Review: Somewhat Disappointed
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 3, 2014
Having read and reviewed past works of Craig DiLouie and Stephen Knight, I was a bit disappointed with their collaboration, THE RETREAT #1: PANDEMIC. As you would expect from these writers, PANDEMIC had all the ingredients for an entertaining read: the premise was well-thought out, the plot was plausible and the pace was quick. It just wasn’t that entertaining to me.Without giving too much away and spoiling it for others, I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief enough to buy into the idea that a field grade officer and second-in-command would voluntarily step aside for company grade officer to take over. Nor could I buy into a National Guard NCO allow herself to be pushed aside and let a Regular Army Specialist run a squad. The latter was even harder to buy into because the writers had the NCO pulling the scattered personnel into a tangible group. This went against the grain that had already been established for that character. Perhaps my time in the military wouldn’t let me get my mind around those two concepts.Like most of the other reviewers, I kind of liked the idea of crazed “klowns” instead of totally mindless zombies. But, even they pushed the limits of my disbelief suspension. How was it they had the were-with-all to fire artillery and motars, a fairly complex operation, yet still mindlessly attack fixed defensive positions in waves?Unfortunately, I won’t be following this series, just can’t suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy it. But, if you can suspend your disbelief, you will find PANDEMIC entertaining.