| Title | : | Sanctum (Slow Burn #9) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 226 |
| Publication | : | First published March 20, 2016 |
With both the Naked Horde and the Survivor Army destroyed, Zed and Murphy make their preparations and head to College Station to do their small part in salvaging humanity’s future. But the post-virus world isn’t kind to humans or their plans and nothing they find on their journey is what they expected.
Sanctum (Slow Burn #9) Reviews
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Book 12 of my Zombie-a-thon 2022!
3.5 Stars
And so we come to the end of this audiobook boxset. Overall the series was entertaining and a good bit of zombie fun. The action sequences were well written and I liked that Bobby had the characters facing internal struggles about killing. I thought the 'racism' towards the 'slow burns' added an interesting dynamic that created a lot of conflict between characters. Slow burns' skin becomes a pasty white so this set up some humorous moments where Murphy, a black man, laments about still being on the receiving end of racism despite now having white skin. Each of the novels in the series is very short and basically feature one main event. Whilst I enjoyed the characters I thought they were quite flat and there were some stereotypes in there too. There wasn't a whole lot of complexity to the story so it was an easy listen. I did think the slow burn concept was cool so kudos for that. There is a book 10 not included in this boxset but I won't use another credit for it. Make of that what you will. Entertaining and mindless zombie entertainment. -
Overall, this was an amazing series. It's complete with nine books, but at the end of book 9,
Sanctum, Adair mentions a possibility of a tenth novel, maybe because fans are having a hard time letting go of Zed and Murphy. However, I'm done, if a tenth book does come out I won't read it as I feel that the ending couldn't be more perfect, also I'm not sure my heart and remaining hair can stand any more.
This well written series has around 2200 pages of extreme action, tons of drama, quirky humour and never a dull moment. I definitely recommend having all the books ready to go, as each book has a very abrupt ending, and you won't want to wait long to discover what's going to happen next. I read all these books back to back, something that I rarely do with a series or a single author, but in this case it was so worth it.
Adair did a very good job with all the characters, and he nailed the two main characters, Zed and Murphy. These are characters that I won't forget and I had a great time following them through their many crazy adventures, also, the antagonists known as the "Whites" that Adair created could not be more horrifying and interesting.
I picked up these books because I wanted a nice, long zombie apocalypse series. Although many people, the author included, are calling these creatures zombies, I don't believe they are. I'm not complaining though, because I feel that the author created something infinitely more unique, interesting, and very well suited to the whole "end of the world" scenario that I love so much.
I had such a great time reading this series with my least favourite being the first book
Zero Day. Keep reading though, I believe you won't regret it. I will definitely invest more time reading the rest of his books. Great job. -
I am taking a star off for the ending.
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What more can be said about this terrific series?
A little more, it seems. Here, we get a bit of a respite, a bit of a reset. We get to see the toll this hellish journey has been taking on our heroes.
We also get to see, once more, how living humans can still be far more dangerous than rampaging hordes of the undead.
I, for one, am definitely not ready to see this gripping series end.
Highly recommended. -
Slow Burn #9
In my opinion, I think this is the best Slow Burn of the series. I loved it, maybe because I have been to Balmorhea, it is a beautiful park there with a great spring and beach. And what a wonderful surprise at the end which I will not say and spoil it for anyone. Zed and Murphy are two of my favorite characters in this genre. If you are looking for a good series, I recommend this series by Bobby Adair and he will not let you down. -
Ends on a down note
The entire series grips you at the outset but as the story developed I found myself liking the main character Zed less and less. By the time the series ended I really hoped that he would die. None of his actions made any sense and he had few redeeming traits. The others should have abandoned him long ago -
I dredged my memory for anything, but came upon images of tragedy and echoes of screams from people I knew, liked, and loved.
Following the stories and tales from Zed Zane and Murphy Smalls for what feels like an eternity, I finally find myself standing at the finality of the series, and it feels like I’ve said goodbye to close friends. Sitting through their hardships, the battles and obstacles they overcame and battled from the very beginning; it’s bittersweet seeing their resting place in Balmorhea, Texas After so long. The dynamic duo lost nearly everything countless times but never once truly lost who they were or whom they were risking it all for. With comedic after thoughts and tense, tear jerking moments this series found it’s way to become a mesmerizing adventure and one I wish wasn’t quite over with. For truth be told, both Murphy and Zed leas tales in their wakes not soon forgettable.
