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How I Started the Apocalypse #1
How I Started the Apocalypse
Chaz Singleton is a lone zombie battling for survival against a hostile humanity. He holds the fate of the world in his hands, whether he likes it or not.
He is dead. He is angry. He is contagious. And he is hungry.
He is dead. He is angry. He is contagious. And he is hungry.
164 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2012
5 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
About the author
Brian Pinkerton
21 books78 followersBrian Pinkerton is the author of Abducted, Vengeance, Rough Cut, Killer’s Diary, How I Started the Apocalypse, Bender, Anatomy of Evil and The Gemini Experiment. Select titles have also been released as audio books, ebooks and in foreign languages.
Brian’s short stories have appeared in anthologies including Chicago Blues, PULP! and Zombie Zoology. His screenplays have finished in the top 100 of Project Greenlight and top two percent of the Nicholl Fellowship of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His academic background includes the Iowa Writers Workshop and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. His web site, brianpinkerton.com, includes his cartoon series The Ruts.
Brian’s short stories have appeared in anthologies including Chicago Blues, PULP! and Zombie Zoology. His screenplays have finished in the top 100 of Project Greenlight and top two percent of the Nicholl Fellowship of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His academic background includes the Iowa Writers Workshop and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. His web site, brianpinkerton.com, includes his cartoon series The Ruts.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 2, 2012
Chaz Singelton woke up from the longest sleep he ever had in what looked like a hospital room and he had no idea how he got there. His body felt numb and he had the worst headache ever, but that was the least of his problems. Chaz is the world's first smart zombie and he is part of a government experiment to create an army of super soldiers who can't be killed.
This is the story behind Brian Pinkerton's How I Started The Apocalypse. Chaz is trapped in a secret underground lab, he wants to escape to see his family again but there is no way out, until the government decides to shut down the experiment by killing all the zombies along with the workers in the lab. With the need to eat human flesh and the power to destroy mankind, Chaz escapes and goes on the run to find his wife and son.
How I Started The Apocalypse is an action packed zombie thriller from the point of view of the zombie. Chaz is a multi dimensional character that you can't help but like. Chaz never wanted to be a zombie and he tries to fight his zombie nature, he just wants his life back, but he soon realizes that his wife has moved on and he can't fight what he is.
To make matters worse he is being stalked by Breck Palmer, the man in charge of the super soldier experiment and the one who destroyed the secret lab. My favorite part of this book was how there was a point where you feel sorry for Chaz and his hopeless situation and you hate Breck for what he has done. As the story progresses and Chaz has more trouble controlling himself, he starts to become the villan while Breck becomes the sympathetic character and the only one that can put a stop to the zombie pandemic.
I did have some issues with How I Started The Zombie Apocalypse, some of the dialoge in places seemed a little cheesey and didn't fit certain situations. Also there was a scene where Chaz finds his wife that I didn't care for. Without giving any of the story away I felt that what happened with their relationship was too far fetched. Though the last scene with Chaz's wife was hilarious and left a smile on my face. Another scene I had issues with was when Chaz tries to end his zombie problem. I felt he should have known it wouldn't work but his attempts at doing it were very funny.
How I Started The Apocalypse is an original take on the zombie genre. The book is fast paced with a lot of humor and gore thrown in for good measure. There are a lot of great action scenes here, and a commentary about how humans act like zombies. I liked Chaz's escape from the secret lab and there was a scene in Yankee Stadium that was very good. One of my favorite scenes is when Chaz makes a childhood bully suffer giving him his just desserts. There was also a scene towards the end with a goth girl who wants to turn him into be a celebrity that was very good. Best of all I liked the way the story ended. The storyline gets wrapped up but it hints at a sequel and I would love to see where Brian Pinkerton goes next with this idea.
This is the story behind Brian Pinkerton's How I Started The Apocalypse. Chaz is trapped in a secret underground lab, he wants to escape to see his family again but there is no way out, until the government decides to shut down the experiment by killing all the zombies along with the workers in the lab. With the need to eat human flesh and the power to destroy mankind, Chaz escapes and goes on the run to find his wife and son.
How I Started The Apocalypse is an action packed zombie thriller from the point of view of the zombie. Chaz is a multi dimensional character that you can't help but like. Chaz never wanted to be a zombie and he tries to fight his zombie nature, he just wants his life back, but he soon realizes that his wife has moved on and he can't fight what he is.
To make matters worse he is being stalked by Breck Palmer, the man in charge of the super soldier experiment and the one who destroyed the secret lab. My favorite part of this book was how there was a point where you feel sorry for Chaz and his hopeless situation and you hate Breck for what he has done. As the story progresses and Chaz has more trouble controlling himself, he starts to become the villan while Breck becomes the sympathetic character and the only one that can put a stop to the zombie pandemic.
I did have some issues with How I Started The Zombie Apocalypse, some of the dialoge in places seemed a little cheesey and didn't fit certain situations. Also there was a scene where Chaz finds his wife that I didn't care for. Without giving any of the story away I felt that what happened with their relationship was too far fetched. Though the last scene with Chaz's wife was hilarious and left a smile on my face. Another scene I had issues with was when Chaz tries to end his zombie problem. I felt he should have known it wouldn't work but his attempts at doing it were very funny.
How I Started The Apocalypse is an original take on the zombie genre. The book is fast paced with a lot of humor and gore thrown in for good measure. There are a lot of great action scenes here, and a commentary about how humans act like zombies. I liked Chaz's escape from the secret lab and there was a scene in Yankee Stadium that was very good. One of my favorite scenes is when Chaz makes a childhood bully suffer giving him his just desserts. There was also a scene towards the end with a goth girl who wants to turn him into be a celebrity that was very good. Best of all I liked the way the story ended. The storyline gets wrapped up but it hints at a sequel and I would love to see where Brian Pinkerton goes next with this idea.
