Review from AimeeKay: Play Dead by Ryan Brown

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by AimeeKay of How can you help?
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Play Dead
by Ryan Brown

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Published: 2010
Publisher: Gallery
Genre: Zombies
Hardback: 344 pages

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For the first time in Killington High School history, the Jackrabbits football team is one win away from the district championship where it will face its most vicious rival, the Elmwood Heights Badgers. On the way to the game, the Jackrabbits' bus plunges into a river, killing every player except for bad boy quarterback Cole Logan who is certain the crash was no accident---given that cole himself was severely injured in a brutal attack by three ski-masked men earlier that day. Bent on payback, Cole turns to a mysterious fan skilled in black magic to resurrect his teammates. But unless the undead Jackrabbits defeat their murderous rival on the field, the team is destined for hell. In a desperate race against time, with only his coach's clever daughter, Savannah Hickman, to assist him, Cole must lead his zombie team to victory...in a final showdown where the stakes aren't just life or death---but damnation or salvation.

AimeeKay's review:
When I read the book jacket I was torn. The book combined football (eh) with zombies (YAY!) then it threw in that little "damnation or salvation" line, and I was really about to put it back down. Not sure if I wanted combined religion with zombies.

Also to be honest I prefer my zombies more plague style, you know where it's some horrible mass apocalypse, more than the traditional voodoo zombies. I carried it around the store with me while the debate raged in my brain. But in the end zombies won out, plus I kept flipping the book over and over and to be honest the full size pick of the cutie author definitely was a bonus!!!

(note: this was also before I knew about Velvet's Zombie event, so at the time this book was purely for my own personal enjoyment)


What I got was not completely what I expected, but in a good way, and I'm glad I bought the book.Yes there are football scenes, but my eyes didn't glass over as I was reading them, and I didn't glance over them in an effort to get to the zombie bits either.

Yes, there is the threat of the boys souls being eternally damned if they don't win the game, but there is no preaching. And last but not least yes the zombies are voodoo, not viral, well not completely, but they are still zombies!

The book also has it's gory parts. I'm not necessarily a big fan of gore. But it's not overdone in Play Dead. Brown uses it as it should be used, as a descriptive tool, not just as filler, and he is very good at it.


***Spoiler alert*** **Spoiler alert*** **Spoiler alert*** **Spoiler alert***


Especially the scene where they eat the one boys father. I actually got chills reading that part. I did have issues though with how the whole town just accepted what Logan and Savannah tell them in regards to the kids surviving the bus accident. Or how the parents don't seem THAT concerned about their children's abnormal behavior. Also there were a few loose strings at the end, one of them being: what happened to the rest of Mona's undead cats. (Mr. Brown, is there a sequel in the works somewhere?) However, for that matter I would also love to read more about Black Mona herself. Plus, I think that the zombies should have eaten Booker.


***End Spoiler alert******End Spoiler alert******End Spoiler alert***

This book was an entertaining read. I kept wanting to see where Logan was going to end up with his zombie football team. If you're into zombies, but maybe not so into sports, don't let the football aspects of the book put you off. And thanks to Mr. Brown you now have a chance to win your very own copy of Play Dead!

Enter quick though, the Dead line to enter is Oct. 2nd!

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Guest post review created for September Zombies event by AimeeKay of How can you help?
© 2011. All rights reserved.

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by AimeeKay of How can you help?
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Writer Ryan Brown discusses his book PLAY DEAD:



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