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Ravaged World #1
Sea Sick
A deadly virus has been unleashed aboard a passenger ship.
Soon the ship will be overrun with blood and death.
There's nowhere to escape.
But there are heroes onboard too.
Heroes like Jack Wardsley, a disgraced police officer with nothing left to lose, or the mysterious 'Pathwalker,' a stranger with the power to see the the future and alter the passage of time. Saving the passengers onboard will be next to impossible, but they will have no choice but to try. Failure might mean the end of the world.
Soon the ship will be overrun with blood and death.
There's nowhere to escape.
But there are heroes onboard too.
Heroes like Jack Wardsley, a disgraced police officer with nothing left to lose, or the mysterious 'Pathwalker,' a stranger with the power to see the the future and alter the passage of time. Saving the passengers onboard will be next to impossible, but they will have no choice but to try. Failure might mean the end of the world.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
741 people are currently reading
3294 people want to read
About the author
Iain Rob Wright
158 books1,783 followersOne of Horror's most respected authors, Iain Rob Wright is the writer of more than forty books, many of them bestsellers. A previous Kindle All-Star and a mainstay in the horror charts, he is a prolific producer of unique and original stories. From his apocalyptic saga The Gates to his claustrophobic revenge thriller ASBO, Iain writes across a broad spectrum of sub genres, creating both beloved series and standalone titles.
With work available in several languages and in audio, Iain Rob Wright is one of the fastest rising stars in horror, but when not writing he is a dedicated family man. Father to Jack and Molly, and husband to Sally, he is often seen sharing his family memories with his fans on Facebook.
To get 6 of his books for free (no strings), just visit: www.iainrobwright.com
With work available in several languages and in audio, Iain Rob Wright is one of the fastest rising stars in horror, but when not writing he is a dedicated family man. Father to Jack and Molly, and husband to Sally, he is often seen sharing his family memories with his fans on Facebook.
To get 6 of his books for free (no strings), just visit: www.iainrobwright.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 445 reviews
April 10, 2022
Who knew the zombie genre needed its own version of Groundhog's Day? Nothing like being the main course of a cruise ship day after day for hungry passengers. I loved it!
November 3, 2023
A lot of great zombie action. Sneaky conspiracies and terrible misfortunes.
This book turns out to be more than you expect it to be. And the ending is totally unexpected.
Five fantastic stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book turns out to be more than you expect it to be. And the ending is totally unexpected.
Five fantastic stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 4, 2022
I like Iain Rob Wright as an author. I've read some of his stuff in the past and he seems like a good guy. The author gave me an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. I have in no way felt compelled to alter my review due to that fact. Having said that, this was a quick read with a story that takes the generic zombie infection story, places it on a cruise ship, and gives it a Groundhog Day twist. Sounds like an interesting, fascinating, must-read, horror, zombie-infection quality-type stuff, but the groundhog repetition quickly became tedious, and the thing that I thought that I would find the MOST compelling, the thing that made me want to read this novel SO very badly, was not quite as compelling as I initially believed it to be. There are some horror elements that provide the blood and gore most hardcore horror fans seek, but they all too quickly become schlocky, here. The mystery aspect bore some intrigue, but the payoff is a bit too contrived to feel organic. This is a middle of the road read. Not great, but bloody good, gory fun.
March 17, 2024
Whew!! This is fast paced Groundhog Day scenario where he keeps reliving a single day on a cruise where a zombie outbreak occurs every night. It’s such a quick and easy book to get out of a slump, brush off a heavy read or escape.. unlike the main character.. your own reality for a minute.
August 15, 2025
Excellent little read. Really enjoyed it, as I didn’t think I would as not an apocalyptic kind of guy.
As people others have said Groundhog Day meets zombie’s. 😂
As people others have said Groundhog Day meets zombie’s. 😂
April 30, 2016
This was pretty cool. I was half expecting a zombies on a cruise novel but it was a bit more complicated than that. Clever stuff. This guy is like a British version of Jack Kilborn.
