Reviews for Allison Hewitt Is Trapped: A Zombie Novel

The average rating for Allison Hewitt Is Trapped: A Zombie Novel based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-06-05 00:00:00 Patrick H Jones I first picked up this book due to the interesting concept, "Allison Hewitt is Trapped" being a stitch-up work designed from a blogged novel. I truly wanted to enjoy this book, and while the basic idea appealed to me, for several reasons the narrative is flawed and ultimately did not deliver the goods. It's a brave experiment, attempting to invest chick-lit sensibilities into a post-apocalyptic piece, but one that just doesn't gell when you look at suspension of disbelief. The upbeat aspects of this narrative are a welcome relief from the grinding ennui typical to this subgenre, but when held up against Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the episodic moon-calf introspection of the protagonist is completely misplaced. I just couldn't buy that characters in absolute mortal peril would frequently pause to cogitate about their relationships, have extended D&Ms, and all continuously engage in sassy upbeat dialogue in this somewhat sanitised apocalypse. Of course characters have relationships, even in wars and natural disasters, but the stakes are significantly higher at these times, the moments of love much more fragile and poignant. This just reads like a post-pubescent's initial approach to awkward romantic liaisons, occasionally interrupted by starvation and what should be a terrifying wave of rotting cannibal corpses (but aren't). (And seriously, how is there a working wireless router every 3 blocks, when the wheels have fallen off everything else?) That's not to say there aren't enjoyable plot twists in this story, but the supporting characters are cipher-like at best, the protagonist is a Mary Sue if ever there was one, and the framing aspects of the chapters (comments threads from the blogged experience of the protagonist) are distracting. Humour in such a dark setting is hard to pull off, but I'm gonna have to sadly give a thumbs down to this genre mash-up. Apparently there's a sequel to this book, I'd be interested to see if a purpose-written novel in a standard format is a better vehicle for this concept.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-01-15 00:00:00 Andrew Mccormack 4.5 Stars 'Allison Hewitt is Trapped' is just fantastic. I was absorbed after just a couple of chapters and didn't want to put the book down. Allison is a great character, she's spunky and real - a woman I would like to be if the world was overrun with the undead. She's scared of everything going on around her but she's brave, not afraid to fight and put her life on the line for others. Allison is locked inside the break room because it's the strongest door in the department store, which means They can't get in. There are also surveillance cameras which are used to keep an eye on what's going on in the store, it's a helpful tool to be able to see where the zombies are, especially when you have to do a food run. Allison is not the only one in the break room. There are five other people who she's sharing the small room with and they are all very different, but all very realistic, personalities. The relationships between the characters is as close to real-life as you would imagine in such a situation, there's no gun-ho stud with a shotgun over his shoulder, instead it's a skinny chinese guy with broken glasses and a baseball bat. It's a store manager and his golf clubs, it's Allison who's weapon of choice is an axe. The novel is actually the content of Allison's blog, which she updates regularly, and uses to connect with other survivors. And although I was a little skeptical of this format at first, wondering how the flow of the story would be and how the dialogue would work etc, but I needn't have worried. It's brilliantly written and I couldn't stop myself from reading chapter after chapter - it was very addictive reading. Eventually Allison and her co-survivors have to leave the break room. Lives are lost, friends are killed and she is longing to know if her mother is safe or one of the undead. I really went on Allison's journey with her and felt every emotion of despair, hope, anger, and complete bewilderment of the circumstances. From the moment I met the characters in the break room until the end of the novel, which sees Allison far from where she began, it really feels like a long pilgrimage. I could feel Allison and the other survivors become weary, harder, jaded, and their actions and decisions reflect all those feelings. Although Allison does some very bad things I understand why and don't judge her for them. There is love between certain characters, including Allison but it's written with sensitivity. It's understated romance - there are no sexual scenes and hardly any kissing, it's all shown through Allison's words on her blog and it's believable, tender and heartwarming. There's a lot of heart to this book and I enjoyed it immensely. VERDICT: 'Allison Hewitt is Trapped' is an emotional rollar coaster and the ending was so perfectly bittersweet it brought tears to my eyes. It's a fast-paced read with believable characters and convincing story that will move you and because of this you will Allison, and the other characters, to succeed and survive. This is no ordinary zombie novel. It's fresh and original and I just loved it. This book is a must read for fans of horror, urban fantasy and zombie fiction. It's a story that stayed with me for many days after I'd finished it, and a book like that stays on my shelf forever.