5.0 out of 5 stars
Post-apocalyptic roller coaster ride.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 23, 2014
The Voodoo Plague series by Dirk Patton is an original, character-filled, action-packed, compelling post-apocalyptic tale. The first book in series, Voodoo Plague, starts with a businessman, John Chase, experiencing some disturbing events while in a hotel in Atlanta. He rescues a woman, Rachel, from an attack and they quickly go on the run as they realize that people have become rage-infected due to a bioterrorist attack. They decide to head to Arizona to find John’s wife, Katie, and quickly get immersed in not only survival, but also helping others survive. In Book 3, John, Rachel and Dog continue to fight their way to the West.
There are several unique elements that make the series stand out from the ordinary.
1. The “zombies” are not undead; they are regular people who have been infected with a bioterrorism virus. Females are fast, 28 days later rage-filled creatures, and some exhibit intelligence, while males form slow shambling Romero-type herds.
2. This is not a story about an average Joe rising to the occasion -- the central character in the series, John Chase, is a highly trained ex-military superhero. He keeps going and going, like the Energizer bunny, and is skilled to the extent that the reader has to suspend disbelief at some points. But being a superhero has its benefits, and it allows John to charge from action-packed situation to situation, which makes for a tense roller-coaster ride -- bringing us to point 3.
3. Action is non-stop. Infected! Nukes! White Supremists! Tornados! Slavers! Floods! Train Wrecks! Plane Crashes! Redneck Shit-kickers! Rescues! Bioterrorism! Serial Killers! Invading Forces! Helicopter Crashes! There is seriously no breathing space ever in this series, which means there is never a logical breaking point when you can go to sleep or leave the book for a while.
4. The characters, including those in supporting roles, are all interesting. I didn’t much like John at first, as he is bit macho in the first book, but the other characters caught my attention, especially Dog. Rachel, the rather clichéd “stripper with heart of gold” (and smarts too) is tough and resilient and likeable. Crawford, Jackson, Roach, and other characters add depth to the story. Though you don’t want to get attached to them….these are normal mortals unlike John!
The Voodoo Plague series is good fun, and I recommend that you get the entire set, call in sick to work, and tell your family that you need some personal space. Then, curl up in a dark room and enjoy the roller-coaster ride as John, Rachel, and Dog try to survive the action-packed events in Dirk Patton’s extraordinary, post-apocalyptic world.
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