What do you think?
Rate this book
Extinction Cycle #1-3
The Extinction Cycle Series Box Set #1-3
For the first time ever get books 1-3 of the bestselling, award-winning, and top-rated Extinction Cycle. Over two hundred thousand copies sold and three thousand five star reviews on Amazon.
Contains Extinction Horizon, Extinction Edge, Extinction Age, and a special offer! _______________________________________________________________________
Book 1: Extinction Horizon
The worst of nature and the worst of science will bring the human race to the brink of extinction...
Master Sergeant Reed Beckham has led his Delta Force Team, codenamed Ghost, through every kind of hell imaginable and never lost a man. When a top secret Medical Corps research facility goes dark, Team Ghost is called in to face their deadliest enemy yet--a variant strain of Ebola that turns men into monsters.
After barely escaping with his life, Beckham returns to Fort Bragg in the midst of a new type of war. The virus is already spreading... As cities fall, Team Ghost is ordered to keep CDC virologist Dr. Kate Lovato alive long enough to find a cure. What she uncovers will change everything.
Total extinction is just on the horizon, but will the cure be worse than the virus?
Book 2: Extinction Edge
A new threat that will bring humanity to the edge of extinction...
The dust from Dr. Kate Lovato's bioweapon has settled. Projections put death counts in the billions. Her weapon was supposed to be the endgame, but it turned a small percentage of those infected with the Hemorrhage Virus into something even worse.
Survivors call them Variants. Irreversible epigenetic changes have transformed them into predators unlike any the human race has ever seen. And they are evolving.
With the doomsday clock ticking, the fractured military plans Operation Liberty--a desperate mission designed to take back the cities and destroy the Variant threat. Master Sergeant Reed Beckham agrees to lead a strike team into New York City, but first he must return to Fort Bragg to search for the only family he has left.
At Plum Island, Kate discovers Central Command may have considerably underestimated the Variant population in New York. As Operation Liberty draws closer, Kate warns Beckham that Team Ghost won't just face their deadliest adversary yet, they may be heading into a trap...
Book 3: Extinction Age On the eve of extinction all seems to be lost, but there is still one final hope...
Operation Liberty has failed. Humans are losing the war. With no other option, General Kennor decides to pull back the troops and give science a second chance.
Trapped in the extensive sewer system beneath New York, Master Sergeant Reed Beckham and the survivors of 1st Platoon must battle through the tunnels--where they make a grisly discovery in their attempt to escape.
At Plum Island, Dr. Kate Lovato is working on a new bioweapon to destroy the Variants. But when a derelict Navy Destroyer crashes into the Connecticut shoreline, she is forced to deal with a nightmare she thought had ended.
As the doomsday clock ticks down and military bases fall across the country, the human race enters the age of extinction.
Contains Extinction Horizon, Extinction Edge, Extinction Age, and a special offer! _______________________________________________________________________
Book 1: Extinction Horizon
The worst of nature and the worst of science will bring the human race to the brink of extinction...
Master Sergeant Reed Beckham has led his Delta Force Team, codenamed Ghost, through every kind of hell imaginable and never lost a man. When a top secret Medical Corps research facility goes dark, Team Ghost is called in to face their deadliest enemy yet--a variant strain of Ebola that turns men into monsters.
After barely escaping with his life, Beckham returns to Fort Bragg in the midst of a new type of war. The virus is already spreading... As cities fall, Team Ghost is ordered to keep CDC virologist Dr. Kate Lovato alive long enough to find a cure. What she uncovers will change everything.
Total extinction is just on the horizon, but will the cure be worse than the virus?
Book 2: Extinction Edge
A new threat that will bring humanity to the edge of extinction...
The dust from Dr. Kate Lovato's bioweapon has settled. Projections put death counts in the billions. Her weapon was supposed to be the endgame, but it turned a small percentage of those infected with the Hemorrhage Virus into something even worse.
Survivors call them Variants. Irreversible epigenetic changes have transformed them into predators unlike any the human race has ever seen. And they are evolving.
With the doomsday clock ticking, the fractured military plans Operation Liberty--a desperate mission designed to take back the cities and destroy the Variant threat. Master Sergeant Reed Beckham agrees to lead a strike team into New York City, but first he must return to Fort Bragg to search for the only family he has left.
At Plum Island, Kate discovers Central Command may have considerably underestimated the Variant population in New York. As Operation Liberty draws closer, Kate warns Beckham that Team Ghost won't just face their deadliest adversary yet, they may be heading into a trap...
Book 3: Extinction Age On the eve of extinction all seems to be lost, but there is still one final hope...
Operation Liberty has failed. Humans are losing the war. With no other option, General Kennor decides to pull back the troops and give science a second chance.
Trapped in the extensive sewer system beneath New York, Master Sergeant Reed Beckham and the survivors of 1st Platoon must battle through the tunnels--where they make a grisly discovery in their attempt to escape.
At Plum Island, Dr. Kate Lovato is working on a new bioweapon to destroy the Variants. But when a derelict Navy Destroyer crashes into the Connecticut shoreline, she is forced to deal with a nightmare she thought had ended.
As the doomsday clock ticks down and military bases fall across the country, the human race enters the age of extinction.
889 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2014
55 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Sansbury Smith
97 books2,333 followersNicholas Sansbury Smith is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than forty novels with two million copies sold. Before his writing career, he served at Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, a background that inspired many of his story concepts. A two time Ironman triathlete, he enjoys running, biking, and hiking. Nicholas also loves traveling, especially to his cabin in Northern Minnesota where he weaves his tales. He lives in Iowa with his wonderful wife and their son and daughter.
Note: Nicholas is no longer an active user on Goodreads and does not use the platform. If you want to connect with him on social media here are some links. He would love to hear from you.
Facebook Fan Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSSFa...
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/nicholassans...
Website: nicholassansburysmith.com
Instagram: instagram.com/author_sansbury/
Note: Nicholas is no longer an active user on Goodreads and does not use the platform. If you want to connect with him on social media here are some links. He would love to hear from you.
Facebook Fan Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSSFa...
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/nicholassans...
Website: nicholassansburysmith.com
Instagram: instagram.com/author_sansbury/
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
April 29, 2016
My original The Extinction Cycle Boxed Set audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
I had the pleasure of reading the entire Extinction series written by Nicholas Sansbury Smith. Beginning with the first book, Extinction Horizon, Smith plays on the fears of men and women everywhere – the government creating super soldiers and the horrific and unexpected havoc this creates in the world. Master Sergeant Reed Beckham of Ghost, a Delta Force Team and his teammates are charged with several missions that force them to deal with an enemy far more deadly and overwhelming than they have faced before as well as protecting Kate Lovato, the only scientist who can bring the enemy down with chemical engineered serums.
