... big eye roll there. This has been done before. Anyway, Remy fights some zombies in a kitchen in a Vegas hotel by lighting them on fire, which does nothing but make the zombies that are trying to eat her flaming zombies that are trying to eat her. It's stupid and it's a novice move. Remy is not supposed to be a novice. I think the author was visualizing this like a movie, which is fine. I have no problem with that technique because I know it makes for vivid scenes for the reader, but I wish she'd spend a little more time working on it so that perhaps the fire was an accident because she makes Remy look like an even bigger idiot than necessary and undermines all the superhero bullshit she's working on setting up.

After the flaming zombies of doom we end up with a cult leader with dozens of underage wives. He spends his time raping a belief in the good lord into them... Oh and somewhere along the way Remy and her friend, Harlow, meet a med-student and a rock star named Lazlo. Yeah. It's all ridiculous. It's like someone on huge prescription uppers and lots of caffeine wrote this book -- someone who had no idea how to develop a freaking character because Remy's got all the emotional resonance of a sock puppet.

Dull, lifeless writing and ridiculous plots make this book a skip. I don't even think it's worth the dollar the self-published author was selling it for. Save yourself some time and pop a zombie movie into your dvd player, watch it at 5x speed so you don't have a chance to care for any of the characters, you'll get the gist of this experience.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

FREE RIGHT NOW ON AMAZON!!! http://www.amazon.com/Hollowland-The-...



^REMY^ is one badass zombie killer! Nineteen year old Remy and her eight year old brother Max have been living at a quarantine. When the quarantine goes under attack by zombies, Remy escapes with another girl named Harlow but her brother was already evacuated. Remy will stop at nothing to find him. Heading north to where she was told her brother was taken, she picks up a lion, a doctor named Blue, and a rock star named Lazlo. Remy was a strong character with a smart head. She wants to protect her brother and puts nothing else first. Lazlo can't help but respect and notice a girl like her. Remy is a protector and Lazlo isn't the brightest crayon in the pack but he is sweet so she pushes him away but he pushes back. I absolutely loved the relationship dynamic between the two. Always nice to have a strong female who is chased by the guy for a change. Also Lazlo was such a unique love interest. I don't want to say too much more because it is an adventure you just have to read to unfold yourself. I am in agony till November when the next one, Hollowmen, comes out!

[Courtney Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Zombies again, Courtney?" inquired Life.

"Some people just want to watch the world burn," replied I.

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

ღ 𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 ღ Is the first novel in (The Hollows) duet by new to me author Amanda Hockings.

I've started to broaden my taste in books and I’m finding I kind of enjoy this genre, the fight for survival, the search for a safe place to lay their heads, fighting off zombies, it definitely spikes up the adrenaline whilst reading as you pray these characters you've bonded with don't get bitten, because one bite and it's game over for them.

When their quarantine in an abandoned highschool had been compromised by zombies and her eight year old brother had been shipped out safely by the medical team she vowed to find him.

A motley crew of misfits (Remy, Blue, harlow and Lazo) make up their small team and a lion which they named Ripley they'd rescued on their travels as they band together to get to an army barrack where her brother is being taken care of.

Nineteen year old Remy was so kickass, an unbeatable survivor, tougher than many of the males she’d encountered, but also detached, everyone she had loved had been killed, other than her brother.

It's not heavy on romance which I found I didn't really mind too much as it made for a thrilling read all the same.

 

Email ಇ Twitter ಇ Instagram ಇ Blog ಇ Facebook ಇ Amazon ಇ Pinterest 

[Lord Grim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I downloaded the kindle version of this book when it was free. I was robbed. Amanda Hocking does a lazy, slapdash job of crafting a post-apocalyptic zombie story with not-quite likable characters and a somewhat passable plot. The protagonist is Remy, a teenage girl facing humanity's doom at the hands (and gnarly teeth) of flesh-eating zombies. In the chaos of a zombie attack she is separated from her little brother and the story is essentially her harrowing quest to find him. Along the way she meets other survivors who join her in her dangerous quest.

Remy is painted (that is, kindergarten finger-painted) as a strong character who, for reasons that baffle me, inspires intense devotion and mindless loyalty from pretty much everyone who joins her ragtag group. This includes a rock star (snicker), a doctor named Blue (interrupt snicker with raised eyebrow) and a full-grown zombie-killing female lion. Yes, a lion. She befriends an actual full-grown lion. Making this up? The hell I am! Look it up for yourself. Why would I make this crap up? Remy saves a lion that's chained up and pissed off and it becomes her friend. It even rides in cars with her and her devoted followers. They at one point encounter another group who has several tame tigers roaming about in their yard. Apparently during the apocalypse tame big cats will roam the streets and anyone can claim them as pets and bodyguards. This isn't the only thing about Hollowland that made me roll my eyes until they were sore. Anyway, the lion nonsense nearly made me delete the book from my reader but morbid curiosity got the better of me. Just how silly could this story get? The answer, as I soon learned, was VERY silly indeed.

Initially I thought this was, overall, a decent enough book. And by "initially" I mean the first ten sentences. But crap on a stick if Hocking didn't publish the rough draft without even proofreading it. Well, I'm assuming it's the rough draft, judging by the hordes of comma splices, typographical errors, missing, misused and misspelled words, implausible and cliched plot devices and TAME LIONS AND TIGERS. I know, I know- Much of this is simply due to the fact that, as a self-published work, it did not have the benefit of an editor's touch. This is the bane of indie publishing. But then a WRITER should know the difference between "lulled" and "lolled", "except" and "accept", "idea" and "ideal". Ms. Hocking does not. She's like a painter who just gets tripped up by paint or a sculptor who can't think in three dimensions. She's a writer who isn't very good with words. This is evident in Ms. Hocking's broad-strokes writing style. With the exception of the main character, there isn't much in the way of character development. Every person in the story is a two-dimensional cutout, a device to move the story along and so I just couldn't really CARE about any of them. Even Remy's love interest wasn't interesting even during a darn-near pornographic description of the consummation of their love for each other (which begs the question- Is this a YOUNG adult book or a young ADULT book?). The environment they are in and the things in that environment are pretty generic. Guns are simply "guns" or "shotguns". Cars are simply "cars" or "SUV's" or "station wagons". I don't know how much of this is due to Ms Hocking's lack of writing skill and how much is due to the fact that she just doesn't have any practical knowledge to draw from. The fact that she laughably describes a soldier's handgun as a "service revolver" that uses "ammo clips" and later says a "shotgun" uses "bullets" gives me reason to believe there's a heavy dose of the latter at work here. Hers is a cartoon version of the world which at times seems to come from an elementary school kid's perspective. Whatever the case, there isn't any texture or realism to the landscape and so there's little to grasp tight enough to get pulled along for the ride. Couple this with absurdities such as pet lions and an Army PRIVATE who wields influence and pull at a military-run compound (which houses the only hope for humanity but has the CRAPPIEST security in the history of mankind) and you have some serious problems suspending disbelief enough to buy into this story. And that's not the worst of it. Some of the situations are laugh-out-loud absurd. For example: If you were looking for food in a strange place where you KNOW flesh-eating undead are about, would you REALLY pass up restaurants and grocery stores and choose to split up and rummage through a pitch-dark, windowless CASINO full of DEAD BODIES? Remy's group does so without hesitation. Why? Because they were in (snicker) Las Vegas. Where do you go when in Las Vegas? Why, a casino of course! Once again Ms. Hocking's cartoon world comes through. I swear, at this point if their lion companion began to talk and help our heroes escape through a magic wardrobe, I wouldn't even have batted an eye.

