extremely graphic and brutal

Any additional comments?

wow! people either loved this book or hated it. i think that's what attracted me to it. i wanted to see what all the fuss was about! after listening to it, i can definitely see why some people didn't like it.

so let's start there...

i guess the biggest complaint is the violence against women. yup, i agree. it's brutal and sadistic. it's the most graphic and extreme i've ever listened to. but it provokes your emotions. i think that is the author's point. it brings home the meaning of an apocylapse, and the end of all civility. i liken it to a terrible accident. some slow down to look while others are too horrified. i can see how this "torture porn" can definitely put some people off. me? i was shocked by the sheer brutality of the character, garrett, but he is only in the vignettes.

this leads me to the structure of the book. throughout the story, there are 2 main story lines. one follows steve, who is a regular guy that gets caught up in a zombie apocylapse. he has no skills and no weapons. all he starts out with is a repair truck he stole. the other group is a young group of nerdy guys, who are online chatting as the zombie apocylapse begins. they decide to stock up what they have in their cars and meet in order to get out of the city.

interspersed between these 2 story lines are vignettes. within these, there are a couple of mini stories and one shot stories. there are like 8 vignettes throughout the story. the 2 mini stories follow juan, a homeless guy and former convict, and garrett, a psychopathic rapist. both mini stories are filled with extreme human on human violence. each vignette has 3 or 4 stories in it and lasts about 15 minutes.

with all of these story lines, it's hard to bond with the main characters. you don't really get a feel for them until 3/4 of the way through the book. plus, there's no notification that the story has changed story lines. it's kind of confusing. a few times when i wasn't listening closely, i was like, "what? what's going on here?" i had to rewind to find the switch.

this is a very graphic story. i must say the author does a great job describing and differentiating what the zombies look like and how they attack and feed. very gory stuff! but the zombies don't hold a candle to what man does to other men and women.

by the end of the story, i was engrossed enough to download the second book. hey! i'm a sucker for zombie series. i will say i liked book 2 better than book 1 b/c you actually get to know the characters better.

download at your own risk!

32 people found this helpful

overdone

What would have made DEAD: The Ugly Beginning better?

I loved some of the characters and the fact that no one was safe. I did however think he overdid the amount of rape that should have been included in his story. It can be assumed that things like that will happen. It does not need to be discussed over and over including details. I will not be listening to anymore in the series.

24 people found this helpful

EH...

I cant pinpoint exactly what it was that didn't grab my attention...I think the Zombie Fallout series by Mark Tufo ruined it for all other zombie series.

18 people found this helpful

Not As Great As All That. Rape scenes awful

My first impression of this book was the somewhat awkward presentation of it by the narrator. It took me the first three chapters to 'adapt' to his reading style. He can be quiet, steady, almost monotone, then suddenly gets very loud when voicing different characters. I'm not a fan of this narrator.

Next, the book was a slow and awkward start. I can't tell you how much of it was the writing, or how much of it was the narration. I came very close to quitting and asking for my money back in the first three chapters.

As the book moved on, I found it very convoluted. Most zombie books will introduce you to up to three different sets of characters. Not this one. This one has at least five, maybe more, I'm not sure, I've lost count. I find this to be very confusing. Each chapter seems to focus on one character or set of characters, then the next chapter moves to another bunch. There are so many people, so many names, so many different scenarios. Sometimes I find myself two pages into a chapter before I remember who they're talking about this time.

Some of the story lines are well written, others are boring, and still others are just, in my opinion, absolutely grotesque and very difficult to read/listen to. It seems to me, the author was trying to cover every different scenario he could think of in one book. There's the military guy; the average joe from the city; the group of geeks; the crazy rule the world folks (actually two sets of them);
...but the one that bothers me the most is the guy who likes to rape women and young girls. I understand the 'rape' guy seems to have the need to make an appearance in almost every zombie novel... However, I do not feel it was necessary for the author to go into such extreme detail concerning the acts of rape and violence against women. Far too much DETAIL... to the point it actually makes me wonder about the author himself.

THIS, above everything else, is the main reason I will NOT be buying the rest of the books in this series. Frankly, I don't want to hear that crap. It's sick, it's twisted, and it makes me feel sick to my stomach having to listen to it.

I listen to books for pleasure, not to hear this kind of crap.

It makes me a little bit sad, as there are a very few characters in the book that I like very much and I'd like to continue to see where they go. But, it's not worth it for me to have to endure another rape scene of a 15 year old girl...Or a rape scene of a woman being fed to zombies while she's being raped.

