The End Games

Up until Halloween, Michael Faris thought he had a rough life. For so many years, it was just his mother and him eking out a living. Once his stepfather entered the picture however, their relationship changed, and now Michael worries about his much-younger brother in this now hostile environment. Little does he know that the day he decides to set out to protect Patrick, the world ends. Now, fleeing a new and dangerous enemy, Michael and Patrick set forth on The Game, which pits Michael and Patrick against the Bellows in a fight for their very survival.

The End Games by T. Michael Martin is a twisting, unsettling story in which a reader is left mirroring Michael’s own confusion at the unexpected changes in their plans and in the world. show more Michael and Patrick are so good at The Game that the line between reality and their own version of reality is indistinguishable, further adding to a reader’s uncertainty. The lack of clarity, however, is perfect for setting the tone of the story, as not all survivors have the same need for rescue as Michael and Patrick, and a human mask hides one’s inner monster. The end of the world should be bewildering and uncomfortable, and Mr. Martin makes sure it is for both his lead character and for the reader.

One of the truly fascinating aspects of the story is all of the characters’ dynamism. No one is immune to character development and growth, including the Bellows. Since even the Bellows are changing and evolving, neither the reader nor Michael knows what to expect at each meeting. This only enhances the considerable tension and sense of unease that permeates the entire story. Michael’s growth is particularly messy but fitting, as he is forced to face some necessary truths about his ability to read situations and the overall goodness of others. The fact that he gets taken down a peg or two along the way only serves as reminder of his youth and inexperience in the wider world. He might be wise in some areas, but as he finds out, he still has a lot of learning to do.

Michael’s situation regarding his brother Patrick is particularly compelling. It may be one of the first times in a YA, dystopian novel where the younger sibling is mentally challenged, and this definitely adds a layer of complication as well as sense of urgency to the proceedings. For Michael, survival in this scary new world is not as simple as finding food and shelter, but he also has to maintain a level of composure and confidence in order to keep his brother calm. It is an intriguing plot twist, and one that helps set The End Games apart from the rest of this overpopulated genre.

The End Games really does rise above the rest of the ever-popular dystopian young adult storylines that exist. While there are indeed familiar elements – teen with no parents on his own and fighting for his survival, facing both evil monsters and humans – there are enough modifications to make all the difference. In particular, the evolution of the monsters, as they adapt to each battle and show surprising intelligence for being zombies, is a surprisingly effective twist. The landscape of Mr. Martin’s envisioned world is not as hopeless as one might initially believe, and this as well is a welcome change. For Michael and Patrick come across scenes of beauty interspersed among the chaos, and this natural beauty is hope. Most importantly, The End Games is a stand-alone novel. There are no cliffhangers, no loose ends, and no unanswered questions to frustrate readers. Mr. Martin remains true to his sense of realism and avoids tying up the story into a neat little package, but there is enough closure for even the most discerning reader. This all combines to create a fresh new story in an overdone genre that does much to help readers remember why the genre became so popular in the first place. show less

Meh. Perhaps zombie books are not for me. The writing here is fine, and I was completely engrossed in the first portion of the story, then there was a revelation that took away some of the excitement for me. And then I felt like it was a normal zombie story. By which I mean: zombies, bad guys, good guys, fighting, end times stuff. I did think Patrick was a really well drawn character, and my favorite part of the book was the way Michael tries to be the best big brother he can, how he struggles sometimes, and the ways their dynamic moves the story forward. But I just didn't love the story.

Also, a tiny piece of the story that really bugged me: I didn't like the statement that when a woman who is in an abusive relationship doesn't leave show more it's because she is "weak." That word is taken directly from the text. I just hate the simplification of someone's motivations when that character isn't actually allowed to speak on their own behalf. It puts my back up immediately.