The second and third books of the extinction series brings Beckham’s team and other operatives from SEALs, Black Ops, etc. together to defeat the turned creatures that were once humans but who are now far more deadly and growing more stronger and mutating. The creatures are adapting to the situation and their environment in ways that leave more dead and injured. Plus, they are becoming smarter and capable of strategic planning.
Not only are Beckham and Lovato fighting time and the enemy but they are fighting the men and women who are their leaders with a hidden agenda – an agenda that started the deadly mess.
Smith will have you on your seat gasping and sitting stunned as a result of his cleverly placed and planned twists and turns. A vivid wordsmith and accomplished weaver, Smith brings his audience into the story connecting them to characters whom most of us can identify as our brother, neighbor, friend, or colleague.
Smith knows his terms and has conducted serious research on military, scientific and medical terms/actions. Smith leaves nothing to chance; he constructed his series thoroughly and completely.
Bronson Pinchot as the narrator is not only seasoned but gifted. He didn’t just read the book; he became the book and its characters. His smooth voice reflected the seriousness of each situation, the soft gentle moments as well as the fiercely chaotic ones. I hesitate to call anyone an expert but listening to Pinchot was like listening to a virtuoso. He maintained his level of professionalism throughout the series.
If you enjoy conspiracy thrillers, horror, military, a dash of romance and zombies, this is the series for you. You will remember this series AND the narrator for days after. Is it possible that our government could do this for real? Is it happening now?
Extinction Horizon
I enjoyed Extinction Horizon very much. The plot was very well developed with several twists and turns. A cliffhanger ending but then again, when humans are faced with extinction … no one wants it to be over! Characters are well developed; readers are able to connect with all including the man responsible for ordering the weapon. I liked knowing how the disease came into existence and how it spread. There were no questions other than the most important one – how to stop it.
Extinction Edge
And if this is not scary enough for you – imagine the dark murky depths of the sewers and large coccoons of spider-like webbing holding what few survivors there are in New York … The description of this was horrifying!
Smith does an excellent job of continuing the story plot and keeping the actors growing. Lovato and Beckham are dancing around a romance but it is far from the true focus of this story – no, its the flesh ripping, terrifying variants!
Extinction Age
The human race has entered the extinction phase of their existence worldwide. Who is running Plum Island now and calling the shots? Who will be saved? Who will die?
The variants are mutating and they are even deadlier now that there food supply is dwindling. Extinction Age is an action-packed non-stop adventure. Just when you thought it was safe … and Kate has a secret!!
Exciting and well developed plot and characters keep the story line moving. Relationships are well thought out and plenty of those “you love to hate’em” types who get their just desserts!
Audiobook was provided for review by the Author.
I had the pleasure of reading the entire Extinction series written by Nicholas Sansbury Smith. Beginning with the first book, Extinction Horizon, Smith plays on the fears of men and women everywhere – the government creating super soldiers and the horrific and unexpected havoc this creates in the world. Master Sergeant Reed Beckham of Ghost, a Delta Force Team and his teammates are charged with several missions that force them to deal with an enemy far more deadly and overwhelming than they have faced before as well as protecting Kate Lovato, the only scientist who can bring the enemy down with chemical engineered serums.
The second and third books of the extinction series brings Beckham’s team and other operatives from SEALs, Black Ops, etc. together to defeat the turned creatures that were once humans but who are now far more deadly and growing more stronger and mutating. The creatures are adapting to the situation and their environment in ways that leave more dead and injured. Plus, they are becoming smarter and capable of strategic planning.
Not only are Beckham and Lovato fighting time and the enemy but they are fighting the men and women who are their leaders with a hidden agenda – an agenda that started the deadly mess.
Smith will have you on your seat gasping and sitting stunned as a result of his cleverly placed and planned twists and turns. A vivid wordsmith and accomplished weaver, Smith brings his audience into the story connecting them to characters whom most of us can identify as our brother, neighbor, friend, or colleague.
Smith knows his terms and has conducted serious research on military, scientific and medical terms/actions. Smith leaves nothing to chance; he constructed his series thoroughly and completely.
Bronson Pinchot as the narrator is not only seasoned but gifted. He didn’t just read the book; he became the book and its characters. His smooth voice reflected the seriousness of each situation, the soft gentle moments as well as the fiercely chaotic ones. I hesitate to call anyone an expert but listening to Pinchot was like listening to a virtuoso. He maintained his level of professionalism throughout the series.
If you enjoy conspiracy thrillers, horror, military, a dash of romance and zombies, this is the series for you. You will remember this series AND the narrator for days after. Is it possible that our government could do this for real? Is it happening now?
Extinction Horizon
I enjoyed Extinction Horizon very much. The plot was very well developed with several twists and turns. A cliffhanger ending but then again, when humans are faced with extinction … no one wants it to be over! Characters are well developed; readers are able to connect with all including the man responsible for ordering the weapon. I liked knowing how the disease came into existence and how it spread. There were no questions other than the most important one – how to stop it.
Extinction Edge
And if this is not scary enough for you – imagine the dark murky depths of the sewers and large coccoons of spider-like webbing holding what few survivors there are in New York … The description of this was horrifying!
Smith does an excellent job of continuing the story plot and keeping the actors growing. Lovato and Beckham are dancing around a romance but it is far from the true focus of this story – no, its the flesh ripping, terrifying variants!
Extinction Age
The human race has entered the extinction phase of their existence worldwide. Who is running Plum Island now and calling the shots? Who will be saved? Who will die?
The variants are mutating and they are even deadlier now that there food supply is dwindling. Extinction Age is an action-packed non-stop adventure. Just when you thought it was safe … and Kate has a secret!!
Exciting and well developed plot and characters keep the story line moving. Relationships are well thought out and plenty of those “you love to hate’em” types who get their just desserts!
Audiobook was provided for review by the Author.
June 26, 2019
BOOK 1 - 3 stars audio, 3.5 stars story.
I'm giving up at book 1. The narrator and the story don't go well together.
I'm giving up at book 1. The narrator and the story don't go well together.
December 26, 2016
A great series (with more after it)
4.5 out of 5 stars
Book One: Extinction Horizon
They thought they had a cure for ebola -- what they did have was so much worse. The potential cure ends up turning the ebola patients into crazed monsters out for flesh and blood. Beckham and his Delta Force team thought they'd seen it all when they were called to check out an off-the-grid research center where the virus was being tested. They had no idea what they were walking into.