OK. Maybe some slack-cutting is in order here because this is a self-published work for a young adult audience. As such, one can't expect subtle, high-brow literature. It is what it is- It's fun escapism for a young, gullible audience who doesn't know any better. It taps into just the right character archetypes and story motifs to make the young, inexperienced, casual reader think he or she is reading something compelling if not original. As YA escapism it isn't really required to be a perfectly executed work. If you are a young female reader or just willing to suspend disbelief enough to ignore the terribly naive writing style, awful spelling, typos, sloppy punctuation, Malapropic word use, cliches, flat characters, implausible situations and cartoon lions, you'll probably find yourself hooked enough to buy the next book to see what happens. But I'm one of those crazies who prefer books that don't suck ass and make me want to punch babies out of sheer anger. So I will pass on the rest of this series.

[Samantha Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Hell! This is a short read but it packs a lot of punch. Not since the Alien films have I come across such a strong and incredible Heroine as Remy. Between her and the aptly named lioness, Ripley, whom Remy kind of picks up along her across state venture to find her brother, there is an abundance of totally brutal feminine power. It is no wonder Ripley has such an affinity for Remy...she recognises another with the heart of a lioness.

This is a fast-paced, action-packed, tense, gory thrill ride in a zombie-filled America. Amazing characters, awesome and well-written action scenes and a sensitive and beautiful grasp on the the many facets of man when forced into desperate survival.

Hollowland blew me away; Remy blew me away; once again Hocking blew me away! I hope this is only the beginning of this world she has created because I can't bear that a now favourite character of mine should be left hanging on such an open ending.
More please.

Ten Explosive Stars!

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay zombie story, but the pace was too slow for me. I found the whole thing with the lion a bit silly, the story seemed quite predictable too.



6 out of 10

[Amazon80 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
Nineteen year-old Remy King is traveling across zombie infested lands to find her little brother, Max King. They were separated when the last quarantine compound they were residing in was over run by zombies. Along the way Remy meets a few other survivors and together they try to reach Max at another quarantine facility up north.

The Zombies are cool but scary. They are not the slow moving, “I want brains” zombies but more of the “28 Days Later” adrenaline jacked kind of zombies. I don’t think they are truly the living dead so they are a little easier to kill but still strong. And they are also evolving which always keeps things interesting. A+ for the zombies.

The story was also action packed. The author really knows how to build the tension and get your heart racing during the fight scenes. These moments really make you want to keep reading. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much of anything else to keep my interest. Remy is not likable. Sure she can kick ass (is anyone going to explain her Buffy like abilities?) but aside from that her character just comes off as cold and heartless. I’m not sure how anyone liked her. Lazlo is cute but aside from that unexciting (and kinda stupid). Blue? Right…you forget he’s even there yet somehow he becomes the person Remy trusts the most. I really didn’t get it. Harlow is probably the most likeable character but her role seems small. I really did not care for Remy or whether she found her brother or not. Harsh but true.

Aside from the characterization, my biggest problem with the book is the absurdity of some of the plot elements. For those of you who don’t want to read the spoilers just know Hockings line of reasoning is a bit off. Some of the things she wants us to believe just do not make sense; like battle cats, stupid government protocols (and I mean dumber than normal) and deductions that anyone who has taken a science can make.

Absurdity #1
Having a zombie eating pet lion is cool and all but am I actually supposed to believe you rescued your battle cat in the middle of the desert and she just happily followed you through wastelands, gun fights and car crashes? A lioness would have tried to eat your face the moment she got the chance; Vegas show cat or not. And how does Remy know so much about lions having never left Iowa? Was she a zoo keeper? Although I must admit, Ripley is a cool name for a battle cat.

Absurdity #2
I know we all have our complaints about the US government but even the toughest critic would have to admit that the government is not that stupid. When soldiers found Remy and her brother, Max had a zombie bite several days old and still had no symptoms of the virus. Max became the government’s top priority because he appeared to be immune to zombie bites and possibly held secrets for a cure in his DNA. This is all good except….why wouldn’t they test Remy as well? They found them together and they share DNA. What scientist/government would just disregard that Remy may be immune as well?

Absurdity #3
When Remy and friends finally make it to the quarantine zone its US soldiers that rescue them from a death battle with zombies and take them back to the compound. This government believes the most efficient way to see if a young girl, who they just pulled out of zombie mosh pit, is infected or not is to leave her in a cleansing house for 3 days. If she emerges from that house symptom free she can then enter the safest and most secure quarantine compound in the country. Remy emerges from the hut symptom free and waltzes into an infection free zone with a huge infected zombie bite on her hip. No strip search necessary to enter the quarantine zone. WTF? Why wouldn’t checking for bites be the first step in the “Are You a Zombie?” protocol?

Absurdity #4
It turns out Remy is immune to the zombie virus but she is totally shocked by that fact. WHY? It never occurred to you since your brother can’t be a zombie neither can you? And PS Remy, just because you have no symptoms does not mean you’re not still a carrier of the virus. You may want to think about that before you exchange bodily fluids with anyone. Oh wait…too late.

This is not a terrible book but you really have to abandon logic and just accept a lot of what Hocking is telling you. If you can get past that you’ll be fine. I however, don’t think book 2 will make my TBR list.

[Brad Savage · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's not much I can say about this book that hasn't been said already. So I'll keep it simple. Hollowland is a is a turd in the punchbowl of self-published literature. There's some good stuff out there, but when you bump up against this stinker, it ruins the whole thing. That's a shame because there's some real talent out there and some good books to experience. So I resent not only the author wasting my time with this drivel, I resent the fact that it's wasting the time of impressionable young readers who can be reading something that doesn't insult and pander.
The only POSITIVE thing I can say is it's fast paced and a brisk read. But it's a brisk read through cliches and implausible situations. It doesn't help that Hocking writes like a high school kid, bad spelling and word misuse and all. Hocking doesn't know what things are called or how things work and this is her biggest flaw. Someone needs to tell her that private is a low military rank, the army doesn't use revolvers and revolvers don't use ammo clips. And the monotone writing style is painful. Everything is told in a grocery-list fashion that doesn't really paint a picture so much as just describes a picture that someone only heard about second-hand. And that description is often laughable. Are we really to believe that after the apocalypse, tame lions and tigers will be roaming around to be commanded by anyone who happens upon them? I lost brain cells even commenting on that. And the fact that so many readers gave this book more than 2 stars makes me sad for humankind.
I will NOT be reading anything else by this author. In the future, if I want to be confused and batter my brain cells, I'll simply get stinking drunk and watch TV.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been hearing about Amanda Hocking for over a year now, but since I didn't own an e Reader...sob
Well, that changed this Christmas, when Santa left a Nook under the tree for me. God bless that fat bastard! Psst. Santa isn't real, so I'm guessing my husband got it for me.
Anyway, if you haven't heard of Ms. Hocking yet, I highly suggest you go look her up. It's pretty amazing how well she did without a publisher.

Ok. On to the review.
This is a YAish book about zombies. I say ish, because there is one fairly tame (by my standards) sex scene in it. Also, for those of you who care, the main character is 19 years old. So, it's not like she's underage or anything. 'Cause I wasn't underage or anything my first time... Ahem.
Anyway, it's about a young lady on a quest to find her little brother, and the rag-tag group of friends she acquires along the way. Their goal is to get to this quarantine facility where they will supposedly be safe from the zombie hordes who are out for BRAAAAINS! M'kay, maybe they don't really care if it's your brains, but they will eat you like a crunchy human taco.

