Hello Addicts,
I’ve read many zombie apocalypse tales over the years, both good and bad. The good ones tend to spawn prequels, which provide essential backstory on popular heroes and villains. Planet Dead by Sylvester Barzey, is one such series. This month, I decided to look at a tale set in that universe, Planet Dead: The Briggs Boys (Planet Dead Shorts Book 1).
The story opens with the Briggs brothers, Robert and Peter, arguing just outside of their infected mother’s room. Robert, the older brother, knows what will happen once she turns and wants to send her off before she becomes a zombie. Peter, the doting son, remained by his mother’s side after his older brother left to join the military and start a family of his own. He holds on to the hope that Mama Briggs will not die or become a rabid, flesh-eating monster. When she inevitably does, a small horde joins her, and the boys find themselves under siege in their own home. What follows is a nonstop ride involving mercenaries and a possible cure. Follow the epic beginning of the Briggs Boys as they find their place in Planet Dead.
I enjoyed this short glimpse into the Planet Dead world. The story moved at a comfortably rapid pace, and I found myself not wanting to put it down until I found out what happened next. The characters were well-developed, given the story length, and you can’t help but want to follow them in the later novels. The only issue I had has more to do with prequels in general, predictability. It becomes easy to guess the story ending and the fate of characters that don’t appear in the main novels. That aside, I recommend this introduction to the Planet Dead world. If you started with the main novels, this short provides some fun character backstory. Personally, I plan on reading the rest of the books in the series as soon as I can.
Until next time, Addicts.
D.J.
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