December 30, 2013
Sea Sick is one delicious nugget of a horror story, I read a lot on my new Kindle so I ran into this as a special without any info about it but after gobbling it up I had to read three more books by this guy, Iain Rob Wright has the skills and the guts to write some good stuff, reading this one left me very excited and checking out a few more of his works left me sure that I have found a new author to look out for. I absolutely love island or sea stories but this enticed me in the usual way but it gave my brain a kick, Sea Sick is a fun ride with some freaky details that give it that horror edge. The ending wasn’t a shocker since I was able to figure out some stuff but most of it still got me, I remember spending a whole weekend in bed with this story, it had me in a trance and was a total blast.
When Jack, a cop on semi insisted mental vacation, boards the Kirkpatrick he has no idea what he has just signed up for, his semi relaxing cruise turns into a real nightmare when not only his days start to repeat but people on the ship turn into violent and blood thirst zombie like creatures, no matter what he does each day starts the same way but it’s also a fun way to interact with people and act in a magician like manner, telling them their secrets because so many days with them have passed ala the Ground Hog Day. After a while Jack realizes that someone else can walk the time the same way he has and that the plot is thickening while not being entirely good for him and his future and that perhaps he is starting to age after all while stuck in a time loop, Jack must figure out what is stopping the time from continuing and why people turn to crazies at 8pm before his own life runs out. Following him on his wild journey has been a ton of fun, I loved this book, it was hard to stop reading it and the ending packed a punch or two…I can’t say enough other than, read it!
- Kasia S.
When Jack, a cop on semi insisted mental vacation, boards the Kirkpatrick he has no idea what he has just signed up for, his semi relaxing cruise turns into a real nightmare when not only his days start to repeat but people on the ship turn into violent and blood thirst zombie like creatures, no matter what he does each day starts the same way but it’s also a fun way to interact with people and act in a magician like manner, telling them their secrets because so many days with them have passed ala the Ground Hog Day. After a while Jack realizes that someone else can walk the time the same way he has and that the plot is thickening while not being entirely good for him and his future and that perhaps he is starting to age after all while stuck in a time loop, Jack must figure out what is stopping the time from continuing and why people turn to crazies at 8pm before his own life runs out. Following him on his wild journey has been a ton of fun, I loved this book, it was hard to stop reading it and the ending packed a punch or two…I can’t say enough other than, read it!
- Kasia S.
July 28, 2022
I have read A Lot of zombie fiction, but I have never read anything quite like this book, and I liked it!
December 27, 2013
Let's start with the good. Iain Rob Wright sets a cracking pace in this short novel of 221 pages. There's little to no fat in this tale of a vacationing police officer with a shady past coming up against some sort of infection that turns one-third of the passengers on a luxury ocean liner into fast zombies intent on destroying everyone alive. The twist is that he keeps dying and waking up the next day as if the world has reset around him and he's the only one who remembers what took place before. Again, more props for Wright. That's pretty clever. So what we have here - if you'll forgive the medium crossover - is Groundhog Day by way of Triangle mixed in with a healthy dose of the Dawn of the Dead remake.
I was legitimately hooked, wanting to discover what was happening and why Jack the police officer was the one person who was able to remember what kept happening. Without offering any spoilers, the answers to what is happening are a mixed bag. Some are just too convenient; others are frustrating. Actually, it's not the answers that are frustrating, it's the steps Jack takes to get there. And here we get to my major problem with Sea Sick: For a policeman, Jack is very slow on the uptake. He spends large portions of the novel chasing his own tail, repeating the same mistakes over and over, without making much if any headway in working out what's happening. Partly, this is because Wright throws in a fair number of red herrings. But it's also because he's an alcoholic - and not one who comes to recognise this tragic flaw, but one who lives in denial and allows it to ruin his life (and by proxy the lives of the others on the cruise ship. Over and over again) ...
