Ryan BrownReviews

Zombies Football =the entire plot of Play Dead. After a rival team's prank goes horribly, horribly wrong the Killington High football team is killed...but conveniently a witch is nearby to bring them all back (except for Cole and the coach, who survived). The rest of the novel is about the romance between Cole and the Coach's daughter, jokes about how you can't tell a teenager from a zombie, the rival team's absurdities and football. There is a lot about football in here, which I wasn't expecting despite the premise and knowledge of what the book is about.

I'm a zombie fangirl, if you say zombie I'm there to read the book or watch the movie pretty quickly, but I can admit nothing like this has been around before. The reasoning is slim at best, and at worst there is none. The book meanders from plot point to plot point, giving only basic facts and cliche'd reactions. Cole is the proverbial bad boy with a heart of gold, Coach Hickham is determined to win at any cost and is hiding a secret, his daughter is a plucky school reporter falling for Cole...there isn't much depth to the characters or their personalities.

And unfortunately football overshadows even the zombie aspect. You would think with a book about zombies playing high school football that may be the focus of the book, but the 'big game' that Elmwood (the rivals) were so worried about (absurdly so) is given maybe three dozen pages total. Most of which is a straight football narrative.

I give the author, a former soap opera star and son to the infamous Sandra Brown, credit for an original idea that at least stands out (on paper) from the tsunami of other zombie-centric media, but I don't believe he had the writing experience to make it more than marginally interesting. He wasn't able to balance the horror with the football antics, nor provide enough depth to have characters stand out or mean something.

An undead high school football team plays a championship game against their biggest rivals.

Cole Logan is the star quarterback of the Killingston Jackrabbits high school football team. They have a history of being absolutely terrible and rarely finishing the season with a winning record. For the first time ever, they are 1 win away from the district championships. The small town is frenzied with excitement, the young boys who make up the team are swollen with pride, and Cole Logan finally feels like he has a chance to make something of himself.

On the night of the final game, on the way to the opposing teams stadium, the bus tragically crashes into a river, killing the entire team. Except Cole. Unwilling to accept what has happened, he seeks the help of a fan, a mysterious cat lady who is thought to be a witch who casts curses on people who cross her.

So is the plot to this rather ridiculous novel. Zombies. Playing American football. I knew going in that the plot would be silly, but my understanding was that it was going to be humorous. Well, it wasn't. Not only that, but it was just too over-the-top for me.

The plot was too absurd, not just because it was as preposterous as I expected but because there characters' behavior was completely unbelievable. The football players were about as obnoxious as a group of teenagers ought to be, but the adults weren't a whole lot better. There is a poorly written subplot, which was mostly just ridiculous at first, and it all leads up to a climactic football game which turned out to be incredibly dull. It was too predictable, so I was just waiting for it to end.

I won't say that the book wasn't entertaining. It's quick, and it's one of those books that'll make you want to read 'just one more chapter,' but it's too silly to take seriously and not funny enough to consider a comedy. It's just...mediocre. That's all I can say for it.

Ryan Brown knows how to entertain his audience. He writes with a style that is both fun as well as humorous, and that, to me, is what makes his books a great read.

In "Thawed Out & Fed Up", the main character, Sam Bonham is pathetic - a drunk and a total loser. He's a character you just like to dislike, but at the same time, you can't help but feel just a bit sorry for him. As time goes on, your dislike changes... discovering Sam isn't so bad after all - he's just flawed, and you know flawed heroes make the best ones.

Sam's sidekick and mentor, appears on the scene, just like he fell out of the sky. Oh wait... He did! That mentor adds a little fantasy that gives the story a fun twist. With "The Duke" teaching Sam a thing or two, this tale of redemption has a lesson to learn: putting the needs of others before your own. A lesson we could all use at one time or another.

This book will appeal to both the male and female reader. I does contain some adult language and situations that might not be suitable for the younger audience, however, it would be a great read for the older teen through adult.

This is a novel that is just plain fun to read.

The author wanted to write a story when he saw what was going on with steroids in sports and succeeds with this novel.