The narration of Extinction Horizon was done by Bronson Pinchot who does a really nice job. This book is gritty and at times nasty -- having Pinchot narrate it really helped move some of the goriest parts along. My only complaint was that either the author or narrator never looked up or have ever read a book with USAMRIID in it -- even if you jump over to the Wikipedia page about it, you'll quickly see that it's commonly referred to as "you-sam-rid" -- every time Pinchot said it, he said every letter. And it was said enough times that it started to get on my nerves by the end. If you didn't know that or just honestly don't know/care it won't both you at all.
This story was good. Smith really went into detail about the virus (which I really enjoyed) giving the readers a lot of background on the why and the how. A lot of times, books like these will skip over these details because they think they're not needed or take too long to explain, but I'm glad that Smith took a while explaining it. The science behind everything he wrote seemed real to me, which makes this an even scarier book.
The action in this book was brutal. Lots of quick scenes with brutal and needed gore. This is one of those books that I wouldn't have expected anything less. I knew that it was going to be a gore-fest, but Smith made it feel needed.
I thought that the characters were well thought out and explained. Sure some of them are just army hardasses, but there are also people who care and act on emotion rather than on instinct. Even the way that he wrote about the infected people felt emotional and real.
Overall, Extinction Horizon was a great introduction to this absolutely terrifying world, and I'm glad that I'll be reading at least 2 more books in the same world. I also completely understand why there is an entire world open for writers in the Kindle Worlds for this series. There is just so much to cover. So many places and angles that Smith couldn't cover in 10 books if he tried.
Book Two: Extinction Edge
This book was intense. I mean it, I couldn't believe how much that Smith crammed into this. It seemed like anytime it was going to let up, the opposite happened. Every time I thought someone was safe, they were thrown back into the fire.
The variants and those infected with the Hemorrhage Virus are now evolving incredibly quickly. To the point where the Delta Force soldiers who think they have everything figure out will be thrown for a loop or two.
The evolving of the characters (both human and variant) was fascinating to read. I love watching someone change in front of my eyes. Whether that be a monster evolving into a better killer or a character evolving into a better person within the pages of the book. It's one of my favorite things in books, and Smith gave me a ton of it in Extinction Edge.
The storytelling was a little different in this one. It's much more focused on action and involvement, and a lot less on the actual virus. Granted the ebola virus is mostly gone and what's left are ever changed variants.
Overall, the book was 100mph almost entirely throughout. It was fast and gritty and very much needed. It was so quick I honestly couldn't believe it was over. And when I say over, I mean continued with the next book in the series.
This is also one of those books that I feel like I'm writing too much of a bland review for, but it's really hard to write a full-length review without giving every plot point of the book away.
Book Three: Extinction Age
The start of this book was crazy! Seriously, I don't want to give too much away, but holy cow. I wasn't sure how Smith was going to get the Delta Force soldiers out of the predicament they got themselves into.
The human element of this book was really well done. There was a lot of emotion attached to Extinction Age -- more than the second book had. The soldiers have more of a heart and realize that the people that they can't save are going to be torn apart in ruthless and unimaginable ways.
The story in Age was a good combination of military fiction and post-apocalyptic fiction with a little bit of bio-thriller thrown in. The combination of these different genres really made Extinction Age feel the same but different in this series. (I feel weird writing that, but it makes sense in my head).
The story ends on a cliffhanger and I know how many more books Smith has written. I definitely need a mini-break from these intense stories, but I'm sure I'll continue the series. I also want to check out more of the Kindle Worlds books that revolve around these stories (and I'm sure I'll understand them a lot better now).
Overall, Extinction Age (and the first three books in the Extinction Cycle series) was very good. I enjoyed them from beginning to end, and I'm definitely glad that I read them.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Book One: Extinction Horizon
They thought they had a cure for ebola -- what they did have was so much worse. The potential cure ends up turning the ebola patients into crazed monsters out for flesh and blood. Beckham and his Delta Force team thought they'd seen it all when they were called to check out an off-the-grid research center where the virus was being tested. They had no idea what they were walking into.
The narration of Extinction Horizon was done by Bronson Pinchot who does a really nice job. This book is gritty and at times nasty -- having Pinchot narrate it really helped move some of the goriest parts along. My only complaint was that either the author or narrator never looked up or have ever read a book with USAMRIID in it -- even if you jump over to the Wikipedia page about it, you'll quickly see that it's commonly referred to as "you-sam-rid" -- every time Pinchot said it, he said every letter. And it was said enough times that it started to get on my nerves by the end. If you didn't know that or just honestly don't know/care it won't both you at all.
This story was good. Smith really went into detail about the virus (which I really enjoyed) giving the readers a lot of background on the why and the how. A lot of times, books like these will skip over these details because they think they're not needed or take too long to explain, but I'm glad that Smith took a while explaining it. The science behind everything he wrote seemed real to me, which makes this an even scarier book.
The action in this book was brutal. Lots of quick scenes with brutal and needed gore. This is one of those books that I wouldn't have expected anything less. I knew that it was going to be a gore-fest, but Smith made it feel needed.
I thought that the characters were well thought out and explained. Sure some of them are just army hardasses, but there are also people who care and act on emotion rather than on instinct. Even the way that he wrote about the infected people felt emotional and real.
Overall, Extinction Horizon was a great introduction to this absolutely terrifying world, and I'm glad that I'll be reading at least 2 more books in the same world. I also completely understand why there is an entire world open for writers in the Kindle Worlds for this series. There is just so much to cover. So many places and angles that Smith couldn't cover in 10 books if he tried.
Book Two: Extinction Edge
This book was intense. I mean it, I couldn't believe how much that Smith crammed into this. It seemed like anytime it was going to let up, the opposite happened. Every time I thought someone was safe, they were thrown back into the fire.
The variants and those infected with the Hemorrhage Virus are now evolving incredibly quickly. To the point where the Delta Force soldiers who think they have everything figure out will be thrown for a loop or two.
The evolving of the characters (both human and variant) was fascinating to read. I love watching someone change in front of my eyes. Whether that be a monster evolving into a better killer or a character evolving into a better person within the pages of the book. It's one of my favorite things in books, and Smith gave me a ton of it in Extinction Edge.
The storytelling was a little different in this one. It's much more focused on action and involvement, and a lot less on the actual virus. Granted the ebola virus is mostly gone and what's left are ever changed variants.
Overall, the book was 100mph almost entirely throughout. It was fast and gritty and very much needed. It was so quick I honestly couldn't believe it was over. And when I say over, I mean continued with the next book in the series.
This is also one of those books that I feel like I'm writing too much of a bland review for, but it's really hard to write a full-length review without giving every plot point of the book away.
Book Three: Extinction Age
The start of this book was crazy! Seriously, I don't want to give too much away, but holy cow. I wasn't sure how Smith was going to get the Delta Force soldiers out of the predicament they got themselves into.
