| Title | : | Bleed (Slow Burn #6) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 307 |
| Publication | : | First published November 6, 2014 |
Zed and Murphy are trying to find their surviving friends to finally get out of Austin and head west to safety, away from the zombie hordes. But trouble, their perpetual companion, dogs them at every turn as they discover that infected humans aren’t the only source of mortal danger.
Bleed (Slow Burn #6) Reviews
-
Book 9 in my Zombie-a-thon 2022!
3.5 Stars
Zed and Murphy have really grown on me and it was fun to watch them interact with a new bunch of characters. This is definitely like GOT though in that you shouldn't get attached to any characters! On to the next! -
Another book done in a day! Another one I couldn’t put down!
This book was definitely not humorous like the last book. Don’t get me wrong there is a little of Zed and Murphy’s humor throughout but this one had me on my toes and tugged at my heartstrings! The heartbreak that honestly would break anyone! Zed and Murphy sees how people look at them. They don’t understand and of course they’re scared.
Like Paul says “Ignorance. Nothing ever changes.”
Honestly in my opinion they’re willing to go out scavenging for food and ammo with no problem, they know the whites don’t immediately see them as food. I would keep them around. They have come up lucky on many runs! Which who does it benefit...any survivors they’re with. Their normal group is close and has stuck together. I would say they care for one another like family!
We get to see more people this time around which is a nice change. Zed and Murphy were getting worried with how many survivors they have seen in their recent travels.
They observe new behaviors with the whites, which changes their safety dramatically!
The ending throws you for a twist.
I wonder where the last three books will take us. -
I waiting and waited for this book! And I was not disappointed! As always Bobby Adair does it again! I absolutely loved this one so much action heartbreak and just plain Zed and Murphy style.Zed and Murphy always seem lucky to get out of almost impossible situations Zed gets them into. Zed always the hero tries to save his friends from the normal people on the monk island. I will give no spoilers but let's just say I can't wait for book 7!
-
I have enjoyed all 6 of the books in this series, I'm really glad the saga will continue. Thanks to the author for all the good times.
-
Holy hell this is a bleak series. This author is great at giving you hope and then ripping out your heart and pissing in your chest cavity. I was so, so pissed off near the end of this book, but after a moment of reflection I have to say great job with this one.
Excellent series so far. I'm really rooting for the characters and every bloody time something is going their way I'm ecstatic, THEN Adair goes and messes it all up and I get so damn pissed off, I just sit there seeing red or I get really bummed out, then I remember this is just a work of fiction. I read a lot of messed up books but I normally don't get such a feeling of frustration, hopelessness and borderline rage.
Screw it, in an apocalypse I'm going it alone, screw everyone, it just isn't worth the pain. -
I read this as part of
Slow Burn Box Set: The Complete Post Apocalyptic Series
Some people are just evil no matter what. I loved how Zed saved the day. 4 stars. -
Oh no, Bobby Adair... you did not do that!
Ugh! On to book #7! -
"Fight the dead, fear the living."
The slogan for season 3 of The Walking Dead fits BLEED perfectly. In the sixth installment of Slow Burn, the zombies are almost window dressing. Zed's real enemies are a group of bigoted survivors holed up on an island who see Zed, Murphy, and other "slow burns" as a threat.
Adair deserves kudos: he matured significantly as a writer over the course of writing the Slow Burn books, and BLEED, the sixth in the series, is by far his strongest. He cooked up an evenly proportioned serving of drama, violence, introspection, character development, a little romance for his leading man, and a bubble of dread that built up as I neared the climax, and burst in a way that I hope will cause ripple effects throughout the rest of the series.
But the most gripping parts of the book were the ones showing the depravity of the human antagonists, who not only mistreat slow burns due to the color of their skin, but commit atrocities toward fellow humans. Ultimately, zombies are brain-dead animals incapable of forming a thought beyond "I want food." Humans, creatures capable of overwhelming compassion and overwhelming evil, are much, much worse.
My only concern going forward is that Adair has closed the loop on the series. Without giving away any spoilers, arriving at the ending left me feeling like I'd spent six books walking in a circle. It would be easy for Adair to follow the template of Slow Burn's first six books and continue cashing checks from his fans who will eat up (pun intended) anything he dishes out. And he deserves those checks. He's made great strides as a writer, and I have fallen in love with Zed, Murphy, and their post-apocalyptic world. Yet I do worry that Adair played it too safe with the ending.
Book 7 of Slow Burn will mark a new beginning for Adair's characters. Whether that beginning will feel fresh or well-trodden remains to be seen. Will I continue reading? Yes, but like Zed, I need a rest from his adventures. -
I said, “I was born to live in a world of whites, I just never knew it.
Zed and Murphy once again find the struggles of mundane life becoming harder and harder to sustain from. Haunted by the Hoard just beyond reach, and the cruelty of survivors towards others still with a heart beating in their chests, it’s no wonder the blood can soon run as cold as ice in those left in such a tormented world. Following the deaths of Mandi and Russel, neither man knew how to proceed, taking in a newly shattered world with few less people they loved and trusted.
Murphy was right. Other people's fears would haunt us forever.
