Viel Action, Gemetzel, Gewalt und amerikanischer Patriotismus, aber leider nichts neues. ( )

Consistent with my preference for zombies tales from the perspective of a smaller group or individual, I liked this first volume in an apparent series. Based (initially) in Portland, Oregon, it caught my attention. Reading is not too difficult and keeps my attention. The only caveat comment is that as the zombie apocalypse starts (i.e. Day 1 and 2), the zombies are already rotting. Something seems amiss. It seems they would not start any significant rotting without some time passage. Never the less, I liked the book and look forward to reading follow-on books by this author. ( )

My original Trudge audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Cade Grayson has seen tough times in his life when he was in “the Sandbox” as they called it. Little did he know that what he saw then couldn’t begin to prepare him for what happens when a virus is unleashed upon the US and its citizens. Follow Cade on his journey to safety for both him and his wife and child (who are not with him when everything goes down)

The narration in Trudge was done by Chris Patton. I liked his style and it really fit the book. I think that Cade was a “manly man” for sure, and I think that Patton did him justice in that aspect. My only complaint (and it’s not even a complaint, it made me chuckle a few times throughout listening) was when Patton would say something with a WH in it. He would say “Hoowhat” instead of “what”, which reminded me of a Family Guy skit about how to say Cool Whip. (Is it Cool Whip or Cool Hoowip?) Like I said, it doesn’t take away from the audiobook, just a personal thing I noticed. The quality in production was also great. No issues at all.

Trudge was one of those books where I felt like I’d been there before, but I won’t lie – you haven’t. The story followed a similar character to the book I read RIGHT before this one (Max from Tomorrow War). But, the storyline was totally different and was full of unique and different characters.

I can tell that the author either has military training or is extremely familiar or close with someone who has. Chesser uses a lot of military terms and for the most part he tries to explain what they are. There are still a few that slipped through, either because he didn’t want to explain what it meant or he just assumed Civs aka civilians would know what it meant.

Another book that falls short with me based on the fact that it doesn’t have a proper ending. Yes, there was some closure, but not nearly enough for me. The book just felt incomplete because it is missing what I think is at least half of the story. Damn sequels and trilogies! Other than that, it was a quick read and an enjoyable one at that.

Audiobook provided for review by the author. ( )

A well-written, exciting apocalypse story. A virus takes down the majority of the population, turning them into zombies. The good, the bad, and the ugly...all represented in this tale. I hope no one judges this book by the cover, which I was immediately put-off by. It just seemed to me like it was going to be a lame, typical zombie story. Its really way better. The protaganist is a well likeable guy with a mission to reunite with his family. He encounters some of the best and worst examples of humanity. Highly recommend and am definately getting the sequel. ( )