I don't want to ruin anything, because I went into this story knowing nothing about the plot, and it worked out well for me. I will say that it is fast paced, highly entertaining, and devoid of romance (by YA standards, at least). So, if you're thinking about reading this to get your weekly quota of love triangles in, pick a different book.

Warning:
I've seen it mentioned in other reviews, but there are typos in this book. There weren't enough to distract or annoy me, but I know that it is a pet peeve of some people, so I thought I'd mention it.

[Suzanne the Bookaholic and Proud · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say, on this book, it brilliantly written, and the story line is perfect,
but one thing I'll say is the heroine Remy, yes I know she's 19 and probably drop dead gorgeous as usual.
but she had a little basic gun shooting as you read further on, but the way she tackled the zombies and jumped and spun around, and slid this way and that, is what bothered me, suddenly she's the zombie slayer of the world and everyone is in awe, now I know that authors have to brag about their main character and give them super human powers to take on the world, bit I felt like I was watching resident evil, with Alice flying around the tv screen, (she did have super human blood in her), but the book is brilliant in itself.
The role of Remy can be said for more people, she has a brother Max and dead parents, who died in the 'zombpocalyse' and she's watching out for him, but even separated she has to find him, along the way across the whole of the USA, with her little friend, they bump into 2 guys (wait for it) and one is a famous rock star (yep u guessed it), and they get it on (of course), have to say little things like that are a bit cliché, but this rock star isn't a big badass like in other reads, although he is a little bit in some parts.
but all in all this is an interesting read, these zombies are a little different to the zombies that you read about, there are some similarities, but they wouldn't be zombies if they was different to the main image of them, it was really quick paced and descriptive of the world they live in, even down to the gory bits, so if your after a quick read, (I managed number 1 and 2 of these in one sitting) then you won't be disappointed
enjoy!!! xx

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

What can I possibly say about this book other than “meh”? I’ll give it a go but “meh” basically sums this up.

I downloaded this to read because a) it has zombies in it and I have a particular penchant for these undead and cannibalistic creatures, and b) it was free.

This is a very easy read but that is down to the rather wafer thin plot and extremely coarse use of language and writing style. The lack of a solid plot only serves the (lack of) quality in the writing to an advantage.

Now don’t get me wrong, although not particularly well written, the book is action packed, starting off with zombies overrunning a military safe house where our protagonist is based. From there our plucky protagonist Remy rescues a lion that immediately starts following her round the desert of Nevada and helping to kill all those pesky zombies. Btw, as a side note I LOVE the idea of having a big cat as a pet in a post-apocalyptic world, it’s a shame Hocking doesn’t really expand on this relationship.

We encounter a rapist/paedophilic cult leader and when I first started reading this section of the book I was immediately reminded of an extremely watered down version of the cannibalistic elements of the captured humans in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road but not as creepy and intimidating, and certainly not as well written.

We pick up a doctor companion along the way, as well as someone who used to be famous and obviously becomes the love interest. We come across more survivors who are not only fighting the undead but also marauders, an element that Hocking totally took for granted – this could have been expanded so much but she just leaves it hanging and it’s not mentioned again. Finally we come to the main military quarantine where Remy and co were aiming for in the first place.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the reason for this little road trip in the first place is so Remy can find her younger brother who is sick and was transported away from the first military safe house before the zombies attacked. Yes, it is pretty obvious why the military would transport a sick child out of the compound but leave all those healthy soldiers and civilian survivors to their doom but it served as a basis for the structure of the novel.

So yes, lots of action but Hocking does not take advantage of some of the scenarios our characters find themselves in and the lack of detail and character development makes it very difficult to emphasise with any of them. Also, the end of the book is just ridiculous and so superficial. I was kind of hoping that our protagonist would meet some sticky end or even turn into a zombie herself and the sequel could be told from her point of view, in keeping with low budget zombie films such as ‘Colin’ and ‘Wasting Away’, but alas, it’s not to be it seems.

So, wafer thin plot, clichéd and underdeveloped characters, awkward prose and a terrible ending (but setting it up neatly for a sequel). Basically, it all equals “meh?”

[Kim Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing I've learned about owning a Kindle is you get a chance to read free or really cheap books from authors you might never have discovered on your own. This is one of those books. I read it in two days...two really busy days and I had to try hard to squeeze in the time so it definitely held my interest.

Zombies aren't usually my thing. But I enjoyed this fast-paced read. Here is what I liked: Some good character development. Lots of action. The dialogue was believable once you suspended the disbelief of zombies to begin with.

What I didn't like: Even though there was some good character development, I was confused about others. For example, Remy's attaction to Lazlo. He is portrayed as foolish, inept and whimpy. Then all of a sudden there is this strong attraction. I was hoping she would go for Blue. He made more sense for her and I understood him better even though much less was written about him than Lazlo. The editing was pretty bad. There were lots of sentences that I had to complete in my head because the words simply weren't there. But I only paid 99 cents for the book so I feel guilty complaining. I didn't like the ending. It felt rushed. As in...I am only allowed so many words and I'm at the end so it's time to tie it all up. Remy just called all the shots and everyone was willing to go along with it.

I think the author has talent and will only improve as she continues. I just downloaded her first book in the My Blood Approves series.

[Novels On The Run · Rating 5 out of 5]

MICHELLE'S REVIEW:

RATING: 5 Tatum and Lazlo stars!!!

Firstly I would like to show you Amanda's original cover for this awesome zombie book. I really do like her new one up above. Gives me a face to Remy's character.

If you don't know of Amanda Hocking, never read any of her work, well have a nose around this blog and you will see that I am a huge fan. Go on....this review can wait....but make sure you come back to this exact spot!!

I must admit I am not a zombie fan..you know, blood, gore, fugly, generally want to rip you to shreds in the most grotesque way and eat you....and so on....

Hubby got me watching 'Zombieland', his movie pick at the cinemas awhile back. My choice was, 'New Moon' at the time..he didn't so much go for that choice. So here I am sitting in a cinema thinking how am I going to get through this zombie movie with actually seeing some of the movie ( not hiding my face in his shoulder).
I always like to look around at who is in the cinema with me before the lights dim. Nice 50 ish couple behind us..... they look safe, he was reading a book until lights dimmed. Just me preparing myself for the onslaught of gore that I was going to be subjected to. Well, talk about awesome movie. Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, the little chicken from Little Miss Sunshine ( who did that hilarious dance that grandpa taught her) anyhoo trying not to tangent here, just saying I was not into zombies. Once you get past that most gorey 4 minute opening scene it is a very clever , funny movie. Hubby was giggling all through first 4 mins, I was like "oh how am I going to survive this movie"....but I did and it was worth watching.

I saved Amanda's zombie book to near last ( my fear of zombies) in all the books she has written and self published for all us lucky readers to read. Well somebody slap me with a stinky dead fish , should have read it earlier, talk about an AWESOME!!! book.

From the first page, the book takes off. No waffling on about life before this happened, just BAM!!! straight into the story and Remy and Co, fleeing for their lives.

CHARACTERS:

REMY : 19 yrs old, survivor. Her mission is to find her brother Max , 8 yrs old.

HARLOW : 13 yrs old , orphan.