Torn between his loyalties to those he trusted with every beat of his heart, and looking into the shadows to reclaim the lands from the Smart Ones and Whites, Zed Zane is losing his grips on his very sanity. Once so vibrant and strong, now withered away into the shell of who he was before the virus overtook everything he ever knew as normal. Bound into their lives, he couldn't merely stumble away, as his thoughts and his heart were beginning to circle back to Steph, someone with the immunity running through her veins. Where his skin was an ashen pale, sickly in the lights, hers' was tanned into a healthy glow and his feelings were far jumbled to recognize what he had while it still had a heartbeat.
I was drowning in numbness, and when I came up for air, all I felt was hurt.
As the group stumbled to survive, they mange a chance encounter with Steve and Angie, leaving Murphy, Zed, and Dallhover once more staring into the emptiness of the barrel. Then I got mad. "God damnit. I fucking knocked. Why'd you let me come in if you were going to put a gun to my neck when I got inside. His temper flaring, he felt fearless for the first time in a long while, meeting others' who held to a natural hue while infections ran rampant throughout the cities. Austin was under fire,raging down every city block and tranquil neighborhood while a hoard thousands strong of hairless naked Whites were scavenging out those still living. "What, so you can shoot them too? Well fuck you, I don't like this world anymore, anyway. I need a rest." Coming to shattered terms with those around him could hardly be counted as trustworthy,the trio were fighting every odd to make it back to the girls, and nobody would stand in the way. Then, without turning, I hollered, "Don't come in. Fucktard has a gun on me.' Those that found the rarity of loyalties and friendship in the post apocalyptic world, better hold to their treasures, because such a thing was so far removed anymore.
Murphy laughed again, "Zed the cockroach. This is some funny shit." "A cockroach?" I was offended.
Finding new survivors was supposed to be a blessing, not a curse so drowned out in misery and hatred. It should of shined a light onto the possibility of rebuilding the world, but instead only furthered the outline of destruction in ways the Whites never could replicate. As they stumbled upon a group hidden in clear view on an island, it was only the before understanding of the terror the Whites held for the water that was keeping them safe, but among them held secrets and a man with an evil burning through his heart. This would emerge Gretchen and Paul, two survivors without the shared agenda of Jay Booth, a man who took Megan, Rachel, and Steph away from Zed, and that was simply too far to be pushed. Raiding their island was easy, bringing Jay to his knees all the sweeter, but the pain would bring him to his knees as the White's grabbed a hold of Steph, and drug her beneath them before him with nothing he could do to save her. Now, the possibility of living was such a short cry, and he looked as those non infected and saw the same betrayal on their faces as he saw on Jay's, the idea they'll never fully trust or accept him and Murphy. As they both were still monsters with flesh. As they separated form the group, Murphy spend days nursing the frail Zed back to a stand-able health, leaving behind everyone else for his best friend in such a tattered world.
Stomping again, Murphy came up to me, raised his fist, and though I saw it coming from ten steps away, I didn't do anything to avoid it. He punched me in the face so hard that I didn't even feel it.
Just get to the water. Just get to the water.
"Me too, I haven't had to run for my life in over twenty-four hours." -
I'm a shameless fan of the "zombie apocalypse" genre. It really has nothing to do with horror, but I enjoy reading stories about people overcoming adversity and surviving in a world that has been radically affected by a massive catastrophe.
I've read a LOT of books in the genre, and I consider myself a bit of an aficionado. Therefore, when I say that this is one of the best series I've read in the genre, I'm not kidding.
This book is one of a series of books, and I'm leaving the same review for ALL of the books, because I read them all in a back-to-back binge on my Kindle. In my mind, it's all one lengthy well-told story, and I don't see any point in trying to isolate each book for a review. The series is awesome. By them all, read them in order, and you will enjoy them!
So WHY is this series so good? Well, for one thing, Bobby Adair is a very good writer, and the books are well-written with interesting characters and lots of action.
In this series, the "zombies" are people infected with a virus that essentially fries their brain with fever, leaving them more or less mindless and violent. The interesting twist is that not all "zombies" are equally infected. Some zombies retain some of their intellect, and some remain essentially ALL of their intellect, although they cosmetically appear just as infected as the others. I'd never read a zombie story told from the perspective of someone infected, yet not fully mindless, and what it's like to experience persecution from all sides. The other zombies want to eat you, and the "normal" immune survivors don't trust you since you have the pale skin of the infected.
I also REALLY like the fact that the story is set in Austin, Texas. I'm a native Texan myself, and for a while I in Austin, so it was very interesting to me to read a story that's set in a familiar setting. Bobby Adair knows what he's talking about when he writes about what it would be like to experience the collapse of civilization in central Texas in the blazing summer heat of August.
I also really like the fact that the main characters are interesting. For instance, the character "Zed" isn't a bad ass who was a Green Beret, and he wasn't a prepper before the apocalypse. He's a bit of a loser, who graduated from UT with a philosophy degree yet works at Starbucks, and probably drinks too much and smokes too much weed, and is drifting through life thanks to a lack of motivation from his shitty childhood. He's not an angel, and he makes mistakes, and that makes him very easy to relate to.