Set in Texas, the story also is a satire about the fanatical following of high school football and the manner in which football can almost take over small town life.

In the story, the local high school football team, the Killington Jackrabbits, are having their best year and are one win from going to the district championship.

The key to the team is the quarterback, Cole Logan. He's attacked one morning by three men wearing masks. He believes they are members of the rival team, the hated Elmwood Heights Badgers. When Cole refuses to throw the game, they cut off two of his fingers. However, not thinking too well, they cut the fingers from the wrong hand and Cole can still throw a football.

With this scheme doesn't work, the Badgers stage an accident where the school bus carrying the Jackrabbits crashes and goes off a bridge into the water below, killing the entire team, or, maybe not.

Both Cole and the coaches daughter, Savanna Hickman, are entertaining characters. These high school students have a love-hate relationship that is interesting and humorous in the situations in which they find themselves.

Cole's next door neighbor, Mona, has the ability to work with black magic. With her participaion in the story, I was reminded of Stephen King's "Pet Sematary" where animals return to life but eventually behave in a horrofic manner.

Overall, I recommend this book for its entertainment value and message about the abuse of steroids. The conclusion was a stretch but it delivered a fun story and readers interested in a good yarn without regard for logic, would be entertained.

I put this review on my blog, but when it comes to putting a rating on it, i just cannot give it a four. Its not that good, but it is better than a 3.5 if that makes sense?

In the search for a new writer to enjoy, I stumbled upon this book, a new release on feature in my local library (Trevor Inch Memorial Library, Rangiora) and due to the jacket, decided to give it a go. When it is advertised as “the zombie novel of the year. The comeback story of the season”, you cannot help but be intrigued by this story, and as writing goes, this is a pretty good one for a debut writer.

It follows the pending clash in High School Gridiron between two neighbouring towns who hate each others guts, and when one team dies in a horrific bus crash, it seems all bets are off. But in an effort to keep the story going, the author introduces a bit of black magic, a pact that lays souls on the line, and a team doing more steroids than a Tour de France stage. I found it tongue in cheek, and suspect that is was the intent of Brown, and if so he has done it well. While there are a couple of bits that push the already distended boundaries of possibility too far, it is graphic, gripping, and American High School humourous – this would make an interesting movie. I read it in three days so it is a testament to either a) I have no life, and/or b) it is well written.


Now, a little about the writer himself, it seems he has been in movies and TV (including that hit drama Young & Restless – so he must know horror!) – I showed my wife his photo and yes, he is not a bad looker (as guys go), but strikingly like a morph between Pitt and Kilmer. Judge for yourself.

Thanks Gael for recommending another writer to me, I will sample a book of hers after my next book I also got out of the library. Watch these spaces…½

A surprisingly engaging story, moreso than one would expect from a book easily summarized as "zombie football book." Play Dead is the tale of a scrappy football team murdered by its rivals, and subsequently resurrected by a local witch. the problem is, the players have "come back wrong," Pet Semetary-style, and now the surviving QB must lead them in a final game against their murderers. A fast-paced tale of small-town supernatural high-jinks, peppered with sports fever and a little romance. Suitable for mature high-schoolers (a lot of foul language and some sexual content.)

Not being much of one for zombie thrillers, I opened this book with a bit of trepidation. Oh ... my .... goodness!! WHAT a TOTally fun book!!! I zinged through it in less than 24 hours ... and it's not a small book!

You'll be smack-dab entranced within the first 10 pages .. I kid you not! There are zingers and twists and little tidbits that make you chuckle. You have the obligatory "boy meets girl, girl hates boy, boy hates her back" type of romantic entanglement, BUT you have so much more! The action is fast-paced, the characters are believable (even if what happens to some of them is not), the writing is engaging and funny.

A couple of my favorite lines:

"I think you're going to have to kill him, Logan"
"Why?"
"'Cause he said the game would only happen over his dead body."
"Shit."

"It's Hubie. Freddy's in the crapper."
"When's he back?"
"Oh, I'd say about two Marlboro's and an Archie comic from now."