The human element of this book was really well done. There was a lot of emotion attached to Extinction Age -- more than the second book had. The soldiers have more of a heart and realize that the people that they can't save are going to be torn apart in ruthless and unimaginable ways.
The story in Age was a good combination of military fiction and post-apocalyptic fiction with a little bit of bio-thriller thrown in. The combination of these different genres really made Extinction Age feel the same but different in this series. (I feel weird writing that, but it makes sense in my head).
The story ends on a cliffhanger and I know how many more books Smith has written. I definitely need a mini-break from these intense stories, but I'm sure I'll continue the series. I also want to check out more of the Kindle Worlds books that revolve around these stories (and I'm sure I'll understand them a lot better now).
Overall, Extinction Age (and the first three books in the Extinction Cycle series) was very good. I enjoyed them from beginning to end, and I'm definitely glad that I read them.
March 5, 2017
I regret spending my Audible credits on this series.
The thing is, I don't like zombie movies, and I don't like military.
So why have I bought this, and more over, listened to the whole 60 odd hours? Two reasons: 1) my credit was about to expire, and this was a box-set with a half-way promising blurb; 2) the quality of the prose is not bad, especially if you don't expect anything profound.
I like the idea of an Extinction Event. Books like The Stand, or The Postman are great examples of how an Apocalypse can be a backdrop to a great story. By that I mean a highly personal story of survival and hope, with inspirational characters and ideas.
There is none of this in the extinction cycle, unfortunately. What it resembles the most is a Tactical FPS game.
The player (reader) starts with Sgt. Beckham of Delta Force Team Ghost. The team grabs some weapons, boards a chopper and heads for the first mission. Sounds familiar?
If you like this kind of gameplay (sorry, reading) you won't get disappointed.
After the first cut-scene where non-essential NPCs are torn to shreds, you get to direct your character to clear the level (shoot everything that moves), complete the main objective (by reaching the treasure box with a quest marker, sorry some-or-other item the highter-ups in the book want), and sometimes a side mission (rescue civilians).
Everyone not on a Team Ghost will die a bloody and horrible death, but player-controlled character (sorry, the MC) and his buddies will get to the extraction point with minimal attrition. Better still, at the end of the level the health bar is reset, and you, I mean the MC, is good to go again on the next mission. Rinse and repeat.
The cut-scenes between the "shoot everything" missions attempt to add some human element and scientific explanation. This was another aspect of the book, besides decent writing of the action sequences, that held my interest. My biggest problem with the zombie stories is the "feeding frenzy" behaviour. Mr Sansbury Smith at least tries to give a scientific reason for it, plausible enough to help suspend disbelief.
To my regret, everything besides FPS was shallow and cursory, amounting to no more than a feeble attempt at socio-political analysis, or indeed romance.
The author also tried very hard at social, racial and gender equality. So hard, that his books lack any hint of culture. The only strong cultural vibe I was getting seemed to be the pride in "American Military Might". Sorry to say, I am not a fan.
The only feeling this series have inspired in me is renewed aversion to zombie genre and military MCs.
Recommended only to zombie and/or shooter fans.
The thing is, I don't like zombie movies, and I don't like military.
So why have I bought this, and more over, listened to the whole 60 odd hours? Two reasons: 1) my credit was about to expire, and this was a box-set with a half-way promising blurb; 2) the quality of the prose is not bad, especially if you don't expect anything profound.
I like the idea of an Extinction Event. Books like The Stand, or The Postman are great examples of how an Apocalypse can be a backdrop to a great story. By that I mean a highly personal story of survival and hope, with inspirational characters and ideas.
There is none of this in the extinction cycle, unfortunately. What it resembles the most is a Tactical FPS game.
The player (reader) starts with Sgt. Beckham of Delta Force Team Ghost. The team grabs some weapons, boards a chopper and heads for the first mission. Sounds familiar?
If you like this kind of gameplay (sorry, reading) you won't get disappointed.
After the first cut-scene where non-essential NPCs are torn to shreds, you get to direct your character to clear the level (shoot everything that moves), complete the main objective (by reaching the treasure box with a quest marker, sorry some-or-other item the highter-ups in the book want), and sometimes a side mission (rescue civilians).
Everyone not on a Team Ghost will die a bloody and horrible death, but player-controlled character (sorry, the MC) and his buddies will get to the extraction point with minimal attrition. Better still, at the end of the level the health bar is reset, and you, I mean the MC, is good to go again on the next mission. Rinse and repeat.
The cut-scenes between the "shoot everything" missions attempt to add some human element and scientific explanation. This was another aspect of the book, besides decent writing of the action sequences, that held my interest. My biggest problem with the zombie stories is the "feeding frenzy" behaviour. Mr Sansbury Smith at least tries to give a scientific reason for it, plausible enough to help suspend disbelief.
To my regret, everything besides FPS was shallow and cursory, amounting to no more than a feeble attempt at socio-political analysis, or indeed romance.
The author also tried very hard at social, racial and gender equality. So hard, that his books lack any hint of culture. The only strong cultural vibe I was getting seemed to be the pride in "American Military Might". Sorry to say, I am not a fan.
The only feeling this series have inspired in me is renewed aversion to zombie genre and military MCs.
Recommended only to zombie and/or shooter fans.
August 19, 2016
All I can say is that I loved this series from beginning to end and was super pleasantly surprised to find out there will be one more! I've reviewed all the books in the series individually, and you can find those here:
Book 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book 3: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I received these individually from the author in exchange for my honest review.
Book 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book 3: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I received these individually from the author in exchange for my honest review.
November 4, 2019
Wow! Extinction Cycle is turning out to be the best sci-fi I've listened to all year! Things never turn out good when man decides to play God, even if his intentions were good. The US creates a bioweapon to make a perfect soldier, keeping our boys safe during war times. The experiment goes horribly wrong and creates an almost unstoppable monster. When their experiment escapes and the virus spreads, most of humanity is either killed or transformed into one of these monsters. It's up to Dr Lovato to create another bioweapon to destroy these monsters and save humanity. Excellent narration by Bronson Pinchot!
December 8, 2019
you might as well know you that when you start reading a book series titled 'the extinction cycle' that you are in for a pretty dark ride and it's probably even worse then you think. be prepared this is not a book series that has many happy endings
February 20, 2019
Where to start...the end. The end was my favourite, because I was done, no more inane blabber about extinction between shallow characters with not a scrap of humanity between them.
Honestly, if this is all we can throw at an extinction event then I'm sorry, we deserve it.
