Kill or Be Killed

Seven months after the events in 900 Miles, we pick up with John and Kyle who are bunkered down with their newfound community back at Avalon.


Unexpectedly thrust outside the protection of Avalon’s walls, they’re forced back into the world of the dead on a scavenging run that should be routine. However, they quickly learn that there are forces at play making this journey anything but…


In a race against time to get home, they quickly find themselves being hunted by a madman intent on stripping away the tiny slice of life they’ve fought so hard to hold together – ultimately forcing John to learn just how far he’s willing to adapt to the rules of this new world. A world where most men are willing to do whatever it takes to survive. A world where Man is the real plague.

900 Minutes by S. Johnathan Davis is the sequel to 900 Miles. The follow-up not only reveals the fate of Avalon, but also emphasizes the living are the worst kind of monsters. The surviving groups fight each other for supplies, for territory...for revenge. Almost a year has passed by, but John, Kyle and the others are still struggling to live from one day to the next.

Some readers will consider the zombie virus the worst thing that happens in this series. After all, it's the catalyst for everything that follows. Right? Others will consider the rapists and murderers, the ones exploiting the weak, as the ones who really brought about the downfall of society, not the undead. Just think about how many bad things happen without the zombies even being present.

However, I think the most devastating part of this story is the change in the people who were generally "good" before all hell broke loose, and the revelation at the end of 900 Minutes will shake readers to the core. Watching the events leading up to the moment when a person chooses to become a killer is the true horror.

I'm still hoping I can talk Davis into writing a third 900 novel.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Sarcasm and Survival

John is a killer, but that wasn't his day job before the Apocalypse.

In a harrowing 900 mile race against time to get to his wife just as the dead begin to rise, John, a business man trapped in New York, soon learns that the zombies are the least of his worries, as he sees first-hand the horror of what man is capable of with no rules, no consequences and death at every turn.

Teaming up with an ex-army pilot named Kyle, they escape New York only to stumble across a man who says that he has the key to a rumored underground stronghold called Avalon...

900 Miles by S. Johnathan Davis won me over from the very beginning: instead of a long set-up, or several pages without any undead action, Davis gets down to business right away. The main character, John, is attending a meeting in New York when a viral outbreak occurs. Of course, no one believes it - until everything falls apart outside of their office building. Even then, the survivors don't realize just how bad the situation is, until the infected find a way in. The storyline follows John's attempt to get back to his wife, and doesn't try to explain anything about the undead or the source of the infection, which I found to be a more realistic view of a global epidemic.

I really like the characters John and Kyle. It's been a long time since I actually cared what happened to the people in a zombie story. One reason is that I appreciated the dry humor that appeared from time to time...I know I shouldn't laugh when someone is getting their finger cut off, but the victim's reaction to his captor made me laugh out loud. I also laughed at the way the characters viewed their situations - nothing like sarcasm to get a person through a crisis with his sanity still intact.

Davis definitely knows how to entertain the zombiephiles.

As always,
AstraDaemon