Murphy said, “You’re breathing that funny way you do when you’re stewing about something.”
“What?”
“You know what I’m talking about. Like a little white troll, snorting and huffing.”
I shook my head. “Whatever.”
“You can’t hide in your troll hole forever.” Murphy grinned. He loved his sense of humor. “Spill it.”
As the Naked Hoard and the Survivor Army looked deeper and deeper into the past, finding those still loving and with uninfected brains proved a harder reality then one ever could of imagined. Some recovered from the fevers and corresponding comas and awoke hungry with a desire for warm flesh while others maintained a pale skin color and a normality intact. Others could awaken with a dull, childlike innocent that required guidance to surivive. For few, whether it’s spelled luck or not could survive with their normal skin tones and no true side effects from the virus that took the world to its knees. With so many they’ve comes to love and trust lost behind in the bloodshed, pulling together meant everything to the shell shocked survivors who were willing to take on anything to see just one more sunrise and sunset.
Null Spot the Destroyer was dead. He died of a daunted heart in an introspective moment when nobody was looking.
“You were snorting like an angry little pug.” Murphy knew I was lying.
No whites were nearby. Some were still moving away, looking over their shoulder, getting away from the Null Spot. They sensed that I was going to detonate.
With the closure upon them, they discovered new comrades aging the way and in time they too faded from the view finder. Martin, a retired Pilot whose entire existence post-virus was hunted solely on his value to the Survivor Army proved his loyalty to Zed after some time and with his death in the helicopter crash still raw, aided his sacrifice in keeping the others safe and alive. Reunified with Fritz, Grace and Jazz from earlier tales, the tight knit community of survivors held onto hope of finding the remains eleven of their group, lost amongst the pecan orchards in rural Texas. As the weeks drafted forward and limits we’re ultimately reached, the group stumbled into Balmorhea with little hope left inside of finding Rachel, Gretchen, and Dalhover until spotting the armored Humvees and getting the ultimate shock of his life.
Dalhover looked towards the Humvees again, drawing my eyes in that direction. Walking towards us, with pale skin, green eyes, flaming red hair blowing in the breeze, looking bewildered, was Steph.
Alive with her fair share of scars, abrasions, and healing wounds was Steph, somehow still with a heartbeat despite the illusion of her death weeks prior. At a loss of words, the world before his fell aside as he stared into her eyes, captivated that the love he felt for her, The one he regretted losing most of all stood before him, more alive then he imagined. As her fever bore down, she fought solo for survival, never forgetting the place they set to meet up, hoping and praying that everything couldn’t possible be lost. With both believing the other two of perished that night at Lake Travis, the shock they experienced felt raw and tender as the two finally stumbled into the other. Admitting his feelings of love and adoration to her, Both would discover the world for what it was becoming. Hope he’ll quicker to their veins, and as the groups rejoiced and joined together, Steph and Zed could finally begin their own journey to see where it’ll leave them in the long run.
Was the act of forgetting the dead and forgetting the grief one of the tricks of keeping one’s sanity? Whatever is was, it wasn’t fair, and nobody gave a shit about that either. We were breathing. They weren’t. And that’s the way it goes.
“I’ve had more swinging dick time than anybody.”
“Swinging dick time?” Murphy laughed. “Is that what you call it when you run around naked with the Whites?”
I was where I belonged, surrounding myself in a fragile illusion of immortality that expanded with each splash of warm blood around my boots.
It felt like we were taking the maintenance entrance to the devil’s outhouse.
As I struggled to get from underneath Him, I was irritated - creeped out at the feel of a doughy old man sweating all over me. “Dammit, Martin.” -
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! -
I've finally finished the 9 book Slow Burn boxset by Bobby Adair, I decided to write a review after this milestone rather than after each book because they're a bit small in length to review solely but collated together they become this gargantuan story of twists and turns shrouded in a dark post-apocalyptic world that warrants merit.