So Ebola and a mutating-super-soldier-leech virus had a lovechild and now we're all doomed. The infected, yes in the book they even call them Zombies, get massive sucker lips and eat themselves but not each other and are also super strong, can climb walls and see in the dark. It's almost as if Xenomorphs got re-cast to make them less scary and not fall under someone else's copyright.
The holes in the plot, oh the holes in the plot. I had to physically bite on my teeth to stop myself from switching the book off and deleting it. If I didn't finish it I didn't have the right to an opinion and I see it as a public service to stop someone else from having to endure 25 hours of this.
Why did we not simply take a tank, a tank with a flame-thrower, or chainsaws or just lots of extra petrol so it could drive over all 100 gajillion variant/zombie/poor-man-aliens?
Or just leave them to starve if there are so many of them?!!
And the navel gazing, it's an all American tour de Navel Gazing. All other countries are meaningless, can't help one bit or are breeding grounds for the most disgusting viral infections known to man.
I feel better now, the vitriol has been sucked from me.
Catharsis. Bliss.
Honestly, if this is all we can throw at an extinction event then I'm sorry, we deserve it.
So Ebola and a mutating-super-soldier-leech virus had a lovechild and now we're all doomed. The infected, yes in the book they even call them Zombies, get massive sucker lips and eat themselves but not each other and are also super strong, can climb walls and see in the dark. It's almost as if Xenomorphs got re-cast to make them less scary and not fall under someone else's copyright.
The holes in the plot, oh the holes in the plot. I had to physically bite on my teeth to stop myself from switching the book off and deleting it. If I didn't finish it I didn't have the right to an opinion and I see it as a public service to stop someone else from having to endure 25 hours of this.
Why did we not simply take a tank, a tank with a flame-thrower, or chainsaws or just lots of extra petrol so it could drive over all 100 gajillion variant/zombie/poor-man-aliens?
Or just leave them to starve if there are so many of them?!!
And the navel gazing, it's an all American tour de Navel Gazing. All other countries are meaningless, can't help one bit or are breeding grounds for the most disgusting viral infections known to man.
I feel better now, the vitriol has been sucked from me.
Catharsis. Bliss.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2019
If you like long nauseating descriptions of gore and you also like to know each and every weapon that inflicted it, this book could be for you. If you like well-developed characters, good dialogue, and a plot that explores deeply the implications of a virus' impact on the earth, skip this.
I can't believe I listened to all of these, I would have given up earlier if I'd known there were 3 more books afterward. I only kept going because I thought it would get better and to see how the armageddon scenario resolved. Apparently it doesn't until you get through all 6 books. The writing and characters are simplistic. Protagonist Delta Force guy who can withstand any amount of pain, super-smart female scientist who never has a failed experiment no matter what lab challenges she faces, lots of pure evil characters and some pure good ones, very little gray. Some large plot holes too.
I can't believe I listened to all of these, I would have given up earlier if I'd known there were 3 more books afterward. I only kept going because I thought it would get better and to see how the armageddon scenario resolved. Apparently it doesn't until you get through all 6 books. The writing and characters are simplistic. Protagonist Delta Force guy who can withstand any amount of pain, super-smart female scientist who never has a failed experiment no matter what lab challenges she faces, lots of pure evil characters and some pure good ones, very little gray. Some large plot holes too.
August 27, 2021
This is done through the POV of 3 characters, over the three books. These 3 tell the story for the most part, and have the most plot armor. Everyone else is expendable. Seriously...streets of blood.
I actually really like Meg. I was cheering for her through book two.
The story is told largely through the lense of military maneuvers, so... its gruesome. Its scary, and dark. It has a creature that wants to eat you, and is quite capable of putting you on the menu.
It has some romance, it has some family moments and battle buddy camaraderie, too.
Largely, though, everything is just a whole lot of carnage, and it's the end of the world.
I enjoyed it. I look forward to the next three stories.
I actually really like Meg. I was cheering for her through book two.
The story is told largely through the lense of military maneuvers, so... its gruesome. Its scary, and dark. It has a creature that wants to eat you, and is quite capable of putting you on the menu.
It has some romance, it has some family moments and battle buddy camaraderie, too.
Largely, though, everything is just a whole lot of carnage, and it's the end of the world.
I enjoyed it. I look forward to the next three stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2018
The story begins in the Vietnam war, where testing on our soldiers by our own military ends tragically and we get our first taste of a twisted version of Captain America, then we travel to present day where we have an elite US military team of special forces named team Ghost, who is led by Master Sergeant Reed Beckham, Beckham and his team of delta operator are called into a recovery mission of building 8 and this is where we find out what was actually done in Vietnam and that the testing never stopped, it evolved from making a super soldier to making an untraceable chemical weapon, that the US could use on its enemies and defeat them from within; but the chemical gets out and Boom, we are on the edge of extinction.
The human race is then hit two fold, one by a devastating plague that turns people into monsters and then said monsters feed on whats left of humanity. At this point, we follow Beckham through several suicide missions and we set the stage with our main cast, there are a lot of characters so I will only mention a few, We have Beckham and his team, Riley and Horn, We have Dr. Lovato, Gibson and Wood. There are many more as I said; but listen to the book to get to know this great cast.
From this point the story is all about defeating the monsters we created while saving humanity in the process, I don’t want to give away two much so lets just say that extinction in each title is a great fit, because humans are no longer on top of the food chain.
As I said Nicholas Sansbury Smith uses science and as opposed to most zombie books, he explains the science behind what happens and that makes this story terrifying, because this is a real threat to us a species and a stark reminder why chemical war fare is banned. In real life we may not make monsters that feed on humans; but a highly contagious weapon, could lead to a real life extinction cycle and that makes this as much a horror story as an action romp. The only weak part to the story is the villan(s), there is a bit of black and white syndrome where our hero (Beckham) is a knight in shining armor and our human antagonist(s) is/are the devil. This is more of a pet peeve, because this did not detract from my enjoyment.
Bronson Pinchot had a stellar performance, I never got any characters confused, his personality traits were on point and I loved who I should love, I hated who I should hate, it was a good a performance as I have ever heard; but he does not stop there. This guy with only the power of his voice and the words on the paper, both made me want to buy him a drink and yet a few pages later, I would probably call the cops on him if he got close to me. I say this because when he is in character, you feel the love, fear, hope, desperation of the individual he is voicing; but when he narrates a chilling or terrifying scene, his voice will absolutely send chills down your spine.
I would listen to this again, absolutely, there are 4 more books left in the series so first I must finish; but I actually went back and listened to parts I bookmarked for the science which was fascinating, some of the missions and the conclusion to book 3 I listened to that one about 4 times. I did not know there were 4 more books when I finished the final book and was happy with the outcome; but at the same point I was like man that was a bit abrupt; but glory be, there are 4 more so yeah.