Jack isn't alone in his head-scratching decision-making and frown-inducing motivations. The support cast does a good job of matching him. One takes a full two weeks before deciding to fight back after being murdered 14 times straight. Another only thinks of what they want, consequences be damned - even if said consequences would quickly utterly destroy what they wanted in the first place. (And yes, I'm being vague to avoid spoilers.)
There's more than enough here for me to chase down more of what Wright has to offer. In fact, I have three of his other works on my TBR Kindle pile. I hope the quality of his writing remains the same, and his creative ideas continue to flow. But equally I'm hoping for stronger character arcs and less perplexing decision-making that simply serves the story.
3 Trips to the Brig for Sea Sick.
I was legitimately hooked, wanting to discover what was happening and why Jack the police officer was the one person who was able to remember what kept happening. Without offering any spoilers, the answers to what is happening are a mixed bag. Some are just too convenient; others are frustrating. Actually, it's not the answers that are frustrating, it's the steps Jack takes to get there. And here we get to my major problem with Sea Sick: For a policeman, Jack is very slow on the uptake. He spends large portions of the novel chasing his own tail, repeating the same mistakes over and over, without making much if any headway in working out what's happening. Partly, this is because Wright throws in a fair number of red herrings. But it's also because he's an alcoholic - and not one who comes to recognise this tragic flaw, but one who lives in denial and allows it to ruin his life (and by proxy the lives of the others on the cruise ship. Over and over again) ...
Jack isn't alone in his head-scratching decision-making and frown-inducing motivations. The support cast does a good job of matching him. One takes a full two weeks before deciding to fight back after being murdered 14 times straight. Another only thinks of what they want, consequences be damned - even if said consequences would quickly utterly destroy what they wanted in the first place. (And yes, I'm being vague to avoid spoilers.)
There's more than enough here for me to chase down more of what Wright has to offer. In fact, I have three of his other works on my TBR Kindle pile. I hope the quality of his writing remains the same, and his creative ideas continue to flow. But equally I'm hoping for stronger character arcs and less perplexing decision-making that simply serves the story.
3 Trips to the Brig for Sea Sick.
January 18, 2018
A cracking read packed full of adrenaline soaked thrills and chills! This is the first novel length book of the author's I have read, my previous reads being his superbly crafted short stories.
Where do I start? The novel is such a complex mix of genres and yet the author waved his magic and made it work, and it worked remarkably well. If I had to describe the story I'd say it felt like a mix of Plague Ship by Clive Cussler meets Day Of The Day, rolled in a psychotic stew of Groundhog Day with a little sprinkle of fantasy on top - you know, just for taste! The author did a mind boggling feat in inserting the reader straight into the tension packed action seen from our protagonist's view. Yes, he is an exceptionally flawed character, but one with a strong set of ideals and, quite frankly, nowhere near as repulsive as his two fellow passengers, (spoiler removed).
What is the purpose of the day repeating and can he change it? Will he draw upon his strengths as a police officer, or will he succumb to his base emotion of rage and a need to be done with the world? You shall have to read the book to find out, but be prepared to strap on your seatbelt for what will be a ride of psychological thrills with a view of a dystopian future, and a few action splat-filled gory bits for our zombie aficionados. Highly recommended and I will now be ploughing through the gargantuan bookshelf that is my Kindle on the search for more of the author's hidden treasures.
Where do I start? The novel is such a complex mix of genres and yet the author waved his magic and made it work, and it worked remarkably well. If I had to describe the story I'd say it felt like a mix of Plague Ship by Clive Cussler meets Day Of The Day, rolled in a psychotic stew of Groundhog Day with a little sprinkle of fantasy on top - you know, just for taste! The author did a mind boggling feat in inserting the reader straight into the tension packed action seen from our protagonist's view. Yes, he is an exceptionally flawed character, but one with a strong set of ideals and, quite frankly, nowhere near as repulsive as his two fellow passengers, (spoiler removed).
What is the purpose of the day repeating and can he change it? Will he draw upon his strengths as a police officer, or will he succumb to his base emotion of rage and a need to be done with the world? You shall have to read the book to find out, but be prepared to strap on your seatbelt for what will be a ride of psychological thrills with a view of a dystopian future, and a few action splat-filled gory bits for our zombie aficionados. Highly recommended and I will now be ploughing through the gargantuan bookshelf that is my Kindle on the search for more of the author's hidden treasures.
June 10, 2017
3.5 STARS
I haven’t read a lot of zombie novels, but the idea of this one seemed rather refreshing. This is the story you get if you mix Groundhog Day, Under Siege and the remake of Dawn of the Dead.
The writing style was quite comfortable to read and it kept a good pace. I desperately wanted to rate this a four, but I figured out how the virus was introduced to the passengers and the only way the main character could stop it fairly early on, which knocked it down to a three star rating.
However, the ending was good and to my liking, so I have to rate it more than sixty percent…if only I could!
Will read this writer again in the future.
I haven’t read a lot of zombie novels, but the idea of this one seemed rather refreshing. This is the story you get if you mix Groundhog Day, Under Siege and the remake of Dawn of the Dead.
The writing style was quite comfortable to read and it kept a good pace. I desperately wanted to rate this a four, but I figured out how the virus was introduced to the passengers and the only way the main character could stop it fairly early on, which knocked it down to a three star rating.
However, the ending was good and to my liking, so I have to rate it more than sixty percent…if only I could!
Will read this writer again in the future.
October 16, 2024
A zombie virus on the high seas is a unique spin on the genre.
Readers follow Jack, a policeman sent on a cruise to “relax”, but on the second day all hell breaks loose. With supernatural forces also at play, he gets stuck in a “Groundhog Day” cycle, with the same day resetting over and over again. This gives Jack a chance to use his skills and find out what started the outbreak on board, hopefully saving the world in the process.
I loved the concept, but I did get a little bored (as Jack probably was) with the repetitive days and days and days and days and…
Readers follow Jack, a policeman sent on a cruise to “relax”, but on the second day all hell breaks loose. With supernatural forces also at play, he gets stuck in a “Groundhog Day” cycle, with the same day resetting over and over again. This gives Jack a chance to use his skills and find out what started the outbreak on board, hopefully saving the world in the process.
I loved the concept, but I did get a little bored (as Jack probably was) with the repetitive days and days and days and days and…
September 9, 2014
The author gave me a free copy of this one awhile back and I have been meaning to read it for a little while now. When I started I had no idea what it was about, and when I first realized there was zombies in it I was a bit disappointed. That is until the main character gets ripped apart and wakes up again the next morning to find he is repeating the day over, and over, and over..... It kind of reminded me of the movie groundhog day except a horror version that takes place on an isolated cruise ship and it had a lot more going for it also. It is definitely a horror novel but it's also got a lot of mystery with the main character who happens to be a police officer, solving the mystery of what is going on a little bit more each day. I have no complaints about this novel, I loved every bit of it and gave it five stars, the bonus short stories are crap though and so badly edited (or unedited) they are hard to even figure out what is going on in parts. I don't know if this is a special edition or not but don't buy it for the bonus stories. Do buy it for the novel itself though, it was great.
October 17, 2023
I found the story to be interesting (if a little corny) but using minority characters as a plot device to explain the time loop was unnecessary and problematic. Additionally, one female character lies about SA and the commentary around that in the book was disappointing.
