Oct 1, 2015
My rating and displeasure with this book falls about 90% on the audiobook narration. I've heard text-to-speak with more emotion. Simply atrocious, and I could've perhaps tolerated it if the story itself was more engrossing. I gave up after less than an hour ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Purge of Babylon" by Sam Sisavath. It is a story about "creatures" and not "zombies" who come out at night and seek out the living and gorge on their blood - turning them into the same creatures. They don't look humanlike and plain bullets or head shots do not kill them. The two main "heroes" are current SWAT officers and part of a team that converges on an old dilapidated building to arrest a felon. It is here that the team encounters the creatures for the first time. Danny and Will are the last two survivors of the battle and find that they are trapped and can't escape the building. They secure an apartment and try to make it through the night. It is during this time that both former Army Rangers learn about the creatures' weaknesses.

Once they manage to escape, the duo continue to meet survivors who band together on their way out of Houston. One of the SWAT remembers working on a special project years ago for a mega millionaire who was building a huge self-sustained underground bunker in northern Texas. Confident that this rich guy will remember him and take them all in, the group plans their trip and heads for the bunker. The author has a great sense of humor which is evidenced in the continued playful banter between Danny, Will, and some of the other characters.

They can only move during the day and had to find a secure place at night to protect themselves against the "creatures"; although now, they possessed home made weapons that could kill them. Some of the characters die during the many fights enroute to the bunker, but Will and Danny must be immortal because they find themselves in apparently unescapable predicaments and survive the encounters. Both men develop love interests with two of the women in their group which grows with time. They also learn more about these creatures during the trek...they are organized, smart, and move as one as if something is directing them telepathically.

Danny and Will are certain that all their problems will be solved once they reach the bunker and they'll all be safe to ride out this storm. But the creatures have other plans and are dead set on being the top of the food chain. The story is long 500+ pages, and there also appears to be some redundancies throughout where scenes/thoughts continue to be replayed. There are 9 books in this series and I'll most likely purchase the next installment to see how this saga continues. I'd recommend this for anybody that enjoys PA stories with lots of action, twists and turns. ( )