If you want to share some more information on this story, check out my audiobook review channel on Youtube/drotalks, where I have a video reviewing this story along with over 20 others.
The human race is then hit two fold, one by a devastating plague that turns people into monsters and then said monsters feed on whats left of humanity. At this point, we follow Beckham through several suicide missions and we set the stage with our main cast, there are a lot of characters so I will only mention a few, We have Beckham and his team, Riley and Horn, We have Dr. Lovato, Gibson and Wood. There are many more as I said; but listen to the book to get to know this great cast.
From this point the story is all about defeating the monsters we created while saving humanity in the process, I don’t want to give away two much so lets just say that extinction in each title is a great fit, because humans are no longer on top of the food chain.
As I said Nicholas Sansbury Smith uses science and as opposed to most zombie books, he explains the science behind what happens and that makes this story terrifying, because this is a real threat to us a species and a stark reminder why chemical war fare is banned. In real life we may not make monsters that feed on humans; but a highly contagious weapon, could lead to a real life extinction cycle and that makes this as much a horror story as an action romp. The only weak part to the story is the villan(s), there is a bit of black and white syndrome where our hero (Beckham) is a knight in shining armor and our human antagonist(s) is/are the devil. This is more of a pet peeve, because this did not detract from my enjoyment.
Bronson Pinchot had a stellar performance, I never got any characters confused, his personality traits were on point and I loved who I should love, I hated who I should hate, it was a good a performance as I have ever heard; but he does not stop there. This guy with only the power of his voice and the words on the paper, both made me want to buy him a drink and yet a few pages later, I would probably call the cops on him if he got close to me. I say this because when he is in character, you feel the love, fear, hope, desperation of the individual he is voicing; but when he narrates a chilling or terrifying scene, his voice will absolutely send chills down your spine.
I would listen to this again, absolutely, there are 4 more books left in the series so first I must finish; but I actually went back and listened to parts I bookmarked for the science which was fascinating, some of the missions and the conclusion to book 3 I listened to that one about 4 times. I did not know there were 4 more books when I finished the final book and was happy with the outcome; but at the same point I was like man that was a bit abrupt; but glory be, there are 4 more so yeah.
If you want to share some more information on this story, check out my audiobook review channel on Youtube/drotalks, where I have a video reviewing this story along with over 20 others.
March 8, 2023
Extinction Cycle books 1-3 were disappointing on almost every level except for the concept that's the foundation for the story: researchers accidentally release a bioengineered form of Ebola that causes the infected to become insanely aggressive and hungry for human flesh. Once Smith had that down, the rest should have been easy.
Sorry to say, since I enjoyed his Hell-Diver series, and looked forward to reading Extinction Cycle, that EC was a huge letdown. The story was like a Ferrari that's got water in its gas tank: it zoomed along nicely for a few minutes then stuttered to a halt due to Smith's disastrous word choices, repetition, and odd notions. Repeat over and over for 25 hours. The series was written after Hell-Divers, so I can't figure out why it seemed so amateurish.
That said, let's go (note that the following are examples I remembered after hearing them and noting them down when I wasn't driving anymore--there were plenty more I've forgotten):
Doubleplus-bad word choices
Two guys walk into a room and the people seated therein gravitate toward them. That paints a word picture in which people are being pulled toward the men, shoes scraping the tiles as they try to avoid a collision, when what he meant was that people looked in their direction. Later he gets it right when he says their eyes gravitated.
The protagonist, Reid Beckham, spewed orders. Ugh. Yes spewed can mean giving lots of orders, but it also can mean vomiting orders. Yuck.
His eyes fell to the floor. Quite the picture eh? Probably would have been better to say "he looked at the floor".
Bowed her helmet to the floor and nodded. Um, what?
Helicopter exploded out of the clouds. Vivid imagery, but when you’ve described helicopters crashing because the infected got loose in them, describing helicopters as exploding unless they really are exploding is silly.
Kate held up her hand in disbelief. She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to believe it. Alright already! She didn't believe it.
OK, one more (my favorite):
Beckham jammed a magazine into a gun and fired. Click! It was jammed!
He jammed a magazine into the gun and was surprised that it wouldn't fire because it was jammed! People jam magazines into guns all through the book. Seems like a bad idea.
Repetition
Somebody’s concentrating on a project, somebody else hurries in and says casually “you don’t know”. Then the suspense builds as that person turns on a TV or accesses a computer.
He’s used that hook at least three times.
Also used the guy in a desperate situation fires his gun and…click! It’s empty or jammed! at least twice.
Tear him apart. Over and over again he repeated that phrase or variations (tear her apart). There are other phrases that can get the job done! Next time, try mixing it up with “rip him to pieces”, “gorily dismember him”, and so on.
And then there are the clichés. I’ll be the first to admit that clichés become clichés because they’re evocative and occasionally funny. So if you’re encountering a cliché like “then all hell broke loose” for the first time, you’ll probably enjoy imagining some kind of supernatural chaos being unleashed on the natural world.
Once.
By the third or fourth time you run into “then all hell broke loose” in Extinction Cycle, if you’re like me, you’ll be ready to give up in disgust at Smith’s carelessness in telling the story.
Odd notions
Master Sergeant Reid Beckham, EC's main protagonist, is a guy who’s a real head case. Smith describes him as caring so much for the lives of his men, that he’d rather fail a mission than lose a life of someone under his command. That’s so wrong he’s a danger to his own side! The mission has to be the priority, because if you fail to achieve success, somebody else will have to risk his life to accomplish it. General Robert E. Lee said it best: “To be a good soldier, you must love the army. To be a good commander, you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love.” So Beckham is not a good commander.
He seems to be a glory hound in that he continually loiters in the most dangerous situations rather than leading his men out of danger. He’s the kind of jerk who, when a person whose life he’s saved thanks him, instead of saying “you’re welcome” or “anytime” says “you don’t have to thank me!”. He saved that person's life, so it should be obvious that the person would be grateful. But Beckham's "you don't have to thank me" is a clear prompt for the grateful person to continue stroking his enormous ego by gushing “oh but I do!” or even better, retelling in detail what a brave guy Beckham was while saving the person’s life.
Kate's his girlfriend. She's a researcher working to find a treatment for the Ebola variant, and she's even more annoying than Beckham. She’s so self absorbed that when she’s in a crowd of people trying to escape death, she’d stop to agonize over what a dangerous place the world had become. So people had to fall behind to chivvy her along. Over and over. And she tells everybody how bad she feels about things she’s done, even when it’s obvious they don’t blame her or care.
eckham's relationship with Kate seems artificial. He muses that she's really not his type (although he never specifies what his type is). But once he sees her naked, suddenly it's love at first sight!