SOMMER : "...contained all the nervous energy and usefulness of a chipmunk."

BECK : Soldier, looked out for Max.

BLUE : 20ish yrs old, studying to be doctor ( always handy)

LAZLO : Rockstar, same age as Remy.

RIPLEY : Well , I'll let you figure Ripley out by yourself.

The 'lyssavirus genotype 8', mutation of rabies virus, only infects humans. Within day of exposure, symptoms are , headaches, fever, nausea, hallucinating, paranoid, aggresive. Within 3 days, angry , violent, incapable of rational thought. The infected are overdosed with adrenaline, crazy strong, insatiably hungry for anything including dirt and people. If you shoot them, they die. If you get their blood or saliva in your blood, you die. Pretty simple.

Plan was , quarantine all the infected , let virus run its course.

Not all plans go accordingly.....

Remy is on a mission to find her little brother, it is all she has left. She knows he was evacuated from the quarantine base that they were now fleeing from. Zombies were getting smarter.....the virus mutating within their bodies.

The characters Remy picks up along the way on her quest to find Max make the book very enjoyable. She is a survivor who will not let anyone stop her . She is as strong as any 19 year old girl can be but she is determined. She is a quick thinker . She will not allow herself to fail.

Amanda writes Remy's story very well. I really felt like I could have been tagging along with her. That feeling of surviving the whole ordeal keeps the heart racing as you read. The whole time I was in fear of who was going to get torn apart, bitten, clawed.....

Amanda is very good at making you 'feel' for certain characters. They aren't 2 dimensional. Remy has emotions but she can't afford to take the time to connect with them as it will be her undoing. She has an unlikely friend who doesn't say much ( hee..hee...) but is always there for Remy. A very odd friendship. I kept fearing she would be left behind all the time. I was like...don't forget her.

Some nice little POW!! moments ( POW = didn't see that coming). I have a team t-shirt and I think funnily enough it is Tatum. I know Lazlo is the rockstar and cool dude, but I can't help thinking there will be more with Tatum in book 2. Just me , thinking aloud. I really connected with Tatum. Like I connected with Peter in MBA series ( My Blood Approves ).

Does Remy complete her mission? How much will she have to sacrifice for that freedom that so many will be relying on? She is only 19 and not super woman. She can't fix everything...or can she?

Visually , this would make an awesome movie. So glad this is a series of books as the ending had me wanting so much more.

[N · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hollowland was quite literally one of the worst novels I've read. From the first few pages, I knew this was a hate-read for me and I only finished it because someone told me there was sex towards the end (I'll explain). Here are my issues:

1. The Writing:

Dear Amanda Hocking,
There are other adjectives besides "weird."
Sincerely, The English Language

Seriously, the writing was brutal. The exposition, although much needed in dystopian novels, was nonexistent. Characters were, at best, underdeveloped and, at worst, completely pointless. I didn't even know the main character's name until several chapters into the text and many details were left completely undeveloped.


2. Characters
Let me just allow them to speak for themselves.

Remy: Hey, guess what? There's some shit going down, but I won't tell you too much about that. All you need to know is that I'm a badass. You can tell because it's the only description you'll read about me! Oh, that and:
I need to find my brother! I NEED TO FIND MY BROTHER! I NEED TO FIND MY BROTHER!!!! FUCK YOU ALL!!!!

Has anyone seen my brother?

I am misunderstood, but presumably pretty, since everyone wants to be with me. Who knows?!


Lazlo: I am famous and gorgeous, yet I am inexplicably in love with a girl I barely know. You know she's special because, well, actually you don't know since it's never explained and I'm presented as an idiot, so you probably shouldn't take my word for it, either.

Tatum: As a soldier, I have many important duties, but I won't do any of them because I inexplicably love Remy, even though I know her even less than Lazlo and there's no definable attractive quality about her.

Blue: I inexplicably don't love Remy. My name is BLUE, for fuck's sake.

Harlow: I have no idea why Remy watches over me and wants to take care of me, since there's absolutely no discernible connection between us.

Ripley: I am a lion. What the fuck am I doing, riding around IN ORDINARY SIZED CARS?

Zombie: I am weird. My noise is a "death groan." My writer has never experienced the magic that is The Walking Dead and has no imagination.


3. Names
This one is related to number two, but it deserved its own section because the names were that ridiculous. See for yourself.

Remy
Lazlo
Blue
Harlow
Nevaeh
Korech
Vega
London

It's as if Hocking tried to find as many YOUNEEK names as possible and just stuffed them in the novel. That, or zombies don't like dumbass fake names (Lazlo isn't fake, but it was stupid).

4. Sex scene
I actually liked this (not because I'm a perv, assholes). I liked that a YA novel attempted to tackle a sex scene and I really liked that it wasn't Remy's first time--kudos to Hocking for being realistic in that regard. It ended somewhat...abruptly, though. I guess that's no surprise if Lazlo was underground for over a year. Ba dum bum.

Overall, Hocking has some interesting ideas, but the characters are so flat, you barely care what happens to them and the writing issues (grammar, tension-development, etc) are so excessive they really detract from any enjoyment the reader might have anticipated.

[Krycek · Rating 1 out of 5]

Remember back in high school your weird friend that always sat by herself in the courtyard during lunch scribbling in her notebook? And how one day you were curious enough to ask what she was writing? She said, "A zombie story. I'm almost done. You want to read it?" You didn't want to hurt her feelings so you said, "Sure." The next day she asked you, "What did you think?"

Now, I'm not suggesting that Ms. Hocking is a weird kid or anything. I think it's cool that she's found success writing stories. It's a pretty amazing feat for a self-pubber, so that's good. But all the while reading Hollowland I got the feeling that I was back in high school reading a high school kid's fantasy.

I won't even start with the typos and, even worse, incorrect language issues (accept vs. except, etc.). Well, I guess I did start with those, but I needn't go on about it. Suffice to say they were conspicuous. Also, I hate the phrase "come with" vs. "come with me." Hocking seems to love that phrase. The prose wasn't polished, but it was functional, in a very loose sense. I could roll with it, for the most part.

But the characters were total groaners. Everyone--everyone-- was an idiot, including Remy, the protagonist, who is somehow some kind of badass veteran zombie killer at the ripe old age of nineteen. She must have something going on though because Lazlo, the rock star (!) managed to fall in love with her. Lazlo was an idiot and, I thought, kind of a creep, always trying to cozy up to Remy despite the fact that was probably the last thing she'd want to do, her being covered with cuts and bruises and a zombie bite and all. Harlow was a super idiot. She didn't seem to be at all creeped out by the cult leader Korech. I would have thought a thirteen-year-old would have more sense than that. Speaking of Korech, what a name. Does the name remind you of any other famous cult leaders in recent history?

The award for the most ridiculous character goes to Ripley, the zombie eating lion. Hocking must have been high when she got the idea to have Remy befriend a lion. That was so left field. That was some domesticated lion. Not that it wouldn't be cool to have a battle cat on your side, but if you're going to have one why not let Remy ride her around while she's annihilating zombies? That would have been just as plausible.

I won't necessarily discount Hocking based on this one story, this being the first of hers I have read, but it doesn't bode well. Not the worst zombie story I've read, but that's not saying a whole lot.

One thing I did learn was this: "Zombie blood is hella gross."

[Rhiannon Frater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this is one of the better zombie books out there right now. It's a solid 3.5 in my opinion. It is a very quick read, but it is still a lot of fun. There are a few things that I didn't care for, but as the book continues it gets stronger.