September 25, 2022
This was a really good book and an interesting take on the zombie genre. This book is a zombie infection story but set on a boat and the day keeps resetting itself. It’s really good highly recommend
June 8, 2016
While the zombie horror novel has been done to death, or undeath, Wright does a nice job with his unique twist on this type of story. British police officer, Jack Wardsley, is sent on a Mediterranean cruise after a tragic event with his job and while he didn't want to go on vacation, what he ends up facing he could've never predicted. A virus plagues the cruise ship and infects a third of the passengers, who end up killing everyone, including Jack. But he wakes up the next day, remembering everything and forced to relive the horror...unless he can find a way to stop it. And he may have allies who can help...and enemies who may try to thwart him.
All in all, I enjoyed my first Wright novel, and while the story dragged a bit in the middle and felt a bit repetitive (which ironically, was the point), I'd recommend this to fans of zombie horror. And I'd pick up another of his novels, for sure.
All in all, I enjoyed my first Wright novel, and while the story dragged a bit in the middle and felt a bit repetitive (which ironically, was the point), I'd recommend this to fans of zombie horror. And I'd pick up another of his novels, for sure.
October 15, 2015
Ehh ... this is one of those books that was probably written in a matter of weeks, straight-forward story with cardboard characters and a plot that you could predict from page one. I'm sure it appeals to some people but I just found the entire premise quite boring. Worse were the character motivations. It was tough to believe any of the characters would act the way they did. Iain Rob Wright is a hit-or-miss author for me. Sometimes he nails it, but other times he's just trying to get another book out there. This one definitely fell into the latter category.
October 25, 2023
WOW. This was absolutely incredible. A zombie apocalypse breaks out on a cruise ship and the MC keeps waking up to the same day over and over like Groundhog Day. This is actioned packed in true Wright style. There’s so many twists and turns here, I could barely put this book down. Wright is quickly becoming one of my favourite horror authors.
The characters were complex, and increasingly loveable. I grew and attachment to NEARLY all of the haha. Similarly as I did in Wrights ‘The Spread’ series. Nobody does zombie apocalypse quite like this guy. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, emotional, mysterious zombie book/series, give this one a try! I can’t wait to read the 2nd book in the series!
The characters were complex, and increasingly loveable. I grew and attachment to NEARLY all of the haha. Similarly as I did in Wrights ‘The Spread’ series. Nobody does zombie apocalypse quite like this guy. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, emotional, mysterious zombie book/series, give this one a try! I can’t wait to read the 2nd book in the series!
March 22, 2024
This was a very different from any other zombie book I've ever read. A man enters a cruise ship, he get a drink at a bar where he notices that people around him are getting sick. This is after Covid so there might be a different type of bug going around. Later things take a turn for the worse where people are attacking one another and turning themselves. Except it turns into Groundhog Day for a couple of the passengers on the cruise. They need to figure out how this virus got on the ship and if they they can stop it....if not time will reset and it will start all over again.
March 15, 2024
YOOOOOO THIS WAS SO FUN
i got it for 99p but it was worth 10x that because i started reading it and finished it within a couple hours because i coULDNT LET GO OF IT. i’m mad i didn’t savour it for longer. it was so fun and goofy and yet frustrating and stressful in the best way.
jack is a cool protagonist he’s got that cool aloof guy thing with a dark backstory but he feels real and not boring. he makes a lot of mistakes and commits a LOT of violence but nothing he does seems totally out of character, he really feels like a guy in distress doing his damn BEST.
DONOVAN what a guy he truly deserved so much better, especially not knowing in the end whether jack believed him. SO SAD MY GUY i adored him. and then i HATED HIM. and then i felt GREAT PAIN. POOR GUY.
tally was a little less cool to me only because her suddenly switching up into this cold, calculated villain was totally outta left field. could’ve had some more subtle signs earlier on that would’ve made the sudden switch up make sense with hindsight. but nah it was just. she’s evil now. her reasons for switching up were absolutely justified but i just wish we could’ve seen more of that scheming nature earlier on. we don’t even find out she has a daughter until AFTER she switches up, and i would’ve preferred we got to know more about her life & character before. i’m not sure why she even falsely accused donovan to begin with. to waste jack’s time i guess? she knew he would go on a 2 week long rampage? could’ve been set up more, both her relationship to jack and her own goals. regardless, she was still pretty great.
