This is more of a short story or a novella than a novel, but it packs a lot of punch. Anyone who loves zombies will enjoy this little book. I'm a big fan of the AMC television series, The Walking Dead, and this book reminded me of it in some ways. However, Lamberson cleverly added some elements to the story that make it even more frightening.

After our heroes, Walker and Boone, lose their crew, they set off on their own. They decide to head to Hollywood because Boone, "wants to see America." The idea is against Walker's judgement, who would much rather go to Canada. Along the way, they meet a preacher who is still tending to his flock...of ghouls. Oh yeah, their called ghouls in this story, not zombies. They are warned that the left over police forces have probably formed militia or something to that effect and that they should avoid them, if at all possible. It turns out that they're not so easy to avoid. They find themselves in the midst of the Founding Fathers' Order lead by a woman that evokes thoughts of Sarah Palin (yikes!). Some of her new world order consists of making abortion illegal and rewriting textbooks to eliminate evolution in favor of creationism. Yikes again! As Walker reflects later on, "With the human race the minority group among biped, we needed to stick together, but the same old differences kept us apart: sexual politics and politics of power. It must have been November already." Frankly, I find this element of the story even more scary than the (zombies) ghouls.

Carnage Road is a quick, entertaining read. I really recommend it to anyone who likes zombie stories and especially to anyone who might be afraid of what our world would be like if there was a zombie apocalypse. ( )

What the FREAKING FRAK! I was definitely into this story about two former members of a biker gang, Walker and Boone, who decide to take a post apocalyptic across a zombie infested America. The characters were interesting, the world as presented was cool, and the writing was good (except for a few and far between spattering of really bad grammer mistakes). I liked seeing the different people and groups they met a long the way, most blaming others for the apocalypse (some blaming the liberals, some blaming the conservatives, etc.). It was all great and fun, right up until the freaking ending.

Look, I'm all for open ended endings. If an author wants to leave some questions unanswered, that's fine by me. Heck, more often than not, I tend to enjoy it. BUT there is a huge difference between "open ended" and "cliffhanger," which is exactly what this story ended on. And again, I don't have a problem with cliffhangers, providing they are part of a series or trilogy, and therefore, I know the story will continue at some point. But NO, this is meant to be a stand alone novella, and the writer MIGHT at some point tell more Walker and Boone stories. Un-bleeping-believable. Gah!!

I give this one three stars, because despite how much the ending annoyed the frak out of me, it was a really good story right up until that point. *sigh* ( )

When the zombie apocalypse happens, it's every man for himself. American quickly falls apart as the ghouls take over cities everywhere. Boone and Walker are some of those living who are trying to survive. After their biker gang falls apart, Boone and Walker set out to see what's left of the United States. Their trip takes them from East Coast to West, and along the way they see some of the good and bad parts of people trying to survive. At the end of the day, Boone and Walker can really only rely on each other, but that may not be enough to keep them from being zombie food.

Carnage Road is a novella, so it's a quick read. It packs a lot into the limited number of pages though. You get a clear view of the desperation and horror of the zombie apocalypse that has taken place. You also get a real sense of the difficulty of surviving a situation like this. This book had enough horror to give you a sense of the terror they were facing, but it wasn't so awful that it kept me from sleeping or anything. I like that though. I feel like it was graphic enough without being too graphic (for a zombie book anyway).

In the end though, this ended up being a great story about friendship. Here are two guys trying to survive something horrific, and yet they are still able to keep a good sense of humor and perspective about things. There are a few stops along the way that are pretty hilarious. The description of zombie Hollywood was amazing and funny at the same time. The end of the story leaves you with sadness but also a bit of happiness knowing these two friends are going into this together. Fans of horror and zombies should definitely check this story out.

Book provided for review. ( )

This was a quick read (more or less 100 pages) but it was a good one. It’s almost like a very dark violent version of The Walking Dead. There’s plenty of blood and gore, and it’s brutal. Much more brutal, it makes the zombie books I’ve read in the past seem like ‘zombie fluff’. That being said, I really enjoyed reading this.

Boone and Walker are a classic friendship duo. Walker seems to be the more serious one of the two but their banter is fun to read - typical language and thinking you’d see in a motorcycle gang. (So, no. No swoon worthy guys here. But that’s the least of your worries when the zombies are coming, isn’t it?). They’re likable and made the book interesting and enjoyable.

I’d also have to say, it’s pretty realistic as well. It paints a grisly but possibly realistic picture as to what would happen in a situation like this. There were some parts where other people were just as dangerous (even more so) than the zombies themselves. The Hollywood part was fun to read though it made me giggle. Just a bit. :D

I’m not sure what to think of the ending. In one sense I liked it because it’s realistic, it’s what I expected but, there was this small little voice inside of me wanting to crave more and was sad at the outcome. So I could go both ways on this. Nevertheless I really did enjoy this novella and I urge everyone who likes zombie lit to pick this one up. It’s a quick read and can be finished in a day. ( )