Devoured (The Hunger Book 1)

This was my second Jason Brant novel. I had previously read Gehanna - his West of Hell series book 1 and really enjoyed it. In fact I bought the West of Hell Omnibus edition and fully intended to read it but then I got to looking at the cover of this book: Devoured (The Hunger Volume 1) and it just drew me to it so I thought I'd read the sample to see what it was like and I was immediately sucked into a swirling vortex of pure awesomeness and was unable to put the book down so I ended up buying it and those two seconds waiting for it to fully load on my kindle were pure torture.Jason Brant doesn't mess around. One of the things I loved about this book is that the action starts up right out of the gate and doesn't let up until the very last harrowing page. Everything you could want from a good post-apocalyptic zombie invasion was here. A mutant zombie horde - check! Lots and lots of action - check! Just enough gore to satisfy you but not enough to make you hurl while eating your lunch - check! The one thing I generally don't like about some action heavy oriented novels is that the characters usually suffer from it but have no fear, Mr Brant has seemingly mastered the fine art of balancing action and character depth. The characters in Devoured are ones that you can not only relate to but also root for and for that this book gets a huge nod from me.Lance is the main hero of the tale. I love the fact that he's just an ordinary guy. In fact life has been very unkind to Lance York. In the real world he hasn't been able to hold down a job in years, his wife can't stand the sight of him and his marriage is crumbling faster than a zombie can eat your brains. Lance has pretty much lost what self esteem and self respect he once had and as the world begins to go to the zombies he finally starts to come into his own. He's a good guy, the kind of person you'd want on your side if you all of the sudden found yourself at the bottom of the food chain while zombies and crazy militants ran around killing everyone.Lance survives the initial destruction of mankind by hiding out in a restaurant for a while and when things quickly turn for the worse and it looks like his brains are going to be eaten after all he is saved by one of the most unlikeliest heroines to ever grace the pages of zombie fiction. Enter Cassie or Cass as she demands to be called She carries a big axe, is full of attitude, (and I mean that in the most awesome way possible) and has a whacked out sense of fashion, and ho she's the true bada** (self censored) of the tale. Her interactions with Lance are priceless and I love how his self confidence goes way up after meeting her. I also love the fact that the woman is the true action hero of the tale. She's athletic, strong and quick on her feet as well as her mind. Lance on the other hand is a bit out of shape not that he let's that stop him but Cass, well she's something else.I had such an amazingly fun time reading this book. It's not your average run-of-the-mill zombie book and these are in no way your average zombies and trust me, this makes all the difference in the world. If you are looking for an action-packed read with witty dialogue, colorful characters and a unique take on a genre that already has so many books to choose from then you can hardly do better than Devoured. I've already bought and started reading the second book: Consumed and I happily give this one a very enthusiastic 5 Stars. Heck, I wish I could give this an extra star just for Cass alone. She's freaking awesome! Great read and I highly recommend it!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Devoured (The Hunger Book 1)" by Jason Brant. When introduced to the main character, Lance York, on the first page, I felt sorry for him as his whole world was caving in on him. His former company downsized and he lost his job - finding a new one seemed impossible and interviews turned out to be a waste of time; his bank account is empty; his wife is divorcing him and he's convinced that he's a loser. A former colleague joins him on his walk of shame when they come upon a young woman who seems disorientated and looks like she's been exposed to something. When she walks absentmindedly into the path of a truck, Lance pushes her out of the way and becomes a casualty himself. When he awakes in the hospital, his estranged wife and former colleague are in the room with him. Suddenly, there's pandemonium all through the hospital and it is closed and quarantined by the CDC. They were all trapped inside!Lance is just a simple ordinary guy, but is blessed with common sense. He befriends a doctor and female Army Staff Sgt. in the hospital and learns of the virus and how patients are becoming violent killers. The information convinces him that it's time to go, so Lance leads his wife and friend through the hospital in an attempt to escape. During this escape, they come upon these zombies and must fight for their lives. This comprised the first quarter of the book, then took off quickly from that point.Lance is separated from his group and manages to make it all the way home - barefoot and wearing nothing more than his hospital gown, he unknowingly steps on a piece of broken beer bottle and suffers a deep gash on his heel - hindering his ability to walk. After a couple days of mending and watching TV reports, Lance packs a backpack and leaves the apartment on his quest to reach the Pittsburgh Steelers football stadium - the last bastion of safety within the city. It is on this trek that he meets a snarky 27 yr. old female who rescues him from certain death by killing zombies with a two-bladed battle axe. She is witty and the two of them banter back and forth continually through the rest of the story - many times making me smile or laugh out loud. Together, they set out toward the stadium...and inferred safety.Lance and Cassandra learn that there are three distinct classes of these creatures...newly infected simply wonder around aimlessly talking about hunger and are mostly harmless, Daywalkers are fully turned zombies who can run and attack the living - tearing them apart, Vladdies are completely evolved into extremely muscle-bound and strong creatures of 400 lbs. or more, resembling whiteback gorillas, but with extended canines hanging from their mouth - they walk on all fours, can jump up onto buildings and suck out all the blood of their victims. Sunlight can kill them so they hide in sewers and underground - coming outside only at night to hunt. They are quite difficult to put down.And don't forget the Preppers (militias), who have cordoned off a few blocks within the city and live together as a group. They go out foraging, and would just as soon kill a living, uninfected person without remorse and steal their supplies as they would kill a zombies when crossing paths. To have any chance at all, survivors had to be on their guard 24 hrs a day.One last thing, near the end of the book, the author points out the actions of a group of Vladdies, insinuating that they still have thinking capabilities and can communicate, plan and execute as a group! So the next book in the series should be interesting. Great job Mr. Brant! Looking forward to seeing how this story develops.John Podlaski, authorCherries - A Vietnam War Novel .