16 people found this helpful

Romero and King Fans Rejoice

If you have listened to the Zombie Fallout or the Blood Soaked series and loved the comical side of the stories, you're not going to find much of that here. While there are funny parts Dead: The Ugly Beginning is definitely not a comedy. If you have listened to I, Zombie or the Timothy series and loved the brutality and gore, you're not going to find much of that here either. What you will find is a meticulously intricate and well thought out zombie apocalypse story, told from multiple points of view, with a plethora of different complex and interesting characters, that explores, in my mind, several realistic scenarios and situations. All that being said there were a few completely grotesque and disturbing parts that made my skin crawl with disgust. Brown is quite obviously a fan of George Romero and Stephen King as this comes out in the many references throughout and is not a bad thing. While the book started out pretty cliché and predictable and even a tad slow, I started to think that there wasn't going to be anything special here, but I was so wrong. Where this audiobook shines is, within a rather short period of time, when it became clear that Brown was shooting for realism, something that is missing from many of this genre. I could see myself and those that I know in the story trying to survive. I can only imagine where the rest of the books and soon to be audiobooks will take us, I can say that I cannot wait to plug in and forget all of reality.

Audiobook provided for review by TW Brown and downloaded from Audible

Please find this complete review and many others at audiobookreviewer dot com

11 people found this helpful

A standout from the hoard

What made the experience of listening to Dead: The Ugly Beginning the most enjoyable?

I liked the fact that there was just the right amount of character development. Plus it was a nice touch that the characters were aware of "zombies" unlike other stories where the characters seem to of never heard of them.

What other book might you compare Dead: The Ugly Beginning to and why?

The only comparison I can make is to a podcast called "We're Alive". They both focus on survival after a zombie apocalypse in a similar fashion

Have you listened to any of Andrew McFerrin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not however I will. His performance was much better than other narrators I have heard

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I lost some sleep due this book only because I was so caught up in it I couldn't put it down

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this audio book. In fact I listened to it twice, back to back. Really looking forward to the rest of the series.

11 people found this helpful

Sleep with the lights on & a baseball bat in hand.

Where does Dead: The Ugly Beginning rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book is tops on my reader's choice list. If you love a really great zombie book, you'll love this one. Once you start, it is very hard to put it down for any length of time. Sleep becomes next to impossible till you finish this book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dead: The Ugly Beginning?

The scene that got me hooked on this book was when Steve's dog Pluck saves Steve. Cold chills ran down my spin and any noise in my house made me twitch. It is from this scene that I knew I wouldn't be getting any sleep till the book was finished.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was when Dillon heard the baby cry. I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes by the time the scene ended.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

When hell is full the dead walk...You better be able to run.

Any additional comments?

This book kept me thralled for the whole duration. My emotions swung from fearful to pissed in seconds, from elation to horror, and everything in-between. It is one of the best zombie books I've found in a long time. I have every intention of stalking Audible to pounce each book of this series when they are released!

10 people found this helpful

The Narrator is so BAD!!!

Would you try another book from TW Brown and/or Andrew McFerrin?

Yes because the story is actually pretty good...But the narration is so awful, it seems to be read without full stops or taking a breath....It moves from one group to the next in the same sentence...

Who was your favorite character and why?

meh they all have good things and bad things....

How could the performance have been better?

Sean Runnette

Was Dead: The Ugly Beginning worth the listening time?

Its a good story i just dont have the time to read all that much so listening to it while working is just easier

Any additional comments?

Good story :) Try to ignore narration being in one single sentence

9 people found this helpful

Took me long enough.

What did you love best about Dead: The Ugly Beginning?

I was putting off reading Dead because I was waiting for the other books to come out so I could read them all at once, like I usually do, until I was pushed and pushed to read it. I would listen to it when I was doing laundry, laying in bed, even working and wasn't around any customers, and I just couldn't stop listening to it.

What did you like best about this story?

The character point of views are very well done, and it really tells you what could really happen at the beginning, and duration, of a zombie apocalypse. It isn't all about the zombies. The detail he put into every chapter he wrote really made me feel like I was in the story. I got a little confused at times, because I would get distracted by everything that was going on, but reading on, it all made sense a little later. The small stories every now and again really made me pay more attention to the other, bigger stories as well.

What about Andrew McFerrin’s performance did you like?

The voice work Andrew did for the characters I felt were really spot on. He got the emotions that were needed for the scene and really made it seem like there was more than one person speaking.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I really wanted to listen to it all in one sitting, but work really gets in the way of that happening. I will definitely take some time to listen to it again when I have less work and more leisure. I would love to get deeper into the book and really know what's going on.

Any additional comments?

Even though it may not be a book for the younger generations, I highly recommend it to anyone who is even slightly interested in zombies. There are some parts that you may not like, but you have to admit, anything, even what TW writes about, could happen when the zombies come. You just have to be ready, like I believe TW is. I'm definitely ready for book two.

7 people found this helpful

The Dead Rise In This Awesome Tale.

Todd Brown is the new Zombie genre king.
Author T.W. Brown delivers an amazing tale with book one of his Dead series. This book take you from the beginning of a zombie apocalypse through multiple story arcs and point of views. Todd Brown does an amazing job with his wide range of characters and their development. You will come across characters that you love and feel for and others that you will hate. The author does well diving into the human psyche of what would happen if the dead began to rise. Mr. McFerrin does an outstanding job bringing the written word to audio. His voice acting really serves well to draw the listener into Brown's story.
I highly recommend this book to listeners. Give it a shot!
5 stars.

7 people found this helpful