Friday, July 24, 2020

Affliction Z: Patient Zero (L.T. Ryan)

Air Force PJs (pararescumen jumpers) Sean Ryder and his partner/best friend Jules Hoover join up with a Navy SEAL team for a high altitude night jump into Nigeria.

They encounter something strange — a humanoid that wouldn’t stay down after bring shot eleven times. There are more, and it turns out they’d been seen before by a special forces unit that’s now missing. SEAL team leader Turk, his men and the PJs have been sent in to rescue them.

Exploring an underground facility, they meet an old, white-haired man — Dr. Richard Knapp, a researcher who developed a super virus against his will for use in biological warfare. But the virus mutated; 90% of those exposed would die. The remaining 10% become ... zombies.

Jules is bitten, and Sean is forced to end his life, then takes it out on Dr. Knapp, shooting him in the head. Then, all hell breaks loose. But not before they find some of the Delta Force soldiers. The situation gets worse, so bad that their superiors order a carpet bombing of the area.

There is a twist, one that turns out NOT to really be a twist.

Affliction Z: Patient Zero is like a typical war story, except the war is with zombies. It’s not very compelling, I think I’ve read too many zombie apocalypse books.

From the moment I opened the book, I felt a sense of unease. Not because of the anticipated zombie theme, but because there, on the title page no less, were the words: “AFFLICTION Z BOK ONE.” BOK? What the FOK! Now acutely aware that pre-publication editing was a bugaboo, I had that in the back of my mind throughout.

Affliction Z: Patient Zero is the first of four books in Ryan’s Affliction series. The others are Abandoned Hope,Descended in Blood, and Fractured. I have to think about whether or not I want to continue the series.

Grade: B-

Affliction Z: Patient Zero
Author L.T. Ryan
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Survival
Liquid Mind Media (2013)

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