Customer Reviews

Aftereffects: Zombie Therapy

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Coming up with a different take on the zombie genre is difficult, but in Aftereffects: Zombie therapy, Zane Bradey manages to come up with an unusual character in the shape of Dr Victor Frenzel, the man dubbed 'the zombie psychiatrist.'

Frenzel's patients are people who've been cured of the rage virus that caused 'cannibalistic behaviours.' Frenzel despises his clients because they represent the monsters who devoured his beloved wife Barbara like hyenas and he believes they could have resisted the pull of human flesh.

I won't give the plot away, but Aftereffects is a zombie book come crime thriller with a difference. It's well written, the action doesn't sag and it's an enjoyable read.

It's because of authors like Zane Bradey I'm glad that self-publishing exists.

Zane Bradey is psychotic. He must be.
His book, Aftereffects: Zombie Therapy challenges the reader to flip the genre on it's head.

Instead of yet another zombie book where everyone except the cute cheerleader and the small child die, Zane gives us a story of a zombie outbreak which is cured - and you, dear reader, become human again.
The problem is, during the your time as a zombie, you went on a murderous rampage eating brains and such.

You now have to deal with the after effects of what you've done. How do you cope? Can a zombie ever really be rehabilitated?

The story does take a while to get started - the prelude is faux science heavy and this might put some readers off, but the scenario is a fascinating examination of human psychology after a traumatic event.

The book is a little on the short side at 7 chapters, but that's not unreasonable given the pricing, and the author would do well to work on the dialogue scenes - inserting a few descriptive terms to make it clear who is speaking rather than just alternating line of text would be more interesting.

Overall, a solid debut e-book, and worth a read if only for the sake of curiosity. Execution wasn't perfect but there is some real talent behind the work, and it will be fascinating to see what the author comes out with next.

Having read the majority there is to offer in the zombie genre, from the appalling to the eponymous, I was surprised and delighted to stumble across Bradey's stunning offering via the Twittersphere.

Do not doubt - this is a fantastic piece of well-written fiction. At times truly stomach-churning in its prose, Bradey turns the genre on its head, following the pyschiatric "treatment" of victims of a cannibalistic virus in a seemingly decimated United States.

The novel's protagonist, Dr Victor Frenzel, watched his wife become a victim of these zombies and as the "zombie psychiatrist" he finds himself in a highly respected position where he helps those who still remember their life as zombies come to terms with what they have done. Well. Sort of.

The novel is broken down in to patients' extracts and experiences, and I think the laughable nature of the experiences, turning and cure of Laverne and Phil make them my favourite "clients". It's up to you to decide, and you will enjoy reading the experiences, even if at times some of the graphical descriptions make you want to hide your head under the duvet.

The way this was broken down into individual stories reminded me of Palahniuk's Haunted and at times it was just as dark and vivid.

Highly recommended - in a genre that is in danger of becoming saturated with utter dross, "Aftereffects" sticks its head over the parapet screaming "eat me for lunch, zombie fans". Worth every penny of the stunningly low price.

A fantastic and truly novel read, thank you author Zane Bradey. Dr. Frenzel's character was incredibly well developed, he's an intriguing chap to say the least. Zane allows the reader to venture into the mind of a Zombie and experience how they construe their environment and self, an amazingly chilling experience and totally unique in Zombie genre. The ending of the book is indicative of more to come.........I do hope so!

The book opens with a really believable account of what 'zombiefication' and how this virus came to threaten humanity, then it takes to a post-zombie apocalypse scenario, from a therapists point of view. If you are a fan of the Zombie genre and Walking Dead etc this is a really great new perspective to see the story from. Darkly comic in places, a thoroughly enjoyable read.

I wasn't sure about this book. I don't like zombie books, but tried it anyway due to it's strange story.

There was a zombie outbreak, but now most zombies have been cured, and remember all the atrocities they committed. Many of them visit a therapist to get over the horror.

Sadly for them, the therapist is a bit like Dr Hannibal Lector, as in, those he can't cure, he kills.

The books had a good pace. I found some of the zombie scenes are bit horrific and jumped over them. But overall, a good book.

So why the 3 star? Well, throughout the book, the author gives the impression something is about to happen. Someone is secretly following our Doctor and photographing him. I kept reading to find out what would happen.

But nothing happens. The book just ended- just like that. I was left wondering- is the story going to continue in the next book? Is this part of a series? Why did the author build up a suspense if nothing was going to happen? Overall, I feel a bit cheated.