Ex-Heroes (Ex-Heroes, #1)

by Peter Clines

Stealth. Gorgon. Regenerator. Cerberus. Zzzap. The Mighty Dragon. They were heroes. Vigilantes. Crusaders for justice, using their superhuman abilites to make Los Angeles a better place. Then the plague of living death spread around the globe. Despite the best efforts of the superheroes, the police, and the military, the hungry corpses rose up and overwhelmed the country. The population was decimated, heroes fell, and the city of angels was left a desolate zombie wasteland like so many others. Now, a year later, the Mighty Dragon and his companions must overcome their differences and recover from their own scars to protect the thousands of survivors sheltered in their film studio-turned-fortress, the Mount. The heroes lead teams out to scavenge supplies, keep the peace within the walls of their home, and try to be the symbols the survivors so desperately need. For while the ex-humans walk the streets night and day, they are not the only threat left in the world, and the people of the Mount are not the only survivors left in Los Angeles. Across the city, another group has grown and gained power. And they are not heroes.

• ISBN10: 0606320903
• ISBN13: 9780606320900
• Publish Date: 26 February 2013 (first published 1 January 2010)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 6 April 2021
• Imprint: Turtleback Books
• Edition: Bound for Schools & Libraries ed.
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

There are not more no super villains for these Crusaders for justice but a zombie apocalypse has given them a new challenge. Hulled up in a film studio-turned-fortress, the Mount, these heroes do their best just to survive in a world overwhelmed but these hungry corpses. While the ex-humans walk the streets night and day these superheroes can no longer call themselves heroes, they are fighting to survive like everyone else; they are Ex-Heroes.

This book has been a little bit of a success story as of late, Peter Clines published the first two books of this trilogy with a tiny little publisher known as Permuted Press. But it was not until one of the editors of Ready Player One got sick of Goodreads recommending him this series did things change. After finally caving and reading Ex-Heroes this editor loved the book so much that he went out and acquired the series for Crown Publishing group. Now this book seems to pop up everywhere, and the new buzz has really brought new life into this book.

I really like the concept of superheroes in a zombie apocalypse; they are no longer heroes, they have to fight for survival just like everyone else. Yet there is a part of them that wants to still protect the innocent and they do try. There is this whole inner turmoil coming out in these ex-heroes that I love, this is the end of the world and while they want to be heroes again they need to think about their own lives as well. The conflict within themselves is what drew me to this novel the most.

Sure, there are other wonderful zombie apocalypse elements within the book, it is jammed pack with action and yet there is a story arc that feels very much like a super villain’s rise to power which I think will develop over the next few books too. Also you will find a heap of nerd references in Ex-Heroes; not really to the same extent to Ready Player One but they are there and for a nerd like me they are always fun to discover.

Ex-Heroes feels like an attempt to try something new in the Zombie Apocalypse genre. Blending his love for Superheroes and Zombies, Peter Clines has produced this wonderful action-packed adventure that is worth checking out. I’m interested to see where the next couple of books take us and wish Clines best of luck for the future success of this series.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2013/04/18/book-reviews-ex-heroes/