People in abusive relationships aren't "weak." They are STRUGGLING. WITH ALL SORTS OF THINGS AND EMOTIONS AND CONSEQUENCES. Particularly parents who have kids. Particularly women who often lose custody of children when they leave abusers. Okay, I'll stop. But seriously, such a harmful stereotype. Even if it's only a teeny portion of the overall story. show less

*Mild spoilers.*

Seventeen year old Michael and his younger brother Patrick have had it. Their stepfather is abusive and unpredictable, causing Patrick to have severe psychological problems including catatonia and selfharm. On Halloween night, they decide to run away to show their mother how bad it is for them, but the world coincidentally goes to hell. The dead walk the earth and eat the living. The brothers are stranded in a hostile world full of monsters and have to fend for themselves. Patrick as also only 5 years old and needs to be protected from the horror of this new world. Michael, with ingenuity and not a small amount of lying, successfully keeps them alive and happy for 3 weeks until everything changes. The boys run into other show more living, normal people and they discover the zombies are changing and evolving. Can Michael and Patrick stay alive and sane through all this craziness?

I love the concept of The End Games. Michael invents a video game scenario and a game master to shield his little brother from the cold, hard reality of the radically changed world. The game master gives them tasks, awards points, and sets the ultimate goal as getting to the safe zone. After three weeks of successfully dodging Bellows, they finally encounter normal people, but all doesn't go as they imagined. They wanted an idyllic reunion with their mom and a perfect, protected world, but what they found was much different and threw the game into chaos. Real life and real people don't follow the rules. These brothers are fully realized, nuanced characters.They tease each other, have their own inside jokes, and have a sense of brotherhood and camaraderie that felt real. The author based this relationship off his own relationship with his little brother and it showed. Their background story, revealed in bits and pieces throughout the novel, is heartbreaking. Hearing the nitty gritty details and seeing the physical and psychological toll the abuse has on Patrick had a much bigger impact on me than I thought it would. I really felt for these boys, related to them, and felt proud that they persevered through the abuse and through the zombie infested world.

I really liked the type of zombies Martin created. Instead of just conventional moaning and groaning, these zombies bellow. These Bellows will latch on to whatever was heard last and repeat it at length, distorting the words and their meaning. This type of zombie is quite dangerous because they can be fairly silent until close to people and then attract other zombies with their loud bellows. I also find it chilling that zombies can speak even if the words have no meaning to them. Imagine having your own distorted words echoed back at you as they close in.

Some of the execution of the novel was lacking for me. Something about the writing would make me feel as if I'd missed something. Some phrases are repeated throughout, but never really explained and I think I know what the author meant but I was never really sure. The main human villain was kind of boring and one dimensional, which was disappointing compared to how well written Patrick and Michael are. Other than these small issues, I felt the novel was very enjoyable.

The End Games is a unique zombie novel with a wonderful fraternal relationship at its core. I would definitely read upcoming books by T. Michael Martin. show less

In short: The End Games by T. Michael Martin was an exciting post-apocalyptic zombie novel with a wonderful sibling relationship at its heart.

The End Games was one of my most anticipated reads of 2013. Everything about it screamed that it was a "me" book - the male protagonist, the focus on a non-romantic relationship, the fighting of zombies. And as I expected, The End Games was a book that I ended up enjoying a lot. 17-year-old Michael and 5-year-old Patrick are brothers and video gamers who are fighting their way through zombie hordes to get to the safe zone and The End of the Game. The End Games was a surprisingly insightful post-apocalyptic zombie book with plenty of scary, gory, and heart-pounding action scenes. More importantly show more though, it had a wonderful display of sibling love that was quite lovely.

I can't say that this post-apocalyptic zombie book is particularly groundbreaking in its genre, but The End Games did provide me with enough originality to keep my interest. The zombies in The End Games repeat back to you anything you say to them, earning them the nickname "Bellows". I quite liked this as it added a creep factor, but was also humourous at times. Something that wasn't at all funny about these zombies, however, was their ability to adapt and become savvier over time. Over the course of The End Games, the zombies become progressively harder to defeat and this added a lot of thrilling tension.

