Jacqueline DrugaReseñas

FROM AMAZON: Since childhood, Nila Carter was made to spend every weekend at the family cabin. In her teenage years she believed it to be a prison. As an adult it became her sanctuary and means to survive.

When a mysterious outbreak occurs in India, Nila’s brother, Bobby, a virologist with the CDC, places the family on a precautionary alert to be ready to bug out. Unlike anything he’s ever seen, the rabies-like virus is not only deadly but causes extreme violent behavior in anyone who becomes infected. Following her brother’s advice, Nila begins to stockpile.

After months of preparing, just as it seems the virus is over, everything implodes and Bobby informs them to leave the city. With her family, Nila heads to the mountains and to her father’s isolated cabin. There she is eventually joined by friends and strangers, all hoping to safely stay clear of the virus that grips the world.

While there, the group forms a tight bond, feeling secure that they will beat the extinction event and in due course return home. As time moves on, Nila quickly learns there are things they cannot run from.

This was the beginning of a story. It ended so abruptly it felt like the last half of the book was deleted and the last page added onto the beginning. Don't get ripped off like I did. Avoid this.

I started this book and couldn’t get into it so I set it aside. A few days later I tried again and didn’t want to put it down. I’m a mood reader and as one I sometimes need to start a book a few times. It is rarely because of the writing. In this case it definitely was just me. Once I got into the story, I was fascinated. I loved how the virus and what was happening unfolded. I thought it was pretty realistic with reactions. There were a few hard places for me. I had my heart in my throat more than once. I also felt it break more than once. I never heard of this author before coming across the story. Now I need to find more books by her. If you enjoy apocalyptic books you should give this one a try. It is one of the most interesting books I have read lately on a pandemic crisis.

I'm too emotional to write a review right now.

I liked the story, but the main character was a bit hard to take and I found the writing a little bit of a chore to read. I kept noticing I was reading a story instead of being immersed within it.

A prescient and surprisingly well-written (for self-published books) story. Does not disappoint if this is a genre you enjoy reading (as opposed to living.)

The Flu by Jacqueline Druga 2/5
This book started well. It followed the standard trope of a worldwide epidemic, something that I enjoy very much. I’m sorry to say that the minute (spoiler) Mick started surrounding the town using bikers, as if somehow, they weren’t sick, and that there were even as many bikers as he needed left alive- suddenly strained the bounds of belief. It didn’t follow from the preceding events. I had to bail at 60% or so. Too bad.

Like the first novel, the sequel aptly named 'The Flu 2' is just as engrossing and has the benefit of not suffering from the bacteria/virus issue the first book had, rather the author seems to have realised there is a difference and just focused on the virus aspect here.

Like other post apocalypse novels some tropes of the fighting between nearby communities arise, but not in a terribly done way, rather it seems to fit into the story being told quite well and isn't overdone.

Overall, it was a brighter novel than the first with an underlying theme of hope even amongst the horror and depravity overtaking some communities. If you enjoyed the first it's definitely worthwhile to continue with the sequel.

I found an ad for this book in the back of Glen Bullion's Dead Living and having enjoyed that I thought I'd check this out as I do find Permuted Press has a fairly good level of quality in their publishing.

This story begins in a reasonable fashion that has you quite involved in the unfolding story from nearly the beginning, it's not like some books that take awhile for you to become invested. I found it to be a quite compelling story, well written with a reasonably realistic portrayal of how events would unfold in such a crisis.

Overall, I thought it was a good book, however there's one issue I found that bothered me considerably during the reading of this - the author doesn't seem to have an understanding that a virus and a bacterium are two different organisms and not interchangeable. Either that or they just took some artistic licence with it, but it seems to be the former as artistic licence isn't really needed to have a treatment for a virus. In the story they're given a huge dose of anti-bacterials to treat the virus, whereas they should have been given anti-virals for a virus, antibacterials aren't going to do anything for a viral infection. At any rate, asides for this continual niggling issue I thought it was a great story, if you can look past this you'll enjoy it, if such things immersion for you, you probably won't.½

Faye's life has changed since she awoke from a coma; finding out most of the world had died and believing she was the last female, Faye is forced to find a safe haven. But, who should she trust.

Faye emerges from a coma, trapped under dead bodies. It appears the world around her has died. As she sets out for her home, she meets others - all male. Could she really be the last woman on earth?

Hard to give a good review to a book in which you didn't like any of the main characters. And the ones in this book annoyed me to no end. After a global virus, to have been left with these folks in my main group.... what a horrible way to live. Feel sorry for anyone stuck with them.

See that the series gets into time travel and all sorts of nonsense. No thanks.½

TERRIBILE..... due balle cosmiche!! miracolo essere arrivati alla fine., noioso e ridicolo al quadrato.

TERRIBILE..... due balle cosmiche!! miracolo essere arrivati alla fine., noioso e ridicolo al quadrato.

