T.W. Piperbrook

The Last Escape by Bobby Adair and T.W. Piperbrook is the second entry in their The Last Survivors series. I had mixed feelings after reading the first book, I didn’t enjoy some of the aspects of this dystopian story, but I was intrigued enough to continue on with the series. Now after completing the second book and finding that the story feels dragged out and I can see no final conclusion on the horizon, I am ready to let this one go.

This type of story needs to move quickly and grab the show more reader with an adventurous plot filled with action and excitement. Unfortunately this book just didn’t deliver the goods. I am also tired of reading dystopian fiction that features a male dominated society that treats women as lesser beings. For these reasons I feel quite satisfied with my decision not to continue with these books. show less

"Contamination 4: Escape" takes over from where the Boxed Set 0-3 left off. Readers find Dan and his daughter trapped in the salvage yard by a new team of agents who have come to investigate the disappearance of the the other agents sent to the town earlier in the week. It is interesting how the author paints his characters into corners, making it appear impossible for them to escape, then finds inconceivable ways for them to escape. This happens several times in this book.

With nowhere else show more to go, Quinn suggests they head for Oklahoma to find Aunt Meredith. Dan affirms that it is a good idea and they head out. En route, they come upon hordes of zombies and different human groups, most, intent on killing them.

It seems like the virus is just beginning in Oklahoma - readers are introduced to Aunt Meredith and begin following her while the apocalypse unfolds in her small town - a deja vu to readers from Sam and Dan's experiences in earlier installments of the series (different names, places...same thoughts, same types of scenarios).

I am disappointed that there is no mention made of either Sam and his group or the aftereffect of the virus and destroyed control center as readers are left hanging at the end of the preceding installment, instead new characters are introduced into the story line. I am also perplexed to learn that this virus, which readers are led to believe is confined to the southwest states only, has spread to other states as Dan is informed on the radio by an Army Lieutenant in Ford Bragg, Georgia. How did this happen?

T.W. Piperbrook is a clever writer with a gift for story telling. However, since this is the latest book in the series, I am disappointed that he had not taken the advice of the critics of his earlier works to use a 3rd party editor prior to publishing; typos and inconsistencies continue as before. It is assumed that this series will continue and I remain anxious to see how the story progresses. Hopefully, the next installment will be more polished than its predecessors.

"Contamination 4" is still a fun and suspenseful story!

John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel show less

The Last Survivors by Bobby Adair and T. W. Piperbrook was not the book that I was expecting it to be. I was expecting a modern day ‘end-of-the world” story with zombies, but actually this was a book about a dystopian society many generations after the world as we know it changed. This is a backward society that is ruled by fear. There are zombie like creatures roaming outside the town walls, these are creatures that were once human until they were taken over by spores that changed their show more appearance and drove them mad. Although the book had aspects that I enjoyed, I am so tired of dystopian stories that have society regressed back to a Middle Ages setting. The strict morals and religion, the lack of technology, the fear of anything “new” seems to be a theme that is all too common. But for me, the worst is the appalling treatment of women as second class citizens.

The story follows a woman called Ella, she has already lost her husband when he became infected by the spores and now she sees evidence that her young son is infected as well. Knowing this means immediate death for him, she and her son escape the town but they are being hunted by soldiers led by an iron-fisted general. I enjoyed the adventure and survival aspect of this part of the story. However, there is a secondary story line that dealt more with the politics, religion and history of the society that I didn’t find very interesting. This book is the first volume of a trilogy so I expect the seeds are being planted for future story lines.

The book is well written but at this point I am not sure that I will be continuing with the trilogy even though this first one ended with a cliff-hanger. I may pick up the next books if the price is right – and by right, I mean a Kindle Daily Deal. show less

In all fairness, there are probably a couple of points I should express before I start this review. #1: I'm not a great fan of short stories and, #2: Werewolf horror ranks only slightly higher on my list than supernatural horror. (I'm not a big follower of either.) So, dear reader, armed with that information, you'd guess that I wasn't too enamored with "Leaders of the Pack: A Werewolf Anthology", wouldn't you?

Well, you're wrong. This tasty little compilation is filled with a number of show more entertaining, albeit fairly short stories, each dealing with the werewolf mythos. Many of the stories are prequels or background illumination about characters or series' that some of the authors have already created. Of these, some were much better than others because the reader is sometimes required to have that previous information in order to fully appreciate characters and/or plot lines. Not having this information in advance is certainly not a "deal-breaker" and shouldn't affect many readers, so don't let that stand in your way of a satisfying reading experience. While I'm at it, I'd like to note that each story is preceded by some really stylish illustrations compliments of Michelle Merlini. Patrick Cornett's cover is pretty cool, too!

Six of these authors are probably a little more well known than others (at least to this reviewer), so let's start with them:
Glenn Rolfe: Rolfe pens a really solid story that's part of his Gilson Creek series. Made me want to check out the series.
David Wellington: It's werewolves vs. vampires in Wellington's story. It was even too far-fetched for me. I expected more from Wellington.
Jonathan Janz: First of all, I was thrilled when I found out a Janz story was included in this compilation. He's one of the top 3 horror novelists working today and I never miss one of his books. His story is set in the 1940's and, as usual, creates wonderfully memorable characters in an exquisitely well-crafted plot. This story is the cream of this crop.
Ray Garton: When I think "werewolves", I often think "Garton". This "campfire" story has a lot of scary, gory, and craftiness woven into it. It's really good.
Graeme Reynolds: I think Reynolds has arguably the best werewolf series in print - the High Moor books. This story is part of that series (living somewhere between books 2 and 3) and adds even more depth to the set. In this entertaining yarn, a young English girl is sent away by her confused and terrified father after she "turns" in front of him.
Jeff Strand: Strand's story is the most disappointing of the better-known authors. It seemed "phoned-in" as it explained a werewolf's dilemma of deciding to kill a family of four as a werewolf or a human.

Now for the lesser-known (again, at least for me) group of six:
David Watkins: Watkins' story is part of his "Originals" series and is set in medieval times. It's an interesting tale with a decent number of "didn't see that coming" moments.
T.W. Piperbrook: Another author with a story from his series. In this case, it's a prequel to Piperbrook's "Outage" books. The story revolves around a young boy and girl fleeing from a pack of werewolves during a power outage affecting a small community.
Thomas Emson: Just a fair story that switches back and forth between 60 A.D. and the present as a female gas station attendant learns about her lycanthropic history.
Nick Stead: This is another story that's part of a series that's actually quite good and can stand alone without the need for much backstory. It stars, "Slayers" (those who hunt down and kill werewolves), a few vampires, and a sympathetic boy who's believed to be the last of a bloodline.
Matt Serafini: This was probably my 2nd favorite story because it was so "Twilight Zone-like". The plot deals with an unhappy husband and wife who relocate to a private community connected to her new job. Hmmm, many of the neighbors seem to have an affinity for the full moon...
Paul Kane: Kane's story deals with an abused wife and her son on the run. Things are going well for them until a friend tells her that she and her son have been discovered. Is it the husband or someone else? A really solid story.

If you like this type of horror, then you'll want to grab a copy of this anthology and enjoy some stories from some of the best in this part of the genre'. It comes close to making me a believer in short stories and werewolves...

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. show less