January 17, 2014
How I Started the Apocalypse is honestly the first zombie book in which I sympathized for the zombie! Chaz wakes up dead...well undead...with all his faculties, memories and humanity. Escapes. Tries to put his life back together. And realizes his death wasn't accidental. Great plot to this one.
Pinkerton sheds some new and refreshing light on the zombie genre. I dare anyone to say this isn't some originality in the concept department.
Chaz may have escaped his captors, but that doesn't mean they wont find him. Usually a plight of man surviving the zombies, this twist has Chaz fighting off man.
I couldn't put it down; I marathoned it to the end in one sitting. Fast paced, funny, and still able to deliver the scary, How I Started the Apocalypse deserves a slot in your bookshelf.
www.bookie-monster.com
Pinkerton sheds some new and refreshing light on the zombie genre. I dare anyone to say this isn't some originality in the concept department.
Chaz may have escaped his captors, but that doesn't mean they wont find him. Usually a plight of man surviving the zombies, this twist has Chaz fighting off man.
I couldn't put it down; I marathoned it to the end in one sitting. Fast paced, funny, and still able to deliver the scary, How I Started the Apocalypse deserves a slot in your bookshelf.
www.bookie-monster.com
November 21, 2012
OK fun little read. Some weak parts but on the whole quite enjoyable.
November 28, 2024
For a person who loves Zombies and their stories, I just devoured this book. The details of each character, the incidents, the thoughts, all the things were wonderfully written. I loved the writing style. I enjoyed this book and not to mention I just loved the Zombie MC. This was the first book I read of this Author but I truly enjoyed it. Can't wait to read more from the Author. The ending made me feel kinda sad and yet relaxed. I would definitely recommend this book to all Zombie lovers.
July 6, 2014
This was a great read, and quick one. I read the book in two sittings. Brian Pinkerton's novel gives you just enough to "chew on" and runs you through Chaz's story - a lone zombie unintentionally starting the zombie apocalypse. As others have said, this is a very new take on the traditionally zombie story, reversing the normal roles and creating in Chaz a zombie like you and me. Seriously, you get to feel for the guy and can't decide whether you want him to die or live simply because of his condition. It felt odd rooting for him to make it out alive, or at least undead, most of the time, especially knowing it would mean the end of the human race if he did, human error being what it is. From late night snacks that lead to drunken zombie binge eating sprees to the odd desires of Goths, you never know what will cause the spread to continue. Pinkerton's story was a good one and I will certainly be picking up the sequel. Two thumbs up if you like witty situational humor and a new take on zombie tales.
March 28, 2016
Interesting take on the whole zombie boom. A "smart zombie" that was able to take care of some unresolved issues from his first go around in the world, well - "That is probably the coolest thing I've ever heard in my life"
January 12, 2014
The pick was easy. I wanted zombies and action and I got it. The evil government threw in the super secret project. The good old the undead soldier program and it went a bit wrong. Only one ehm we learnt that not only one later, Chaz Singleton was an intelligent zombie, who said simple no when the program was closed and all witnesses killed. He wanted to go back to his wife, but found that she made his zombie state possible with his coworker. One must die first in order to become zombie.
He ran away but very rabid agent was on his tail to kill him once again this time permanently. Chaz wanted to live, he wanted to clean up after his feeding, but well he wanted and it stayed like that, because at some point everything went wrong.
He ran away but very rabid agent was on his tail to kill him once again this time permanently. Chaz wanted to live, he wanted to clean up after his feeding, but well he wanted and it stayed like that, because at some point everything went wrong.
December 31, 2015
I love a good story and this is a decent one, but there's some enormous logic holes here, and the writing's quick and functional at best (and amateur platitudes at worst). As for the logic holes, this story is apparently set in that alternate 2012 where government surveillance has not been perfected to an art, and a secret government operation that runs its own subterranean lab has to rely on the project head traveling alone across the nation to tactically "clean up" his own mess. Also, in this alternate 2012, a yellow hard-hat is solid protection against .38 bullets at close range.
But ok, I don't really want to make fun of this little book (just under 150 pages), because it has a kind of enthusiasm to it, and a kind of straight-forward, action-driven black humor. I can appreciate that!
But ok, I don't really want to make fun of this little book (just under 150 pages), because it has a kind of enthusiasm to it, and a kind of straight-forward, action-driven black humor. I can appreciate that!
May 5, 2016
Well done 'smart zombie'
I wasn't going to go any further when I realized my zombie could talk (I'm really old fashioned about these things), but Chaz was engaging and his story seemed interesting, so I kept reading. His was a thoroughly enjoyable tale and I look forward to seeing what happens next.
I wasn't going to go any further when I realized my zombie could talk (I'm really old fashioned about these things), but Chaz was engaging and his story seemed interesting, so I kept reading. His was a thoroughly enjoyable tale and I look forward to seeing what happens next.
November 16, 2012
Great zombie story with a twist - this is told from the zombie's point of view. Neat premise.
December 1, 2013
Entertaining tale of a fully cognizant zombie and his role in the zombie apocalypse. One can only hope for a sequel given the potential left by the ending.
November 15, 2013
Shocking and funny, a sympathetic zombie tale.
March 24, 2016
Wow! This book started slow, picked up major speed, slowed down a bit, and slowly started to build back up again until it reached the crazy ending! Time for book two!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews