He said / She said: This Dark Earth

My hubby and I don’t always read the same stuff. His taste is weird! He probably says the same about my horror/zombie/vampire obsessions!

But when we do read the same books it’s great to be able to talk about what we both like and dislike, our favorite characters, etc.

That’s what He said / She said is all about. Bringing you the same book from two different points of view!

Today we bring you This Dark Earth by John Hornor Jacobs.

He says:

Cover: Awesome, the bones and the skull

Synopsis: This lets you know immediately it’s a zombie novel, also let’s you know one of the main characters is a childhood prodigy. Sounds really interesting about a zombie outbreak and how survivors handle a situation.

Page 99: Gripping, tense moment as a person named Lucy is trying to go after her son and the door that he is behind. Very stressful, very well written!

Favorite character: Keb, the guy who saved Lil P from the bandits, he was a compassionate and loyal to the kid and did not have to be, he went in to hell with his friend and pulled out the kid. He was awesome and you can see by the end of the book he was and will be Lil P. Man.

Plot pluses: The speed of the novel it does not stop it moves over 5 years amazingly well, the down time is minimal the characters are facing challenges every chapter.

Plot minuses: The way he handled the big fight, it could have been provided more detail and a little more drawn out.

Rating: 4.5

Further comments: This book is an excellent story and it does work as a single novel or introductory novel for the story, there are all sorts of emotions from Fear to Love, from Honor to Betrayal. The people who go through this mess come together and create a Monarchy following a natural order of things … I think that it is interesting he took this route but as we think about things there is always a Leader his lieutenants and then the followers. It makes the decision making process much easier. I thoruoghly enjoyed this book.

She says:

Cover: I love the skull with the world image, the rest of the cover is okay, nothing too special, but the skull really sticks out for me!

Synopsis: Quite intriguing. Between the synopsis and the cover, this is a MUST READ!

Page 99: Intense!! As a mother I know what it would feel like if my child were in the same situation. I wouldn’t want to kill her anymore than Lucy wants to kill Gus. It’s the not knowing that kills you!

Favorite character: Ohh… this one is hard for me. Gus is so young (Lil P) but he is already ready to rule the world. He’s smart, funny, heroic but he also has a dark side. Who wouldn’t in this scenario? But his mother Lucy is also brilliant! She gets them out of situations that are dire before everyone else even knows there’s a situation! And then Knock-out. He seems a little slow on the up take but he learns fast and knows that Lucy and Gus have something that others don’t seem to have. One of those things being brains!

Plot pluses: Was a great, fast paced story, great characters! Love the ideas in this book, it’s not your normal run of the mill zombie book, it’s different and that’s a great thing.

Plot minuses: The ending. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a part two but I just wanted a little more. It felt like it stopped at the character arc.

Rating: 4.5

Further comments: As a zombie lover this book has it all! You never do find out what started the zombie apocalypse but it starts and you’re taken through a roller coaster ride from hell. Quite a few zombie books only mention the zombies, not the crazy people that are left afterwards. This gets down to the psychology of it all. You’re left feeling if you didn’t die because of the zombies, you may die because people are murderous freaks!

Want more zombies? Or more He said / She said? Look no further!

Next He Said / She Said … Stephen King’s Gunslinger!

I need more zombie books guys! Anything out there that’s good? I’m getting Alice in Zombieland the day it comes out! Anything else to look forward to for October? Zombie/vamp/witches, anything horror goes!!