Maybe I'm twisted (well, alright, maybe I am, just a little), those lines just cracked me up!! (You'll have to read the book to see why!) Seriously, buy it!!½

When I read the synopsis for this novel, how could I resist? Take a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, throw in a football team of zombies, add some dark humor and it promises to be an entertaining read. I was certainly not disappointed.

"Play Dead" had an interesting story line that held my interest and kept me in suspense. I found myself not only engrossed and wondering what would happen next, but chuckling and laughing out loud at times.

I found myself really liking the main character and his sidekick. Cole Logan was a tough kid that was strong, determined and would do whatever it takes to succeed. His "friend", Savannah, also has the same drive and toughness that makes the two of them work well together.

I really enjoyed "Play Dead" and look forward to seeing more books by Ryan Brown. His humor and playfulness made this book really work for me.

Parental note: Contains offensive language, sexual situations, steroid usage, death, dismemberment and witchcraft. I would recommend this for older teens to adult.

Play Dead by Ryan Brown is frightening, fast and flat-out funny. Definitely not a book you want to take seriously. I was a little concerned half way through that the plot had gotten a little flat and more horrifying than hilarious- not that horror is a bad thing. Football isn't for everyone. Neither are zombies... but combined? Brilliant!

The Killington High Jackrabbits has never had a successful football team, but their time has finally come. They have two games left to claim the district championship. At the final game they will come head to head with their number one rival, the Elmwood Badgers. There has been bad blood between the two towns since the time they were first founded and it is time for them to duke it out on the field. But a terrible prank prevents the Jackrabbits from even making it to the stadium. Their team bus goes over the bridge and takes a trip down the river- eventually sinking, pinning and drowning every player but QB Cole Logan. Now there is only one thing left for Cole to do. Get revenge.

So, just how does one go about getting revenge and settling the score? Turn to black magic, of course! Haha. Now that Cole has magically brought his entire team back to life, he has 48 hours to win a game and send his team back to their grave before all hell breaks lose. He and Savannah, the coach's distant daughter, must control the team as they can't stop themselves from eating everything... horses, cows- even their parents. Can Cole and Savannah beat this race against time and secure a victory to save the souls of his teammates and spread revenge amongst the berating Badgers?

I truly loved our hero, Cole Logan. He is your typical high school bad boy- motorcycle, piercings, daddy issues and a past. Although he is a loner, he will live and die for his football team. He's counting on the team to help him win a college scholarship- he's got to get out of Killington. My favorite moment! Cole throws himself off a cliff into the river to rescue his teammates from the water logged bus. Cole is incredibly passionate and the whole scene is ridiculously intense. This isn't the only time Cole shows magnificent passion. There is a very fun "beat down" scene that I enjoyed- Cole knows how to stand up for himself and those that he cares for. Savannah is another story. She doesn't seem passionate- her character is a little flat. Cole makes up for that.

I have to say that I was pretty excited to receive this book in the mail for review. I love zombies! (You can thank Robin Becker of Brains for that.) The cover alone got me excited to read this. Play Dead was full of fresh ideas that are wildly engrossing. It was a quick, entertaining read and I recommend it to any zombie or football lover. (Don't worry, the football isn't overwhelming- read it even if you aren't a fan of football!)

I know what you're thinking. Football and zombies? A fantastic and energetic sport combined with the gruesome and not so energetic undead? Well…yeah! When you think about it they're actually pretty similar. In football, players try to kill each other to get control of the ball; zombies…well, they may try to rekill each other to get control of your brains. Stick them together and you've got a winning combination.

PLAY DEAD by Ryan Brown was fascinating mainly because I wasn't expecting it, yet it combined two of my favorite things. I love football and I love zombies. I've read a number of stories where the paranormal has been thrown into something pretty well known but this is the first time I personally have seen football hit with the paranormal bug. I'm loving it.

The plot for this is pretty straightforward. The Killington High School football team ends up drowning in a river after their bus decided it needed a little bath. Cole, the quarterback and star of the team is the only survivor. Something just isn't right though. Cole has a feeling the accident wasn't truly an accident and he believes that their rivals, Elmwood Heights, is behind the tragedy. So what's a quarterback to do when a major game is coming up and his entire team is dead? Turn to black magic of course!

