Joshua Price

I couldn't resist this book just based on the title -- how much trouble could just a drizzle of zombies cause? Well, what starts as a single human turned zombie ends in a zombie deluge. Before you can say, "BRAAAAINS!!!," the town is being overrun. The dire situation results in our hero, Captain Rescue, and the villain, Dr. Malevolent, joining forces to find a way to save mankind. They are joined by a macho cop married to his gun, a goon in a bunny suit, and a zombie who can still think for show more himself (mostly). Throw in some yetis, dolphins, a pink dinosaur, and a minotaur on a pogo stick and how could that be anything other than tons of fun?

This book made me laugh from the front cover to the about the author notes. The hero is a bumbling idiot, but his heart is in the right place and he even manages to do a little good sometimes. The villain actually starts to enjoy the idea of saving the world, even if she does have to keep rescuing Captain Rescue. And the zombie is just happy no one has killed him yet. Joshua Price takes us on a funny, wild adventure that is really entertaining. If you're tired of the heavy drama of your standard paranormal novel and are in need of some laughs, I highly recommend giving Price a try. show less

Good Reads Summary: Captain Rescue and his arch nemesis are always at each other’s throats, but this time, Dr. Malevolent’s criminal caper goes horribly awry. The two are forced to put aside their differences and form an unlikely alliance to thwart mankind's undeadliest threat—zombies!

He may not be the smartest, bravest, strongest, or most capable super hero in the world, but by golly Captain Rescue always manages to somehow get the job done. His arch nemesis is the villain that every show more hero needs, the cynical criminal mastermind bent on stealing and conquering her way to the very pinnacle of super villainy.

When Dr. Malevolent decides to knock off the most prominent bank in the city, she gets far more than she bargained for, and over the course of the ensuing shenanigans, a zombie apocalypse is inadvertently unleashed upon their metropolis. The outbreak spreads widely, and the hero and villain embark upon a journey to discover who, in this universe or the next, would commit such a dastardly act.
This novel was humorous and kept the reader in stitches. When an evil genius, an overweight superhero, and a determined cop are mixed together the result can only be hysterical. The cop is in love with his gun, the "Dr. Evil" is really just a woman who thinksthat the lab coat complimented her spandex, and her henchman is an 8-foot tall plush blue bunny with a "magic pouch". The reader will soon be introduced to Stubbs, a newly turned zombie who thinks nothing of his current predicament. The story is hysterical and takes the reader to meat a minotaur on a pogo stick, dragons, dinosaurs, etc... The only negative comment I have about the book is that I found many grammatical and spelling errors that made it choppy and hard to read in places. I would recommend this book to young adults who enjoy humor with a side of zombie. show less

Cut to scene one: The evil Dr. Malevolent is out to rob The Bank and only Captain Rescue can stop her. Well, kind of. Hilarious antics ensue as Dr. Malevolent is taken down. However, this is not your usual Hero vs. Evil Villain type of story. Once the evil master mind is taken down, the true fun begins. As a curious police officer (and not so bright I may add) drinks a vial of unexplained green liquid, he becomes the first zombie of the zombie apocalypse. There you have it folks, Heroes vs. show more Zombies! What can be better? In this tale, good and evil join up to rid the world of man eating zombies. Meet the team: Dr. Malevolent (an evil genius), Boris (evil sidekick by day, giant blue bunny on nights and weekends), Captain Rescue (our dimwitted super hero), Freight (a policeman known for his violent behavior), and Stubbs (a zombie that not only talks, but doesn’t crave human flesh). This team comes up against the unexpected as they come up against not only zombies, but a T-Rex, a genie in a lamp, and even Bigfoot. This list doesn’t even scratch the surface of the things our team of misfits encounters on their way to save the world. Not to mention it’s littered with references from books, movies, and other pop culture. It almost becomes a game of spot the reference as you read through the story.

Joshua Price is an artist with words as he paints a picture in your mind of each and every scene in the book. As you read, it’s as if a movie is playing just behind your eyes as you visualize each movement the characters make on their way to saving the world. I’ve never read a book before where I can picture absolutely everything so vividly. I applaud the originality in the tale, as well as Price’s ability to bring so many fictional creatures and crazy antics into a story without making it feel jumbled and thrown together. I really love the use of lackeys in this book. We all know that lackeys are in the movies to die, so why not use them in the book too? Every time the team is in trouble they kill a lackey. The lackey may be thrown in front of a hero to keep a zombie away or forced to test the floor for booby traps. There are a million and one ways to kill a lackey and Price attempts to make it through quite a few.

My only complaint about this book is that there seemed to be quite a few grammatical errors, repeated words, and various typos throughout the story. I would be in the middle of reading some grand moment of death and heroism when my mind would begin to stumble over poorly formatted words. Grammar aside, I loved every moment of this book and hope Price writes more about our team of misfits. show less

This story has potential. Let me start off by saying that, so you'll understand better why I also say you should read this at your own peril.

I attempted to read this book twice, and both times I couldn't make it past page 15. The writer threw in anecdotes and asides that didn't have any impact on the story as it was in those first pages. That he can turn a phrase and do so well isn't really in doubt -- the problem I have though is that the mini stories didn't matter. If the ministory doesn't show more matter, then don't include it because the reader doesn't care.

The story is narrated to the reader for most of the book (I guess. I didn’t make it that far.) It reads like a NaNoWriMo story – great potential as the scaffolding for the REAL book that will take another two years to write. The author should go back to the drawing board and learn more craft: showing versus telling and what “Character Point of View” can do for the flow. The writing needs tightening as well as a very hard critique and edit by a professional.

So yes, this story has potential, but that's all it has going for it right now. show less