Day by Day Armageddon tells a conventional zombie apocalypse story through a gimmicky journal style. It apparently started as a blog or sum such, but that doesn't excuse the failures of this book. It apparently has struck a chord with many readers, so I guess that there is a market for masturbatory survivalist fiction. I would have rated it a one-star book, but I did read it to the end (hoping for a decent payload which never showed).

I know Permuted Press is a small independent publisher, but they really need to work on their copy editing. I'm not a militant grammarian, so when I recognize more than a handful of mistakes, it's a sign of bad craftsmanship. The reproduction of the (cheesy) illustrations was also horrible.

The writing is lifeless and amateur. Bourne embellishes detail on the things he knows, like military equipment and flight procedures, while the rest of the world and events are lacking. A look at the zombie infestation map showing massive populations of zombies in sparsely-populated states like Wyoming suggests that even the most basic research was ignored. There were more than a few overly-awkward sentences that left me scratching my head. For example, it took me a long time before I figured out what he meant by "Annabelle dung".

The character development is nonexistent--the narrator does things but shows little introspection and the supporting cast are hardly more developed than the multitudes of zombies they dispatch. Each living character is a pawn for the survivalist fantasy--an engineer, a nurse, a chemist, a single young woman with no "marketable" skills. I can't even remember their names.

The narrator is the worst Mary Sue I've seen in some time, hence the reason I call this masturbatory survivalist fiction. If you ever read an internet forum on survivalism, you'll see the same sort of self-assurance as the narrator's story communicates, mostly generated from the idea that guns and preparation will save you. Who else but a committed survivalist, would load up on supplies and ammo when he hears about the outbreak of a flu in China? The narrator never makes a mistake with consequences--none of the living cast dies despite the supposed menace of the undead. Given the ineptitude of the zombies, it's amazing that the contagion spread to pandemic proportions.

I discovered this book through Amazon while searching for zombie books to try. It was highly-rated (currently 166 five-star ratings of 253) and comes up as the first recommendation for books like Max Brooks' World War Z. Having read the book, I can't believe this book represents the best of the sub-genre. I cannot prove it, but I think we're seeing manipulation of Amazon rankings, either intentionally or coincidentally by a core fan-group of survivalists who care more for the message than the quality of the book. ( )

Day by Day Armageddon is a zombie survival story written from the point of view of one character, through the writing in his journal. Each section is dated just like a diary would be and then a description of the days events. Through his journal the story of the world coming to an end is related while the writer tries to survive.

The format is a nice change of pace in a subgenre that is so loaded with similar stories in similar formats that after reading one book you may have just read them all. The diary style of DBDA is both an asset and a hindrance. The style is refreshing because it gives you a look at survival horror from a different angle and it also allows you to feel more connected to the main character because you are reading his direct thoughts as he wrote them. I think that the style also lends to more creepy and suspenseful feeling in that each new section brings all new possibilities due to the fact that you are not sure how far in the future the next entry may be.

The style has its merits but it has its warts as well. First it seemed that the author had issues keeping to the style, in places it seemed like it was someone writing a journal and in other parts it looked like the prose was like writing a novel. If the book was supposed to written in journal form from someone we assume is not a writer, the prose should reflect that and be consistent throughout. Another problem, not so much the style or authors fault, is that people seem to have trouble grasping the concept of the style. Reading other reviews and talking people has revealed to me that some people believe that the book is poorly written do to week writing and spelling/grammar errors. It is often forgotten that his book is written from an everyday Joe point of view, someone who may not have the best spelling or grammar and is often journaling in haste. This makes it terribly hard to tell whether the errors and sub par writing, in spots, are the characters or the authors and many people seem to have issues determining which it is. I'm inclined to think that the errors for the most part are that of the character, not the author and were left in to help validate the journal like style the author used.

The main character seems to be a real badass and was pretty well ready and geared up for a zombie invasion. He's ex-military and would probably qualify as the most resourceful person any of the books readers have ever heard of. I'm not one to point at a zombie novel and complain about realism but James Bond would be envious of his resourcefulness. However, I would not have it any other way: after all ass-kicking heroes make for much more interesting stories.

J.L. Bourne did a great job with pacing and DBDA should keep reader interested and engaged. You have mad scrambles, shootouts, planes, boats, exploration, and seemingly hair brained ideas all within the pages of this book. When the last page left me hanging I definitely wanted to read more.

I give DBDA for being what it is: an experimental novel written in a sub-genre that has little room for anything new. I believe the author's intent was to take a zombie survival story and give it a different spin via its style. In that Bourne succeeded while delivering an enjoyable, well paced story. ( )

START INTERCEPT_ Sporadic news reports indicate chaos and violence spreading through U.S. cities. An unknown evil is sweeping the planet. The dead are rising to claim the Earth as the new dominant species in the food chain. INTERCEPT COMPLETE_ Survivor, In your hands is the handwritten journal depicting one man's struggle for survival. Trapped in the midst of global disaster, he must make decisions; choices that ultimately mean life, or the eternal curse to walk as one of them. Enter if you will into his world. -The world of the undead.

http://monsterlibrarian.com/zombies.h... ( )

I have to say, this book pleasantly surprised me. If zombies are your thing, by now you're probably used to the (predictable) end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it splatter fests that dominate this genre. Don't get me wrong, this book *is* an apocolyptic tale, and there's plenty of blood for you gore-hounds. What sets this book apart is the journal format it's written in, almost giving the book a "Blair Witch" feel. This format also makes JL Bourne's several spelling mistakes and grammar mishaps forgivable. On the down side, the protagonist is a military man who uses a lot of military terminology, which, for the uninitiated, can be a bit confusing at times. Oh, and the cover art and inside images are a wee bit...cheesy. If you can get past those items, this is a suspenseful, interesting read. Much better than the other apocalyptic tale I've recently digested, Stephen King's Cell. But that's a review for another day. ( )