Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well that was a rock n’ roll good time. I’ve read a few zombies novels and none of them were very good. Until now. Heck, this was better than just better. This was actually pretty damn kick-ass. Watchmen, Avengers, Heroes,Walking Dead, call up whatever comparisons you like. Here’s a bunch of superheroes, familiar enough to be believable but not so familiar to be cheap copies. Zombies, but Clines gives them a new nickname, and enough gore to keep you scared but not too much to just demoralize and gross you out.
Some love, but not too much. Some inter-personal animosity, but not too much. Some moralizing, but not too much. Can you dig it, a zombie novel that’s neither existential or nihilistic?
Clines nerds-out in a few places, and while I’m not saying he loses control, there’s definitely sections where momentum nearly gets the better of him. But so what. What’s a tiny jot of inconsistency when you’re watching zombie heads getting shot, crushed, chopped off, torn asunder. What’s a little repetition.
Oh, and spoiler alert, for a change, we get the zombie origin explained in no ambiguous terms. So refreshing. Then again, the hero explanation isn’t ever mentioned, but… well, I guess one out of two ain’t bad.