Blood Crazy

On a day that would later be named Day 1, parents inexplicably began to murder their children. Nick Aten was staying at a friend's house, so he was "lucky," though he didn't feel that way when he returned home to find his brother dead and his parents missing. It didn't take long for him to figure out that everyone over the age of 18 had turned into murderous, psychotic maniacs.

I suppose you could call Blood Crazy a zombie novel, although I think it's an inaccurate categorization. The adults aren't undead, and they don't behave remotely zombie-like, there is just something alarmingly wrong with them. It's an interesting concept too, and Clark develops it nicely. Though it feels flat in the beginning, the plot progresses nicely and the show more increasingly odd behavior of the adult population is intriguing enough to keep you turning pages deep into the night.

The book tries to get philosophical in the end, but it mostly fell flat for me. I didn't really buy into it, and even though I really liked the effect it had on Nick (and my own opinion of another main character) it didn't connect well with what was actually happening. I still enjoyed the book though, it's a minor issue in what is otherwise a quick and exciting experience. I'll definitely be reading more by this author in the future. show less

*Spoilers*

Annoying and unsatisfying. What should have been a typical apocalyptic tale gets a moral crammed into it, and it’s done so badly that it doesn’t even read as irony. Why would Clark do this, what editor let him get away with it? He can write engaging prose so he’s far ahead of the pack. Why ruin a good thing by ending it with ‘The world is full of blood crazed maniacs, but you will be OK if you follow your heart’? The book reads like an after school special on the apocalypse.

Why do so many authors seem able to still turn out readable mysteries and thrillers, but not so with horror? Disappointments like the one I had with BC make me wonder if it's worth the time to even read horror.

Fast-paced and a quick read. This is one of the better horror novels I've read in a while. I got caught up quickly in the story of zombie-like parents chasing down their own kids in this apocalyptic doomsday scenario. I didn't buy Clark's ultimate explanation of the genesis of the apocalypse, but what the hay, it was a good ride anyway. And I loved the main character Nick. We get to see him mature and change and accept the responsibility of adulthood, along with the pressure of the survival of humanity on his shoulders. Great characterizations.

Blood Crazy overcomes a choppy start to become one of the better zombie apocalypse novels I've read recently. Similar in some ways to Stephen King's Cell, I found Clark's book more developed and conclusive in the ending. There's a bit of bad science behind the explanation of the apocalyptic event when Clark claims Neanderthals are part of the evolutionary sequence to homo sapiens, but it isn't enough to put me off a fun read. Kudos to Clark for springing the real horror (self-governance of children) later in the book.

OK.....this was a surprise....I was not expecting to enjoy this one much at all. I've read one other by Clark and didn't enjoy it at all. This isn't they type of novel I typically read, I just don't get into apocalyptic, zombie type novel. Something intrigued me about the copy on the back and I picked it up cheap at a thrift store so I thought I'd give it a go. All I can say is that is probably the quickest I've pounded through 400 pages. Not able to put this one down, I admit, I read this when I should have been doing other things. The story starts off quickly and never stops. I found myself caring about the characters in a way that surprised me and the theory behind the catastrophe actually makes a bit of sense and is somewhat show more believable (as far as you can believe these things anyway). Even if this isn't your normal cup of tea, go ahead and pick this one up...it won't take much time anyway and you may just find yourself enjoying yourself along the way. show less

The best book I have ever read. Blood Crazy combines post-apocalypse, killer parents, and zombies...with a dash of Lord of the Flies.

As with any Simon Clark book I loved this one! Was quite different in the fact that it had no build-up to the event but started at the event starting. Fantastically written, had alot of things to think about and a great twist!