Brock Adams

Johnny Heller is a very clever and entertaining narrator, and the real reason that I listened to this book over and over - his voice is soothing and makes it easy to play in the background while I work. The first time I played the story, I thought it was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard, (Four guys wanting to restart the zombie apocalypse, just because they had the time of their lives), willing to kill billions of people, just so they could re-live their glory days?

But by the third time I'd played it, I began to hear the human plights of loss, PTSD, and fear of the unknown future that beckoned them all. I'm like that - one of those people who don't always get it on the first go-round: like when you watch a movie for the second or third time and think, "I never noticed that clown dancing in the background..."

I've gotta say, if Brock Adams decides to quit writing books, he will do well as a stand-up comic. The book kept me laughing! Really! The more I listened, the funnier it got...SMILE!!!… (más)

The sun began to die three years ago, causing the leaders of the world to come together to try to find a solution. That solution was to launch the entire world's nuclear weapons stock in an attempt to kick start the glowing ember into some sort of rebirth. But when the day comes when they should have reached their target, there are no signs that anything has changed. Lisa and her husband, Guy, have been hanging on to hope, though they are unsure how long they should hold on. And when a group of militants calling themselves the Minutemen emerge with weapons and begin taking over various cities, Lisa and Guy set out on the run, hoping they might find a safe place to settle down and continue to hope for the future.

I found myself intrigued by the concept of this story. Yes, end-of-the-world stories have been told time and time again. And many times we see the plight of the protagonists against whatever natural disaster is responsible for bringing everything down. But there is a strong human element to this story that is compelling and stands out as unique. Lisa's journey is one that takes her to some unexpected places and brings readers right along with her.… (más)

I listened to the audio version of Apocalypse Yesterday to participate in a Florida Book Club, and I really don’t think that this book furthered my understanding of Florida’s history, geography, or culture in any meaningful way. I can usually concentrate on audio while I am walking, but my mind often wandered as I heard the narrator talk about zombies, decapitations, and gory violence.

The protagonist, Rip, and a few others live in the Florida panhandle and have survived a zombie apocalypse. The story’s premise explains what happened before the world ended and whether zombies should be reintroduced. Rip carries his machete, named Santana, around as though he is in love with it and personifies it frequently. A woman, Davia, also has a special weapon, a poleaxe. There is much discussion about weapons, survival, and what the world has become.

Political statements made in the book satirize some of what happened during the 2020 pandemic, especially the responses of Trump. Rodney, a main character who is Black, represents some of the skepticism voiced by African Americans during the pandemic. However, I didn’t appreciate the violence associated with the political statements and characters. I found few parallels between the world changes in this book and the actual world changes resulting from the pandemic. I could not relate to the characters or the events, and it was not a good read for me.
For my other book reviews and the genres I truly enjoy, see my blog at
https://quipsandquotes.net/… (más)

EMBER by Brock Adams
Oh dear, what to say? First while science fiction IS fiction, it should also be reasonably believable. A dying sun that in 3 years turns the Southern hemisphere into a block of ice should also have drowned all of Florida. It didn’t in EMBER. A snowstorm that appears suddenly like a tidal wave and then is over in bare minutes dropping feet of snow, is simply not believable, or survivable. The hundreds of nuclear bombs sent aloft by hundreds(???) of co-operating countries, don’t work to restart the sun. The US government is hiding in Iceland and Lisa, the main character, turns from loving wife to capably murderous fiend in hours. Oh, and befriends her philandering husband’s lover in the process.
The bad guys are truly bad. The “good” guys are only semi-good. The world is coming to an end, but there doesn’t seem to be an actual conclusion in this book. Apparently this is the first of a proposed series. I won’t be reading any further.
2 of 5 stars… (más)