I really liked some of the supporting characters a lot. Blue and Harlow were my favorites. I felt they were a perfect compliment to our main character of Remy. Lazlo really didn't do much for me and their love story was of zero interest to me.

Remy is a little hard to like a times. She is so much of a badass (even though she's only 18) that she out badasses everyone she comes across, even well-trained soldiers. Her ability to kill zombies and kick major ass is explained away that she was trained by a soldier who befriended her. I was okay with this to some degree, but at times I found it difficult to sympathize with her.

Also, I honestly felt like there was another book before this one that I had missed. We are asked to care about Max, Remy's missing brother, and feel her distress because he has been taken away, but because the book starts with her losing him it was hard for me to connect with her. Honestly, I wish that the first book had been all about Remy and Max surviving because the few flashbacks we have of them were truly awesome and intriguing.

The love story and kinda/sorta love triangle didn't do much for me, but it is what it is.

The zombie mythos in this book was all over the place (though explained much better in the second book), but there were some unique ideas that I enjoyed.

I loved the lion, by the way.

The one part of this book I really loved was the action sequences. Amanda Hocking does such a great job with the action. I loved every part of the zombie-bashing goodness.

I really liked this book even though the ending is quite abrupt.

[Brigid ✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5 Stars

“This is the way the world ends––not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door.”

Thus begins Hollowland, a post-apocalyptic zombie novel centered around a 19-year-old girl named Remy. At the start of the story, Remy is at a government facility that shelters people from zombies. The bad news: the zombies have gotten in. Remy's young brother has been evacuated before everyone else (for "medical reasons" ... although it turns out to not be as simple as you think). Determined to get away from the facility and to go after her brother, Remy escapes from the shelter––accompanied by two younger girls, Sommer and Harlow.

Within the first like, ten pages, Sommer gets bitten by a zombie and Remy's like, "Sorry bitch, gotta leave you behind." I guess this is supposed to demonstrate that Remy is hardcore and always does what she has to do ... although since she does this with little to no regret just kind of makes her seem like a heartless asshole. ... In fact, she pretty much seems that way for the rest of the book. So yeah.

Anyway! Remy and Harlow continue through the desert that was once America (which turns out to be Las Vegas, oh boy). Along the way, they pick up a pet lion, this guy who is kind of a doctor (as in he was in medical school when the apocalypse happened), and a rock star. And this weird band of characters makes a journey to find Remy's brother, of course encountering a lot of crazy zombies along the way. Huzzah! And, that's basically what the story is about.

Okay. So, to be honest, I went into this book with really low expectations. For some reason, I've always just been skeptical of Amanda Hocking's books. Before I read this book in its entirety, I'd read snippets of her writing here and there and just thought it wasn't very good. And well ... I still don't think her writing is very good, and I'm not sure why St. Martin's decided to pick her up when there are a lot more talented unpublished/self-published authors out there (well, besides that her books sell extremely well for some reason). But, whatever.

Maybe it's because I had such low expectations ... but because this book was not as horrendous as I expected, I ended up actually liking it to a certain extent. While it did have a lot if issues (which I shall soon illustrate), I did find it to be really addicting. It has a fast-moving plot, it's atmospheric, it's scary, etc. Despite all the issues with it, I couldn't put it down. And over all, I thought it was pretty all right.

That said, I have to talk about all the problems I had with this book. And ... there are a lot.

First of all, there are a lot of really careless typos. There was a lot of missing punctuation and little things of that sort, but there were also a lot of really glaring errors such as:

"I needed a shower and a good's night rest."

"With th gun shoved in her skirt …"

"Then I saw her silhouette as she sat up, and I let out relived breath."

"I'd been trying to except my fate."



On top of that, Hocking should learn how to properly punctuate dialogue. (Although, I've recently discovered that this is a REALLY common writing problem. Like, I'm in college and I've been in writing workshop classes where I swear like 8/10 people incorrectly punctuate dialogue. I don't understand ... Does like no one teach anyone how to do it anymore?!)

So yeah, listen Amanda Hocking (and anyone else who doesn't know their punctuation rules): "NODDED" IS NOT A DIALOGUE TAG. NEITHER IS "SHRUGGED." NEITHER IS "SMILED."

There was SO much of this:

"Blah blah," I nodded.
"Blah blah," I shrugged.
"Blah blah," I smiled.

[image error]

Ugh, just writing it makes me cringe. The proper way is this:

"Blah blah." I nodded.
"Blah blah." I shrugged.
"Blah blah." I smiled.

That one change from a comma to a period makes all the difference. Because if you use a comma, what follows is a dialogue tag. And here's the thing, people: YOU CANNOT "NOD" A SENTENCE. YOU CANNOT "SHRUG" A SENTENCE. YOU CAN NOT "SMILE" A SENTENCE. YOU CAN SAY A SENTENCE, YOU CAN YELL A SENTENCE, YOU CAN WHISPER A SENTENCE. BUT YOU CAN NOT NOD, SHRUG, OR SMILE A SENTENCE UNLESS THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU.

Phew, well I'm glad I got that out of my system. And hopefully someone learned something new today. Hooray.

But I mean, seriously, did anybody proof-read this? Look, I'm a writer, and I find really stupid typos like this in my writing all the time ... and I'm like, "Shit, how did I miss that before?" But that's why you have other people read your book for you ... because they notice these things. So if anyone actually edited this, they should have seen things like that. It's just inexcusable.

Continuing with writing problems ... There was hardly any description or emotion in the writing. Hocking could use a lesson in "show, don't tell." Most of the time the writing was just kind of like, "I saw a zombie eating a person. I went up to the zombie. I shot its face." It would just be the bare minimum. Not only did it make it hard to visualize anything, but it also made Remy just seem like an emotionless robot. *Cough* This is the same problem I had with the writing in The Hunger Games.

I mean, compare this to really descriptive/emotional zombie books such as The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell or Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry, and it just doesn't hold up. While gore and evisceration and all those things really gross me out, I do feel they're necessary in order to create a good zombie story. It's just what feels the most believable.

Oh yeah, and that reminds me ... Believability issues. Oh goodness, where to start? Here are just a few:

- There's not really a solid explanation as to why the zombies exist. In fact, Hocking claims that the zombies aren't really zombies, but just "regular people infected with the lyssavirus genotype 8." Errrm okay.

- Kind of a small thing, but Remy keeps talking about how they all have messenger bags with all their supplies in them. And I'm just like, why the fuck do they have messenger bags instead of backpacks? To look more fashionable or something? It's just so impractical. Your shoulder would hurt like a bitch.

- The pet lion. The FREAKING PET LION. Really, just ... WHAT. There is no purpose at all for the pet lion in this book. Obviously, Hocking just said to herself, "You know what would be really cool? IF THEY HAD A PET LION!" Because just ... no. It doesn't make any sense at all. So ... what happens is, Remy and Harlow find Ripley (that's the lion's name) in a cage abandoned on the side of the road. And because she took too many stupid pills I guess, Remy decides that they just need to free this lion. And this is the brilliant explanation as to why Ripley-the-lion doesn't eat them:

"She won't eat us," I decided.

OHHH OKAYYY. So ... because Remy just decided the lion isn't going to eat them, the lion doesn't eat them. That's how real life works! So the next time I fall in a tank of hungry sharks I'll just be like, "I just decided that these sharks aren't going to eat me. There, everything's fine!" Problem solved.