It reminds me of Captain Hammer (the "hero" from "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog") egotistically dismissing a girl he's dating: "Kind of a quiet, nerdy thing, not my usual, but nice."
Last, I think Smith misunderstands how evolution works. He kept saying that the infected were evolving, but that process occurs over generations as the fittest survive to reproduce, until their genes dominate. What he seemed to mean was that they were learning and thinking in spite of having their brains baked by Ebola.
The Narrator
Bronson Pinchot was a disappointment too. He read the story like I read to my kids: emphasizing one word per sentence and maybe tossing in a dramatic effect every now and then. He did voice the women so they were distinct from the men, but for some reason their voices had a faintly whiny vibe.
And while we talking about poor performance, usually in books that focus on the military or science, publishers select narrators who have experience with pronouncing the jargon or the author provides a list to the narrator describing how to pronounce things.
Evidently neither happened. Pinchot routinely mispronounces terms that aren't that obscure: USAMRIID he got wrong in all three books! (You'd think somebody would have clued him in by book 3) He pronounced every letter every time (You Ess Aa Em Arr Eye Eye Dee) instead of You Sam Rid,
Fort Detrick sounded like Debt-trick instead of Dee-trick
And the M1911 pistol was given as Em One Nine One One instead of Em Nineteen Eleven
So. Probably won't reread the books or finish the series. Dang that's a bummer! 1 star.
**UPDATE: Forgot this: Why don't any of the special forces types carry suppressed weapons? They're running around in areas overrun by cannibals who are attracted to loud noises, yet I don't remember mention of anybody carrying suppressed weapons. Seems like a major oversight.
Sorry to say, since I enjoyed his Hell-Diver series, and looked forward to reading Extinction Cycle, that EC was a huge letdown. The story was like a Ferrari that's got water in its gas tank: it zoomed along nicely for a few minutes then stuttered to a halt due to Smith's disastrous word choices, repetition, and odd notions. Repeat over and over for 25 hours. The series was written after Hell-Divers, so I can't figure out why it seemed so amateurish.
That said, let's go (note that the following are examples I remembered after hearing them and noting them down when I wasn't driving anymore--there were plenty more I've forgotten):
Doubleplus-bad word choices
Two guys walk into a room and the people seated therein gravitate toward them. That paints a word picture in which people are being pulled toward the men, shoes scraping the tiles as they try to avoid a collision, when what he meant was that people looked in their direction. Later he gets it right when he says their eyes gravitated.
The protagonist, Reid Beckham, spewed orders. Ugh. Yes spewed can mean giving lots of orders, but it also can mean vomiting orders. Yuck.
His eyes fell to the floor. Quite the picture eh? Probably would have been better to say "he looked at the floor".
Bowed her helmet to the floor and nodded. Um, what?
Helicopter exploded out of the clouds. Vivid imagery, but when you’ve described helicopters crashing because the infected got loose in them, describing helicopters as exploding unless they really are exploding is silly.
Kate held up her hand in disbelief. She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to believe it. Alright already! She didn't believe it.
OK, one more (my favorite):
Beckham jammed a magazine into a gun and fired. Click! It was jammed!
He jammed a magazine into the gun and was surprised that it wouldn't fire because it was jammed! People jam magazines into guns all through the book. Seems like a bad idea.
Repetition
Somebody’s concentrating on a project, somebody else hurries in and says casually “you don’t know”. Then the suspense builds as that person turns on a TV or accesses a computer.
He’s used that hook at least three times.
Also used the guy in a desperate situation fires his gun and…click! It’s empty or jammed! at least twice.
Tear him apart. Over and over again he repeated that phrase or variations (tear her apart). There are other phrases that can get the job done! Next time, try mixing it up with “rip him to pieces”, “gorily dismember him”, and so on.
And then there are the clichés. I’ll be the first to admit that clichés become clichés because they’re evocative and occasionally funny. So if you’re encountering a cliché like “then all hell broke loose” for the first time, you’ll probably enjoy imagining some kind of supernatural chaos being unleashed on the natural world.
Once.
By the third or fourth time you run into “then all hell broke loose” in Extinction Cycle, if you’re like me, you’ll be ready to give up in disgust at Smith’s carelessness in telling the story.
Odd notions
Master Sergeant Reid Beckham, EC's main protagonist, is a guy who’s a real head case. Smith describes him as caring so much for the lives of his men, that he’d rather fail a mission than lose a life of someone under his command. That’s so wrong he’s a danger to his own side! The mission has to be the priority, because if you fail to achieve success, somebody else will have to risk his life to accomplish it. General Robert E. Lee said it best: “To be a good soldier, you must love the army. To be a good commander, you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love.” So Beckham is not a good commander.
He seems to be a glory hound in that he continually loiters in the most dangerous situations rather than leading his men out of danger. He’s the kind of jerk who, when a person whose life he’s saved thanks him, instead of saying “you’re welcome” or “anytime” says “you don’t have to thank me!”. He saved that person's life, so it should be obvious that the person would be grateful. But Beckham's "you don't have to thank me" is a clear prompt for the grateful person to continue stroking his enormous ego by gushing “oh but I do!” or even better, retelling in detail what a brave guy Beckham was while saving the person’s life.
Kate's his girlfriend. She's a researcher working to find a treatment for the Ebola variant, and she's even more annoying than Beckham. She’s so self absorbed that when she’s in a crowd of people trying to escape death, she’d stop to agonize over what a dangerous place the world had become. So people had to fall behind to chivvy her along. Over and over. And she tells everybody how bad she feels about things she’s done, even when it’s obvious they don’t blame her or care.
eckham's relationship with Kate seems artificial. He muses that she's really not his type (although he never specifies what his type is). But once he sees her naked, suddenly it's love at first sight!
It reminds me of Captain Hammer (the "hero" from "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog") egotistically dismissing a girl he's dating: "Kind of a quiet, nerdy thing, not my usual, but nice."
Last, I think Smith misunderstands how evolution works. He kept saying that the infected were evolving, but that process occurs over generations as the fittest survive to reproduce, until their genes dominate. What he seemed to mean was that they were learning and thinking in spite of having their brains baked by Ebola.
The Narrator
Bronson Pinchot was a disappointment too. He read the story like I read to my kids: emphasizing one word per sentence and maybe tossing in a dramatic effect every now and then. He did voice the women so they were distinct from the men, but for some reason their voices had a faintly whiny vibe.
And while we talking about poor performance, usually in books that focus on the military or science, publishers select narrators who have experience with pronouncing the jargon or the author provides a list to the narrator describing how to pronounce things.
