Day by Day Armageddon, by J.L. Bourne
Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 1:32 pm
I just got done reading this really interesting variation on the "Zombie Apocalypse" genre of thriller novel.
"Day by Day Armageddon" by J.L. Bourne (2007, Permuted Press) is a novel that was originally written as a series of posts on an Internet discussion forum which were assembled into a book. The obvious premise of the book is survival of a zombie apocalypse, but the telling of it is a little different. Bourne has chosen to format his novel as a daily journal, written by man who is a pilot in the Navy at the time of a zombie outbreak. There is a good balance between the telling of the story, and the detailing of the preparations and the reasoning behind those preparations.
That said, unlike some other "collapse of social order" books I've read in the last year or two, this book is less focused on politics, economics, and social order, than it is on tactical details like weapons choices, transportation, and perimeter defenses. One of the interesting things about it is that the word "zombie" does not appear anywhere in the novel's text. Also, none of the characters in the book, including the first person protagonist telling the story, are anything other than normal human characters, with all of our human limitations and foibles. There are no superheroes in this novel — just normal people trying to survive.
It was a spell-binding read, and the sequel, "Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile" is due for release on July 13th of this year. I'm going to be buying my copy as soon as it comes out. I highly recommend the first volume, and if the first is any indicator, it ought to be a pretty good read too.
"Day by Day Armageddon" by J.L. Bourne (2007, Permuted Press) is a novel that was originally written as a series of posts on an Internet discussion forum which were assembled into a book. The obvious premise of the book is survival of a zombie apocalypse, but the telling of it is a little different. Bourne has chosen to format his novel as a daily journal, written by man who is a pilot in the Navy at the time of a zombie outbreak. There is a good balance between the telling of the story, and the detailing of the preparations and the reasoning behind those preparations.
That said, unlike some other "collapse of social order" books I've read in the last year or two, this book is less focused on politics, economics, and social order, than it is on tactical details like weapons choices, transportation, and perimeter defenses. One of the interesting things about it is that the word "zombie" does not appear anywhere in the novel's text. Also, none of the characters in the book, including the first person protagonist telling the story, are anything other than normal human characters, with all of our human limitations and foibles. There are no superheroes in this novel — just normal people trying to survive.
It was a spell-binding read, and the sequel, "Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile" is due for release on July 13th of this year. I'm going to be buying my copy as soon as it comes out. I highly recommend the first volume, and if the first is any indicator, it ought to be a pretty good read too.