So the premise? A pandemic takes over (hits a bit close to home that) but yeah a pandemic that leads to essentially a zombie survival story, except the zombies have varying degrees of intelligence, some still hold full levels of sentience where as some are mindless monsters focused on eating... human flesh.
The story revolves around Zed Zane, a guy who's oblivious to the surrounding world falling apart but with a mindstate from years of abusive parents that lets him disconnect from the emotionally destructive things happening around him, he finds out he's infected, then everything changes.
Put plain and simply, this a zombie story book, there's clichés in numbers, some of it is incredibly predictable, some however is not. The pacing of the story works well, the environmental storytelling works well, but some of the character writing was a bit lax, although I appreciated the protagonist and Murphy (his sidekick?)
Would I recommend this book? Yes??? It was my first foray into a zombie book? I've seen a tonne of zombie shows and films but in this medium it was quite refreshing, and seeing Zed's story progress is very interesting, especially when he starts thinking he's some sort of hero, really good stuff -
I thoroughly enjoyed the 9th installment of the Slow Burn series. The author, for all of the trials and tribulations he puts our story leads through got it right again. (no spoilers) Throughout the series, he has taken us (through the lead characters) into a variety of situations and venues, but where he really excels is in covering the interrelationships of mighty Zed and Murph. That said, in "Sanctum," they are both starting to show wear and tear - signs of battle fatigue. Their adventures and misadventures have pulled at their heartstrings before, but this is actual fatigue. It affects their judgement, which in an post-apocalyptic world could prove to be fatal. Other notes ... I appreciated the introduction of scientists, who were looking into a cause and cure for the "white fever," and hope that the author pursues this in the future; and I was totally satisfied with the twists and turns up to the end of SB#9.
I appreciate the author's writing style which makes it easy to slip into Zed's and Murph's world in a way that allows the reader to contemplate their approach in their situations. The situations are fresh and never stale. The characters are extremely likeable and well worth the investment by readership. Looking forward to SB#10 and beyond ... after all, the SB series is fine entertainment. -
This review is about the whole Slow Burn series.
6.9 out of 10 stars
Bobby Adair has come up with the most believable zombie origin story I've ever read or watched. I love that the zombies aren't just shambling corpses that somehow infect others with a venomous bite.
These books are humorous, and sometimes quite sad.
The series is also quite frenetic. It was hard at times to keep up with the action. So much so that I had to take breaks between books and read something slower paced. All of that action was also too repetitive and went on way too long. Maybe it felt that way because I read them all in a short period of time. If you were reading them from the beginning and waiting for the next book to come out it might seem less chaotic.
I've also never read that many pages told from one character's perspective All 9 books take place in Zed's head , which at times can be scary.
Regardless of the series shortcomings, I enjoyed it for the thrill ride it was. I would like to read a book set 10 or 20 years in the future to see how the survivors have managed. -
Fantastic series
I came across the first three books in the omnibus for 99 cents, or maybe it was free. I don't remember. It sat in my library for a month, maybe two until suddenly I had nothing to read and picked it up. I've not been able to put it down. Back to back to back through the entire series.
Bobby Adair subtly crafts a story that reads like watching an action movie with such well developed antiheroes and an all star cast that what starts out feeling like a generic pulp story with some new angles on the zombie apocalypse theme turns into an emotional drama where you're invested more in the characters' mental health and well- being than the hack and slash gore that's become their day to day reality.
Absolutely the best literary surprise I've come across in a long, long time. -
So, the grudge held for Mark, one of the hoardes smart ones overtaken everything else in Zeb's life, until he deals with it. Then what? Where does he and Murphy go next.
To the stronghold where the scientists were trying to find an antidote? Out west, where they have gone before Steph's death?
They needed supplies, and the naked hoarde had disappeared, so the air force base may help, then where will they find sanctuary??
I won't let out a very satisfying ending to this tale.