JOMA my king i knew he was gonna be important, not because i predicted anything, just because i vibed with him and deluded myself into believing he was an important part of the story.
everything relating back to the doll was SO COOL i was like NOO WAYYY like it was one of the first things jack noticed and joma had a vision of a doll and WHEN IT ALL CLICKS TOGETHER.. its LIKE.. NO WAYYYYYYY. so good man.
and the last line of the book. dawg. NAHHHHHHHHH BRO UR KIDDING ME. AFTER ALL THAT. ALL THAT SACRIFICE? RAHHHHHHHHH
at least joma and jack didn’t live to see that they failed. they died believing they did good. so kinda happy for them? i’ll be delusional with them too. they did it wooo they saved the world yeah!
donovan i love u i’m so sorry king
i got it for 99p but it was worth 10x that because i started reading it and finished it within a couple hours because i coULDNT LET GO OF IT. i’m mad i didn’t savour it for longer. it was so fun and goofy and yet frustrating and stressful in the best way.
jack is a cool protagonist he’s got that cool aloof guy thing with a dark backstory but he feels real and not boring. he makes a lot of mistakes and commits a LOT of violence but nothing he does seems totally out of character, he really feels like a guy in distress doing his damn BEST.
DONOVAN what a guy he truly deserved so much better, especially not knowing in the end whether jack believed him. SO SAD MY GUY i adored him. and then i HATED HIM. and then i felt GREAT PAIN. POOR GUY.
tally was a little less cool to me only because her suddenly switching up into this cold, calculated villain was totally outta left field. could’ve had some more subtle signs earlier on that would’ve made the sudden switch up make sense with hindsight. but nah it was just. she’s evil now. her reasons for switching up were absolutely justified but i just wish we could’ve seen more of that scheming nature earlier on. we don’t even find out she has a daughter until AFTER she switches up, and i would’ve preferred we got to know more about her life & character before. i’m not sure why she even falsely accused donovan to begin with. to waste jack’s time i guess? she knew he would go on a 2 week long rampage? could’ve been set up more, both her relationship to jack and her own goals. regardless, she was still pretty great.
JOMA my king i knew he was gonna be important, not because i predicted anything, just because i vibed with him and deluded myself into believing he was an important part of the story.
everything relating back to the doll was SO COOL i was like NOO WAYYY like it was one of the first things jack noticed and joma had a vision of a doll and WHEN IT ALL CLICKS TOGETHER.. its LIKE.. NO WAYYYYYYY. so good man.
and the last line of the book. dawg. NAHHHHHHHHH BRO UR KIDDING ME. AFTER ALL THAT. ALL THAT SACRIFICE? RAHHHHHHHHH
at least joma and jack didn’t live to see that they failed. they died believing they did good. so kinda happy for them? i’ll be delusional with them too. they did it wooo they saved the world yeah!
donovan i love u i’m so sorry king
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2013
This book was twisted, and while parts of it dragged on in the middle, I really enjoyed it. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about the topic at first. My first impression of it was Dawn of the Dead meets Groundhogs Day, except on a cruise ship. But there's a lot more to the book than that, which is partly why I enjoyed it so much.
The only concern I have lingering about the book is that I didn't really care for the main character much of the time. Usually this would be a deal breaker for me, but Jack had his moments where you really actually care about him. Yeah, he's got a weighty tough guy exterior and this makes him hard to like, but the more you learn about him, the more you realize that he's actually a really good guy that's gone through some hard times. I ended up liking him, obviously, and this redeemed the book for me. Five stars redemption, too.
This is my first book that I've read by Wright, but I will definitely be reading more.
