Saturday 27 February 2016

Book Review: Revenge of Zeeka - Zeeka and the Zombies by Brenda Mohammed

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"This whole thing is so bizarre. I don't know what to think."

Mark, talking to Raynor, trying to make sense of what he has just witnessed.

Synopsis (from the author): Revenge of Zeeka - Zeeka and the Zombies is the first book in a mystery thriller series set in the year 2036. 
Twenty years ago in 2016 a virus epidemic raged over the scenic small island of Gosh off the coast of South America. 
Hundreds of pregnant women who were infected with the virus, produced still born babies at the end of their term. 
Twenty years later in the year 2036, at the island's national Carnival celebrations a small band parading as sailors wreaked havoc on the spectators killing and maiming several of them. Why did this happen? Who was the person or persons behind this violent act and how will this all end? 
If you love thrillers with a mix of love and romance, don't miss this action-packed read

Review:

I like weird stories. Not everything has to be set in a world you know, and perhaps my favourite author, Stephen King is my favourite because he turns the normal into abnormal effortlessly. For author Brenda Mohammed's latest work, we are pulled into the genre of zombie horror, which has seen a massive resurgence in recent years.

What I love about this first short story in the series is how, like King, the author has her characters Mark and Raynor going about their normal lives when eyes really start to play tricks on them, and the question is for us, dear readers, is positioned thus:-

Can we trust what we see with our own eyes, or is this a vision, hallucination, or some other mind trick being played on us by some evil entity?

Possibly the answer is yes to each element of that question. 

Rather than being a full blown horror, this first story serves as a tasty morsel (I really shouldn't use such lines in a review about flesh eating zombies!) to what is to come. Who is the mysterious Zeeka? Why does he want revenge? Not everything is answered here, but will be in future stories in the series. At its relatively short length, it is the perfect introduction to this author's writing, which I am seeing a great growth with each work she pens.

My favourite character is actually Detective Jack Wildy. There is so much that cold be done with this charcter, he reminds me of Jack Lord of Hawaii-5-0 (original, people!) fame:-


This is an action packed novella that has several plot lines running, but at no time did I feel lost. Each character seamlessly interacted with others, and there's an interesting man hunt happening which will stretch resources of the said Detective to breaking point. Raynor's impending marriage to long-time love Janet might not happen after all.

"It is the perfect introduction to this author's writing."

These different plot lines keep you reading, and keep you guessing. Despite its length I did not read this book in one sitting. I wanted to absorb the cleverly interlinked plotlines. In fact, there's not a lot of the mysterious Zeeka of the title in this first story, and I think that's a clever decision by the author.

Buy it before the next installment is released!


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