That is some serious commitment to football! The football scholarship on the line may have influenced Cole a bit as well.

Successfully risen from the dead, the football team must not only hide their secret from their parents and rest of the town, but fight to actually claim victory in their beloved game as well. There's more than reputation at stake here - their very souls are on the line. Add in a little romantic touch with the coach's daughter, Savannah and Mr. Brown has created a fantastic read.

For those readers out there who may be shying away because the book involves football, I'll tell you up front that there are football references within the story. Plays and penalties are explained; famous players are described. I understand the references so I can't make too much of a judgment call as to how easily someone unfamiliar with the sport would be able to understand these references. What I can say, however, is that the general plot of the book will not be lost if you simply skip over the technical passages within the story.

Aside from the awesome idea behind this story, my favorite aspect of PLAY DEAD was the writing. The game scenes were described in such a way that it was easy to visualize what was going on. The main characters were developed well and there were even a few side characters that became pretty memorable.

Fair warning time: There is a decent amount of cussing throughout the book. Normally that bothers me in a story but oddly enough, it actually flowed well in PLAY DEAD. Who knows, perhaps I’m just predisposed to accepting cussing in football or from the undead.

I would recommend this book to any thriller fans out there (and no, I don’t mean Michael Jackson’s Thriller), football fans, or zombie fans. This is a great book for lovers of the game or those who get a certain tingly thrill from reading about decomposing undead.

This review as originally posted on my review blog : http://fallingofftheshelf.blogspot.com

The Killington High School has never felt the glory of victory at the district championship. This is the first year that they have even come close to coming out victorious in the end. They are only one win away, and now they must compete against their most ferocious rivals, the Elmwood Heights Badgers. The two separate towns have been at each others throats for as long as the two towns have stood, and now it's time for one of them to take all of the glory.

Unforeseen events take the Jackrabbits to the bottom of the river, killing every player, except their star quarterback Cole Logan. Cole is positive that what happened to his teammates was certainly no accident, it was murder. The only thing that can bring him to this deduction is that he himself was brutally attacked by three men in ski masks earlier that day, leaving him injured beyond repair. Now Cole can only think of paying back the men who have hurt so many lives, so he turns to black magic to bring his team back from the dead. With only the coaches daughter, Savannah Hickmam, they race against time to lead his zombie team to victory.

Cole Logan is clearly a bad boy. He has tattoos, and piercings, and even rides a motorcycle everywhere he goes. He's a bit of a loner, and really only wants to get out of the small town of Killington with the help of a football scholarship. It's not easy being poor in this world, and he's driven to use his talents to make something of himself. I really like characters like this, that put their all into the one thing that drives them. He was passionate about his sport, and utterly determined to become something, not just another nobody on the sidelines stuck in Killington for the rest of his life.

Savannah Hickman is pretty much the opposite of Cole. She's your regular good girl, getting good grades and even a member of the school's paper. She doesn't do anything bad, save stay up all night in order to make a deadline. The only things they have in common are their passion for getting out of Killington, and Coach Hickman, who happens to be her father. I really liked Savannah as well, and even more so than I did Cole. She really wanted to help people, and thought it was wrong to bring the team back as walking corpses. She did see that it was necessary to have them play though, so despite her fears and her worries, she stood by Cole's side until the end.

I've always liked books about the paranormal, so when this book showed up in my mailbox I was super excited. I was immediately drawn to the cover, with that decaying football player and his glowing eyes. I've never been a huge fan of football, but zombies? I'll take a zombie any way I can get him, or her. This was an exciting read, because it was not like any other zombie novel that I have ever read before. I think this well may be the first book about football playing zombies, and honestly whether you like football or not, it's a great read. I was a little confused when the author went into detail about football plays and what was a penalty or not. This didn't really bother me though, because the real story isn't about the football itself, but about never giving up on what you care about, and pushing for all your worth to make it happen.