Horror Palace

Book: The End Of Jack Cruz Year: 2012 Publisher: Montag Press Author: A. A. Garrison Language: English Chapters: 31 Pages: Paperback = 274, E-Book = 276 Type: Novel

Author’s Summary: The movies never prepared him for this, even the ones that ended badly. Jack “Colonel” Jones is suddenly alone in the world. After surviving a plague that decimates the U.S., and perhaps the entire human population, he is left in a junkie’s nightmare where hard drugs are the only remedy for an ongoing virus and dead bodies are his only companions. Sick and desperate, he meets a savior who goes by the name Jack Cruz. Jack Cruz is a hulking behemoth with a giant pistol and stockpile of post-apocalyptic supplies, but he also has a mysterious past and an increasingly disconcerting obsession with the death and decay that surrounds them. As Colonel’s suspicions rise, and he begins to feel complicit in the wrongdoings of his post-apocalyptic roommate, Colonel must grapple new the questions: Can you be moral when there are only two people left on earth? Can there be sanity? And who decides? Is Colonel just paranoid, or are his fears justified? As the stakes heat up and the intensity flares, Colonel must find out the truth and decide – when your only companion in the world might be a murderer, and there is no one left to kill, is surviving worth it? The End of Jack Cruz grabs readers as a plague memoir by a Renfield-like character, Jack “Colonel” Jones, who becomes the unwitting companion to a man on a mission from God to ‘save’ humanity’s final moments. Through tormenting impotence, grinding doubt, and the weakest constitution, Colonel attempts to understand the sole survivor to whom he’s become enslaved. An existential drama, much like Waiting for Godot, The End of Jack Cruz is much more than just a story about two people locked into a battle of survival; it’s the story about a man’s final chance to awaken from life lived in the shadows.

Review: Jack Cruz is a psychology teacher at Seattle University, and a doctor studying virology. He also has his own bastion full of food which is key. Jack is, if I may, a jack of all trades. He is one of the few survivors in a hospital where he works where a woman there needs more drugs or dope so to speak. A virus outbreak called “slick” killed almost every living thing on Earth except for those under this concoction of medication. When another character called Jack also, Jack Jones to be precise, meets up with Jack Cruz there is some perturbing events that happen.

Jack Cruz is not as innocent as he may seem in the beginning, he’s a maniacal killer. People are unsure of events that are taken place until other weird deaths surface which causes Jack Jones, his assistant, to suspect or question his motives and devices that have been taken place. In the end, it may shock you, it may disturb you, but the outcome is clear…this may be The End Of Jack Cruz.

This is a different story, I was expecting zombies – that didn’t happen, this virus decimated the planet and it is very bleak which I liked. Many stories have fairytale-style guidelines but in this you were wondering where it could lead…a big positive for me. Another plus was; there were very few characters. I have said it before in my reviews, when you are involved with only a couple people, it is much more comprehendible and enjoyable to me.

The writing style was not my favorite, it felt like a narrative where Jack Jones is always speaking about Jack Cruz. I would of liked to see the novel from Jack Cruz’s point of view instead. This is one of my pet peeves while reading – it sometimes felt disjointed to me even though I knew who the heroin was. At times the book was unexciting because Jack Jones was always talking to himself about all sorts of daily life. The horror was minimal, I didn’t feel for any of the lead characters, it was quite obvious to me, more of a story of survival, still though…I didn’t have a problem getting through the book.

The End Of Jack Cruz is available on Paperback at many online locations for $15.95. You can also get the E-Book or electronic edition at a price of $4.95. The End Of Jack Cruz has a very colorful book cover that really shines, huge marks for the artist, it really pops. All of my suggestions are below.

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Reviewer: Dark Goddess Date: 09/11/2012 Rating: 5/10 Suggestion: Paperback: Avoid Suggestion: E-Book: Buy

Book: This Dark Earth Year: 2012 Publisher: Gallery Books – Simon & Schuster Author: John Hornor Jacobs Language: English Chapters: 7 Pages: 352 Type: Novel

Author’s Summary: The land is contaminated, electronics are defunct, the ravenous undead remain, and life has fallen into a nasty and brutish state of nature. Welcome to Bridge City, in what was once Arkansas: part medieval fortress, part Western outpost, and the precarious last stand for civilization. A ten-year-old prodigy when the world ended, Gus is now a battle-hardened young man. He designed Bridge City to protect the living few from the shamblers eternally at the gates. Now he’s being groomed by his physician mother, Lucy, and the gentle giant Knock-Out to become the next leader of men. But an army of slavers is on its way, and the war they’ll wage for the city’s resources could mean the end of mankind as we know it. Can Gus become humanity’s savior? And if so, will it mean becoming a dictator, a martyr . . . or maybe something far worse than even the zombies that plague the land?

Review: Of all of the genres in horror, zombies aren’t my favorite especially when reading, but let me tell you, This Dark Earth had me right from the beginning. A typical zombie story here, as in books and movies alike, the government is involved, a huge chemical leak unfolds and thus a virus is airborne which causes massive destruction and out comes the zombies that eat you to the bone.

We start learning about the leads; Dr. Lucy and her young son Gus, who is only 10 years old. They become the mainstay of the story while we meet boatloads of other survivors. The characters are plentiful in This Dark Earth, it is one of my quibbles about the book. For some reason to me I don’t like heaps of people while reading, it gets very cumbersome and hard to remember, so it is getting ticked down a bit.

The characters are always on the move looking for safe havens and places to stay when they come across Bridge City, which is now called their home. The doctor and kid find other survivors on this western-style desolate apocalyptic landscape that are flippant and trying to take control of the situation. The inevitable doom of hordes of zombies, mischievous leaders and the struggle of daily survival leads to showdowns with the remaining survivors for control of civilization as we know it.

The seedy population captures the young prodigy who has emerged as a leader in this war-torn world. Gus endures tortuous acts of abuse so they can get vital information about the rulers of Bridge City. During all this mayhem, zombies are trying to break down the wall that’s surrounding the city, and the constant fighting amongst the survivors ends with a gripping climax that leads to you wanting more.

This Dark Earth is graphic and I like that in a novel, moreover…you need it in a zombie tale and you get gourdes of it. The book is available on Paperback at every popular retailer out there from Amazon to Barnes & Noble to Books-A-Million to iTunes for $10.98. You can also get the Kindle edition or Nook edition for $9.99 in the electronic format. I am recommending This Dark Earth to all horror readers not only zombie fans because it is worth it. My final tallies and suggestions are below.

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Reviewer: Dark Goddess Date: 08/28/2012 Rating: 7½/10 Suggestion: Paperback: Buy Suggestion: E-Book: Buy