That aside, even if the lion miraculously decided to not try and eat them, it would just be horribly inconvenient. After a quick Google search, I have found out that lions eat about 11-15 pounds of meat a day. In a world that's already so scarce on food, why would you want to waste resources on an unnecessary pet lion? I mean, Hocking's explanation seems to be that Ripley eats zombies so she doesn't need anything else for her diet. But ... I mean, zombies are essentially just walking, rotting dead things. That would mean Ripley would be trying to eat like 15 pounds of spoiled meat every day. Pretty sure she'd die pretty fast.

- They also just happen to meet a rock star. What are the odds? I mean, I actually thought Lazlo was kind of an interesting character. It is interesting to think about how silly it is that we make celebrities some kind of immortal gods in our minds, but if the world was about to end we really wouldn't give a shit about them anymore. So, that aspect of his character is intriguing to a certain extent. It's like, he spent his whole life trying to become famous, and just when he did, he realized how pointless it was. So, that's somewhat thought-provoking. But ... the whole thing just seems unlikely.

On the semi-related subject of believability ... There was this whole issue about Remy not seeming to give a fuck about anything. For instance:

- Sommer and this other guy named Beck (who was apparently a love interest for Remy ... at least, that seems to be what Hocking kept hinting at), died in like the very first chapter. And ... Remy just did not seem to care. And I didn't care, either. Maybe this could be attributed to there being a pacing issue ... That is, if the story had started slightly earlier and we'd gotten a better chance to know them, then it would have mattered more. But, as it was, it just seemed insignificant. Both of these characters said like two sentences and then they were goners, so ... whatever.

- Same thing with Max (Remy's brother). We didn't even "see" him at the beginning at all before he was taken away from the shelter. Not only that, but I kept forgetting that the point of the journey was ultimately to find Max. Remy hardly ever even talked about him, and when she did, I failed to feel her fear or sadness or anything like that. It would just kind of be like, "Oh yeah, I miss Max I guess. Hopefully we'll find him soon. Yada yada."

- Similarly, Remy like never, ever talked about what her life was like before the apocalypse happened. It was like she just didn't exist before the zombies came into being. And yet, we know for a fact that it happened within her lifetime. Not only that, but she makes all these off-hand comments about what life was like before, and then she NEVER elaborates on them. I think the best example is this:

"My first time had been with my high school boyfriend. We'd been crazy in love and we thought we'd be together forever. Then a zombie got him, but that was after we'd broken up."



I mean, this is THE ONLY TIME REMY EVER MENTIONS THIS. So ... you're telling me she had a serious boyfriend before the zombies attacked, that they were IN LOVE, that THEY THOUGHT THEY'D BE TOGETHER FOREVER, and yet ... it's not even worth mentioning him by name? And she never seems to think about him EVER? Not to mention that she seems to just brush this aside by saying "but that was after we'd broken up." Oh okay ... so because you broke up with him, it doesn't really matter that he got eaten by zombies. Nahhh. All those feelings you had for him before just evaporated, I guess. I ... just ... WHAAAT.

But okay, okay. As I was saying before, despite all my issues with this book, I didn't think it was horrible. It at least kept me entertained, and it had its interesting/unpredictable plot twists. I didn't see it coming that Max was immune to the virus. Although, then it came very predictable that Remy would also be immune, which is ... pretty stupid. But, oh well.

It also had an evil cliffhanger ending. So, ultimately I decided I liked it enough and was curious enough to read the sequel. And actually, I'm glad I did, because I liked the second book better. I'll have a review up of that one soon.

Anyway, I'm going to bring this review to a close now. Basically, this book wasn't fantastic. But it was still better than I expected, and––despite issues with grammar, believability, and character development––it kept me interested.

[Karina Halle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Amanda Hocking book. It's my first zombie book as well (I think).

I went into this book expecting these things:

- a fast read

- action-packed

- entertaining

I got those three things. My expectations were met (and actually surpassed at times) and I found Hollowland to be an exciting, often gory way to pass the time.

I expected there to be more typos and grammatical errors, but there weren't too many and they didn't bother me. I expected the prose to be bland and brusque, but considering the situation, something flowery wouldn't have suited it. I expected (after reading other reviews) that the main character, Remy, would be pretty kick-ass yet lack deep character-building. This is true. You don't REALLY get to know Remy, she acts a lot instead of reflects and there is some sort of wall up about her which either symbolizes that Hocking hasn't written a very believable, relatable character OR it just means that Remy is that type of girl and she's in this type of situation. I'm not sure which one is correct but it doesn't really matter. I wanted to be entertained and I was entertained. I even appreciated the slow build between her and Lazlo, liked her relationship with Harlow, liked the side characters, thought the world-building (it's dystopia-esque) was well done and actually believable. I'm pretty sure if the zombie apocalypse did happen, Hollowland wouldn't be far off.

Though I don't think many people would have a pet lion trailing them - actually, I did like that touch. It was both silly and awesome at the same time.

My main concern with Hollowland was that at times it read like a really long short story - or perhaps a screenplay. So much action, so many events and incidents (so many zombies), that half way through the book I thought "What? There's still half the book? What else can happen that hasn't happened already?" Well, actually quite a lot, and even though the last half dragged compared to the beginning, it was intriguing in its own way.

There were a few similarities with Blood Red Road, even though neither book could have possibly been based on the other. Remy was tough as Saba was tough and though I liked Remy more than Saba, Saba had more depth and Young's writing was much more developed. But, seriously, ENOUGH with the lost brother syndrome. The reason Saba was so damn annoying in BRR was because of her (in my opinion)unhealthy obsession with her brother and with finding her brother. Saaaaaaame damn thing Hollowland. Just shut the fuck up about your brother already!

Ah well.

Despite characters you don't really feel an emotional connection to and story that lacks meat (and something else that I can't quite put my finger on), Hollowland delivered on its promises of being fun, scary and thrilling. And it was free on Kindle. Can't go wrong with that.

[claire elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently, as I write this review, my cat is trying to lay across my keyboard. So tif there are any misspellings...blame on the fat cat of mine who's desperate for my loving attention me to feed him.

I did, surprisingly enjoy this book. It was free, and since I have a nook I downloaded it off of smashwords. Barnes and noble has it for like 1.99 or something. It's free for kindles too.

I loved Remy. She was a strong kick-ass woman and her personality was so unique. At one point, her stubbornness got really annoying. She seemed to always think the whole word was her responsibility.When stayed behind in the doctor's room at the end, it was clear she could have left and gone with her brother, Blue, and Lazlo, and I'm still not sure why she stayed. It must have been because Amanda Hocking wanted to write another book. She was really an interesting character and I really got to know her personality during the book. Sadly, I can't say the same for the other characters; I hardly knew what Lazlo was like , and I feel like he should've had a bigger part.

The book was mainly action, and little romance, but some nonetheless. There were a lot of fighting scenes, and I absolutely loved how creative Hocking was with them. It has been too long since i read a book where the heroine did a kick-ass job of defending herself. The archetypical role of man-rescues-woman was actually switched in this book. Lazlo was clearly the one who needed protection 9 times out of 10. I didn't really like how helpless he sometimes seemed.

Overall I did in fact enjoy this book, i recommend it to anyone who wants a random, quick book to read (did i mention its free??) It only had a few details missing. I will definitely read the second.

[Azbaqiyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again and again I'll said that Amanda Hocking never fails to amuse me with her writings!

