Nate Southard

This was a decent zombie survival story.

The entire novel consisted of a group of survivors making a risky food and supply run. Five survivors against an estimated 3,000 zombies seems like a no win situation, but they have no choice as their food is running out and their crops are failing. A lottery is held to determine who the five scouts are going to be.

A back and forth format between the past and the future is utilized, giving the backstory to each of the scouts. Problem being, I didn't care much for any of them. Oddly enough, the one guy I did like was the biggest jerk of them all!

The zombies here were fun, though, that's for sure. No explanation was given as to how they got to be that way, and that was just fine with me. I think most zombie stories fall apart when they try to explain the unexplainable. These zombies were fast, they were hungry and there were lots and lots of them, and that worked in this story.

Overall, this was not a bad addition to the zombie genre. However, in light of shows like The Walking Dead where the characters OWN the story, (NOT the zombies), I felt this novel needed a bit more in the character building department. I did enjoy the writing and the world building and for that, I probably will give Nate Southard's work another look in the future.

*I was provided a free e-copy of this book by Sinister Grin Press in exchange for an honest review. This is it.*… (more)

I've read a couple of Nate Southard book so far and found them both highly enjoyable so was looking forward to getting stuck into another novel by him.

The story follows a group of bank robbers in the middle of a job when things go wrong and they are forced to go on the run; but in true horror fashion things only get worse. The book has plenty of action from start to finish and manages to have a good collection of varied characters which keeps things entertaining and makes you want to keep on reading well into the night.

I really like that everything in the book feels despite having read hundred of horrors in the past - it's nice to see such a good book with a monster that is not the currently popular vampires or zombies. So if you'd like a great book that's just a bit different then this is for you.

The novel was received in exchange for an honest review.… (more)

Scavengers by Nate Southard is a story of survival. It takes place after a zombie apocalypse has decimated America. It centers around a handful of people in a small, fortified town that has run out of food. A small group of people are randomly chosen to take part on a mission to scavenge whatever food they can from a neighboring town which is overrun with zombies. The odds are against them, but they know the town needs food, so they gather together whatever courage (and weapons) they have, and head out.

They are not prepared. They are not super heroes, or even well-equipped. They are normal, average, could-be-me people who are unskilled and unlikely to survive. This makes the story poignant, believable, and riveting. The thoughts, feelings, and back-stories of each member of the team are beautifully described as the mission progresses. I felt compelled to finish it in one setting, because I absolutely cared about the characters and wanted to know if they make it or not. A bit gory, but it is a zombie story, after all. Well worth reading.… (more)