Very good SiFi

I had a lot of fun with this book. It’s an interesting set up to what might turn out to be the Biblical Last Days. Marcus is a lead scientist on a team that plans to take samples from the Shroud of Turin and grow a clone of whoever was wrapped in that bit of cloth. Of course, the team meets with a lot of push back from religious groups and some average people. Nevertheless, they continue forward despite mishaps, death threats, and physical attacks. It’s a prickly subject for some and several sides to it were shown in this story.

Reggie was my favorite character. She’s a single mom with a pre-teen son, Seth, and they live with her father, Kyle, who runs a little automotive garage. She and Marcus have been friends for ages and the two have kept up a solid friendship despite them being on opposite sides of the Atlantic. She’s a fiery sort of personality in an average body. Her confidence makes her attractive and likable to nearly everyone. I loved her independence and while I don’t watch wrestling, I can appreciate that she enjoys it. I wanted to be her sidekick! Well, at least until the last quarter of the book where she doesn’t do much and is pretty much relegated to the Romantic Interest role. Sigh…. But she could easily bounce back from that in the next book. My fingers are crossed.

Kyle was quite the character too! At first, I just labeled him as a grumpy old man but he has more than that going on. I loved his teasing and his meddling in Reggie’s life. Herbie! Who wants to date Herbie? Ha! Kyle is well-meaning and that always showed through.

OK, back to the the science-thriller part of this story. So Marcus and his team know that the Shroud of Turin isn’t old enough to have been around in the times of Jesus Christ but they are still very curious to see if they can get viable DNA from t he Shroud and then also grow a living being from that DNA. The science itself is pretty loosey-goosey so just go with it and enjoy the ride. While I would have preferred more science, or at least logic, I managed to not nitpick the plot apart…. yet. OK, how many people have touched that Shroud or rubbed it all over their bodies in attempt to heal themselves of some disease? Honestly, there’s probably a veritable host of DNA on that cloth. A few well placed discussions along those lines would have made the science bits more interesting if not believable.

Marcus gets much more than he was expecting and the whole team is very surprised by how things develop. Other side characters, such as this Reverend of a southern church group and Pope, want to have a say in how things proceed but Marcus and his team do a decent job of repelling them until near the end.

The action really ramps up in the last quarter of the book where Marcus is seriously questioning just what he may have unleashed on the world. There’s drama, action, suicides, attacks, bombs! Yes, it’s quite the marathon of survival for Marcus, and Reggie is there for some of that. The ending wraps up most of the questions for this book and leaves the door open for the next book. 4/5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book.

The Narration: Rick Gregory had a great voice for Reggie, sounding both feminine and confident. He also had a good, distinct voice for Marcus. The two show several emotions throughout the story and Gregory did an awesome job of portraying those. His soft Southern drawl for the Reverend needed work and there were a few places where the sound varied. I loved his gruff teasing voice for Kyle. His pacing was perfect. 4/5 stars.

10:37
By: Jacqueline Druga
Narrated by: Kyle Tait
This is an audible book I requested and the review is voluntary.
This is not like any end of the world scenario I have ever read. It is unique and different which is always good. I loved the characters, (at least the building of them, some I didn't like at all, lol), and the plot. It is a shorter book but it came to a full conclusion and was very satisfying.
The narrator was great and kept the action, suspense, and hope up in the right times. Enjoyed this book for it's fresh sci-fi/fantasy and the world building. Good job all around.

Okay thriller but the field of public health preparedness was certainly not nvestigated in her research. Several loose ends not addressed.

Immersion reading was entertainering.

ABR's original Immune audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

This is my third zombie book this week. I have been able to read and listen to quite a few horrors and I was a little worried that picking up Jacqueline Druga as third in my week would effect my feeling of the book. I am also a fan of Jacqueline! She always pulls out all the stops, so I was also concerned that my bar would be set too high and she would not be able to reach it.

Both worries were put to rest early on in the book. This audio was absolutely fantastic. It does not say on Audible, but I believe there is a full cast! It’s amazing. The noises and music that was added into the story, wind up adding to the depth of all that is going on. It also helps to ratchet up the anxiety! As soon as the music starts getting creepy I just knew something was going to happen.

The story has a lot in it also. The music was not needed with the narration, although I really enjoyed it. The different voices of Lee Alan were able to pick up on every nuance of energy and terror, and even the calm moments. Although there are few.

It starts and there are quite a few characters to get to know and many characters die off early on. There is even a moment in a plane. I can only imagine how horrific that would be! Jacqueline makes it even easier to imagine.

Soon, people are starting to realize that they are immune. For whatever reason the zombies (ragers) do not try to eat certain people. There was a theory about why but most were not able to figure it out. Even though some are immune, they are obviously not immune to dying, so getting in the way of the zombies is still not a great idea.

Grace is the most prominent figure of the story. Most of the plot lines converge around hers. She goes through a LOT in this. And it is horrifying every step of the way. There is one ending, the overly gruesome one, where she would not be able to go through anything more horrific because the horror has definitely hit it’s peak!

The characters surrounding hers kept her alive for the most part but Grace did have a good head on her shoulders. She made good decisions and tried hard to stay safe.

There are multiple alternate endings. I cannot choose between them, but I definitely suggest reading all of them and then choosing for yourself. This is one extremely good zombie story that I am very pleased with.

No, the bar was not set too high!

Audiobook purchased for review by ABR.

Short, funny and wriiten like a children's book. Perfect for what it was supposed to be...

ABR's original Yellow Zone: A Journal Documentation of the End of America audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

This was my first exposure to Jacqueline Druga. I cannot say I found the story to be as good as other post-apocalyptic books such as “The Dead Lands“.

The opening scene in the book is of Jen, the main character, sitting on a porch in Ohio. She sees a man she judges as “infected” and shoots him with a rifle, killing him. Jen then takes us back to before the infection started and tells us how it all began. She explains how she went from being a working mother and wife in Philadelphia to survivalist watching the death throes of America. The virus started at Kennedy airport in New York City and at first Jen thought she was far enough away to be safe. As the virus rapidly spread Jen, her husband, son and daughter head to a family cabin in West Virginia taking Dan’s mother with them. They meet up with other family members but have very little time before the infection invades their secluded area.

The story itself never really captured my imagination. Throughout the entire story, I never felt a connection to Jen. She lost loved ones, watched her world destroyed but I never really felt anything for her. I did not like her. I did not dislike her. I just did not care. She never reached out of the story in a way which would have invested me in her survival.

David Dietz’s narration was enjoyable. He was versatile, able to do women’s as well as men’s voices without the women seeming falsetto. I would buy an audio book narrated by him if I find one that interests me. While David’s reading was great, it seemed the production values were not as good. The sound quality, especially when he raised his voice was not great. I know that is a studio production issue and one that should have been addressed by the producer of the audio book not the narrator.

Although Yellow Zone was ultimately a weak book, it was worth the time I spent listening to it to be introduced to David Dietz as a narrator.

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.

This was quite a good book. Kept my attention the entire time. A story about "the flu", rather, the bubonic plague and how it affects a small town, Lodi, Ohio in particular. Mick is the chief of Police, but doesn't quite look the type. Dylan was his high school sweetheart who married Sam, one of Mick's good friends.

We learn about how the plague was started, who Lars is, and also get to follow two FBI agents looking for a fugitive. All the stories finally come together in an ending I was not expecting. Yet, the ending made sense.

I got this book during a free offering. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys suspense.

ABR's full Contagious audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Firstly, I’ve read Jacqueline Druga before so I knew what I was getting myself into with this one. She is a master of weaving tales of all the different people that are affected by a virus and their responding attitudes, crimes, or praying!

This was no different. I loved The Flu, however, in this book we really get to delve into people’s lives. I liked being able to follow someone as they are faced with the plague and/or their loved ones dying. I think it lends itself to the reader being able to really get invested in the characters much more than when they are killed off suddenly or when they just fall out of the plot.

I also love that she isn’t afraid to start a plague at the beginning. She lets us follow the virus as it goes across the world. This particular story is mostly in America but she allows her readers to view what is going on in the rest of the world as well.

I really enjoyed the characters. I was also surprised that there was only one narrator. Andrew Wehrlen does such a good job that I thought there were at least two, if not three narrators. I easily could tell the characters apart and never had a difficult time keeping up with him. He also has a great way of really inflecting the drama into a scene that allows for the reader to feel like they are in the situation. Scary to say the least.

The overall audio was also pleasant to listen to. The performance was obviously amazing and the production quality kept up with the fabulous job that Andrew Wehrlen did.

The storyline was intense and made for a fantastic story. The ideas that Jacqueline Druga comes up with are so upsetting because I do not think she is far off from reality. It makes for an intense plot. She keeps the pacing and the characters do not shy away from danger. Sometimes stupidly, sometimes heroically.

This is definitely one you’ll want to listen to while you don’t have your mind occupied elsewhere. There are so many subtle events that missing them could create some questions. My favorite was the bit of a twist with the virus. She does this so well that she winds up adding in drama and tension seamlessly. She was also able to create drama by making the base for the virus an hotel. The hotel seems to add even more tension but as the story progresses it seems that there isn’t a safe place anywhere!

I loved how this ended and cannot wait to read more of her work.

Audiobook provided for review by the Author.

A great apocalyptic novel, written with wit and cynicism.

My full The Flu audiobook review can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

What I think is a man made virus, kept in cold storage in Alaska. Away from populations so it can be studied without worry of infecting the masses. As so often happens when a story stars off this way, the virus gets out and infects the entire continent faster than anyone thought possible. Then we are introduced to a cast of characters in Lodi, Ohio of all places. I found it very strange as to why we were concerned with the population of such a small and unassuming town. It isn’t until the second part of the book that I was able to understand why the town of Lodi, Ohio is even relevant. Full of interesting characters that are developed very well. I would even say there were too many characters to keep track of. I think it was strange that there were several distracting sex scenes that added nothing to plot. I found nothing ground breaking for terribly unique to the story. Slow to develop without a real climax, but overall good plague apocalypse adventure. A realistic insight into human nature and our will to survive and overcome anything. However I will be giving the second book a try.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.