[Joy (joyous reads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am thoroughly convinced that this is how the world will end: Zombies. I have this strange fear and fascination about them so I try to procure as much books as I can about these rabid, virus-infested creatures. I've been lucky to have enjoyed what I've read so far. Unfortunately, I encountered so many problems with this book.

I'm finding it hard to write about the cracks in the plot without spoiling one of the major conflicts in the book. Suffice it to say, whatever inconsistencies I found, were chocked up to perhaps, an oversight. It's major. It had something to do with Remy and Max's DNAs. The lion, though pretty, freaking awesome, was a bit of a stretch. The world building was close to non-existent. Ms. Hocking doesn't really give much. You'd have to fend for yourself - dictate your own emotions and picture the world better than what she has described. I do appreciate a minimalist style of writing, but sometimes, what you consider white noise is music to my ears. That once you eliminate them, the product is just deafening silence. Does that make sense?

This is not my first Amanda Hocking book. I read Switched a while back and couldn't continue on with the rest of the Trylle Trilogy. The thing about Ms. Hocking's characters is that they feel cold - emotionless. Remy could be swathed in zombie matter, fighting for her life, yet the emotions she was going through could be compared to say, as if she was gardening. She was almost mechanical about the whole deal with little to no range of emotions. Don't get me wrong, I love that she kicks ass without batting an eyelash, but heck, you have to make me feel like you're ACTUALLY scared. It's weird because I never once felt a certain anxiety about what was going to happen next - no trepidation whatsoever. The same goes with the relationship between her and Laz. To be honest, I thought that Blue was the better love interest here. Laz started off comedic, kind of like a side kick, and aside from being a former rock star, he really didn't have much going for him. I thought that Ms. Hocking's almost methodical writing made for some characters lacking in emotional depths. I came. I saw. I did. Those three sentences could probably sum up her story telling. It literally felt like someone was watching a zombie movie and giving me a play-by-play at the same time.

Perhaps it's because this is a free book, but man, there were so many typos here. I know, I know, I shouldn't complain because it's free. Let's get real here, Amanda Hocking has hit the big time. Free or not, there's still no excuse for editing errors.

I did like Ms. Hocking's innate talent for writing violence and gore. They were vivid and acerbic. But some of her fight scenes - especially ones which involved a melee of zombies - tend to be a bit over the top and convoluted. I had a hard time imagining that Remy single-handedly fought off rabid zombies with almost no weapons. This girl was a super woman. I appreciate her tenacity but it wasn't at all convincing.

To summarize, I can understand why people would take a shining to Ms. Hocking's writing and stories. But I need to be emotionally vested in the story and characters for me to actually enjoy it. This is my second Hocking book, and prognosis is not looking all that good.

[Carol (StarAngel's Reviews) Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has EVERYTHING I look for in a good zombie book!

Strong heroine ----- ditzy but lovable guy ------ zombies ------ animals ------ traveling ------ stragglers ------ fighting ------ and soooo much more!!

We have the loner heroine who is looking for her brother after their quarantine is evacuated. Along the way on foot she meets up with a few others and a strange animal ---- as she makes her way up north, stragglers continue to join and she finds a strange love interest....but can this last?

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amanda Hocking, The Hollows, vol. 1: Hollowland (CreateSpace, 2010)

It has been three months, as I write this, since the news broke that Amanda Hocking, one of the one-in-a-million vanity-/self-published wonders who keep everyone else convinced that CreateSpace/iUniverse/etc. are the literary equivalent of the yellow brick road, inked a deal with St. Martin's Press that's reported to be somewhere in the seven figures. Which sounds impressive until you read Hocking's blog and discover how much she made selling CreateSpace-published Kindle books on Amazon, of which she's hocked, no pun intended, over half a million. Yes, you read that correctly. Half a million books. How on earth could I not be intrigued by this? And then I was reading an article about her somewhere—I can't remember where, Amanda Hocking articles were being pumped out at almost the rate Amanda Hocking writes books there for a while—and it mentioned her at-the-time-new novel, Hollowland, which turned from her then-usual fare (teen vampire books, which have been described by a number of reviewers as anti-Twilight, and as far as I'm concerned that's already a win) to the world of zombie lit. I signed up.

As you can probably tell from that first paragraph, I've read a lot about Amanda Hocking over the past half-year. One of the things I noted during that reading was a lot of people criticizing the proofreading in her books. Well, okay, invariably in posts like that, the one book they'd read. And yes, I get that. I hate egregious spelling and grammar mistakes as much as the next guy. (Okay, more.) And so I was on the lookout while I burned through this book. My memory is not photographic, but the book is still fresh in my mind (I finished it about three hours ago, and I started it less than seventy-two hours ago), and I only remember seeing three errors, all of which were obviously typos rather than misspellings. If you can get through a major-label novel and only find three errors, more power to ya. I haven't been able to do so in twenty years or thereabouts, that I can remember. So if you've been ducking Hocking's books after hearing such on the 'net, I can tell you this one, at least, was proofread by someone who's either a professional or a wannabe with chops. (And since I've been asked on occasion over the years—yes, my rating on this book went up half a star solely on that basis, because it tells me that the people who worked on it actually give a damn, and that is important to me.)

Plot: Remy lives in a world that is quite unlike our own. The zombie plague (we learn early on that it's a mutation of rabies, and that these “zombies” are pretty much direct descendants of the ragers in 28 Days Later...) has lasted for almost a year now, and what few enclaves of American society are left, as far as she knows, exist in large camps called quarantines. At the beginning of the novel, the quarantine in which Remy, her brother Max, and her friends Harlow and Sommer are staying in is overrun. The military evacuate Max, who is kept separate from the rest of the uninfected for reasons we don't find out till later (but you can probably guess), but Remy, Harlow, and Summer are forced to find their own way through the throngs of the dead—who seem to be slowly evolving some sort of hive mind, an ability to work together to solve problems that was absent during the first year of the plague. With only a vague notion of the location to which Max was evacuated, Remy and her friends trek off on foot across the Nevada desert...

Best thing about this book: Hocking may have a ways to go where some of the other niceties of writing are concerned, but you can't fault her ability in two important places where genre fiction is concerned: plot and pace. Both are strong, and when the two come together in a novel like this, that's a recipe for “keeps the reader turning the pages”. When it's the first book in a projected trilogy, it also works for “when's the next book coming out?” (Hocking's blog reports Fall 2011, I hope that's right. If you haven't guessed, I'll be picking it up pronto.) The book is nonstop wall-to-wall action, and we're not talking little indie action here, we're talking wire-fu and big explosions action. If this gets made into a movie, Michael Bay will probably produce. And there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, this is a book about a zombie apocalypse. If you're not willing to allow for such ludicrous, wonderful action scenes as Remy beating a zombie with a severed leg, you're nowhere near willing to suspend enough disbelief.

On the other hand, worst thing about this book: Hocking has a ways to go where some of the other niceties of writing are concerned. The most specific gap here is characterization, which is almost completely absent, even from the main characters. Given that, it's well-nigh impossible for the reader to care about a relatively minor character like Beck, a guy who sacrifices himself in order for Remy, Harlow, and Sommer to get out of the quarantine in the first chapter. We get the idea from Hocking's words, both during and immediately after that scene, that we're supposed to care, but she hasn't given us any reason to. And that's just one of many examples throughout the novel.

