Review: Six Feet From Hell: Response
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 11, 2012
Let me preface this review by saying I don't know the author, I have never met him, and I bought this book so I am not a "fangirl" which is term that I have seen thrown around lately, although not so much in regards to this story but there was some comments that his friends and family must be writing the reviews to support his new project.  That being said...I like this book - I found it fun and entertaining and a good first offering.  Is it perfect?  Nope but hey, it is a great short story (I consider anything under 200 pages a short story because I read extremely fast) and at .99 cents, a perfect little zombie book for a quick break in your day.The author, in his description of the books states something like "this is me writing what I would do after sitting around and talking about it with my friends" and that is exactly what you get.Joe, the main character (hmmm.. Joesph Coley - author, main character Joe...) is an EMT who is sleeping in after a fifteen hour shift from the previous night when his supervisor texts him saying "get here now".  Joe gives him a call to find out what is going on and is basically told that there was a mining accident, no details are known except that they are now getting all the overflow calls and he needs to get to work right away.  On the drive in, he starts getting calls and texts from other coworkers saying the same thing - the "crap" is hitting the fan and no one knows what is going to happen.  Unfortunately, Joe works on the other side of the mountain in a small rural community from his worksite and actually loses the cell signal (known issue) driving in so he is in the dark for a period of time while it is getting worse.All of the EMTs are gathered and sent out to support the local hospital who now are having reports of violence from the affected miners and the bodies are piling up.  While Joe is taking his first run to the local high school where they are storing the dead, he gets his first zombie experience in the form of the guy in back waking up to play with the living, which ends up being Joe and his two rookie coworkers.From this point, the story tells of Joe and his friends and their quest to get to their respective homes; some that will be going with Joe all the way over the mountain, some that will be stopping along the way at their houses, and others that will branch off from the group to reach their families.What they learn along the way:  The explosion did not just happen in their area.  There were mining accidents all over the world that released a gas from deep in the Earth's core that has reanimated not only the zombies that spread it through the normal bite and blood action but also brings up the long dead and buried type as well.  And, everyone is now infected with it - you die, you come back.What I liked:  Some won't enjoy this but I did and that was the "down home" feel of the story telling.  Are there grammatical errors?  Yes.. I wanted to put a few commas in the correct place and fix some run on sentences.  I personally don't like when an author uses numbers, say 5, instead of spelling it out but that is my quirk.  If you can overlook those issues (and I understand based on a comment from the author that he is going to re edit the book), then you can sit back and enjoy the rest.These are people like your neighbors.  Some are overweight, some are slow, some are creepy, some are strong, some are weak.  They do not have any special skills besides their medical training.  My favorite example of this is Jamie.  Jamie collects guns - he even has his dealers licenses - but guess what?  He doesn't actually shoot them.. that would just be crazy talk!  He just likes to get new ones and trade the old.  While it is handy to have someone who has ammo, it would be even better if said individual could actually accurately use the ammo in a gun to shoot a zombie!  These "normal" people at times make you want to slap them as they have no sense of survival - put up a guard at night because, I don't know, there are ZOMBIES!  And bad guys!What I didn't like:  Some of the emotions didn't ring true for one of the characters and the same thing happened in the second book (yep, already read that one too!) but it didn't take too much away from the story.One warning - do not get too attached to the characters because Mr Coley has absolutely no qualms about killing anyone off.  If you like someone, chances are they will be dead before you blink.  Keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering who he is mad at today because these apparently are his friends in "real life" :-)I recommend the series for a fun zombie book, a little twist on the zombies (see if you catch it!), and a great bargain at 99 cents - what do you have to lose to try out a new author?