This was the first book Ive read from Jason Brant and it wont be my last. I had downloaded this for free quite awhile ago but only just got round to reading it. What a fantastic fast paced read, I was hooked and completely sucked into this fast paced storyline from the very first page...why on earth...hadn't I read this earlier...doh!If you love your zombie dystonian horror and gore you so need to read this next as its quite different to your normal zombie-esk reads. These monsters are a horrific combination of zombies and vampires similar to those of the Blade trilogy with larger bodies and more grotesque features making these creatures almost impossible to fight and so much more terrifying.What's great about this book is that most of us can relate to or know someone like Lance who is in a really bad place, with a nagging wife, not enough money and is feeling quite down. Jason has made us as the reader really feel for this guy as he's so realistic and completely believable. I was almost shouting at the screen when I discovered more about his scheming wife...no more spoilers here...grrr.Its been brilliantly written and I was completely sucked into this storyline and I absolutely loved watching Lance develop naturally throughout the book from this downtrodden guy to a more confident ass-kicking hero which is so convincing. Part of the reason for this new found confidence was Cassie who saved his butt from not just the night and day-walkers but the Militia (its not just monsters to be scared of out there).She is a likable, cocky young woman who is confident and strong not scared to kick ass when needed. Girl power at its best...yesss! We watch Lances confidence grow as the two of them fight together to get to the national safety point and of course this isn't going to go easy or is it even going to be safe?I found myself speeding through this book unable to put it down; another 6am finish on this lol! Loved it and I cant wait to read book 2.Go grab this you've no excuse as its FREE as I type for kindles.

Not your typical 'hard luck' story - there's a twist ! Poor guy, down on his luck, can't get a job, about to lose his wife when he comes across a woman who doesn't quite SEEM well, whom he saves from walking in front of a car, only to get hit himself. When he wakes up in the hospital that is when all HELL breaks loose. Think zombie apocalypse created by man ! I dare not spoil it for those who haven't read it yet, but please READ IT !!!!!!!!! Nightwalkers and Daywalkers and a hunger fest extreme ! The pace is great, enough to keep you turning the pages (or if you're using your Kindle, tapping that screen lol) quickly to get to the next one. You'll meet a set of characters that you'll want to stand behind and be rooting for from the beginning. Simply brilliant ! Some of those 'hold your breath' moments that make you feel like you've stopped breathing altogether. I couldn't put it down ! Grab this free copy while you can because it's a full size book and it will definitely make you want to read the next one, and the next.

'Devoured' is the first novel by Jason Brant that I have read. I won't be reading any more. This novel taps into the zombie genre and begins in a manner reminiscent of Stephen King. Mr. Brant introduces a protagonist, seemingly going about his life, before slowly unleashing undead horrors. In this way, Mr. Brant hopes to lure the reader into caring for his protagonist. Regrettably, it doesn't work.Mr. Brant's expression is clumsy. Here is one example: 'Yet another job interview went horribly wrong as his career circled the drain.' This is the second sentence, and declares too much, leaving the reader nothing to imagine. Furthermore, Mr. Brant has an ear for dialogue made of tin. After his hero bumps into a former colleague, he says: "Don Whitehead! We worked together for SysNet way back when!" Obvious to both characters, this information would be best revealed in an internal monologue.There are many great zombie novels. This isn't one of them.

I like me a bit of Zombie fiction but the sad fact is most of the writers of such fiction should stick to scrawling on bits of paper with crayons, and keep their dross off Amazon.Brant is not a bad writer at all. Bit of a Stephen King vibe to him. His characters are quite well rounded. His story quite good. Not actually a zombie book - Vampires are the order of the day here. Still...its not bad. Most of these self published horror writers are the absolute pits, no concept of dialogue or how humans think or behave and generally I don't read past the first chapter.This tale could get a little disjointed at times, and in some parts I did not enjoy where the story arc went but all in all this guy is holding his own. I suppose I could give you a summary about the story itself as a lot of reviewers are wont to do...but simply put...I can't be bothered. Go buy the thing and read it yourself.

Poor Lance York, his life is already a disaster, then the Apocalypse hits and he has to deal with his soon to be ex-wife, her lover and a world of the infected! Further characters are introduced as the story progresses and cross Lance's path. As the old world disintegrates, the survivors have to adapt and learn to push themselves to the limit or die. Then along comes Cass.Cass saves Lance, Lance saves Cass and together they make a formidable team against the Vladdies, the name thought up by Cass due to the appearance and behaviour of those infected by the Xavier Virus.Devoured - the opening book of the Hunger series really sets a high standard and is simply superb!