The best part of The End Games for me was definitely the display of sibling love between Michael and Patrick. There is some romance in The End Games, as well, but the main focus is on the familial relationship and I can't begin to describe how nice and refreshing this was, as it is something of a rarity in YA these days. Michael's nurturing and protectiveness of Patrick was so wonderful to see. I loved their bond and I loved the insight I gained from their relationship.

The stylized writing is the one thing I have mixed feelings about. Sometimes the writing was striking; there were several unique turns of phrase that added some interest to debut author's T. Michael Martin's prose. I really liked how the style of writing gave a "voice" to Michael's character. Other times, I found the prose to be too harsh and jarring. It didn't always flow very nicely and thus was sometimes distracting and confusing. It could very well just be me and my personal preference though; others may not be so bothered by the writing.

Overall, The End Games was an exciting post-apocalyptic zombie book with an impressively emotional sibling bond at its core. Though the writing may not have always clicked with me, it is evident that T. Michael Martin is an authentic new talent and one to watch. The End Games is a standalone (win!). I would recommend The End Games to zombie-lovers in need of some emotional depth in addition to the gore. show less

For the last twenty-plus days, Michael and his five-year-old brother, Patrick, have been evading the Bellows. It’s all part of a game. A game that started on Halloween night. The night when the world changed. But “the game” is getting harder and the rules are changing. The once predictable Bellows seem to be growing in numbers and it almost appears that they are getting smarter.

According to the Game Master, the boys just need to keep pushing forward in order to reach the end. When they stumble upon a small town with actual living people, they are ecstatic, but these people seem to have an agenda of their own and don’t play by the same rules. Just when the two brothers are about to give up hope, they meet yet another group of show more survivors. These people seem harmless enough, and may be able to accompany the boys to the safe zone. But looks can be deceiving, and when everyone left in the world is trying to survive, it’s every man (or boy) for himself.

In order for a zombie book to really work for me, it needs to have two things:

An origin story that makes sense and seems realistic.
Great characters that you get attached to and want to see survive, even though the odds are against them.
While the origin of the virus was a bit hazy (more on that later), I LOVED the characters. The camaraderie between the brothers was tangible. While Patrick was kind of a little turd (as is to be expected of a five-year-old), Michael did everything in his power to protect him, even if it meant not always being honest with him. I can honestly say I probably would have done the same thing in their predicament. The bond between them was both inspiring and heartbreaking.

The other characters all served their purpose. There were some truly awful people that I loved to hate, and one in particular (Bonnie) that I adored. Some of the other survivors I felt a bit indifferent toward, mainly the character of Holly. I got the feeling she was only there as a possible romantic interest. She felt like more of a plot device than a necessity. I just never connected with her.

Mr. Martin created a wonderful story about brothers trying to survive. Even before the zombies hit, they were in survival mode. He fleshed out their backstory without dragging the momentum of the main plot down, which was nice. I will admit, though, that I enjoyed the story much more when it was just the brothers. The dynamic shifted a bit when they met up with the survivors, and while it was necessary to move the story along, I missed being alone with Michael and Patrick.

I really liked how the author portrays the zombies here. Michael and Patrick refer to them as “Bellows” because they act kind of like mockingbirds, or parrots and bellow words that they hear. For instance Patrick enjoys yelling things like, “I’m a butthead”, then laughs when the Bellows repeat that they are buttheads.

Mr. Martin also threw in something that I haven’t seen much in zombie novels which was the progression and mutation of the zombie virus. I loved this aspect and loved where it was going, but for some reason, in the end, it didn’t make sense to me. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t mention any more than the fact that there were a few things that just didn’t add up. Then again, that could just be me being overly analytical.

Fast-paced, plenty of action and a unique take on zombies makes this one a must-read for zombie fans. While there were a few things that didn’t really add up for me, they didn’t ruin the book. I would suggest reading it for the story of the brothers. Michael and Patrick will definitely steal your heart. show less

Bear with me, please, because The End Games is one of those novels with a twist fairly early on that makes reviewing the book without spoilers difficult. Still, I shall endeavor to sum up my basic thoughts while not revealing anything not mentioned in the blurb. T. Michael Martin's debut is a very strange book in pretty much every way: the plot, the characters, and, most significantly, stylistically. All of this add up to distinguish the novel from other post-apocalyptics that take on the concept of an outbreak that turns human into monsters.