The only concern I have lingering about the book is that I didn't really care for the main character much of the time. Usually this would be a deal breaker for me, but Jack had his moments where you really actually care about him. Yeah, he's got a weighty tough guy exterior and this makes him hard to like, but the more you learn about him, the more you realize that he's actually a really good guy that's gone through some hard times. I ended up liking him, obviously, and this redeemed the book for me. Five stars redemption, too.
This is my first book that I've read by Wright, but I will definitely be reading more.
March 4, 2022
This is the second Iain Rob Wright book I've read, and it was excellent. I look forward to reading much more of this authors work.
April 20, 2016
Another wonderful story fill with interesting believable characters. I didn't want to put this one down until I finished. Highly recommended. A different kind of apocalyptic story.
June 18, 2017
This book was a freebie on kindle and it was quite a good read. The action happens aboard a cruise ship. The main character, Jack, is a policeman with a troubled past. On the first day at sea, he finds himself in the middle of a zombie plague outbreak and strangely, he keeps reliving the same day over and over again. Can he work out how to get time moving again, and if he does, will he and the any of the other surviving passengers make it off the ship alive?
I found this story entertaining. A good zombie read and I believe there are a couple of other books in the series. Worth reading.
I found this story entertaining. A good zombie read and I believe there are a couple of other books in the series. Worth reading.
November 11, 2022
An ebook I must’ve dowloaded to my phone for free at some point, I started reading this because I found myself without a book to read on my train commute home from work. To give the author credit, it was certainly an entertaining enough book to continue reading once I got home - for all that it was a bit trashy.
The novel follows an ex-military man, our protagonist is also a British police officer and a pretty unbelievable hero with unending resolves of strength and foresight as he battles to save himself, fellow passengers, humanity blah blah after a horror outbreak on a cruise ship. It’s gory, it’s often clunky, it’s a disposable mix of schlock and doesn’t really hold up to much deconstruction. That said, I’m sure it’s not trying to be literary and I would’ve lapped this up twenty or so years ago when I read Dean Koontz and John Saul etc. a lot more. I’m glad I read it for all the faults and limitations, it filled a gap enjoyably.
The novel follows an ex-military man, our protagonist is also a British police officer and a pretty unbelievable hero with unending resolves of strength and foresight as he battles to save himself, fellow passengers, humanity blah blah after a horror outbreak on a cruise ship. It’s gory, it’s often clunky, it’s a disposable mix of schlock and doesn’t really hold up to much deconstruction. That said, I’m sure it’s not trying to be literary and I would’ve lapped this up twenty or so years ago when I read Dean Koontz and John Saul etc. a lot more. I’m glad I read it for all the faults and limitations, it filled a gap enjoyably.
March 12, 2017
REVIEW --- COMING SOON!
May 19, 2017
It's Groundhog Day meets 28 Days Later - on a cruise ship. I really liked the concept and the unfolding of the mystery of what was happening and why. I also liked the fact that things got started pretty quickly. But I really had trouble believing that Jack was a good cop at all since he seemed to not really be able to figure anything out forever and trusted the wrong people often taking them at face value which made no sense to me.
I had several problems with the book and would give 2.5 stars was I didn't feel any connection to the characters. I just I didn't even have a sense of what Jack even looked like except that he was "an older guy." I was kind of rooting for him but I really didn't care what happened to him. Donavan seemed like he could have been a more interesting character but then just seemed like a stereotype of what an American would be - a gun-toting cowboy with an accent.
My second big problem was the ending. I kind of saw where the ending was going and how it had to end but with some of the explanation of the "bigger picture" (can't say more without giving it away), it just seemed pointless and was a letdown.
The grammatical and other errors were also distracting; however, the mystery kept me interested.
SPOILERS HERE
Really huge plot hole here: Donavan is supposed to be like Jack, free from the spell because it didn't reach the cargo hold where he was staying. So, like Jack, he dies and comes back. But if that's true, then how come when Donavan is killed by someone else in the cargo hold, he stays dead? He should've come back the next day like he has before. Now, one could argue that because Donavan was killed in the cargo hold, he stayed dead because the spell didn't extend to the hold. But then if THAT is the reason, Jack should have stayed dead when Donavan killed him earlier in the cargo hold. But Jack came back as before. HUGE plot hole that couldn't be reconciled.