Evidently neither happened. Pinchot routinely mispronounces terms that aren't that obscure: USAMRIID he got wrong in all three books! (You'd think somebody would have clued him in by book 3) He pronounced every letter every time (You Ess Aa Em Arr Eye Eye Dee) instead of You Sam Rid,
Fort Detrick sounded like Debt-trick instead of Dee-trick
And the M1911 pistol was given as Em One Nine One One instead of Em Nineteen Eleven
So. Probably won't reread the books or finish the series. Dang that's a bummer! 1 star.
**UPDATE: Forgot this: Why don't any of the special forces types carry suppressed weapons? They're running around in areas overrun by cannibals who are attracted to loud noises, yet I don't remember mention of anybody carrying suppressed weapons. Seems like a major oversight.
December 6, 2023
(Extinction Horizon, Extinction Edge, & Extinction Age) The summary for this three volume audio book series talked about an apocalyptic time when US scientists mix ebola virus with a nerve agent/gene editing compound and create a nightmare scenario of super powerful ebola zombies. Of course the red blooded all American Master Sergeant Reed Beckman and the wonderful CDC Virologist Dr. Kate Lovato will probably fall in love and have many hair-raising adventures in this 25 hr sci-fi horror romp. The author who’s written a bunch of calamity book series worked in Emergency Management before switching gears and uses his knowledge of standard plans and responses to good effect. I found these three books extremely faced paced with very good descriptions of current military weaponry and graphic representations of fictitious battle scenes with the hard to kill rapidly evolving ex-human Ebola Zombie Variants. Our main protagonists who are based on a military compound on Plum Island off NYC are some of the last uninfected US citizens and perhaps even all humans and they may just be about to have a solution to solve the world crisis. The book doesn’t quite leave in a cliffhanger but you know the story continues as indeed there is at least another three book trilogy if I want to go on with. Over all -fast paced fun that held my interest and gave me my money’s worth but I think I’ll take a break.
3½***
3½***
November 15, 2018
This is a solid zombie action sci fi with characters I liked. My overall rating 4.25.
There is plenty of battle action in this series even if the battles against ‘zombies’ get to be a bit repetitive. At least the evolving nature of the monsters keeps things intense. There are good character scenes that balance well with the action. I did like the mystery elements and the tensions regarding the secrets about who was involved in creating the problem. Then there are those superior officers who just won’t listen and contribute to the problems.
I liked how the team members are developed so that I became invested in caring about Reed, Kate and others of the team. Some injured Vets, and even an adopted dog, are pulled into the team and become important players adding to the engagement level. The author does a good job of pulling at emotions as team members face danger and death. It is very likely I will pick up the next three books, also available in a boxed set, to continue the entertainment. I recommend this to fans of zombie and action genres.
Audio Notes: Bronson Pinchot is a reliable narrator. He sets out voices distinguishing the characters and his steady reading carries the story with good energy. I am glad I listened to this good bargain as a boxed set.
There is plenty of battle action in this series even if the battles against ‘zombies’ get to be a bit repetitive. At least the evolving nature of the monsters keeps things intense. There are good character scenes that balance well with the action. I did like the mystery elements and the tensions regarding the secrets about who was involved in creating the problem. Then there are those superior officers who just won’t listen and contribute to the problems.
I liked how the team members are developed so that I became invested in caring about Reed, Kate and others of the team. Some injured Vets, and even an adopted dog, are pulled into the team and become important players adding to the engagement level. The author does a good job of pulling at emotions as team members face danger and death. It is very likely I will pick up the next three books, also available in a boxed set, to continue the entertainment. I recommend this to fans of zombie and action genres.
Audio Notes: Bronson Pinchot is a reliable narrator. He sets out voices distinguishing the characters and his steady reading carries the story with good energy. I am glad I listened to this good bargain as a boxed set.
September 2, 2017
I like a good post-apocalyptic thriller, and this is better than most. Here, the last remaining humans fight a losing battle against "variants," humans who have been transformed from a virus into flesh-eating zombies. The books (this is a 3-book set) chiefly follow the exploits of Beckham and his Delta Force team, and Dr Kate Lovato and her team of scientists. Lots of action and intensity here as our heroes seem to find themselves in non-stop trouble. It's never boring, a real good popcorn-type adventure. I saw today that books 4-6 are also included in a special bundle, and I'll be grabbing that one as well.
December 6, 2022
It is very much a male military fantasy. The only things that kept getting repeated over and over were “she couldn’t believe how brave they were”… “she now knew not all men were cowards after being rescued by Beckham’s team”… “she knew he had to go out and save everyone”… etc. if you’re looking for character development, look somewhere else. Read this if you’re looking for constant action and halfway-developed female characters.
August 18, 2017
I dont mind zombies, I don't mind zombie books. Even silly ones.
But when you START the book with a glaring plothole that you don't fix, and I can predict with unerring accuracy what comes next in every chapter? Well.. just... no....
Didn't even finish this, and I finish EVERYTHING.
But when you START the book with a glaring plothole that you don't fix, and I can predict with unerring accuracy what comes next in every chapter? Well.. just... no....
Didn't even finish this, and I finish EVERYTHING.
July 18, 2020
A fantastic read, especially for veterans who will understand the lingo. This is the perspective you've always wanted in zompoc - Special Forces. Master Sergeant Beckham is the hero we always needed.
March 17, 2024
Pretty cookie cutter American zombie pulp. Good plot, albeit simple. Decent character development. Poor writing. All pretty straightforward stuff.
Listened on Audible, where the voice actor was super cardboard.
Listened on Audible, where the voice actor was super cardboard.
September 1, 2017
Hot diggiddy, hot dawg! Yessum! I would recommend this to anyone looking for a great suspenseful action packed series. It's scarier than what I'm used to but worth all the angst!
January 28, 2019
Great read Will keep you on your toes.
May 21, 2019
Kept me on the edge of my seat!
May 31, 2019
Onward to the Rest of the Story!
This series never slows down from cover to cover... The other books will have to wait...This series grabs you from page one and Never lets go!!
This series never slows down from cover to cover... The other books will have to wait...This series grabs you from page one and Never lets go!!
December 5, 2019
good book
September 2, 2020
It's a good apocalypse series that doesn't fall back on zombies. If you like the Patient Zero/Joe Ledger books you will like this series.
September 4, 2021
Still as exciting the second time around. I thoroughly enjoyed the pace and non-stop action. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Looking forward the the rest of the books in the series.
February 8, 2022
Superb! Mr. Smith, consider me one your biggest fans. This series was awesome and unforgettable. Once I started reading, I was unable to stop, until I finished.
November 27, 2022
Extraordinary read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews