Review: Goes from mildly irritating to just awful in three books...
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 12 6, 2013
I had previously read book 1 when it was offered for free as a standalone volume and awarded it three stars for effort despite some stylistic flaws. I noted with irritation the author's penchant for short chapters with cliffhanger endings which are resolved by turning the page and reading the next chapter, but felt that-- despite this pointless interruption in the narrative flow-- there might be something salvageable with some decent editing. When the boxed set became available some time later, I had quite frankly forgotten that I'd already read book one. Nevertheless, upon recognizing my error, I reread book one, followed by books two and three, in the hope that the author's skill would improve in the successive volumes. I am saddened to report that my hopes were soundly dashed. Instead of improving, the writing just grew worse and worse.It didn't help that there were holes in the plot large enough to drive a white SUV through. At the risk of spoiling the plot for those who have yet to plod through this sorry mess, let me give one example. Cromwell's whole operation clearly required not only meticulous planning (ten years worth, according to the book) but it would have required an enormous outlay of cash-- money to buy his compound, set up a biological laboratory and research facility, purchase a mountain of supplies, an arsenal of weapons, and a few tons of ammunition. Not to mention that fleet of white SUVs and vans. Not only is how he came by this trove of funds left unaddressed, but all of this was done without drawing the attention of a single government agency. Indeed, the government is entirely missing from this tale at all, apparently having no reaction whatsoever (aside from a brief chapter involving a meat inspector shutting down a packing plant-- a plot point that is mentioned and then abandoned. Was the plant shut down? What became of the inspector? We don't know, as his tale was begun and then apparently dropped) to the entire population of the Southwest mysteriously taken ill and turning into raving, homicidal maniacs.Another example of poor plotting is the camera equipped white SUV which is commandeered by our band of heroes. These cameras have been implaced by Cromwell's organization so that his agents can be monitored from his compound as they traverse the Southwest dealing with survivors. Their transmissions are constantly monitored, according to the book. How is it that our heroes manage to kill off the agents assigned to a particular vehicle, steal the car, and joyride through Arizona on their mission to reach the Salt Lake City compound to end the madness Cromwell is seeking to unleash, and NONE of this is noted by the folks monitoring the vehicle cams?When one of the heroes finally gets inside the compound, he stumbles into the lab where scientists are performing some unspecified research. The scientists all pull guns from their waists (and that's another thing-- apparently nobody uses a holster! They just stuff the loaded firearm, or in some cases knife, in their belt or their "waist") and start banging away at him, despite the fact he is wearing one of their "uniforms" and could well be just somebody who took a wrong turn. And how many folks doing research in a biological laboratory feel the need to do so carrying a pistol?One more thing, although I think my point is clear by now-- what is up with the white suits? These evil "agents" are supposed to be combing the post-apocalyptic Southwest, killing off survivors, in high summer, wearing white suits?! How about something a little more practical, like say,  BDUs (utilitarian, readily available, easily replaced, with a lot less need for tailoring or cleaning)?When it started out, I was willing to give some benefit of the doubt to the author, figuring that with all the cliffhangers this may have been some sort of ill-advised homage to movie serials of the 30s and 40s. As the plot holes multiplied and finally, in book three, where the survivor/heroes-- who should have been pretty savvy to the ways of the maniacal infected-- engage in some of the most witless, brain dead behavior imaginable, I realized that this was just another example of a writer's reach exceeding his ability. I noted in my review of book one that the author desperately needed a good editor. I had no idea how prescient that observation would prove to be. Absent the guding hand of a decent editor, by the final chapter the author has just gone completely off the rails. At the end, this series is just not worth a readers time.