My original DEAD: Onset audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Evan Berry loves music and is looking forward to his first day as a music teacher at the local school. Too bad it is the day the world devolves into zombie chaos. He is the ordinary man in an impossible situation, forced to accept the death/turning of his fiancé and loss of everything and everything he knows. He has to rise to the situation or be eaten alive with everyone else.

Carl, the shop teacher is more than ready for the breakdown of civilization and helps Evan through his denial. Together they protect an unlikely group, a cranky middle-aged teacher and two children against the hungry hordes of zombies and the evil living.

The slightly different take on the overcrowded zombie genre is welcome, though Even quickly evolves into the standard kill or be killed apocalypse hero. Evan often thinks about and refers to the many zombie movies and how his zombie reality is so different. The thing is, it isn’t that different, or at least not different enough to be noteworthy. The story does keep a backdrop of humor and a doesn’t take-itself-too-seriously tone that is very welcome. It softens the gruesome parts but also dulls the poignant scenes. It may not ground breaking, but it is fun and entertaining.

The story is performed by the author. His voice is pleasant enough, but is difficult at first to get into the story as he stumbles over phrases and doesn’t always differentiate the characters well. His female and male characters sometimes morph into each other. On the other hand, he lends a personal tone to the story. No one knows a story better than the author and the listener gets just a little more depth from certain characters for it. It is a personal taste and one can’t really say if his reading is a positive or negative, adding in some ways and detracting in others.

Onset Dead is a fun zombie story with enough humor and flawed humanity to give us just a little bit different take on the many zombie stories. There is plenty of gruesome chomping and hapless, dirty survivors fighting for their lives. If you are zombie lover, you will probably never get enough, so give this one a go.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author. ( )