I might also add that the book is laugh-out-loud funny in many places. The banter back and forth between Zed and Murphy is hilarious and very believable, and really made the characters come alive in my mind.
Read these books! You will thank me! -
Another fitting title for what has surpassed book 3 as the most DEPRESSING of the books so far. I don't know if my heart can take this anymore after this entry. This one gutted me. GUTTED. Too much misery. Too much death. Too much ugliness among normal people. That's what I get for trying to cling to hope or get attached to characters. Why the author made the decisions he made in this book is beyond me, and I'll be lying if I said many of them pissed me way the hell off. So much death and for frickin' what? Can no one catch at least a couple days worth of even just breathing?
I couldn't even wallow in the budding romance between Steph and Zed because he went and killed her off. I was honestly shocked. SHOCKED. Thought for SURE Zed was simply hallucinating, that he had lost blood and imagined Steph being eaten alive. And after everything, (EVERYTHIIIIING!!!) he went through to find her, she dies? I can't believe how saddened and pissy this made me. Such potential, such promise, such INTRIGUE and and it goes POOF. Why kill off one of a main character who honestly brought out a side to Zed that I appreciated? And so now what? I hated this entry. And I loved it, yes. But I so hated it. -
I never would have thought......
Book 6 is tough. Each book throws you a curve ball you don't expect. Everyone that has made it through and has lived knows what loss feels like and it hurts a lot. No one forgets what they have lived through. Each one learns something about themselves, they learn who they can trust, from judgment or lack of. It's not easy to trust especially when you second guess yourself.
Murphy and Zed have become best friends because they have learned what the other person is capable of. They know they have each other's back when the sh*t hits the fan. Now is no different, it's just the two of them again. The others have moved on. -
I have the omnibus edition of this series so just wanted to say phew, it was exhausting following the all-action events and I was only reading about them...no wonder Zed and Murphy need a rest.
I thought this installment was poignant on more than one level - Zed's emotional state, the way ignorance and fear cause unjust reactions and how human behaviour, in the main, falls into the realm of beasts when things are tough. It also highlights the stupidity of racism and its effects - lessons to be learned (though probably not). I can certainly understand Zed's anger.
Well-written and highly recommended. -
In a world where a moment of inattention could cost a life, it's not the immediate threat of the horde that causes the most emotional and physical distress.
No, it's those that a person has put their life on the line, only to be rejected because of skin color.
Although behavior characteristics were vastly different, fear caused rational reasoning to be over written.
Then there's those that no matter what's happening in the world, they believe they are the elite of any group. They are the real enemy of mankind. -
I can’t get enough of Zed and Murphy!!
Slow Burn 6 is another amazing book in this series!! As Murphy heals from losing Mandi and Zed is trying to find Steph they run up on a group of survivors. Once again nothing goes as planned and things get interesting when the island survivors don’t like having slow burners around. I really enjoyed reading this book but I the ending hurt my heart. I can’t wait to see what Bobby Adair has in store for us in book 7. -
Darn you, Adair! I can't believe you killed that character! That's why I'm only a mild fan of the zombie genre, because too often someone I've come to like dies.
I like the different take of this whole series, seeing it from the viewpoint of one of the infected, and I'll keep reading, but not soon. -
Another great
This is my second reread of this series and. I still love it. Highly recommend to any zombie. Lovers.. Spoiler ahead...
The end kills me. Like. Breaks my heart even though I know how the series ends. Murphy staying behind, Steph.. All of it.
This is one of my fave of the series. -
I drifted over to Slow Burn after reading the diary series. Before I knew it I am 2/3rds of the way through, finishing one and looking forward to the next. I am enjoying the writing, the storylines and the characters. I am hoping the series will be at double figures, keep up the good work BA, if it doesn't make it I will still move over to another of your creations.
-
Another Great Continuing Story
Book 6 is full of action and adventure just like all the previous ones. I seem to not be able to put down the story of Zeb and his friends fighting for survival in a zombie ridden world. -
By this point I wish there were more character development and a new setting. I’m getting tired of the same mistakes from the same characters and the same sitting on the river with wealthy homes. Hoping the next book will turn the corner in terms of the story and character development.
-
Ugh another great book in the series. Emotionally charged ending, but if you made it this far, you know something will happen to one of the main characters/new main characters that totally changes the dynamic of the story.
-
I thought this lacked an actual plot and it seemed to be just the same thing repeated - Zed leaving to go help someone or go on a supply run, meets new people (some good, some bad), gets in trouble then has to find a way back. Not the best instalment in the series.
-
Excellent
Lots more adventure for our friends Zed and Murphy. They find lots more survivors to help and lots more trouble to get into. -
Another awesome book
Book six was filled with excitement that kept you on the edge of your seat, near the end of this one the twist was so unexpected. On to book 7 -
Oh god, what a kicker... This book has a gut-wrenching end, one I just wasn't expecting. Guess I'm heading straight for Book 7 to find out what comes next.
-
Fast read
I'm a slow reader but read this in 3 days. Couldn't put it down. . . I've read this far, going to continue