The End Games is a zombie novel, though the Bellows are certainly not like the average zombies, except that they too are best taken out with a head shot, and that they were once human. The Bellows show more manage to be eerier. Rather than moaning like zombies generally do, the Bellows are like echoes, repeating any words they hear in a long shout. Of course, this is nice since you can hear them coming, but also freaking scary when you realize they're surrounding your position, and, since they're so loud, they're probably going to draw more Bellows to your position. In case that's not bad enough, they're evolving into something much worse.

What I think Martin does best here is the horror aspect. The End Games is pretty frightening, offering gore, monsters, battles, and psychological terror. Michael, a teen, and his five year old brother, Patrick, are trying to survive, to find a Safe Zone with other survivors, in this hellish Game. Getting through an apocalypse on your own would be bad enough but with a kid in tow? Yikes! When they do finally encounter other people, it's very hard to know who to trust and who's crazy, including with the brothers. All of this kept me engaged and curious.

There's a strong focus on family in The End Games, which I greatly appreciate. Michael is an amazing brother. He takes such good care of Patrick, not resenting him for making survival more difficult. In fact, Michael needs Patrick just as much, because he has to keep it together for Patrick, keep hope and motivation.

T. Michael Martin uses a very interesting storytelling method. The End Games is written almost like a reality show about a particular character. The narration is third person limited, following Michael. However, the narrator seems at times to interact with Michael, adding to the video game feel of the tale in what is a slightly discomfiting but powerful technique. Here are some examples of that:
"Dang, she's so cool.
Dang, don't think that.
Dang, why?
Because of on account of this being the most horrible time to get a crush on a girl.
Oh. Right. Daaaang."
"Keep going. You're scared, that's true, but."
In the first example, a lot of Martin's style is illustrated. Michael's thoughts are included throughout in italics, though whispers are as well and sometimes emphasis as shown here. Michael and a couple other characters speak in some sort of strange dialect and occasionally hold out words, like with that last "dang." You can also see the way the narrator just answered his question, and he in turn responded to that. Even more interesting, the narrator actually emulates Michael's way of speaking/thinking; the bulk of the narration is in standard American dialect. In the second, the narrator eggs Michael on, urging him not to give up in a desperate situation. While I do think this writing style is largely effective, it's very odd and will be disconcerting to some readers, especially the unidentifiable dialect used by the brothers.

Where The End Games left me cold was the characters. I don't care much about anyone. Of them all, Michael is the most likable, due to his sweet affection for his brother. However, Patrick actually creeps me out a lot. I kept expecting him to turn out to be some sort of new monster or something, because I found him that freaky. Spoiler: he's not. I couldn't care about the half-hearted romance or the deaths of any of the characters either. More time is spent on developing the creepiness than on the characters.

The End Games will be a great read for those who love horror tales, and new creepy monsters. Those who take an interest in unique storytelling will also want to check out this quirky debut. show less

3.5 stars

Michael and his little brother, 5-year old Patrick, are playing a “game” where they are fighting the “Bellows”. Michael is only hoping he can get himself and Patrick safely to their mother, and he’s hoping she’s safe, too! Really, Michael IS trying to get to the “Safe Zone” he heard about on the radio, but it’s tough.

At the start of the book, I really wasn’t sure if it was a game or not, but once I realized that it wasn’t, it got more interesting. There were certainly some suspenseful moments and I was kept wanting to read. I do think zombies aren’t my favourite thing to read about. Though there were 4-star portions of the book, the majority of it was 3.5 stars for me (good). For some reason, I thought show more it was the start of a series, and I was all ready and willing to continue the series, but it seems that it is a stand-alone, after all! show less