Review: A Entertaining and Fast Paced Discovery
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 6, 2013
Christian Fletcher deserves wider publicity for his work.  Leftovers is the first of a series zombie novels following the adventures of Brett Wilde (ordinary dude), Smith (Wise Guy hitman and enforcer), Batfish (Goth chick) and Spot (Jack Russel terrier) loose in the wind of a zombie apocalypse.Leftovers' plot is well covered in the publicity blurb and other 4 and 5 star reviews.  Like them,  I found it to be a little jagged in places, suggesting the author is still finding his feet.  Be assured that later books in the series are significantly smoother and tighter.Likes:1. Fast-paced white-knuckle action in a "Perils of Pauline" style.  (The stand out strength)2. Interactions between Wilde and Smith are humorous and straight out of the "odd couple" playbook.3. Focus is kept on the two leads, so there aren't a lot of stray loose ends to track.4. Fletcher zeros out secondaries without a qualm.5. Environmental settings are technically accurate.6. Feral humans are a marked feature of the story - renegade military in this instance.7. Neat descriptions of dead and gore - love it!Could Do Betters:1. Firearms technology - Glock and Sig pistols don't have "safety catches".2. Secondary characters needed more description - (e.g.) what does Batfish look like in detail?  (Secondaries are far too thinly developed overall)3. Grammar and syntax needed work - there are a steady sprinkling of howlers throughout.  (More for noting - it's more nitpicking than anything else)4. There's a few odd plot holes that you have to squint hard to see.  (Not serious)Overall a darn fine page turning discovery.  I've downloaded the entire series and am blitzing through it.  Go for it!