I probably could've let that go if the ending wasn't so futile. Blow up the ship but doesn't matter because virus is being spread elsewhere.
I had several problems with the book and would give 2.5 stars was I didn't feel any connection to the characters. I just I didn't even have a sense of what Jack even looked like except that he was "an older guy." I was kind of rooting for him but I really didn't care what happened to him. Donavan seemed like he could have been a more interesting character but then just seemed like a stereotype of what an American would be - a gun-toting cowboy with an accent.
My second big problem was the ending. I kind of saw where the ending was going and how it had to end but with some of the explanation of the "bigger picture" (can't say more without giving it away), it just seemed pointless and was a letdown.
The grammatical and other errors were also distracting; however, the mystery kept me interested.
SPOILERS HERE
Really huge plot hole here: Donavan is supposed to be like Jack, free from the spell because it didn't reach the cargo hold where he was staying. So, like Jack, he dies and comes back. But if that's true, then how come when Donavan is killed by someone else in the cargo hold, he stays dead? He should've come back the next day like he has before. Now, one could argue that because Donavan was killed in the cargo hold, he stayed dead because the spell didn't extend to the hold. But then if THAT is the reason, Jack should have stayed dead when Donavan killed him earlier in the cargo hold. But Jack came back as before. HUGE plot hole that couldn't be reconciled.
I probably could've let that go if the ending wasn't so futile. Blow up the ship but doesn't matter because virus is being spread elsewhere.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2012
I'm not sure what I make of this novel; it was a weird amalgamation of '28 Days Later' meets 'Triangle' and 'Ghost Ship', all brought about by a bit of a deadly flu virus.
The story itself was an okay read, though one couldn't help but draw parallels between it and the aforementioned films. It was nice that a short back-story chapter for a few of the peripheral characters was included at the end too.
A spattering of very careless errors did detract a little, for me, from the main story; 'dozens of woman and children' was noticed in several cases (cut and paste with error included?) and 'despite all of this monster's posturing, he had beaten' were amongst two that irked me the most!!
A passable read, something to while away a few hours with, but nothing to get too excited about in my opinion.
The story itself was an okay read, though one couldn't help but draw parallels between it and the aforementioned films. It was nice that a short back-story chapter for a few of the peripheral characters was included at the end too.
A spattering of very careless errors did detract a little, for me, from the main story; 'dozens of woman and children' was noticed in several cases (cut and paste with error included?) and 'despite all of this monster's posturing, he had beaten' were amongst two that irked me the most!!
A passable read, something to while away a few hours with, but nothing to get too excited about in my opinion.
February 25, 2016
I don't normally write reviews because for me it's about how a book made me feel, and it's always hard to put that into words. I had an absolute blast reading this book and I'm sorry it's over! I started the book in a bad mood and I'm not exaggerating when I say it helped lift me from my funk. It's like Groundhog Day and Dawn of the Dead had a baby and that baby went on a cruise. We get a bit of history on the main character and then it's off to the races; and it doesn't stop until the very end. This book was a hoot and I can't wait to read more of Mr. Wright's books. It sounds weird, but thanks for the mood lifter, Mr. Wright!
October 21, 2017
I was hoping for a quick entertaining zombie story after the last book I read that took 7 days to slog through! Well, it was quick but not very entertaining. I thought it had potential, but it was a bit sloppy. It felt like it had been written very quickly, and there were quite a few grammatical and spelling errors to try and ignore. There were a lot of things that weren’t plausible, not counting the whole zombie thing and the day resetting over and over. I just couldn’t believe a lot of the main character’s actions and there were too many big plot holes so overall the story just didn’t make a lot of sense. At least it was free!
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