I must admit, it wasn't something that I normally would read, but, using the audiobooks as I walked on a treadmill, grinding out my daily step allowance, well, the audiobooks did entertain, and the characters definitely were charismatic enough to engage my continued attention. -
Scary and exciting
This review is for the entire series. I have read a lot of zombie books. And I have to say that I absolutely love the way the author has so many different groups of zombies. It was easy to follow from one book to the next and I couldn't wait to start the next book after I read the last word in the book I was reading. I hope that there is a Slow Burn 10 but if not I am very satisfied with how book 9 ended. Well written and always a great read. Thank you so much for writing this series. I will read this all over again in a couple months. A MUST READ FOR ZOMBIE LOVERS!! -
I absolutely loved the book.
The last in the series. It was great, has a warm ending Zed and Murphy continue to deal with the whites. They comes across other survivors and yet the bell continues. They find homage in a group that live above in silos. They are great towers for defense against the whites, and have room. The guys continue their journey headed to the area they had sent their friends months earlier, hoping to find them but not counting on much. Let downs are very hurtful, they have been through enough. Peace and quiet and good cup of coffee would be great about now. -
Zed, Murphy and friends finally set out for Balmorhea
Our chalk-white friends gather together with a couple other slow-burns and some immunes and head out across Texas to find their safe place in west-central Texas. Zed has been there and holds hope that it's going to be their home. Man, I hope this works out for them! The character driven storyline works in and around the action sequences. Super-hordes of Whites interrupt their journey a bit. But the team, the family continues to continue on their road.
A great story with intense character interactions and bloody action sequences make this another great read! -
This was a wild ride for sure! I really enjoyed this series. This book did not disappoint. I just found our there is another book, but to be honest if this had been the ending, I would've been content. I think the author did a wonderful job of wrapping the series up. He developed some really great characters and it was fun watching them evolve throughout the books. The humor was top notch, definitely right up my alley. I found myself laughing, gasping and even shedding some tears along the way. I won't ruin it, but there is a huge surprise at the end and it had me in tears. If you like dystopian books and have a good sense of humor you will absolutely love this series!
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What a fabulous end to a series I couldn't put down.
I completely got involved in the characters life and death situations and became wrapped up in the dynamics of the relationships, the fight for survival and the inner workings of the minds as each part of the story played out. I was completely hooked!
I enjoy apocalyptic stories and this series was one of the best I've read. Each character was complete with depth and personality. They stayed true to themselves with the odd twist or turn. Survival was tenuous and the adventure perilous but I loved it. -
If you've read the first one's you are in for a treat!if not go read them Now!
Read every one Of them , but (spoiler alert) this one has a Happy ending, of course since I have made my friend ship up with them All I would love a mushy follow up,but can move on with the knowledge that they are All Ok,and leave it alone, but Bobby if you read this gives us at least one more on how our happy band of survivor s are doing! So readers of this review go and get them All and enjoy the ride of good and sad Zed and Muphy and they fellow survivor s give you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -
I've never lasted 9 books with any series. Not sure why this one hooked me so much, but it did. The scenario? The characters? The humour and action? That the author isn't afraid of the f-word? I think they all played a part in keeping me hooked.
I'm happy with the ending, and the unexpected twist. Sad to see the end of the series, and if the author returns to it, I'm hoping he lets some time pass. Zed and Murphy have earned a rest. Zed and Steph should bump some uglies out...raise the stakes. Thanks Bobby Adair for this series 😊 -
A somewhat lackluster ending to the series, that frankly just kind of *ends* with a bit of happily-ever-after. I don't hate that type of ending, but it was kind of awkward imo, and came across as a bit too easy and cheesy. Overall this was a decent series, that I'm rating down a bit harshly due to it being a popcorn-munching type action series, with some major offensive tendencies and ignorance. I didn't mind reading through it and was interested throughout, but ultimately it was a rebranded zombiepocalypse series.
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I've absolutely loved this series and spending time with the characters and in their ever changing nightmare future, unfortunately this was a disappointing end to what was otherwise an amazing journey.
I think the author probably wanted to wrap everything up nicely for the readers and I'm grateful for some of the revelations as too much misery can also ruin a good story but some of the surprises just werent believable and this series has always strived hard to be realistic.
Its a shame as i've otherwise loved it but will try some of Bobby Adair's other fiction now to see if its as good.
