Deadlocked - Review

Deadlocked (Deadlocked, # 1)

By: AR Wise

Published: December 20th 2011 (first published November 9th 2011)

54 pages

Source: Personal Kindle Library (Freebie!!!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--David was caught in the middle of the city when the zombie outbreak started. His wife and daughters were at home, stranded on the roof as zombies waited below. He would have to fight through hordes of undead, merciless other survivors, and a series of death defying stunts to get home. However, even if he makes it there, how can he be sure they're safe?

Deadlocked puts you into David's head as he struggles to get home. Then a final confrontation occurs that will guarantee his family's survival, but at what cost?

This is a really short read at only 54 pages, but there’s a lot packed into these few pages. Basically we get to experience the zombie outbreak from day 1 which is not something we typically see in any zombie story. We usually pick up with years later or a character that has been out of it while the world went to pot. But this is the first experience I’ve had with seeing everything as it happens.

The version of the e-book that I read had an author’s note at the end that I felt really enriched the entire book and experience for me. AR Wise, the author, poses the question to the reader as to whether or not the reader would actually believe the events taking place if they were to take place in the reader’s real life. And of course, truth be told, I have to say no. I mean even considering the events of the not so distant past where there have been several instances of cannibalism in the world within a matter of months (Chinese Cannibal Attack Caught on Video as Drunken Bus Driver Chews Off Woman's Face, Homelss Victim of Cannibal Attack, Another Cannibal Attack in Florida, Zombie Apocalypse Continues New Cannibal Attack Sees Maryland Man Eat Victim's Brain, and Pennsylvania Cannibal Attack: Zombie Apocalypse and Bath Salt Fears), I would never truly attribute these events as a zombie outbreak. Because of the increase in popularity of zombie books and movies, I believe some of us are more aware of the zombie fictional world enough to crack jokes about these instances being zombie attacks (so much so that the CDC had to make an announcement that there is no zombie virus going around). But come on…none of us actually believe zombies are real (well….maybe some do, but that’s a different subject for a different day.) I digress.

AR Wise threw rules right out of the door when it came to this short, action packed starter to his zombie series. He quickly lets us know that no one is safe in his zombie world. Truth is though, we don’t get a lot of information about the zombies themselves and David has run-ins with living human beings just as much if not more than actual zombies.

The scenes are somewhat graphic, and language is quite strong in the repeated use of the f-bomb, so this is not a read for younger readers.

All of that being said, Deadlocked was a really quick and intense read perfect for Halloween. I’ll give it 3 stars but only because it’s so short that just as I was getting into it, it was over. I have high expectations for the rest of this series.

Have you read Deadlocked? If so, what did you think? Let me know!