Review: Slow Burn: Box Set 1-3 by Bobby Adair

Title: Slow Burn Box Set 1-3
Author: Bobby Adair
Publisher: Self
Published: July 30, 2014
Pages: 607
Genre: zombies, horror, post-apocalyptic
Review: ebook box set
Buy Links: Amazon, Amazon.uk

Survive the infection! Survive the Infected!

Book 1
A new flu strain has been spreading across Africa, Europe, and Asia. Disturbing news footage is flooding the cable news channels. People are worried and frightened.

But Zed Zane is oblivious. He needs to borrow rent money from his parents. He gets up Sunday morning, drinks enough tequila to stifle his pride and heads to his mom’s house for a lunch of begging, again.

But something is wrong. There’s blood in the foyer. His mother’s corpse is on the living room floor. Zed’s stepdad, Dan is wild with crazy-eyed violence and attacks Zed when he comes into the house. They struggle into the kitchen. Dan’s yellow teeth tear at Zed’s arm but he grabs a knife and stabs Dan, thirty-seven times, or so the police later say.

With infection burning in his blood, Zed is arrested for murder but the world is falling apart and he soon finds himself back on the street, fighting for his life among the infected who would kill him and the normal people, who fear him.

Book 2
Slow Burn: Infected picks up the story of Zed, Murphy, and Jerome where Slow Burn: Zero Day ended.

All three have been infected but have not succumbed to the most pernicious symptoms of the virus. Nevertheless, their band of fearful survivors, have ostracized them.

Back on the street, with weapons to defend themselves but little food in their packs, they embark on a search for Murphy’s family while following a rumor of safe haven in the form of a doomsday bunker in east Austin.

But the world is more hazardous than they know. They expect violence from the voracious infected but they have harsh lessons to learn about the uninfected. And humans to support the infrastructure of modern civilization, they find that danger comes in many forms.

Book 3
Zed is saying goodbye to one friend and pressing forward with two new ones, Mandi, whom Zed and Murphy rescued from the bunker, is immune to the virus, and Russell, also a slow burn, but lower-functioning, childlike and docile.

After seeing the carnage at the dormitory, a raging, vengeful Zed wants only to kill Mark, his nemesis and the former leader of the ROTC squad. Since Mark has disappeared, Zed unleashes his fury on untold numbers of infected in his path as he makes his way back to the hospital, in an attempt to rescue Steph, a nurse whom he befriended while seeking help for the feverish Murphy shortly after the prison riot. But the brave medical staff, holed up on the tenth floor of the hospital, and running out of provisions, has decided to take matters in hand by exposing themselves to the virus, and shooting those who “turn.” Zed is determined not to face another loss, but time is running out.

Book 1:  So this review will also be in the box set of books 1-3. I will be reviewing each of those books individually.So as anyone knows I really enjoy zombie books and this one was no different. In Zero Day we are quickly introduced to the character Zed. The book starts off pretty fast and keeps up with the fast pace through out the whole book. We get our first encounter with a zombie within a few chapters. We aren't sure how at first the virus came to be but we hear from others that Zed encounters and what they learned from the internet. It seems some people are immune but what does that exactly mean? Zed while visiting his mother walks into a horrific scene and ends up getting bit by his step-father. When Zed ends up killing him days later the police tell him how he did it and Zed finds himself in a different world than what he started out in on a regular Sunday.With the help of Murphy a guy he meets in jail they are on their own until Murphy gets bit as well and Zed tries to not only survive for himself but help Murphy as he doesn't want to leave him behind.It is a race against trying to not get eaten, get killed from those that are uninfected to learning how to survive, escaping and it doesn't help when he puts himself in situations to save others and it puts him in even more danger.Now Zed is a good character but for a degree in philosophy he at times didn't seem to bright, though why he wants to be a hero and save other survivors when he doesn't even know how to farm is beyond me.At times things were repetitive such as him bringing up farming, and more farming. Yes we get you like farming and you want to farm because it is the end of the world but we don't have to be told a lot of times. So this is why it is a four.If you are wanting something fast paced, full of zombies, not a whole lot of gore (to me anyways), then get this book. Where it ends will have you wanting to get book two if you haven't already.

Book 2: So in book two we leave off right where book one ended. We have Murphy, Jerome and Zed going off on their own after the people they helped kicked them out. How crappy right? These three head off to get to Murphy's house to see if his mom and sister are okay. Now I really liked this one a whole lot better than the first one and I believe it to be because of Murphy. No matter what was going on around him he was just happy and the way he and Zed would pick on each other made it a bit more enjoyable to read. I found myself on more than one occasion laughing or giggling at the way Murphy would rile Zed up. Now Zed really does have a hero complex in this one and Murphy calls him out on it and it is true. You can tell Zed wants to do the right thing but sometimes I don't think he thinks the whole thing fully through like he should. We do deal with more zombies, more escapes and more surviving in this one. We see Zed grow up a bit more in this book and I guess because the way he sees the world now. You have to be harsh but still be kind in a way to those that are trying to deal with it all. My favorite character is Murphy and I hope we see more of him as we go into book three. I think the humor that it is written within the pages that have him in it is good. I do believe the author could have used less of the word p***y. It really wasn't a big deal but after a while it just become ridiculously, also what is up with the constant used of The Ogre and the Harpy? I understand that it meant his mom and stepdad but it was just thrown out there at times that I didn't really see the point.

Book three: So now we are into book three. If you haven't read the other two I highly suggest you read them so you know what is going on. We are slowly seeing that the zombies or "whities" as they are becoming known as are acting very weird. They are starting to run around in a line but not quite following anyone. Zed has left Murphy and the girl they rescued back in the bunker so he could find out what happened to Step the nurse that told him to call when it was safe. It seems that others in the hospital along with Steph are trying to survive and they have gone so far as to infect themselves to see who will change and who will not. Zed on his hero complex rushes to save her and ends up saving others. Though Zed learns through one of the survivors there that there are now zombies called "Smart Ones" some how they are figuring things out and are not as "dumb" as the others are. Are the zombies becoming something even more than just brain dead eaters? Should Zed and his friends be even more worried?
As they travel to hopefully a safe place they have to ask themselves is any place truly safe? Or will they always be on the run? I really did enjoy how the zombies are changing it is a different change for me instead of the normal type of zombies you read about. Zed is starting to be a more responsible in his actions even though the stunt as the hospital was crazy you can see he is evolving better as a character. Now the ending has me for sure what is going to happen now especially since it involves my favorite character out of this whole series it is a cliffhanger.
#FrightFall

I'm just going to put this out there: I grew up with an irrational fear of Flying Monkeys. How is a little kid supposed to know that they only exist in Oz?
I'm not a native of any state. I've lived in so many that I see myself as a native American, which works out for me since I am also fractionally a Native American to an improbable, yet significant degree. I lived more than half of my life in Texas and I have a great affinity for Austin. it is a wonderfully diverse city full of interesting people. I now live in Colorado where I enjoy spending my time in the mountains, cycling, hiking, or walking my dogs. Oh, and writing... I do that too.
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