But I am willing to allow for lack of characterization in genre fiction. If you're looking for something action-packed and that will keep you turning the pages, look no further. Even better, it has a strong, albeit cardboard, female protagonist (and a lion named Ripley; Hocking wears her influences on her sleeve more often than not) and a relatively interesting plot; you've seen the major science arc before, but I've never seen it done in quite this way (I think the closest I've seen it is in Z. A. Recht's unfinished Morningstar Strain books), and that's always welcome. Not deathless literature by any means (again, no pun intended), but given the price? I've read zombie novels I've liked a whole lot less after paying a whole lot more for them. ***

[Badseedgirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

“I made it all the way here, and you’re gonna try to look into it? I’ve gone all the way across the country, rescued a lion, escaped a cult, killed marauders, and fought dozens of zombies with my bare fricking hands! And you’re gonna look into it?”


There were some real highlights in this "not a zombie" zombie read.
1.)The virus, a form of rabies made the individuals infected crazy and hungry. They did not die, but their body became overloaded with adrenaline. Unlike in so many other books with this premise, people infected attacked other infected and the zombies were described as "Zombies tended to attack and eat each other, so they were covered in bruises, scratches, and bite marks." Badseedgirl likeys.

2.) There were some very nice biomedical ethical questions towards the end of the book that gave me a pause. I like a book that makes me think.

3.) The zombie kills in this book were amazing! The descriptions were so detailed and intense. They would have made any splatterpunk reader sigh in pleasure.
"It was like popping an overgrown zit. Liquid sloshed out of him, and I jumped back to keep from getting it on me." Sigh.

The problem is, or should I say are
1.) They never went anywhere with the idea of the zombies attacking each other in their frenzy, it was just thrown out there and then never brought up again, thus making the whole unique aspect pointless.

2.) I hated the character Harlow, who was the sidekick to our heroine, so much. She was too old to be as whiny as she was, and she did so many stupid things, there is no way should would have survived.

3.) Although there were cults, and zombies, and marauders, the plot to this book felt tired and played out. Remy spent The. Entire. Book. whining about how she needed to get to her brother, who was mysteriously "sick." At one point when they were at a cult, who was totally not David Koresh even though his name was Koresh, I thought the plot was going to go in an unexpected direction, with discussion of the end times and the the four horsemen and the antichrist on earth, I thought how awesome would it be if her brother was the antichrist and we spend the entire book rooting for who is essentially the "bad guy"in the book. That would be an amazing twist in the plot and I would have awarded THAT story with many stars. Unfortunately, the brother is immune which just makes this book a cheap rip off of 28 days later.

4.) Although this was touted as a YA book, and I would have agreed right up until Remy "felt him, sliding inside of me" I'm talking Harlequin Romance level soft core porn. This might be better off being advertised as a "New Adult" fiction which is geared more towards 18-29 years age group.

Honestly, this would have been a one star read if it were not for the descriptive zombie kills sprinkled throughout the book, so I am giving it a generous 2 stars and although there are two more books in the series, I will not be continuing on with them.

[Linda Poitevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Why I read it:

I picked this book up for two reasons: (1) it was on sale; and (2) I was curious about Amanda Hocking after her meteoric rise in publishing.

What I liked about it:

I really liked how Hocking hit the ground running in this. She writes a good action scene, and there was plenty of action in this book. The world-building was also solid, and I loved the main character, Remy (at least, throughout most of the story), finding her toughness and determination plausible given the circumstances.

What I didn't like:

At about the 3/4 point, the story started to fall apart for me. Hocking had made all her characters more or less three dimensional until that point, but then she introduced a new one who behaved too much like a puppet for my taste, seeming to exist only to help her get the story to where she wanted it to go. The ending itself was a disappointment as well, feeling loose and rushed and not really fitting with Remy's character. The book could have used a heavier copyediting hand as well, especially with regard to misused words.

Final thoughts:

Hollowland was a decent read, and I think Hocking has some serious storytelling potential. I'd be interested in reading her later works (I had the impression this one was from earlier in her career), but I won't be continuing this series.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amanda Hocking is a talented writer. Hollowland melded so many of my favorite genres. The setting is a classic zombie ridden dystopia. The action is female butt-kicking urban fantasy. The horror is real horror, no laid back frights for the younger targeted audience, with a relentless pacing, and characters covered head-to-toe in blood and chunks. The romance is sweet and a little heart breaking considering the setting and what may or may not happen. I really do not know what happens in the end since this book ends on a cliff hanger of sorts, so be warned. I hope, hope, hope Hocking publishes book two soon. Glancing through her other books, I am guessing she writes fast.

I did have issues with the editing but I am completely willing to dismiss that based on my enjoyment. I also found some of what the characters did towards the end of the book a little too farfetched. It was too easy for them to break into a secure area. An impartial rating would be 4 stars but based on my enjoyment, I must rate 5 stars. I loved the characters, Ripley was an excellent addition, and the story in the next book has some excellent possibilities.

[Patti · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know, I always hated when people watched a show they didn't like, then bitched about it online. When I realized I was hate-reading this book, I quit.

OMG, where to begin?

1. They were not zombies. They were "infected humans."
2. The editing on this was abysmal: Remy gets one gun, gives it to one of the not-Remy characters (they weren't fleshed out enough for me to even remember their names), then three paragraphs later, Remy was shooting a not-zombie. Wrong words were used multiple time, quotation marks were missing, jeez, I gave up counting.
3. Lions and tigers and what the fuck?
4. Remy was an asshole.
5. Characters were very one note. See #2.
6. Writing was just not good.
7. Names were fucking ridiculous. And she really could have come up with a better name for her cult leader. Maybe Bones?

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My very first zombie book! And i was thoroughly impressed. Although there were several zombie attacks, I'd say this book is more about strangers coming together for survival and the relationships that are made along the way. New families form where others were lost and the world has to start over. Looking forward to the next book in the series!
I listed to the audible on this one and the narrator did a fantastic job!

[Silver Thistle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had I known that this book was about a zombie apocalypse I'd have been all over it a LONG time ago. How could I not know that?! I thought it was the usual YA fare and admit that the cover had a lot to do with that. That's a lovely cover but not a hint of zombie about it. It seems it's true what they say about covers, and judging... I'm not sure how long I've had this one but it seems like an age. I wish I'd gotten to it sooner.

It's a very satisfying story and right from the very first line the reader is hauled slap-bang into the thick of it. These zombies are not the slow, lumbering moaners from the usual zom-fests, these zombies are jacked up crazies and can pick up a bit of speed. All the action scenes are pretty frantic.

I felt I really connected with Remy, the main character and liked her a lot. Some of the other character's didn't impress me as much (ie, Blue - although it's a cute name) but I still liked them. Really liked Ripley too, if you can call a lion a character? Yeah, a lion! A very cool lion, actually.

There's a tiny bit of romance and sexual chemistry but I do mean 'tiny'. That's not the main focus of the story though so it makes a nice change from the usual YA boy/girl storylines.

There are some creepy character's in here too and I thought they were dealt with really well. Not TOO creepy for the YA market but 'just' creepy enough to make this adult shudder. And by creepy I mean Skeevy :P

I loved the dialogue, it always felt so natural and suited each character perfectly. Amanda Hocking does character interaction very well, I thought.

It's great. If you haven't already read this and you like a bit of zombie in your stories then I'd advise you to run like the wind to go get it...Now. It's really good!

Book 2 in the trilogy, 'Hollowmen' is something I'll definitely be reading to see what lies in store for Remy!